Flower Photo: Orange Hibiscus in February

Tired of Snow?  Visit Okinawa

It gets a little chilly and windy sometimes, around here but, it doesn't snow.

Out back this morning, I was doing slome stretching and, suddenly stopped.

The brain was tired from testing yesterday and, the body was sore, too.

When I spotted this flower, it gave me an idea. Shoot it for the poor folks in snow country.

I listened to my brain and body, cancelling physical training for the day.

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 50MM

Exposure:  f/2.5   1/4000   ISO 800

Location:  Kin Town Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:  FEB 16 2017  8:35 AM

5 Facts About the Hibiscus You May Not Have Known

These Flowers Aren't Just for Lookin' At

 

 

No botanical or scientific name will be given today. Somebody else can do that part.

Researching online, these discoveries were made and, I must share them quickly.

Number One

The hibiscus plant can become a 15 foot tall, over 8 feet diameter tree.

Number Two 

In Tahiti and Hawaii, a hibiscus worn over the right ear of a woman signifies she's single.

Number Three

Fibers of the tree bark are used in Polynesia, for making grass skirts.

Number Four

In China, dye from the flowers, is used by women, to color their hair.

Number Five

Hibiscus tea is considered a source of vitamin C.

 References:

The Flower Expert

Soft Schools 

Related Post You May Enjoy:

15 Hibiscus Photos from Ie Island in Okinawa

Gigantic Hibiscus Flower Blooming Down the Street

Gargantuan Best Describes It

 

 

This was discovered, while walking the back-roads of town yesterday.

To stay out of the blazing sun, I walk in the shadows of the side streets, sometimes.

This humongous flower, caught my attention so, I stopped and shot it with the camera.

It's too bad, nobody was around to assist me.

It would have been nice, if someone came along to hold one of my flip-flops next to it.

That would give you a sense of scale.  I swear, the thing was bigger than my face.

If the flower is still there, I may get another chance to photograph it for you.

Meanwhile, you get get see, just how big my flip-flops really are ! 





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15 Hibiscus Photos from Ie Island in Okinawa

All You Need o Know About Hibiscus

Red Hibiscus and Red Helen Butterfly GIF Animation

Spotted in Oku Village

 

 

Traveling the northern tip of the island, the weather took a few drastic turns.

The sky blackened and, dumped a few gallons of water.

For mid August, no one can complain.  It felt great being cooled naturally.

 The butterfly, Red Helen has a Latin name of Papilio helenus.

The flower, I knew was some sort of Hibiscus and, searched for a botanical name.

Chinese Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) sounds like a good name, to me.

So far, I've been rained on twice today but, I'm still smiling.

It might not be a good idea to argue with me, over the name of this flower.

If anyone wants to discuss it, email me and, we'll talk Monday.

Have a nice weekend; I'm outta here !

Photography: Some Late Bloomers from November 2014

Editor's Picks That Somehow Got Missed

 

 

Here Comes Dinner

Hibiscus Rosa-Sinensis

These were photos selected as Editor's Picks for the month of November 2014.

Somehow, I failed to detect them until this morning.

Blame it on my hospital visit, drugs, the weather or, whatever you like.

Return of the Banana Leaf and More Stuff

 That Typhoon in October Killed My Banana Leave

Every day and night,  I check to see how it's doing.

Things are coming along nicely, since the place got demolished back in October.

That's what the scene looked like (above) during the typhoon in Okinawa.

This photo was taken NOV 11, 2013.

Then, yesterday, NOV 12,2013, a hibiscus flower appeared in the scene.

Here I am, trying to do a documentary on a banana leaf and, look what happens.

This morning, I noticed this, when I set up the camera.

Bright red hibiscus flowers keep popping up in my scenes.

Maybe, I should quit shooting banana trees.

And, switch, to become a hibiscus reporter !

Flower Photo: Pink Hibiscus in the Rain

Rainy days, trapped indoors, drive me crazy.

So, I took the Pentax K5 with a Sigma 50-500mm lens out back.

They have more of these hibiscus flowers, on this island, than anywhere else I've ever been.

I shot this pink one in the wind and rain just for the flower lovers.

Something I haven't been able to figure out is why the deigo, is Okinawa's state flower.

It should be the hibiscus because they bloom everywhere, all the time.

If I ever decide to become the emperor, vote for me.  OK ?

Flowers and New Shoes (Photos) Good News and Bad News

What a day this turned out to be, no wildlife shots but, one heck of a busy day and I got a lot accomplished with the help of my shooting buddy, Doc.  We're doing a Wednesday weekly shooting day from now on, as long as the wives don't put the clamps on our activities.  That's good news.

Today's story will unfold in the sequence I shot these pictures but, plenty of things happened while the cameras were safely locked-up in the car.

Just so you know we weren't drinking, the first flower is a pink hibiscus.  I shot it while Doc was hauling his bag of concrete out of the DIY Store and breaking his back loading up the car.  I asked a salesgirl if I could shoot photos of the flowers and she told me to go ahead.  That's good news.

Some stores are afraid of industrial espionage, especially when the see a DSLR in your hands.

Remind me, someday, it'd be a good idea for me to buy a little Point and Shoot for those type operations.



Next, I shot this Multi-colored Hibiscus.  It looked unreal, to me.  Like I figured somebody painted it or put foodcoloring in the planter to make it that way but, Doc said they grow that color naturally.



When he saw me shooting these furry caterpillar-looking things, he said he'd never seen a plant like that before.  I see them all the time when I'm walking my dogs.  I call them caterpillar-looking flowers. 

Today I shot the sign that says, Benihimo 1980 Yen and Googled it.  My Wikipedia connections tell me it is a Chenille Plant (Acalypha hispida).



On the way out of the DIY Store's Flower and Garden Center I shot this wide angle scene just because it was there. We'll have to get a translator to read all that fancy kanji that was imported from China, years ago. I only read the simple stuff. I'll find out the names of all the flowers I shot today, eventually and hope I can escape with the information for you, without having to buy any of them.  Er, that'd be bad news.

Before we hit the DIY Store, all kinds of things got accomplished.  Doc and I were on a mission.  I had to do some shopping for frames to mail photos to my contest winners.  And, to avoid firing my printer up to make photos for the frames, I went to a print shop.

With a whole hour to kill, waiting for the prints, we wandered off and started looking at cameras, computers and all kinds of other stuff we really didn't need.

The good news: I found a pair of shoes.  I need new shoes, the kind you can go over rough terrain in. 

I found a pair of rugged-looking shoes that are supposed to cost around a hundred US Dollars, on sale for only about 25 bucks.  So, I bought them, even if they're a half size too large for my feet.

Like I told Doc, just wear more socks, until they fit.  I can buy plenty of socks with the 75 dollars I saved.  Right ?



There they are. That's my new shoes, never been worn and a DVD even came with them.  Hah !
How many times have you ever bought a pair of shoes and got a DVD included in the box with them ?

So, when I got back here, to my office, I had to wait for these PCs to wake up and get scanned before I could download my camera.  That's when I got the bright idea to shoot my shoes.  I could do something like a product review on them.  You know, like a one month, blow by blow account of me and my new shoes going over rough terrain and stuff like that.  I'll put them through some rugged tests.

I don't have time to watch a DVD and I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing when it comes to shoes. 

I'll start testing these suckers in a few minutes.  I'm leaving my flip-flops at the bar and I'll be heading to the beach with the dogs, shortly.

Just to make sure these shoes didn't get put on sale because some company went extinct, I googled them.  They're good to go.

Then, I started reading some of the literature that came in the box.  This is more bad news.

There's a WARNING:
"The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.  Criminal copyright infringement, including without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000."  YIKES !

So, it's probably best that I don't tell you any of what I see on the DVD or read in the book until I get authorization from the proper authorities.  I could email the company, I guess.  Or should I just shred the book, DVD, the box and everything that came with it ?  I'm pretty sure I can wear the things and walk alright without anyone's advice.  What would you do, worry about goin to jail ?

Flower (Photo) An Orange Hibiscus From Okinawa, Japan

Here's one for my flower loving friends. First thing this morning, heading to the big city, I asked my shooting partner, Doc (GOYAREPUBLIC), if he wanted to get some photos of this hibiscus before they disappear again.

Every morning, when I walk my dogs to the beach I pass by this hibiscus plant. When it blooms it has some beautiful flowers. Early morning is when the light hits them just right. Lately, we've been having some cloudy and rainy days. It always seems when the light is right, either I don't have my camera with me, or the darn thing isn't blooming.

Yesterday, when I walked the three mutts by the place, I saw this gigantic flower blooming, the sun was hitting it perfectly and there was no wind blowing. 

So, I walked the dogs real fast.  I was going to take them home and grab a camera to shoot the hibiscus.

By the time I got home, the weather turned miserable.  So, I turned miserable, too.  That's what I do.

Today, two of us, with a car full of cameras drove out of our way to snag some shots.  We were headed to Naha, the capital of Okinawa. The first thing we shot before leaving my village was this flower.  It was cloudy and windy but, it had to be done today. 

Sometimes, with an assistant, you can make shots that would be impossible when you are alone. 

At least one person can keep an eye out for the police.  That's if someone calls them because they don't want you on their property, shootin' their flowers.  It was Sunday morning, over here so, I think everybody was still sleeping. Nobody bothered us and we got the flower shots and escaped. Hah !

And, what a day it turned out to be.  I got a pile of Sunday Silly Signs photos for future posts.  Some great shots of Okinawan Sanshin, even a dude playing one for us.  Eisa Dancers, in conjunction with an FM Radio Station, were performing right in front of my camera.  They were helping raise relief funds for the disaster victims up around Sendai, Japan and, I even took some food photos.  So, there's enough pictures for me to post here, even if I don't get out with the camera for another week.

For now, this Orange Hibiscus will have to do the trick.  I started researching, because I like to find scientific names for all these things but, with over 200 kinds of Hibiscus, I'm lost.  You could name it the Orange Hibiscus from Okinawa owned by the people who sleep late on Sunday and don't call the police because they didn't know two foreigners were in their yard taking pictures if you want to, I guess.

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