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The “W” stories voting block is about 20 hours from closing. As usually happens late in the voting block, we have fairly significant movement by one of the stories. If you like a particular story, in addition to voting for it — and if you feel like it — now is the time to nudge friends and family into reading it (and also ask them to read the others in case they don’t agree with you) and to cast their votes.
No matter how you come to them or who you vote for, if you’re a reader of our stories and someone who votes, the writers wish to express their gratitude and appreciation. Links to the stories and the poll for voting for “Alphabet Challenge W-Stories” are HERE(link) Votes will be accepted until Noon (Central Time) on Monday, January 25th, 2021.
So, snow on Mauna Kae (the Big Island of Hawaiʻi) . . .
That shot was taken from Highway 19 just north of the Kawaihae port while heading up to Waimea.
That was a little over three years ago. It wasn’t often we would see snow, and not often it was that clear when we did (notice the haze at lower elevations). From that location, the peak is 25 miles away as the crow flies.
You can click on the photo for a version twice as large, or you can go to the SmugMug album linked at the bottom to see a full-size version. I’m not linking it here because while it’s passable, 25 miles of atmosphere distorts and reduces the details you can glean from a photo.
On the other hand, this 10-photos panorama is taken from Waimea (18 miles away) and it’s a little better. Wait . . . before I share it, disclosure time. This is the original (a small version; only 640 pixels wide, don’t bother clicking on it).
I didn’t like the powerlines and pole in the shot, so I removed them.
Now, that’s a nice panorama if you have a huge screen and can download the original (I’m not linking to it, but you can view it in SmugMug).
Side Note: Although I often shoot multiple photos with the intent of doing panoramas, these files end up being huge and difficult to work with. This old computer still handles them, but I still have to be careful not to tax it too much or it slows to a crawl. For example, each edit creates a 400MB file (I don’t overwrite because I might not like what I get and may want to go back a few steps). Those files went through merging, sharpening, Luminar AI, Color Efex Pro 4, and DxO Film Pack. Lots of megabytes gave their lives so I could bring you these photos (don’t worry, they get resurrected when I delete the originals). While each program is doing its thing, I can’t do much more than ponder on the absurdity of life and planning my next snack.
Anyway, you can click that photo for a version twice as large . . . but, really, the money shot, what’s of interest in the photo — and no, it’s not the wires I removed — are the observatories. These are crops (and still not 1:1) of the above.
From 18 miles away and with a 200mm zoom (350mm effective), that’s not too bad.
Side note 2: Here’s the thing I remind readers. If you want to see really good photos of the observatories, plenty be online. I don’t claim these are great, but I post them for me and for others who might be moved to explore more than what’s here. Also, if you happen to be on the Big Island and think about grabbing a similar shot with your phone, don’t be disappointed with what you get. These have been worked a lot to get them to where they are.
This LINK will take you to the SmugMug gallery that has the full-size versions of the above and also photos from recent reminders. Be warned the originals are large. If you want to see the full-size, be patient (unless you have Speedy Gonzalez Internet).
Here’s a gallery of the above, including monochrome conversions . . .
That’s it. This post has ended . . . except for the stuff below.
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Gotta love the fast Internet that allowed me to see that huge file in a matter of seconds . . . but, as I scanned the landscape, I didn’t see any sign of a critter or bird. I’ll have to be satisfied for the glorious green and, naturally, the snow and observatories.
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Other than goats, your not likely to see much. The brush is deeper and thicker than it’s might seem. Also, I rarely saw birds on my drives.
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That first picture made the trip over worth the time. The mountain peak seems to float over the land in the foreground. Nice
(Observatories are cool. If I had it to do all over again, I’d go into astronomy….or astrophysics. Cool pix in so many ways)
Now off for stories (HA actually before deadline this time)
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Actually, when I closed down our company, I applied to work at the observatory (2004). The Mauna Kae observatory as support staff. I had the qualifications and was in between houses and could have easily done it. However, at the time, the order came down to give preferential consideration to veterans.
I don’t know if I would have gotten the job, but I personally agree with that directive, so I didn’t mind (and twelve years later I got to live in Hawaii for a spell).
Oddly enough, I never visited the observatories while we lived there, even though residents get preferential consideration (tours were on a lottery basis and in high demand; I didn’t even try), but I had visited the observatory during one of my late 90s visits to the Big Island. Amazing.
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I look forward to the results of the W stories! They were all so good, I’m curious to see which one took 1st place honors!
These photos are fabulous! I especially oohed and ahhed at the panorama views! In the snow photos, I find the layers of blues and white so beautiful!
HUGS!!! 🙂
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Thank you, Carolyn. Based on the current voting, it won’t be much of a surprise, but if you haven’t looked at it, it’s only another four hours or so.
When the clouds clear, both Mauna Kae and Mauna Loa offer spectacular views. The views are limited from the Kona side of the island (you could just see a bit of Mauna Loa’s peak), so those kinds of views were a treat for us as well.
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I had started a comment a day or two ago, but got side-tracked before completing and sending. BUT …to the point, I was curious as to why you didn’t visit the observatories on top while you lived there. Ah hah! your comments above shed some light on the subject (no pun intended!) M :-).
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For a long while when we were there, tours were closed, then they started doing a lottery system whereas you would call very early morning on Wednesday and get your name on a list. The list would literally fill up in a few minutes (if you could even get through). But it was well ahead of the actual date, so you were not assured the weather would be OK (lots of clouds gather up there),
There was one other reason . . . because of the proposed new observatory, native protesters often blocked the access road (I think they still do). It just wasn’t worth risking heading up there. The secession movement there is even stronger than in Texas.
Many vehicles sport “Free Hawaii” stickers (the words printed under an outline of an AR-15 style rifle). I mean, not the majority, but like here on the mainland, it only takes a few assholes to make a mess of things.
The annoying thing is that while maintaining pretty much every inch of the island is sacred (building something there takes forever), by my observation, it was mostly natives who were the biggest culprits of trashing the place with garbage. Again, not all; the majority are like the majority everywhere; suffering the annoyance of the jerks.
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That’s too bad. Simply put, TOO BAD. There are plenty of mountains around that can be considered ‘sacred” and only a relatively few affording such ideal conditions for astronomical observations and earth-science study. The act of this kind protesting, particularly with the use of threating reprisals, is really closer to an animalistic instinct sans human understanding …of the precious value of ground based, high-altitude astronomical research. M 😦
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I might sound culturally insensitive, but . . . The population on the Big Island prior to colocalization had been as high as 250,000 and people had lived there for hundreds of years. In contrast, the current population is 54,000.
The reason I bring this up is this: say you want to build something and start to dig. Well, if you hit pretty much any sign of previous inhabitants, it suddenly becomes a cultural site, if not outright sacred. Well, crap, almost anywhere along the coastline and habitable areas that you did in, you’re likely to find something. I mean, it can’t all be sacred, can it? For all they know, they’re digging a garbage pit (or worse).
Anyway, during my 30 months there, I got pretty tired of hearing about this wonderful civilization . . . that regularly slaughtered each other, had a caste system that kept most of the population in servitude, and that were basically pretty nasty individuals (as were all early civilizations — I mean, humans are humans all over, and our natural tendencies are to be pretty nasty).
The myth of the noble savage lives on . . . and I don’t buy it.
And lots of hard-working Hawaiians also don’t buy into it (met me a few). Sadly, it’s often non-natives who help sustain the delusion of this wonderful cultural heaven, buying into the mystique of the place.
And here’s the other thing . . . the current descendants were not the original settlers; those guys were slaughtered by other guys who were in turn slaughtered by these guys. So, which “culture” should be sacred?
OK, I’m getting worked up, so I better stop. Suffice it to say I love the place, respect the environment of it, appreciate the beauty, but am less than enthralled with the superstition and ignorance. Then again, not much different on the mainland, is it?
Gosh, this horse got pretty tall; I better get off this thing.
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That image of the Observatory domes appearing to float in the rarefied atmosphere above the clouds is a pretty decent photographic crop if you ask me. I like it.
We need to respect indigenous cultures but “sacred” is an overused word without a meaningful meaning as far as I’m concerned. If a site is important, then tell us why it is so and present the facts and reasoning, without hiding behind a phoney word that hints at mysticism and demands unwarranted respect.
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You can read about some of it here:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/21/mauna-kea-tmt-protests-hawaii-native-rights-telescope/1993037001/
There is a fair amount of archeological excavation and discovery of burial mounds on the mountain and stuff that escapes my memory right now, but again, that’s the same all over the islands, plus “shrines” is a loose term as applied to many of these sites.
I could be wrong, but per my observation and reading, some of this also relates to a renewed interest in cultural identity. Besides, it’s a cause that gets high visibility.
During the time that I was there, at least one park closed because it was deemed ‘sacred’ . . . but I never saw any of the locals have any particular respect for it. Now, it’s cordoned off, the garbage has been cleaned out, and it sits there empty. OK, but that was the result of a few “cultural warriors” pressuring local authorities, and it seems it’s now fashionable to fight for a heritage that all of a sudden has gained in importance.
Again, it’s one of those things that’s difficult to argue with a true believer. I can’t find it right now, but there was a fair amount of consideration and compromises associated with the planning of the telescope, but those against it are not looking for compromises (it’s all about religious beliefs, and those are not geared toward compromising).
Interesting that when I look up there, I see the beauty of the domes against the sky, and some see the opposite.
Honest, this has no resolution, and as long as they don’t want the jobs and positive impact on the economy, I say go somewhere else, even if it’s not as optimal. I say that because at some point, there will be violence.
I just feel bad for the regular folks who struggle there and could use the influx of money and jobs.
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More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Meter_Telescope_protests
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Thanks for the link. M 🙂
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