Red Bottlebrush Tree

Bottlebrush Tree
Callistemon rigidus
(kal-lis-STEE-mon) (RIG-ih-dus)
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There was huge hedge of this plant planted in our yard on the Big Island. That allowed for multiple test shots using the flash on the Coolpix P6000. The first couple of exposures were way too bright and it seemed like a good comprise to set the exposure compensation and the flash compensation to -0.7.

Red Bottlebush is a old favorite of mine and always nice to see. The birds were going nuts in the hedge, which was about 16 feet tall, 12 feet wide and 60 feet long. If you went over to the trees you would soon realize there 20 or 30 birds flitting around the top and sides.

This adaptable Australian native is hardy to USDA Zone 8 and grows into a graceful little tree. We were growing a couple here in Connecticut but they conked out after spending several years in the greenhouse.

Going through the pictures I took in Hawaii there seemed to be a good amount of keepers from the P6000. I didn’t take very much equipment on the trip preferring to keep it simple. The little Nikon did well in almost every situation that it was asked. Since the D700 had either the 60mm or 105mm on it (the only two lenses I had with me) it was nice to be able to get some wider shots with the little camera.

The lens is an ED (extra low dispersion) 28-112mm equivalent. It also has Vibration Reduction (VR), which is Nikon’s anti-shake technology. It does petty well on the wide end as far distortion is concerned. There is a digital zoom option but that is turned off on mine.

Sometimes I just shoot the camera in automatic for snapshots but it does have full manual control. In fact it has many of the features of a Nikon DSLRs. One thing that is nice is on the program wheel there is a savable User1 and 2 settings where you can set up the camera they way you like and return to it. I have learned to shoot with this camera pretty much with one hand. That includes changing the settings. One other thing that is amazing about this camera is the close focusing distance. It can take a decent picture only .8 inches (2 cm) from the subject.

All of the pictures today were shot with the Coolpix camera.

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This old car was spotted on the Big Island. Would you buy some real estate from these people?

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A vista from the well named Tropical Plantation. I really loved the garden at this place.

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This is the famous Duke Kahanamoku Statue in Waikiki Beach. He is considered the father of modern surfing. Here is a link to more information on Duke:
Link