The above Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle was photographed by me at Laniakea Beach or "Turtle Beach" as it sometimes called on the North Shore of Oahu, just past Haleiwa town and beach when heading towards Waimea Bay. You will know something special is going on when you see about a million cars parked alongside the road there and traffic has slowed to a crawl as people want to get a glimpse of these endangered turtles found only in Hawaiian waters. Below is another photo of mine which I used as a reference for a painting .
The turtles eat that green algae on the rocks as well as seaweed in the ocean. They are cold-blooded reptiles so come up on the beach to warm in the sun.
"Ain't She Pretty"
24" x 24" Acrylic on gallery wrap canvas
Available
I posted this painting before in December of 2011 but thought you would like to see it again as I used the photograph just above it for reference to complete the "honu" , which is Hawaiian for turtle. I took liberties and used artistic license with the color in this painting.
Below are some photographs of mine of Laniakea Beach .
This is actually the same spot, just the bottom photo was taken a little farther away. The beach itself is not the best for swimming, but many snorkel here and swim alongside the honu. It is a narrow beach and at times gets very crowded with people. There are guardian volunteers there that watch out for the turtles and are very willing to answer any and all questions you may have. The photo below shows how they rope off an area to keep people about 6 feet away from the beached turtles.
These older photographs of mine are making me want to make another trip to Laniakea Beach very soon! I have been very busy painting and have not been on a photo shoot in some time. If you are planning a trip to Oahu, please visit this lovely beach and bring your camera !
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