LIHUE — There is a naturally occurring bat on one of the bugs that is on exhibit at the Lihue Public Library through the month of May.
“Oh wow,” said Carolyn Larson, Lihue Library branch manager. “I looked at this, but I never saw the bat until you pointed it out.”
The photographs, drawn from the books, “Remains of the Rainbow” and “Archipelago, Portraits of Life in the World’s Most Remote Island Sanctuary,” are by Susan Middleton and David Littschwager who travel the world photographing precious and rare species of plants and animals using large format cameras which capture exquisite detail.
National Tropical Botanical Gardens acquired the photographs following the 2016 IUCN World Conservation Conference held in Honolulu, and it took quite a bit of effort to be able to get them to loan the prints for exhibit.
“This is the first time that the NTBG has made a loan of this kind,” Larson said. “It is a way for them to broaden their audience for the special photographs in their collection. It also helps emphasize the need to conserve Hawaii’s unique endangered flora and fauna.”
One of the goals of the Hawaii State Library System is to support sustainability, and the message about Hawaii’s endangered species is the second major photography show following an exhibit from “Amazing Planet” in the library’s gallery space located in the children’s room.
“I’m not opposed to exhibiting works that could be considered more ‘grown-up’ in the children’s room space,” Larson said. “Children are not too young to appreciate art and nature. Because the photos from Amazing Planet included some Kauai images, I liked that Kauai youngsters can see the places, the plants, and animals from their island being celebrated for how special they are in the context of all the world.”
Similarly, the Middleton/Littschwager exhibit includes special photographs of species found on Kauai.
“What is extraordinary about these photographs, and this exhibit, is that it’s a jungle out there,” she said.
The exhibit is free and open to the public during the Lihue Public Library’s normal public service hours.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
