BRUCE BEHNKE
Medinilla cumingii is beautiful, but dangerous to native species because of its invasive nature.
Bruce Behnke will be retiring at the end of the year, but he won't be getting in the way around the house. Instead, the president and regional manager of Kaiser Permanente will probably be on a hiking trail or at the beach, pursuing his second career, photography. Health executive turns hobby
into second career
Arboretum hosts holiday classes
By Nadine Kam
nkam@starbulletin.comHis latest work is featured in the newly released Lyon Arboretum 2003 calendar. Featured are images captured on the arboretum's 194 acres.
The arboretum's director Alan Teramura had wanted to a calendar as a fund-raiser for the Lyon Arboretum Association, heard about Behnke's nature photography through an employee and asked to see Behnke's portfolio, without knowing of his status in the health-care industry.
"That's how I wanted it. I want my photography to stand on its own merits and not be chosen because of who I was," Behnke said.
"I've been taking pictures since I was 8 when my grandmother gave me a little box camera. By the time I got to college, I had a serious career decision to make; it came down to photography or health care, and I chose health care with a lot of pressure from my parents.
"Photography was something I've always done as a hobby, but it kept nagging at me."
Behnke got the call and started taking pictures last November, continuing through June, "so I was able to get different seasons at several times of day. It rains a lot there, so I got lots of different weather conditions."
This resulted in more than 2,000 photos that he edited to 100 before presenting them to the Lyon Arboretum staff, when some of their responses surprised him.
"They'd throw things out saying, 'This is a weed.' I didn't think there was such a thing as a weed in an arboretum.
"They're concerned about invasive species and giving the public the impression that these are good plants."
One such plant is the mule's foot fern, which has spread through the southern Koolau mountains by spores. The arboretum is working to limit its spread. The image is included in the calendar, but Behnke said the staff made sure it was labeled as an invasive plant.
The same is true of Medinilla cumingii, a plant with bracts ending in a burst of pink berries and flowers.
"It's a beautiful plant, but they're concerned that people would like what they saw and want it in their gardens," he said. "As a photographer, I wasn't even thinking of these dimensions, but I found the experience quite educational, and I'm more sensitive to it, screening pictures as I go along."
BEHNKE SAID he hopes the calendar will make people aware of the arboretum.
"It's really one of the untouched, unfound gems, and the visitor count there is not high. I don't think people realize how big it is. Most people who do go are just scratching the surface, sticking to the main path."
With the help of longtime grounds chief Ray Baker, Behnke hiked deep into Manoa's valleys.
"I guarantee I never would have found many of the specimens on my own. I never would have dared to venture so far off the trail. I'm sure it's possible to get lost there because there are many peripheral trails with many forks that branch out."
Speaking about Elaeocarpus angustifolius, the largest tree on the grounds, he said, "You can see it from any place in the arboretum, but finding it is next to impossible."
Behnke's photo of the tree made it into the calendar along with a picture of a branch covered with shelf fungus (Microporus flabelliformis) found nearby.
"You don't have to move 12 feet, and you can take pictures for 45 minutes," he said.
Other sightings: poison arrow frogs and an eclectic assortment of parrots, escapees from the former Paradise Park and pet owners.
"They'd watch for the staff because they'd uncover centipedes and other insects while working. The birds would come down and grab the centipedes."
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