Cathedral Cove is one of the best places in New Zealand to capture the sunrise with its exceptional cave and offshore islands providing unique focal points. But on this occasion, the sky stole the show.
2/8
Capturing a unique composition of the well-photographed Wanaka Tree is a challenge, but the salmon light hitting the mountains and the golden light on the poplar trees made an interesting colour combination.
3/8
The vibrant New Zealand lupins captured during blue hour after sunset, allowing the colours in the sky a certain symmetry of colour to match the purple and pink lupin tones.
4/8
Moody layers of mist hung in the valley of Milford Sound, parting occasionally to show a glimpse of fresh snowfall on the mountain peaks just as the first sunlight graced their tops.
5/8
New Zealand's tallest peak, Aoraki Mount Cook, naturally drew my eye into the centre of the scene, and the incredible reflections and icebergs made the 90 minute hike totally worthwhile.
6/8
Mount Taranaki is a challenging peak to photograph as it is often hidden in the clouds, but on this clear morning the pre-dawn light combined with wisps of mist and ripples on the lake was magical.
7/8
Capturing the first burst of sunlight as it appeared over the horizon at Nugget Point lighthouse, it was as if I was the first person in the world seeing the light of the new day.
8/8
Waterfall scenes suit subdued light, so an early morning at Whangarei Falls allowed the use of minimal light to make a focal point of the river's leading lines drawing my eye all the way to the waterfall.
What's In My Kit
The Sony Alpha 7R IV is the most sophisticated camera body I've owned. I love that the 61MP of resolution provides so much confidence for shooting single images for large-scale printing.
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The FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM is my go-to lens and is on my camera 80% of the time. The wide-angle nature of the lens means I can include as many elements into the scene as possible.
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The FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G is an invaluable piece of kit in my landscape scenes. Being able to compress a scene using the long zoom allows the majesty and scale of the mountains to come to the fore.
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Investing in a L bracket was one of the best gear investment decisions I've made! It allows you so much flexibility to switch between landscape and portrait mode quickly on a tripod while also providing maximum stability.