Mount Taranaki Golden Sunrise Reflection

Advocate

Meghan Maloney

Image: Meghan Maloney, Mount Taranaki Golden Sunrise Reflection

Hey! I’m Meghan, a landscape & travel photographer based in Waikato, home of Middle-earth.

I’m head over heels in love with New Zealand and my great passion is to share this amazing country with others wanting to experience its beauty and improve their photography skills at the same time.

I love capturing the symmetry of reflections in nature, lush long exposure waterfall scenes and the vibrant colours of sunrise and sunset. I specialise in small group weekend photography workshops throughout New Zealand as well as private masterclasses for tailored one-on-one learning.

I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with others and making the learning experience fun. It’s so rewarding seeing participants master new techniques and how thrilled they are with the images they have captured.

What is in your camera bag?

Sony Alpha 7R IV

Sony Alpha 7R II

Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM

Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM

Sony FE 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 G OSS

Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA

KASE K9 filters (CPL, soft grad 0.9 ND, ND64 6-stop)

Sirui N-2204x Tripod

What is your go to in your Alpha kit and why?

I love shooting wide open spaces in nature and the Sony 16-35mm f/2.8mm GM lens excels in capturing the vast beauty of the outdoors. I find myself shooting with this lens 80% of the time and it even does a great job of shooting astro. When paired with the dynamic range and resolution capability of the Sony Alpha 7R IV, it's a match made in heaven.

Moeraki Boulders Moon Reflection 1 / 15

Bridal Veil Falls 2 / 15

Red dawn at Cathedral Cove 3 / 15

Whangarei Falls Quiet Dawn 4 / 15

Wharariki Beach Morning Reflections 5 / 15

Milky Way over Karapiro 6 / 15

Nugget Point Sunrise 7 / 15

Steps to Kaiate Falls 8 / 15

Lake Wanaka First Light 9 / 15

Misty Routeburn Forest 10 / 15

Milford Sound Mood 11 / 15

Pink Dawn over Rotorua 12 / 15

Milky Way over Wanaka 13 / 15

Last light on Aoraki Mount Cook 14 / 15

Lake Tekapo Lupins at Dawn 15 / 15

Most memorable moment shooting with Alpha?

That's easy! It would have to be morning I spent capturing Mount Taranaki reflected in the Pouakai tarn as the first light lit up the golden tussock during sunrise. I'd made the hike up the night before in the dark with no real idea of what sunrise would bring, so you can imagine my excitement when the day dawned both clear and perfectly still. Both sides of my family originally come from Taranaki so the mountain is one of the places I feel most at home. This image was later selected as a finalist in the Landscape category of the Sony Alpha awards for 2018.