That Wanaka Willow

Commonly known as #thatWanakaTree, the Wanaka Willow is a tree that grows out in the waters of New Zealand's Lake Wanaka. Supposedly the most photographed tree in the world, the Wanaka WIllow attracks dozens of photographers each sunrise and sunset to capture imagery of this rather unique vista. As with all of our experiences on the South Island, Wanaka was a wonderful place to stop and make images of mountains, lakes and of course #thatWanakaTree.

The Runway

Believe it or not this is the flightpath into Queenstown, New Zealand's international airport. With a close look the runway can be see just before the lake in the centre of the image - just to the right of the slope of the mountain. Planes flying into Queenstown must navigate through the valleys of this mountainous region. It is a very exciting approach to a city regarded as the world's adventure capital.

Flightpath to Queenstown

Queenstown on New Zealand's South Island is often called the world's 'Adventure Capital', and even the flight into this city fringed by mountains and a lake is adventurous.

A careful look at this image will reveal an Air New Zealand Boeing 737 on final approach to Queenstown International Airport, as it carefully navigates a series of valleys that make up the flight path.

Middle Earth

New Zealand's South Island is a stunning place that is made up incredible mountain ranges, valleys, plateaus, rivers and lakes. This image was captured from the Crown Range, and overlooks the plains leading into Queenstown, and the hills that fringe the 'adventure capital of the world'.

Wakatipu Reflections

Magnificent reflections on Lake Wakatipu. Driving back from Glenorchy to Queenstown we spotted this great vista, smooth surface and great reflections, and pulled over as soon as it was safe to make some photos.

Frankton's Golden Arm

Frankton Arm on Queenstown's Lake Wakitipu is an awesome place for sunset image creation.

The twin mountain ranges converging in the background here provided brilliant lighting, with the setting sun casting its rays down the valley, lighting up the distant range, while the nearer one was silhouetted beautifully.

The glow of the sun on the lake provided lovely colours.

The photo spot was at the end of a suburban street, and can be easily worked out with some simple planning in Photo Pill's, TPE or a similar app.

The Broken Wharf

Meiklejohns Bay lies at about the halfway mark between the two namesake towns on the Queenstown to Glenorchy Road on New Zealand's South Island. The stunning Remarkables mountain range looms in the background of this beautiful mountain lake, while the cloud formations bring meaning to the nickname for New Zealand—the Land of the Long White Cloud. The broken wharf is a stunning feature, easily accessible from the road. Take your time, try different compositions and consider using a polarising filter and perhaps a graduated ND to help bring out the most in the sky and the water. And bring insect repellent.

Wanaka Wandering

A photo tour in Wanaka, NZ, took us onto private property in the hills high above Lake Wanaka. It was a magical location, off the beaten track, that provided for some unique images that showed the scale of the lake and surrounding mountains and valleys. This image was made in the evening with beautiful blues, greens and golds in the countryside.

Lookout

This image was made in the same general area as my Wanaka Wandering image, and apart from demonstrating the value of getting to some unique, off-the-beaten-path locations, it also demonstrates another value of a photo tour. In this case the tour guide not only volunteered to be a model, but new a great spot that could use a human element to bring perspective to the immense landscape. There's a reason that the *Lord of the Rings* trilogy was filmed in NZ, including in this very area. People don't feature in many of my images, but I have to admit that in this instance the human element added to the image, significantly.

Aoraki Azure

Driving from Wanaka to Tekapo in New Zealand we were quite suddenly greeted by an amazing view of Aoraki / Mt Cook across the stunning blue waters of Lake Pukaki. As I worked on this image, a few months later, I was challenged to remind myself that the lake and the sky were incredibly blue. Editing any image requires the photographer to be honest about what it was about a scene that inspired them, and to produce a final image that is true to their photographic vision and the story they are telling. This image was personally challenging in that regard, but I am happy with this result.

The Good Church

There seem to be two things that attract photographers to Tekapo in New Zealand—the incredible dark sky and the Church of the Good Shepherd. These can of course be combined, with some very famous images of each. The township and lake, and the church, are photogenic in themselves, and daytime images are worthwhile. The biggest problem with this scene, in the daytime, is the people. I setup and waited for quite sometime with the composition I wanted. I shot whenever the crowds were few, and eventually got an image with only half a dozen people or so. I will admit I then did something I rarely do—I Photoshopped the people out. Although I prefer not to remove elements from an image, in this case my photographic vision, and the story I wanted to tell, was of the stunning location, the peace and the isolation. These are all true things, so I happily removed the people from the image.

Epic Valley

This image of an epic valley near Wanaka demonstrates the grandeur of the landscapes to be found the South Island of New Zealand.
This image was created during a photo tour, and accessing this wonderful spot at any time (let alone for an amazing sunset) was only possible from having participated in the photo tour.
The sunset was simply awesome, and bringing this to life in the final image took some work. To be honest I might revisit this again in the future.
All in all I was happy with the composition, but feel that a foreground object would add some interest. But the reality is that the scene is epic enough to carry itself!

Walter Peak

# Walter Peak Located on Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand’s Otago region, the Walter Peak High Country Farm is the tourist destination of the TSS Earnslaw, the only remaining commercial passenger-carrying coal-fired steamship in the southern hemisphere. We took the voyage on the Earnslaw from Queenstown as a way of getting a good view of the Lake and the region, and really got to understand why New Zealand is known as the land of the long white cloud. The Otago region of New Zealand is a photographer’s delight, with mountains, lakes, valleys and magnificent skies.

Tekapo Star Gazing

I've had an interesting in getting into night sky / astro photography for some time, but this image was from the first time I gave it a solid go. We joined a night sky tour at the Mt John Observatory near Tekapo on New Zealand's South Island. The night sky was wonderful and although we were a little early in the year for the Milky Way, I am pretty happy with this first image. The night sky is amazing—you have to have a sense of awe in having the realisation of the immenseness of the universe. Night sky photography is something I will continue to play around with, and hopefully get better at!

Grand Valley

This grand valley lies near Queenstown in New Zealand's South Island and is a great example of the incredible hils and valleys that make up the Land of the Long White Cloud. I love the way that the road cutting through the valley disappears into the folds of the surrounding mountains, and the sheer walls of the cliffs.