Within The Bubble
What you’re looking at here, is sunlight reflecting across the surface of natural oils that have seeped out across sand. My reflected silhouette is seen inside the small air bubble. Ironically, a few days after capturing this, all of us in New Zealand were locked down due to COVID 19, forced to live within a small ‘bubble’ until the times have passed.
Te Anau, New Zealand
Purify
The simplified purity that winter brings to the landscape, as lakes freeze over and the surrounding landscape is turned to white. There’s a certain smell in the air within the beech forests of Fiordland, particularly in winter when branches are frost covered in the crips air. On this morning, temperatures were -10 celsius and hoar frost decorated the shadow filled valleys. The warm, morning coffee was much appreciated after this sunrise shoot.
Lake Mackenzie, Fiordland, New Zealand
Triumph Through Sorrow
The far southwest of New Zealand, where storms are born and darkness looms. On occasion, light finds a way to break through, bringing to life all that was seemingly dead. In the end, the light will come to shine upon us all.
Long Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand
Colour Scroll
Natural oils leaking out, onto a sand bank. At the right angle, under certain lighting conditions, a myriad of colours and patterns were visible to the eye. This image was captured using a telephoto lens, zooming in close on this small scene.
Te Anau, New Zealand
Heart Of The Mountains
There’s an innumerable amount of hanging valleys, tarns, waterfalls and glacial lakes in Fiordland, gazed upon by the eyes of very few. We shared this dawn with a chamois, scrambling the rock walls precariously above the valley below.
Mount Madeleine, Fiordland, New Zealand
Rebirth
The Fiordland forests are my sanctuary of solace. Regardless of the weather, these places offer a veil of peace and provide unlimited photographic opportunities. This was a planned shoot, after finding this tree a week prior. I wanted to return with some afternoon light, with this image being the result.
Fiordland, New Zealand
Imperative
Afternoon sun pours through a dense, moss-laden forest of Fiordland.
Te Anau, New Zealand
Call Of The Wild
A fleeting moment shared with a good mate, as we beheld one of the most remote, storm trodden regions of New Zealand.
Crooked Arm, Fiordland, New Zealand
Valley Of Secrets
There’s areas of Fiordland which have rarely felt the press of human feet, nor been gazed upon in wonder. This is one such place.
Fiordland, New Zealand
A Thousand Lifetimes
A moment I couldn’t have even conceived in my dreams, with the summit ridges of the two tallest peaks in New Zealand comprising the foreground and the most sublime light cast out across the land, right on a calm, windless dusk.
Mount Cook (Aoraki) and Mount Tasman (Horokoau), New Zealand
50 Shades Of Green
Lush green forests with running water, a scene that has drawn me in since I was a child. My passion is for creating dramatic imagery but I must say that places like this would have to be one of my favourites to explore. The minutes can easily roll into hours when gently making your way through the depths of these hidden places.
Fiordland, New Zealand
Lost World
When we take to the sky, there’s not always a direct objective in mind. Instead, we let nature speak to us and sometimes, we are fortunate enough to hear a tale as old as time.
Broughton Arm, New Zealand
Magnificence
A pre-historic scene as beautiful as it gets, epitomising all that I love about this wild place known as Fiordland.
Hall Arm, Fiordland, New Zealand
Fiordland Majesty
The highest of heights within the heart of Fiordland, Mount Tutoko rising from the mist of a clearing storm.
Fiordland, New Zealand
Light Flood
The grand peaks of the Southern Alps, caught up in the glistening golden light of dusk. A magical window in time, where all else seemed to stand still for a brief moment.
Mount Sefton and the Southern Alps, New Zealand
Shadowland
A sea of stone and light, in the land of shadows.
Fiordland, New Zealand
Breaksea
An angle of Fiordland I’ve attempted to shoot several times, but being one of the worlds wettest locations, the task was easier said than done. During winter, clear spell opened up, with light leaking over the southern ranges above the Broughton Arm, at Breaksea Sound.
Breaksea Sound, New Zealand
Breathless
The calmest of days, when the sky is reflected upon the surface of the sea. In a land known for enduring storms, peace prevails.
Doubtful Sound, New Zealand
Calling
Beautiful light rains down over the northern stretches of Lake Te Anau, the part of the world I call home.
Te Anau, New Zealand
Triumphant
In the dim, pre-dawn light I set out across the smooth glacial waters in my pack raft. The looming faces of the Southern Alps watching over me, as they begin to awaken with the glow of the morning sun. A recent glacial calving deposited towers of ice across the waters, those in the distance stretching over 100ft in height. Around 1km from where I set off, the scene began to ignite, with vibrant light and colour triumphantly awakening the morning.
Tasman Lake, New Zealand
Upon The Dawn
Compressed mountain layers, captured at 400mm when flying around the summits at 100km/h in a small plane. Lining these up can be a little tricky, particularly when being bounced around by up draughts.
Southern Alps, New Zealand
Shadow Realm
A typical scene here when bring out in the high country of New Zealand. Mountains breaking free from the veils that once clothed them.
Southern Alps, New Zealand
Ice King
The Caroline face of Mount Cook (over 12,000 ft), viewed from the eastern shores of the glacial Tasman Lake. I used my raft to reach the ice in the foreground, which stretched at least the length of a bus, with many others the size of multi-story buildings towering over me. This was a sensory overload, being alone floating across the still waters, surrounded by the giants of New Zealand as they came to life in the light.
Tasman glacier, New Zealand
Secrets Of The Forest
Water is a constant in Fiordland, shaping and transforming just about every aspect of the landscape. After the right amount of rain, hidden streams swell and create special scenes just like this. I found this intimate fall one afternoon, when walking the forest and being led by curiosity. The sinking sunlight filtered through the canopy and illuminated sections of the soft mossy greens that clothe all in sight.
Fiordland New Zealand
Dusk
The remote, south west corner of Fiordland. An expanse of fiords and islands that are too wild, rugged and remote to be settled. So, nature reigns supreme, with storms often flooding and transforming the landscape, this golden afternoon being a rare exception.
Dusky Sound, Fiordland New Zealand
Selah
Yes, it is a grand sight when you emerge from the shadows of the rainforest and behold an amphitheatre of mountains draped in snow and ice. The most unforgiving of places can be so inviting.
Lake Marian, Fiordland New Zealand
Atonement
The forests in Fiordland are a safe place for me, one that always provides solace and rest. This section here is less than 10 minutes from my house and is often draped in gold during the afternoon, as the sun makes its way behind the nearby mountains. This is a simple single exposure with a narrow aperture being used the create the sunstar.
Te Anau, Fiordland New Zealand