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
Break The Night
4am in Iceland. After driving through the night to escape cloud and wind, I briefly rested my eyes soon to be awoken by a restless sky. This was an intense and somewhat intimidating aurora display, that violently flashed and pulsed across the entire sky. No doubt these shows would have aroused some fear and much wonder for those living in former times. For me, shooting the aurora is quite difficult, mainly because I just want to sit back and admire in awe and indeed, this is what I typically do.
South Coast, Iceland
Relic
A survivor from the past, underneath the soft skies of the north.
Husavik, Iceland
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
Crown The Sky
For most of the night, the aurora held a powerful blast of beams rising from the horizon. On occasion these would sporadically expand and fill the whole sky, warranting a burst of applause. In the distance, ice would often calve off the terminal face of the glacier and echo through the valley and into the night. The ice in the foreground washed up just hours earlier after a large surge wave brought many ashore. These ones were around my size, so I had to sit upon them to reach this angle. The background is a single exposure and I used focus stacking to get the foreground sharp.
South Coast, Iceland
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
The Wreck Of Hope
The title of this is inspired by the 19th century painting by Caspar Friedrich. Birds filled the sky and seals darted across the waters as the afternoon light flooded the landscape behind Jokulsarlon in Iceland. An ever changing scene that was soon gone. A glacial tongue can be seen in the distance, in the land of fire and ice.
Jokulsarlon, Iceland
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
Allure
As you drive the south coast of Iceland, not only do the number of waterfalls become innumerable, but also the glacier tongues begin to multiply. The large Vatnajokull ice cap covers 8% of the country, where many rivers of ice (glaciers) flow down from its heights. Here, at the terminus, ice regularly calves off and slowly melts into oblivion as the landscape is constantly sculpted by the hands of time and change.
South Coast, Iceland
Melt
The unique landscape of Iceland, viewed from high above a river delta, along the South Coast.
South Coast, Iceland
Tessellation
The force of fresh water charging across the surface of the sea, after falling from a height three times higher than Niagara Falls. A classic perspective here, as the spider web of water is created below Stirling Falls.
Stirling Falls, Milford Sound New Zealand
Inside The Vortex
What you need to know about the northern lights is that they vary in intensity, not just from night to night but second by second. Some displays may be dim, like a faint glow and other nights like this, the lights move and pulsate through the sky like a serpent, so bright that the ground and faces of your accomplices glow green. I had the pleasure of leading one of my Iceland tours during this solar storm, which lasted through the entire night. Shouts of joy echoed off the nearby cliffs with every burst of energy from the green blasts, which rippled from one horizon to the other. Yes, they really are spectacular to the naked eye.
South Coast, Iceland
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
Time Of Noah
Three times higher than Niagara Falls, here is Stirling Falls in Milford Sound, captured in the midst of a torrential downpour. It’s taken me quite a few years to capture an image here that portrays all that I love about this place.
Milford Sound (2019)
Reign From Above
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.” 1Chron 16:31
Glenorchy, New Zealand
Disappearing Falls
A place where wild seas break at the feet of mountains and waterfalls are lifted into the stormiest of skies.
Fiordland, New Zealand
Pulse
An aerial perspective of the West Coast of New Zealand, looking down upon a light streaked river winding its way from the mountains to the sea.
A Voice In The Silence
A temporary light that broke the veil of the storm. A face to face reminder to keep pressing forward.
Fiordland, New Zealand
Times Of Old
Wind obliterating a wave, right in the fleeting moments of a sunset. There’s a strangely familiar feeling I experience when viewing this one, like a window back to a former moment in time.
South Coast NSW, Australia
Ocean Valley
The ocean as its uplifted from the deep depths, moments before forming a towering wave. This frame reminded me of a mountainous valley.
South Coast NSW, Australia
Ice Blast
A display of sastrugi, mid-winter in the high mountains of the Southern Alps, New Zealand.