Super Moon as seen in New Zealand

Yes, I had to do some severe cropping losing lots of pixels but with careful capture, post-processing and using professional upsizing software, I’ve been able to achieve a result capable of high quality photograph printed out at sizes up to 60cm on long side.

Capture at 1/800s at f3.2 – ISO 200, spot metering and -1/3EV comp

Thank you and Enjoy!

Mitre Peak with Milford Sound

Earlier this month I visited Milford Sound. It was my long over due trip, as my last time there was about 3 years back, so I stayed in the area for a week.
Milford Sound is world-wide known for its jaw dropping amount of precipitation – on average up to 6m of rain annually! To put it in perspective – in centre of Europe you may receive on average just around 0.3m of rain per year. Therefore it was to my surprise that throughout whole my week not a single drop of water came from the skies down and the blue skies were on the menu every day, except the first day on my arrival.

From photography point of view, blue skies is usually not exactly what a landscape photographers crave. We always seek some points of interest for our eyes and with a washed out blue skies, the photograph can lose its appeal. I’m using word “can” as there are cases when blue skies are useful. This may be for the editorial purposes where some clear space for type is needed and in some cases and if in right context and vision, clear skies together with foreground can be utilized for graphic, artistic imagery.

In case of this photograph and to make the image more appealing, I used the sun as point of interest for viewers eye by shooting straight into it, using a small aperture to add nice starburst effect.

Thank you and Enjoy!

Beautiful limestone pools at sunset in Punakaiki, Paparoa National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

As I’ve been processing new images for our next upload, which happened last week, I just can’t go by and not to share with you one more frame from Punakaiki coast.

It is also from the area of limestone pools I photographed after the sun went down.
On my first visit, I pre-visualized all these pools playing with colours as the sun goes down so you can easily imagine how excited I was now when I saw all those coloured reflections around me when shooting time came.

With my camera solid on the tripod and mirror locked up, I decided to leave polarizing filter on as I wanted to get both versions – with colourful skies reflecting in water and without reflections, showing the shapes and forms hidden under the water.
Here I’m posting image without polarizer working. Image gained interesting contrast of nice colder blue hues from the sky reflecting in the pool to the warm tones of twilight colours.

You can see polarized version of the same frame on our site by visiting STOCK gallery “NEW IMAGES”.

Thank you and Enjoy!

Tramper with Mt. Cook on right (3754m) and Mt. Tasman on left (3497m) from near Mt. Fox in Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand.

These are some of the best locations New Zealand has on offer and I’m always thrilled and shaking by excitement when I plan to venture into these spots.

It won’t be long before I’ll be back here!

Mt. Cook on right (3754m) and Mt. Tasman on left (3497m) from near Mt. Fox in Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand.

Love this place – Enjoy!

Seewed in limestone pool at sunset in Punakaiki, Paparoa National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

I’m thrilled with this capture and I hope you’ll like it too!
Cheers and Enjoy!

Beautiful shapes of deep, freshly snowed up crevasses on Franz Josef Glacier, Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

On this day, it was these turquoise fringes of the crevasses which caught my attention, as they were shining from a distance at me.
I love these ice colours but it is not easy to get around locations like this, especially in winter when every crack, deep crevasse or whole is covered with snow. These adventures can truly be deadly if you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve been tip toeing around these crevasses, poking the ground in front of me before I put my next step down. I wanted to get as close as I could to get a nice wide angle shot with a lot of detail.

Standing on the slippery edge of the crevasse I made this exposure with my 12-24 mm wide angle lens at 12mm and with +1.3 EV exposure compensation.
Only very little of touch up on this RAW file in Lightroom was required to finalize the frame.
I hope you’ll like it as I do.

Enjoy!

Milky Way, Southern Cross and Ponga trees, West Coast, South Westland, New Zealand

Last night it was new moon and the sky was perfectly clear and dark here on the West Coast of New Zealand with, I believe, zero light pollution.

Overwhelming zillions of bright stars fell on my head, at least it felt like that, with Milky Way and The Southern Cross starting to be more and more prominent on the sky as night progressed towards midnight.

I couldn’t resist not to put up my tripod and get some exposures.
In front of my house, there are some nice Pongas, so I chose to include these New Zealand’s native tree ferns to be silhouettes in foreground but didn’t paint them with light, as I didn’t want to take focus from the sky…

I exposed several frames, some for the galaxy and some for the star trails.
This image is a single exposure of 41s through wide angle lens with aperture open to f4.
To avoid star trails in this case, I had to crank up ISO up to 2000.

This image is not currently on-line, therefore by clicking on it you’ll be taken to our “STORE” – fine poster page.
Thank you and Enjoy!

Franz Josef Glacier under the moonlight, Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

Couple of days back it looked like its going to be a good full moon and because I was around, I decided to give it a go and hurried up to climb the hill and spent a night under the stars…and what a night it was!

I’ve been just starting and experimenting with night photography so I was very excited to see what can be captured. I managed to get several exposures ranging from 30 to 40 min but I can see that there is much more potential. It was full moon and that’s why I went up – to get well illuminated glacier but next time I might go somewhere in the middle of the moon cycle. That should allow me to add some nice, stronger star trails into the frame, as well, as this time the sky was too bright.

Since this image is not online yet, the link from it will take you to our STOCK galleries where you can explore more on New Zealand’s landscapes!
Enjoy!

In January I had some great times with my models on Franz Josef Glacier.
It is not common to be able to walk through this deep ice crevasses but on this occasion, we were very lucky to be here. Actually, this has been the deepest crevasse I’ve ever walked through. It might have been 15-20m deep at places and possibly 100m long. It was absolutely amazing and my massive and grateful THANK YOU goes to the Glacier Guides from Franz Josef, who made this possible!
It wasn’t easy to pick my favourite shot as the ice colours and patterns were changing along the way but this image has a great combination of being lost amidst the ice and “Alice in the Wonderland” feeling. Totally surreal place to be in!

Man walking through deep and beautiful ice crevasse on Franz Josef Glacier - Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

In February, on one late afternoon I drove from Wanaka toward the West Coast. It was very dull and the sky was heavily clouded with no light at all and it started to rain slowly, intensifying into downpour. It felt like you were under some dark blanket. Except for one moment when a sudden burst of light broke through the black clouds. Luckily I was able to grab this image before it started to bucket down again.

Sunrays piercing throught thundery skies above Lake Wanaka, Central Otago, New Zealand

In March I had my friend, a fellow photographer over to visit and we decided to take a heli ride over the glaciers in Westland NP. With doors off, we spent nearly an hour of the golden hour of the day flying over the Southern Alps and making images. For this image in the upper parts of the Fox Glacier I asked pilot if he could get as low and as close to these crevasses as he could, so I could emphasize them. They remind me of fingers pointing to the second highest mountain in NZ – Mt. Tasman 3497m which dominates the background. The orangy colours are partially from setting sun but they’re also enhanced by the dust which by the end of summer reaches NZ from Australian outback.

Mt. Tasman 3497m decorates skyline and massive seracs of Explorer Glacier in foreground. Orange color on the ice is actually dust polution all the way from Australia, emphasized by setting sun - Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

April was an exciting month, as I was able to visit one of the locations I’ve been having on my list for many years – the Ice Lake.
This lake is hidden behind ranges only a few km away from my home and is an absolute gem. It is also very difficult to photograph since the lake sits in between high ranges so not much light gets there and one faces a massive exposure differences. In this image I didn’t have many options but HDR.
Frankly, I’m just starting to learn a little about HDR as I’m not a huge fan but do understand its benefits, which I appreciated in creating this image.

Sunrise over Ice Lake in the Southern Alps with Shackleton and Whataroa Glaciers in the background, alpine herbs in foreground - Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

May, that’s when the winter starts kicking in. And winter on the West Coast is just magnificent. Brilliant skies and best light. I love going on the glacier in winter because you get all sorts of frozen patterns in puddles made by melting water from the sunny days.
One of great example is here – frozen air bubbles in a small crack in the ice filled with water. Unfortunately, the limited colour space of your screen doesn’t show you the real colours of this image but just imagine intense blue-turquoise hues. Love it!

Frozen air bubbles within ice on Franz Josef Glacier, Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

In June I visited another of my favourite locations – The Castle Rock Hut.
This hut is perched on the ridge overlooking Franz Josef Glacier with some spectacular views. Can’t wait to go back!

Castle Rock Hut perched on Defiance Ridge above Franz Josef Glacier, Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

July was again – the glacier time. With fresh blanket of snow, everything looks so pristine and pure. Then all it takes is to walk and walk and walk around very carefully, looking for some nice frame to make an image. And if the sun and caves works together, some great images are to be had.
Using a small aperture gives you this nice starburst effect, which ultimately makes the image shine.

Views from ice cave on Franz Josef Glacier with sunburst, Westland NP, West Coast, New Zealand

There is still plenty of snow on the mountains in August and it’s a great time to get some fantastic imagery done. This image was made on the Gillespies Beach with reflections of highest NZ mountains – Mt. Cook (3754m) right and Mt. Tasman (3497m) left.
The Tasman Sea is just a few meters behind my back so one has to watch ones back if the tide is high.

Twilight at Gillespies Lagoon with reflections of highest NZ mountains - Mt. Cook (3754m right) and Mt. Tasman (3497m left), Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

In September I was working on assignment to get the panorama of the Southern Alps with as little shadows as possible – sometime you have to listen to your client. Despite that brief, the image turned out quite nicely. We waited several days for some fresh snow to dust up the already warming mountains and that’s why I picked this image for this month, as it shows gently snow covered mountains with a lot of detail and all the beauty of Fox Glacier sliding down through the middle of the frame.

Southern Alps with highest NZ mountains - Mt. Cook (3754m right) and Mt. Tasman (3497m left). Fox Glacier in middle, Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

October was month of sunsets. One of these has been taken from Okarito lookout. Image overlooks the Three Mile Lagoon and leads your eye further along the coast south. Great skies made the frame.

Sunset from Okarito lookout with views south and over Three Mile Lagoon, Westland National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

In November I travelled a little north along the West Coast, to Punakaiki. This great location is famous for its “Pancake Rocks” and fabulous coastline. This image has quite common and popular framing of the location but despite that I pick this image because I like the light and sky in it. It’s been very windy evening and clouds were chasing each other and when the sun sinked below the horizon, it threw its last rays onto those clouds and gave us one more opportunity to make an image.

Blowhole at Pancake Rocks - limestone formations in Punakaiki, Paparoa National Park, West Coast, New Zealand

Lastly, in December I went with my friend for several days into the wilderness. We hiked toward the Copland Pass in the Southern Alps and needless to say, the trip was just brilliant. Not only we had a great swim in freezing cold waters of Copland River on scorchingly hot day but we came home with some great imagery, as well.
One of my favourite frames from the trip is this panorama of the Copland River.

Copland River in Copland Valley, West Coast, New Zealand

Golden beach in Totaranui on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track - Abel Tasman NP, Nelson Region, New Zealand

Linking up with last post from Watering Cove on Abel Tasman Coastal Track, this post is from well known and visited grounds of Totaranui. Stunning beach of this place has been a draw card for kiwi families for decades and it’s no wonder. The seclusion of this area at the northern part of the Abel Tasman Track with great camping facilities makes it quite a special place. Pristine waters, rock formations to explore and golden sand of the beach… it’s a heaven….

If you find yourself walking this track, this beach offers you amazing relax for your weary legs and you just need to make sure, that you book your place in Totaranui for more then one night to make most of this fantastic location! There is a whole lot to Enjoy!

P.S. It’s a pure coincidence but if you’re heading that way now, we might bump into each other, as we’re heading that way too, right now!!!