To the South of New Zealand, is an Island that offers very diverse form of architectures and dramatic landscapes.
With just a 7-8 hours flight away, every visit rewards you with very unique experience for all ages and types of traveler.
My trip to New Zealand had given me plenty of photography opportunities, where it is there I get inspiration for my next album, “The Remarkable Mountains”.
Crafted around a theme, it contains 7 different unique signature images of the mountains I’ve seen.
What’s unique of this series is my attempt to fuse a tinge of poetic commentary to these images.
It carries a sense of what I felt when I was there, with my significant other. Though, the meaning it may carry for you can be completely different.
Let me know your thoughts below, download the album for free and share it out with others!
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Note: The images shown below, are an extract of the album pages directly. To view these images properly, it’s best to just download them and enjoy it.
Also check out: https://graytravelnotes.com/photos/photographing-the-7-colours-of-the-south-new-zealand-album/
Image One – “Admiring Tasman, adoring her”
Getting to the top of a small hill was no easy feat as well. While it’s not a complete mountain hiking, the steep staircase and number of it is something not to belittle on.
Just climbing this alone, should get you a decent amount of exercise needed for the day. I had thoroughly enjoyed the breeze at the top, a feeling of freedom as though of a bird’s flight through the expansive space in the sky.
The clouds moved fast as the strong wind blows. And that was the cue for me to go find my subject.
On my left is where I spot what I think, would be incredibly beautiful… if the harsh sunlight doesn’t come destroying the exposure levels I needed for this image to work.
With some good patience for the right amount of sunlight and the clouds covering its top, I found that moment of my shutter releasing.
There, the first image of this series is created. Because every element, exposures to highlight to shadows, are of a decent amount, there’s very little need to post-process them.
Image Two – “The Long Snowy Journey, but not alone”
Lindis Pass truly lives up to its name. The drive through this route was nothing short of the extraordinary scenes. Watching those rolling hills, cliffs and rock formations created a powerful emotion in me.
I had photograph this area numerous times whenever I drove through it. But it’s only on the last few days when I’m about to head back, that a miracle happened.
It snowed. Only for a day. And it created snowy caps of these rolling hills.
Because it only snowed for a day, there wasn’t enough to cover the entire area in white obviously.
Which allows for this extraordinary scene to unfold right in front of us.
The powerful contrast yet soft, of the snow and the hills is made perfect for an image.
Image Three – “Going with the flow. No matter what comes may.”
Hooker Valley track is one of the most popular tracks located in Mount Cook where every year thousands of people flocked to this area to spend their holidays.
At a 5km stretch, this long trail allows visitors of any age to take their time and stroll through the region that’s filled with incredible scenic views.
It’s along the trail that I found this stream of glacier water flowing through between the mountains, and it caught my attention.
Naturally, the image composition looks interesting with the mountains as the backdrop and the S-curve forming the leading line into the center of the image.
But what I thought was more compelling was the amount of rocks that are littered along the stream, breaking the flow of the water.
At that point of time I realised –
You never truly had full control of your life as things can happen or hinder you. But what you had control of is, for you to move forward and go with the flow or stay put and end it there.
No matter what comes may.
Image Four – “The sun’s getting low, but love never grows old.”
Wanaka, ah it brings back very fond memories. In all the places we stayed, Wanaka was the longest and it made us felt like a part of the community already.
Besides the famous Wanaka Tree, the town offers incredible view of the mountain ranges at their lake.
What I didn’t realise is, the sunset there is so, so incredible and mesmerising.
It was only until we saw a board sign that we realised this is the perfect location to observe one. That evening, I had the tripod and camera readied at the beach and we sat there silently, just feeling everything around us.
The cooling air and quietness are the essence of tranquility and soul healing.
Taking everything in front of you with your life partner, just makes everything all worth it.
As the sun descends, the sky begin to change – turning brighter and more vibrant with colours. Lighting up the peaks of the mountains, it has made for a perfect picture that I couldn’t miss.
It really is an incredible view and many others joined us at the beach to enjoy this beautiful scene.
Image Five – “The heart of your life. The center of the eye.”
Back at the Hooker Valley trail, we too, encountered sunset on our way back. Although without a full view, it was an interesting peek between the mountains where the sun sets itself for the day.
Yes, because we took too many hours to complete it.
I didn’t have much option at where we are and time is of the essence before we lose that explosive colours of the sun.
Given our altitude – which is err, pretty much on the ground – the huge mountains towering our sight before us almost made very little impact for the image composition.
So I decided the best shot at this, is to focus right into the center of it. With a zoom lens, I pushed the limits and managed this shot just like that.
During all this time, my wife stood beside me the whole time, and expressed “wow” to the view.
Right there and then, I realised what this image represents to me.
Image Six – “Till the end of time.”
This image was compelling for me because of its composition and mood. It’s a little stream that we came across, also filled with little rocks, but emerge as a much larger body of water at the end.
It is also taken along the stretch while you’re hiking through the Hooker Valley trail. So you should be able to take this image too.
What you will need is a keen eye for a great composition and the willingness to stop, admire and appreciate what’s around you for a little while.
Sometimes, we move too fast to notice the little details around us. But it’s the details, that had made everything around us this incredible.
Having been living in a city all our lives, we never truly learned to appreciate a good stop.
Stopping along our track to appreciate how clean our streets are, stopping to appreciate how beautiful the architectures are, or even stopping to exchange a smile.
And it’s through journeys like these, you start learning. Appreciating.
Then for me, it’s to stop, turn to my side, and appreciate that there’s someone with me to share these amazing experiences, to share common interests and simply for the fact that I have someone else, someone more important than my own life.
We promised to hold hands together, till the end of time. Remember?
Do you?
Image Seven – “Strength in unity. Hand in hand together.”
Back at the Tasman Glacier Viewpoint, towards the right side stood a continuous mountain range that perfectly aligned themselves to somehow seems like they curved and surrounded this area.
This scene would’ve made for a good panorama shot, but I felt that the massiveness of it was too overwhelming.
As if the mountains were speaking to me, I just knew what the angle and composition I need to bring emphasis on this beautiful natural creation.
The roads below along with the cars, distinctively define our place in this world – How small we are, and how big the world is.
Yet at the same time, to look so stunningly beautiful and gargantuan, they too, have to stand together.
Photographing “The Remarkable Mountains of New Zealand” Series
This series of images I’ve created, illustrates some of the best scenes I’ve seen during my trip.
New Zealand still has plenty more to offer and awaiting travellers or photographers alike, to explore, capture and share these amazing sights for all to see.
This journey was unique for us as it marks the beginning of our taste for adventure and road-tripping in different countries. It widen our views, expanded our perspective and gave us so much more in all of our trips.
And what this all means to me had inspired me to create this album series with the added meaning behind each image.
The images that carry both precious memory and meaning, are what matters in the end for us as we age through time.
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2nd Instalment Photo Album Is Now Available Too!
Thank you all for the continued support and here’s the 2nd instalment to the three part series!
Check out below details to find out more about the album. And yes, it’s also free to download too.
I sincerely hope you enjoy this series, let me know your thoughts in the comments below and share it with your friends if you think it’s cool!
These free content is proudly created and served to the community because of your unyielding support!
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