“A Song Of Ice and Fire” (New Zealand South Island, Mt Cook Region) - Hooker Lake is a glacier fed lake in Mt Cook National Park.  The icebergs are created following a carving event off the main glacier.  These icebergs then float down the lake and eventually melt or flow over the outlet stream.  The scene is therefore quite dynamic and the beauty of this is that no 2 visits to this location will ever produce the same shot as the icebergs come and go and produce varying shapes and sizes in different parts of the lake.

“Golden Pukaki” (New Zealand South Island, Mackenzie District) - The golden autumn colours were truly wonderful along the shoreline of Lake Pukaki near Mt Cook National Park. This image was taken a couple of hours after an intense storm swept through the area - the remnants of this storm can still be seen in the background, cloaking Mt Cook entirely!

“Stuck in the Mud” (New Zealand South Island, Otago Region) - Looks like it has been there for a while!  Not your typical New Zealand scene however I loved this old truck / barn combination.   I stayed the last 2 nights of my New Zealand trip at the Mt Earnslaw Motel in Glenorchy.  The friendly owner knew that my focus was photography and it turns out she was a keen photographer too and was happy to share this secret location with me.  It actually took me a while to come up with this composition - I spent a long time trying to capture a scene from the other side of the truck however just could not make it work without the old barn providing the prefect backdrop. 

“Miner’s Cottage” (New Zealand South Island, Arrowtown) - Arrowtown is a charming old world village with heaps of interesting buildings nestled in the perfect autumn setting.   This derelict miner’s cottage however had the best location of all, being surrounded by towering trees covered in the fantastic yellow tones of the season!

“Nugget Point Dreaming” (New Zealand South Island, Southland Region) - When I first woke up and looked outside I considered staying in bed as the sky appeared to be completely covered in cloud.  I only had 1 day here so I dragged myself out hoping for something to appear out of nowhere.  As I walked the short track to this viewpoint in the dark, a small gap appeared on the horizon and it just so happened that this was exactly where the sun was going to rise!

“Autumn Ablaze” (New Zealand South Island, Mackenzie District) – Autumn was in full colour in the areas surrounding Twizel when I visited in late April.  This image was one of the few "blue sky" shots that I took on the NZ trip - I just had to stop however and capture these golden colours surrounding the beautiful reflecting pond!

“Glacial Ice” (New Zealand South Island, Mt Cook National Park, Canterbury Region) – An amazing view from Tasman Lake in Mt Cook National Park.  It was about - 3.0 degrees C when this image was taken however the adrenaline generated from witnessing the first light of the day hitting the majestic peaks was more than enough to keep me warm!

“Dynamic Motukiekie Beach” (New Zealand South Island, Westland) - This spot is only accessible at low tide and even then the swell regularly washes over the scene.  This regular water movement however provides another layer to the seastack / starfish combination that the area is famous for!  The above image was taken well after the sun had set, providing a wonderful atmosphere including the sea mist in the background.  My legs were soaked from the numerous swells and on the walk back down the beach it started to rain.  This just added to the adventure at a remarkable location!

“The Stars Are Out” (New Zealand South Island, Westland) - Motukiekie is one of the most awe inspiring coastal areas that I have ever visited, with the imposing seastacks only surpassed by the incredible star fish colony!  The trick to this location is the tide.  The guide books state that it it ain't low you can't go and they are not kidding.  This area of the beach is quite flat so the 3 metre tide variations make a huge difference to access.  The starfish colony here is only really accessible for 30 minutes or so either side of low tide, and even on a very low tide I still had to contend with some swells that swept over the entire area of rocks, threatening to knock me over with them!  This made for a dramatic and rewarding shoot.

“Elemental Waters Hooker Lake” (New Zealand South Island, Mt Cook Region) – This was the last image that I took on an unforgettable evening shoot at Hooker Lake, Mt Cook.  I had the pleasure of Christian Klepp’s company on this evening, a very talented German photography based in Hamburg who I had previously bumped into at Tasman Lake.   Both of us were pretty stoked to get this wonderful pink light over Mt Cook as the sun set!