On our first morning in Queenstown NZ we met our guide at 5AM for a short drive to a place called Skippers Canyon. An overlook there gave a nice view of the valley, the surrounding mountains and the farms below.

This morning was relatively drama free. We got in place early and I set up to shoot the sunrise and then had some time to relax and just take in the place.

It was clear and a little chilly. It was very quiet with no one on the road near by and no airplane or other noises of civilization. It was peaceful.

Even as the sun came up I didn't feel rushed as sometimes happens. We were in a great location and had a composition I liked locked in. I just relaxed and waited for the right moment to take my photo.

As the sun peeked over the mountains in the distance we had strong light rays past the hills and over the valley. I knew that if I took the image at just the right time I'd also get a nice sun star from diffraction caused by the sun crossing the sharp edge of the mountain.

Sure enough, it worked and here's the proof.

After shooting the sunrise photo I wanted there were lots of other photos to take. It's nice to have the shot you really want taken care of so you can experiment at your leisure afterward. On this morning it resulted in a nice flow of activity with plenty of time to reflect on where we where and what that experience was like.

In the evening of the fist day we visited a beach location on Lake Wakatipu for a sunset photograph.

The sky was clear and without clouds which is not ideal for photography but by making use of rocks in the foreground and the golden hour light I was able to capture some nice images.

On our second morning in Queenstown New Zealand, Marla and I met our guide at 4:30 AM. We jumped into the Land Cruiser and scrambled up the highway to get in place well before sunrise. We intended to have time to become accustomed to the location, and to set up our cameras to capture the compositions we scoped out in a leisurely fashion.

Unfortunately I was having problems with my tripod that morning. Sand from an earlier shoot had worked into the twist releases used to extend and lock the legs into place. I struggled with it for minutes while the sun started to come up. I was getting desperate.

When the sun is rising and your tripod is not working properly time seems to speed up dramatically. It seemed like the light was changing so fast I was going to miss the best shots.

I managed to get the bottom legs of my tripod extended and extended the middle column all the way up. It held the camera but wasn't very stable.

I set the timer to capture the first image and took my hands away from the camera. As the first shot was being taken I turned away momentarily to see what was going on in the sky behind us.

I heard a strangled "Chris!" from our guide and turned around to see my camera, lens and tripod in the act of tipping over towards the cliff above the lake. I tried to grab it and missed by millimeters (they use metric in New Zealand). The whole thing crashed noisily to the rocks.

Amazingly it didn't slide off the cliff and no harm was done to the camera or the lens (Canon cameras are built like tanks). It did chip the polarizing filter I had on the lens but that seemed a small sacrifice to avert a costly disaster.

I hurried to set back up, fighting with the tripod to get it into a more stable configuration just in time to shoot this panoramic.

This is looking north from Bennett's Bluff over Lake Wakatipu between Queenstown and Glenorchy on New Zealand's South Island. You can see Pig Island and Pigeon Island in the center of the lake. The mountains behind are the Southern Alps of Fiordland National Park.

Once this and some subsequent photos were taken I and Marla were able to relax and watch the sunrise over this beautiful, silent, empty place that locals call Middle Earth. I felt tremendously privileged to be there to witness it.

On the third day of our photography expedition to New Zealand’s South Island, we had an opportunity to take a helicopter up into the mountains of Fiordland National Park.

In New Zealand the national parks are managed like we manage wilderness areas in the US. That is, no development, no roads, no motorized access. The mountains of Fiordland would have been completely inaccessible to us. They are to almost everyone. Only very experienced back packers hiking for days or even weeks could reach these places. However, a few companies are allowed a limited amount of helicopter access.

We were fortunate that our tour guide was able to arrange a flight for us and even more fortunate that the weather cooperated long enough for us to get in.

The flight was amazing. We flew to four different locations over, around and through some of the most rugged country in the world.

Our pilot, a very experienced search and rescue pilot who works half the year in Fiordland and half the year in Antarctica, was able to land in places that I couldn’t see how you could possibly set down. It was freaky but we had tremendous confidence in our pilot's exceptional skill.

I posted some video below from the flight you can check out. It's great but it doesn't do justice to the experience of being there.

Anyway, I felt very fortunate to be able to go into this amazing place and take photographs. As a landscape photographer the chance to capture truly unique images of locations that no one has photographed before is a vanishingly rare and valuable opportunity. I made the most of it.

In this photograph I found one of the best compositions I have ever shot. The large boulder in the foreground, speckled with bright orange colors, anchors the frame. From there, the ridgeline zigs and zags, drawing the eye up through the midground into the background to the peak itself (the main subject). The peak just happens to have a small wisp of cloud passing across, creating depth and highlighting the peak without obscuring it. The peak is framed by more distant peaks on either side providing a sense of symmetry. Storm clouds behind provide a textured background highlighting the subject.

On our third morning on the South Island in New Zealand our guide met us very early before dawn. We drove from our hotel inland at Te Anau to Milford Sound on the East coast of the island.

All I remember from the drive is occasionally waking from a snooze and seeing thick forest flashing by in the car headlights. It was pitch black and nothing to see so I mostly slept.

When we arrived at Milford Sound our guide dropped us off at a trail head. We hiked up the trail while he parked the car some distance off.

It was a quiet and dark walk through the forest towards the Sound. At first I used my cell phone flash light but as the moon had risen I soon found I didn't need it.

Eventually we found the tidal flats. We walked out to where the sea lapped against the gravel of the flats and prepared for sunrise.

As you have seen, sometimes sunrise photography gets hectic. The rises inexorably and the light changes fast. You have to be on your game to catch the perfect light when it appears.

This morning however, was quiet, slow and peaceful. The location was easy to get to and the best compositions were straightforward. We had all the time in the world. I took this photo well before sunrise. As the sun had yet to rise, the colors are all cool blues. The main light is from the moon lined up over a silhouetted Mitre Peak across the Sound.

It turned out that the light wasn't really great when the sun rose. This turned out to be my favorite from the shoot.

I think the light and the color of the image accurately captures the quiet and peace we experienced on the Sound as we waited for the sun to come up. Another beautiful morning in New Zealand.

Sometimes things workout in ways you least expect. On our last evening in Te Anau on the South Island of New Zealand our guide drove us to a location called Lion's Overlook. From there you could look out over the picturesque farms of Te Anau and beyond the lake to the Kepler Mountains.

The intent was to shoot sunset colors over the mountains and lake. We set up our tripods and trained our cameras on the landscape.

As the sun went down it became clear that the colors were not going to materialize that particular day. The place was pretty but not particularly photogenic without good light and color.

We had resigned ourselves to just relaxing and enjoying the peaceful quiet, nice weather and pleasant conversation. I didn't expect to shoot any images before the remaining light fully extinguished and we left to return to the hotel.

As we were sitting and relaxing I noticed that the last bit of sun had broken through the clouds in just a few places. The resulting sun beams spot lit the farms below. Suddenly I had a great photo opportunity after all.

It's a good thing I had not taken down my camera and tripod. The sun beams only lasted a minute or two but since I had everything ready to go I was able to capture this one image for the evening.

Landscape photography can be an exercise in frustration. Early on the last morning of our South Island excursion our guide took us to a secret location of his for sunrise photogarphy.

Unfortunately, the cloud cover was thick and never did move out. I took some images that are fine but are not particularly memorable.

Even so, it was a beautiful place to be even if the photography conditions where less than ideal. It was a pleasure just being there.

Living in the desert I don't have an opportunity to do much woodland photography. It's kind of a whole other type of landscape photography requiring different skills, different strategies and a different way of looking. I still feel my woodland photography skills are just beginning to mature.

On our last day in New Zealand our guide took us to a location that didn't really work out. It was cloudy and hazy (but not in a good way). On the way back to Queenstown to catch our flight he pulled off the highway at a spot in the deep forest so we could experiment with shooting in the woodland for a few minutes.

The forest was thick and very hard to move around in. Just getting 10 yards from the car was a challenge. We persevered and I found this composition to shoot. It's not a spectacular scene but I think the image is pretty and the colors are verdant. The image leverages different textures in forest's various layers. It evokes a restful feeling for me.

I'd like to have spent more time shooting and exploring there. Unfortunately planes, trains and automobiles were waiting to take us half way around the world to be home again.

I really want to shoot some more of this type of woodland scene. Maybe a trip to the Pacific Northwest is in store.