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Drama in the Alps

This is another shot from the chopper while flying through New Zealand's southern alps. Not having flown like this before I was a little overwhelmed... okay, I was very overwhelmed. In any case, my normal daily routine typically doesn't include speeding towards jagged mountain ridges in an open helicopter, ascending just over the top only to have the ridge fall away into an impossible chasm. I see it in movies, but in real life it takes getting used to. In other words I was completely freaked out yet exhilarated at the same time. I dealt with my fear by concentrating on capturing as many images as I could which took all of my concentration so that in the end I began to relax a little. I took about a thousand images in four hours and this is one that captures, at least for me, the drama of that trip.

This is another shot from the chopper while flying through New Zealand’s southern alps. Not having flown like this before I was a little overwhelmed… okay, I was very overwhelmed. In any case, my normal daily routine typically doesn’t include speeding towards jagged mountain ridges in an open helicopter, ascending just over the top only to have the ridge fall away into an impossible chasm. I see it in movies, but in real life it takes getting used to. In other words I was completely freaked out yet exhilarated at the same time. I dealt with my fear by concentrating on capturing as many images as I could which took all of my concentration so that in the end I began to relax a little. I took about a thousand images in four hours and this is one that captures, at least for me, the drama of that trip.

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Punctuation

I call this shot

I call this shot “Punctuation” because that’s what it reminded me of. I took this one morning in the hills above Arrowtown New Zealand where we captured the sun rising over the mountains. But it’s always good to look in the other direction because you never know what you might be missing. Funny how we always look at what’s obvious and sometimes miss something else just as sublime in the other direction. In this case, the clouds seemed to punctuate that idea. At least that’s how I saw it.

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Queenstown Gardens Sunrise

This is a little section of town known as Queenstown Gardens. It really is a special place, especially if you can get there in the morning when its quiet and the sun cast long shadows. Of course autumn has a way of painting the landscape vibrant so everything is enhanced for a few short weeks. I felt lucky to be here with so much to see and absorb, probably overload for my brain, but at least with the photos to remind me I can drink it in little sips whenever I want. Ah, New Zealand.
This is a little section of town known as Queenstown Gardens. It really is a special place, especially if you can get there in the morning when its quiet and the sun cast long shadows. Of course autumn has a way of painting the landscape vibrant so everything is enhanced for a few short weeks. I felt lucky to be here with so much to see and absorb, probably overload for my brain, but at least with the photos to remind me I can drink it in little sips whenever I want. Ah, New Zealand.

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Secluded Mountain Lake

This lake is in a secluded spot in a high valley above the Dart River in Otago, New Zealand. Cattle were grazing on grasses amongst the pines as we arrived by chopper early that morning. The startled look on the bovines faces was a little amusing, but once we landed and cut the engines they were happy to resume grazing in their mountain paradise. If I recall the lake is stocked with fish and so not a bad spot to spend a day or two. As it was, we only had ten minutes here before the chopper fired the engines and headed for our next amazing landscape.

This lake is in a secluded spot in a high valley above the Dart River in Otago, New Zealand. Cattle were grazing on grasses amongst the pines as we arrived by chopper early that morning. The startled look on the bovines faces was a little amusing, but once we landed and cut the engines they were happy to resume grazing in their mountain paradise. If I recall the lake is stocked with fish and so not a bad spot to spend a day or two. As it was, we only had ten minutes here before the chopper fired the engines and headed for our next amazing landscape.

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Morning Glow

The glow of the mountain tops as the sun rises over Queenstown. I was on a mountain one morning concentrating on getting everything in focus and I goofed, the background got blurred. I later learned about hyper-focal distance which is a combination of aperture, lens size and distance to ensure everything is in focus. It's a complicated calculation but luckily there is an app for that. On second thought, I like the effect of the blur and I'll work on my hyper-focal distance calculation another day. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.
The glow of the mountain tops as the sun rises over Queenstown. I was on a mountain one morning concentrating on getting everything in focus and I goofed, the background got blurred. I later learned about hyper-focal distance which is a combination of aperture, lens size and distance to ensure everything is in focus. It’s a complicated calculation but luckily there is an app for that. On second thought, I like the effect of the blur and I’ll work on my hyper-focal distance calculation another day. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

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Queenstown Sunrise

Actually this sunrise is from a mountain that overlooks Queenstown. When you get up here before dawn it's pretty chilly but heats up right after the sun rises from behind The Remarkables which you can see here. This is private land but we got permission from the owner to be here. Typically only the mountain sheep and deer are here thus the name Deer Park Heights. I think the quiet and solitude of this place so high up yet so close to civilization was something that left an impression on me, like so many other beautiful things about the country of New Zealand.

Actually this sunrise is from a mountain that overlooks Queenstown. When you get up here before dawn it’s pretty chilly but heats up right after the sun rises from behind The Remarkables which you can see here. This is private land but we got permission from the owner to be here. Typically only the mountain sheep and deer are here thus the name Deer Park Heights. I think the quiet and solitude of this place so high up yet so close to civilization was something that left an impression on me, like so many other beautiful things about the country of New Zealand.

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Glenorchy Reflection

Glenorchy in New Zealand on a brisk morning. Glenorchy is about an hour drive north of Queenstown, is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and is at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu which is a very long lake. This shot is looking towards Mount Earnslaw which is prominent in the area. With all this at every turn I could understand why the people of New Zealand seem to have an outdoors lifestyle. Being surrounded as such they seem generally happy and healthy. Of course it's hard to generalize, but that was the impression I was left with, and I think it's not far off the mark. I had an overwhelming desire to explore every stop we made. I'm pretty sure I'd still be there hiking through the hills and valleys if I stopped at each vista we came across. And who knows, I might even be a little healthier.

Glenorchy in New Zealand on a brisk morning. Glenorchy is about an hour drive north of Queenstown, is surrounded by mountains on all sides, and is at the northern end of Lake Wakatipu which is a very long lake. This shot is looking towards Mount Earnslaw which is prominent in the area. With all this at every turn I could understand why the people of New Zealand seem to have an outdoors lifestyle. Being surrounded as such they seem generally happy and healthy. Of course it’s hard to generalize, but that was the impression I was left with, and I think it’s not far off the mark. I had an overwhelming desire to explore every stop we made. I’m pretty sure I’d still be there hiking through the hills and valleys if I stopped at each vista we came across. And who knows, I might even be a little healthier.

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Sentinel

This is one of the locations we did a hot stop with the chopper. Basically the pilot keeps the engine running, you jump out, compose, shoot, compose, shoot, jump back into the chopper. We were looking for a water shot and there was one near here but with fishermen so we decided against disturbing the peace and landing in this field about a mile away. I immediately gravitated towards this lone tree which seemed to be the sentinel between the regions of the valley. I think to an observer it would have been quite the sight; landing, jumping out, running, shooting and taking off. Yeah, just another day at the office.

This is one of the locations we did a hot stop with the chopper. Basically the pilot keeps the engine running, you jump out, compose, shoot, compose, shoot, jump back into the chopper. We were looking for a water shot and there was one near here but with fishermen so we decided against disturbing the peace and landing in this field about a mile away. I immediately gravitated towards this lone tree which seemed to be the sentinel between the regions of the valley. I think to an observer it would have been quite the sight; landing, jumping out, running, shooting and taking off. Yeah, just another day at the office.

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End of the Rainbow

Can you keep a secret? I think I may have discovered the end of the rainbow. I'll be going back to find the pot of gold, but at least I know where it is. Well, actually I have no idea where this is, other than somewhere in Mount Aspiring National Park close to Mount Earnslaw in New Zealand. Flying through the southern range we experienced microclimates at every elevation and terrain. When we started in the morning up at elevation it was ten or fifteen degrees below freezing (with the helicopter doors off by the way). By the time we got back four hours later it was in the seventies. I was so busy concentrating on my camera settings that I forgot I had this image until last night when browsing through. Anyway, don't tell anyone.

Can you keep a secret? I think I may have discovered the end of the rainbow. I’ll be going back to find the pot of gold, but at least I know where it is. Well, actually I have no idea where this is, other than somewhere in Mount Aspiring National Park close to Mount Earnslaw in New Zealand. Flying through the southern range we experienced microclimates at every elevation and terrain. When we started in the morning up at elevation it was ten or fifteen degrees below freezing (with the helicopter doors off by the way). By the time we got back four hours later it was in the seventies. I was so busy concentrating on my camera settings that I forgot I had this image until last night when browsing through. Anyway, don’t tell anyone.

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