Wait for it
good things take time, great things longer. I've been 20 years in New Zealand & have longed to see Mt Cook reflected in the stillness of Lake Matheson....
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good things take time, great things longer. I've been 20 years in New Zealand & have longed to see Mt Cook reflected in the stillness of Lake Matheson.
When I finally got there this morning with a bunch of photographer mates, I-we was-were rewarded fully
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When I finally got there this morning with a bunch of photographer mates, I-we was-were rewarded fully
Read less
Nov, 2015Views
3086
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Awards
Contest Finalist in The Beauty Of Lakes And Rivers Photo Contest
Featured
Canon EOS 60D
Contest Finalist in Discover Oceania Photo Contest
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Genius
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Elaine55
February 10, 2016
So beautiful, you have some stunning images. New Zealand is a beautiful place.
chrispegman
April 03, 2016
thank you soo much @Elaine55.Yes NZ is a truly beautiful and so varied place :o)
fernridge
May 02, 2016
totally beautiful photo - well worth the wait ... one day I'll get to that Lake!
chrispegman
May 13, 2016
thank you fernridge!I hope you too get to it, it is beautiful in the right conditions
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I first fleetingly visited this lake (with very young children) soon after emigrating to the South Island of New Zealand. We relocated to the North Island what seems like the next month. There I gave my time & energies to being a family man and to my career. 20 years later and after recent hardship, I found myself finally on back location, and in perfect conditions to shoot this small panorama. So, the exact location is South Westland, on the West Coast of New Zealand. I'd only been photographing 18 months and this was my first ever photo holiday. One in the group had selected all of us as a bunch who would get on well: we had a ball, & took some great images too!Time
the 'local' in our group knew we had to get on location early to catch the reflection. We woke (just shortly after going to sleep following astrophotography the previous night!) early enough to be taking the lovely walk round Lake Matheson as the black of night was slowly slipping away. We were onsite at 'Reflection Island' for several hours and had opportunity to try many different angles. As the sun slowly started kissing the mist and the tops of the mountains, I took this very low with tripod arms fully flat on the jetty's edge.Lighting
with the darkness was slowly fading, it was a patient wait in itself for the light to arrive that painted bold into the mountains & mist: as ever it's often a short time for the golden light that we seek - you have to be there & be ready for it.Equipment
I do a lot of panoramic astrophotography & here I used my go to night setup: my trusty Canon 6D & Samyang 24mm prime combo. To avoid parallax I sit this on an RRS nodal slider, which attaches onto a sturdy Sirui K-40 head. My tripod is a Sirui W-2204 - it's waterproof, but stayed on dry land this time! Thanks to the Lee Filters 'Little Stopper' I was able to hold the shutter open for 2 second exposures enabling me to bring out both colour and give the water a real glassy finishInspiration
I must have first seen this image looking at all the NZ travel brochures & guides whilst still growing up in the UK. Now I was finally onsite looking at this 'classic' view with my friends. I don't enjoy copying what has already been well taken, so as is my penchant, I tilted my wide angle lens to portrait & shot several images. I have a version of this image at over 180 degrees wide - on this occasion however ultra wide did not work so good. Instead I settled on a pano of just 3 images cropped.Editing
I often post process using Photoshop & lunosity masks. In this instance however, much of this image's character was achieved in the Lightroom HSL module. Firstly the image gained beef using the new 'dehaze' tool, finishing with additional spot brush work for highlights and contrast correction. I had shot 3 images, intending to combine them, I was however able to lift the shadows successfully from the single exposure: I believe the simpler the processing the better your chance of a good looking imageIn my camera bag
I'm an astrophotographer, so I always carry two torches - one to get there, & dim red LED for night work! A 'Dew Not' heating collar & battery is essential on cold nights to stop fogging. I always have metal spikes for my tripod, but I haven't got round to fitting them permanently ... just in case I forget when I'm going through customs before getting on a plane to another adventure! A cleaning cloth & spray comes in handy too, so that's always in the kit bag. A cellphone so you can use the many apps that are a boon for night photography. Spare SC cards, spare batteries - so I don't get all the way to the site only to fail here. Hmmmm, I normally have a heavy bag then, but invariably it all gets used in the process of getting the job done.Feedback
I wept for the hoards of tourists heading to the location we had just departed from - they got breakfast, we got the shot - by the time we were leaving, the wind was up & the power of the reflection was gone, so too was that glorious first light ... and even the mist. So my advice for anyone trying for something like this is obviously get on site REAL early. One of my good friends who has helped me get where I am said to me to arrive on site at least a half hour before you click your first shot. Sometimes this means a reccy beforehand a day or so before. Occasionally I will tent overnight to view the site before dusk, then capture what I want to in the morning. Prepare well, note the moonphases & position of the Milky Way if it's a night shot, tide phases if you're at the shoreline, try and avoid full daytime unless you really want that effect.
