Misty Road to Milford
The road to Milford Sound in New Zealand winds through mountains carved out by glaciers. As one of the rainiest places on Earth, it was no surprise on this day ...
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The road to Milford Sound in New Zealand winds through mountains carved out by glaciers. As one of the rainiest places on Earth, it was no surprise on this day to have a fine mist falling, creating waterfalls hundreds of feet tall.
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May, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the way to Milford Sound on the south island of New Zealand. I was down there mainly to mountain bike but I had a free day so I decided to go see one of New Zealand's many wonders.Time
This photo was taken about mid-morning. When I had left Queenstown, it was sunny and beautiful but by the time I had reached this point in the journey, it had been raining for some time. Even though Milford Sound is one of the rainiest places on Earth, I was still a little bummed about the weather because I had always seen these beautiful bright pictures of this area. However, the rain created some huge waterfalls you see streaming down the glacially carved walls, and the clouds hanging on the peaks created a very moody scene.Lighting
I didn't really have much control over the lighting in this particular situation, as I was just shooting this landscape from the side of the road. However, it was just one of those lucky moments where the lighting worked out well for me. Despite the rain and clouds, it was late enough in the morning that the scene was bright enough to shoot handheld.Equipment
This was shot on a Panasonic Lumix LX7 point and shoot. Since I was in NZ to mountain bike, I was travelling only with my light camera setup. This was a handheld shot with no extra equipment. Technical Details for those interested: 4.7mm equivalent || f/2.8 || 1/1250s || ISO80Inspiration
This viewpoint on the side of the road was definitely a treat on the way to Milford Sound. After passing through the longest tunnel I have ever been through, you emerge upon this amazing landscape. It was beautiful to be able to see the winding path the glaciers had carved away through this rock. Everything in New Zealand's landscape is absolutely stunning but I often felt like I couldn't properly capture the grand scale of it all. However, with the forest and the road following that same glacially carved path, it gave a great reference point for how big these walls, and the waterfalls that were flowing down them, truly are.Editing
Post-processing on this photo was minimal. I really like my shots to be true to the eye and convey the same scene that I personally witnessed. This shot was converted to black and white to really highlight the detail and texture in the clouds, on the canyon walls, and the forest below, especially since the colors were already muted due to the stormy weather. Other than that, the forest and walls were sharpened to highlight further their textures.In my camera bag
When I'm going out travelling or shooting with a specific purpose, I typically carry a Nikon D5100 with my go-to landscape lens, a Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5, and a tripod. I will also pack my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 and Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 if the situation calls for it. However, if I'm on a trip where I'm running around a bunch, want to travel lightly, or am doing something where my gear could potentially take a beating like mountain biking or backcountry snowboarding, I will usually just pack my Panasonic Lumix LX7 (which this photo was taken on) and my GoPro Hero4Black. Its amazing what smaller cameras can do nowadays and the ability to shoot in RAW on a small camera opens the door to travelling lighter with less limitations.Feedback
When you're travelling and taking photos, try not to focus on the things you can't control like the weather. Before this shot, I was pretty down that it was wet out and was thinking that the 8 hours of driving for the day were going to be a waste. However, the wet weather opened up a completely different set of shots of towering waterfalls that wouldn't have been possible on a sunny day. So don't worry about things out of your control and focus on making the most of your experience and be willing to capture something unique.
