My parents were here recently. I hadn’t seen them for 2 years so for their effort in travelling all the way from London I treated them to a trip to New Zealand, a place they’d always wanted to visit. As I hadn’t been to the North Island yet I thought that would make a nice little adventure for all of us, and after a brief poll of the Kiwis in the office (and a web search for good photo locations!) I decided to head to Lake Taupo.

Lake Taupo derives its name from a Maori phrase meaning “the great cloak of Tia”, a fitting description for the largest lake in New Zealand (it’s the size of Singapore!) and a major destination for trout fishermen everywhere.

Our accommodation would be the Clarion Sacred Waters, a set of luxury apartments right on the lake shore with panoramic views from your private hot tub on the outdoor deck. Imagine how “surprisingly convenient” that location was for checking sunrise/sunset conditions. Great planning eh?!

Unfortunately one thing I couldn’t plan was the weather. Day one was grey and damp but do you know what? In my opinion that actually adds more emotion to the dramatic landscapes of New Zealand than sunshine. Come sunset I could see from the deck that the clouds were looking interesting so a few steps later I was on the shore where I took the intro shot and the one below. Both were long exposures and made use of my Lee soft grad ND filters:

So on to the other highlights of the trip. Huka Falls and Craters Of The Moon were nearby attractions, and about an hours drive away is Tongariro National Park which, during the winter, is New Zealand’s largest commercial ski field. Bet you didn’t know that, did you? However we were there in spring and there was a definite lack of snow, but the gorgeous Chateau Tongariro in the foothills of Mt Ruapehu didn’t look any less majestic. And neither did Tawhai Falls, a delightful hidden waterfall just 20 mins along one of the park’s many trails:

We also spent a day at Rotarua which really is the home of thermal springs. It’s a great place to visit, but to stay there longer they’d need to do something about the smell!

Sunrise is getting ridiculously early these days. Too early even for me.

That’s a shame because I love getting down to the beach pre-dawn. For a lot of people setting the alarm for 5.30am to go and exercise is ok, but setting it that early to take photos has a touch of insanity to it, and dragging yourself out of a warm bed to head out into the chilly darkness doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either. Add the fact that you’re never guaranteed a spectacular sunrise and it’s quite reasonable to wonder whether I’m just extremely bored or an insomniac. However, the sky is now getting light from 5am, which is pushing my limits given that I don’t sleep until after midnight. So when is daylight savings kicking in?!

Once that comes around I’m sure I’ll resume my pre-dawn ritual. I actually like the lottery of heading out into the dark and guessing the best location to set up my tripod when I can’t even see if there are any clouds, let alone guess whether the next 30 minutes will bring my holy grail – a blanket of glowing pink covering the beach and the sea.

However, even if that doesn’t happen it’s still worth hanging around until the sun rises. By that time Bondi Beach is a hive of activity; the runners are pounding the promenade, the boot campers are doing their push ups, and the surfers are sitting out at the back waiting for their perfect break.

I love this town.

This is it. Taken in 2004 with a humble Sony Ericsson mobile phone late one afternoon on the French Alps, this is the breathtaking view that inspired me to explore the world of photography in the hope that I might find and capture equally incredible image

We were the last group allowed to take the chairlifts to the top of the mountain. When we disembarked, we turned to face the run back down to the village and this is what we saw. The late sun was descending while a torrent of cloud swirled around the mountains. It was nature at its most exhilarating. The rest of my group saw this as a sign to descend as quickly as possible and set off immediately. But I knew this was a sight I might never experience again, so I pulled out my mobile phone, took the shot, and had one final look before donning my goggles and making my way down through the cloud. It was a moment I’ll never forget.