On Location
Tom Mackie gets an eyeful of New Zealand’s mightiest peaks
If you’ve been following along on my journey around New Zealand in previous issues, we’ve explored an Alpine lake, expansive beach and dramatic coastal sea stacks, so it’s only fitting to go high to capture the majestic mountains. Let’s start at the top with the highest mountain in New Zealand, Mt. Cook. I was looking forward to shooting this famous mountain from various locations, so couldn’t resist hiring a helicopter to take me above it to capture some unique angles. As we ascended from the base at sea level, flying above the Westland temperate rainforest then over the turquoise glacier, the temperature suddenly dropped. Within minutes we were circling the snow-covered Mt. Cook. With no door, the temperature quickly dropped below freezing. Even with thin gloves, I could hardly move my hands as they were frozen in a tight grip around the camera. It didn’t take away the excitement of soaring through the sky with an open view of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman, though.
Even though this was so unforgettable, one of my favourite images of this mountain range was from the ground, and it will always be ingrained in my memory for other reasons…
My Australian friend Alistair Wilson and I had just finished capturing the mountains reflecting in Lake Matheson at dawn. We were walking back to the car when we saw some clouds forming below and above the mountain peaks that provided symmetrical framing. The golden morning light was gorgeous, lighting the trees in the foreground against the dark mountains in the mid-ground and, finally, the side-lit peaks. I fitted a Lee landscape polarizer filter to enhance the contrast between the clouds and the deep blue sky. That single cloud straddling the mountain peaks made the shot.
Get to the chopper
Out of the corner of my eye, I was distracted from the scene… I got Al’s attention and asked him to confirm what I was seeing. We stood there stunned as three young ladies stripped down to nothing but thongs. They motioned for us to come over and give them a hand and asked if I could take a picture with their phones – it seems to be a thing for people to have a near-naked photo looking at scenery on their travels. I’ve heard of the naked landscape, but this takes it to a new level!
I couldn’t leave New Zealand without capturing one of the best mountain-top views, Roy’s Peak overlooking Lake Wanaka. With an elevation of 1578 metres, the hike is five miles to the top with a steep one-mile elevation gain and should take three to four hours. As we wanted to capture the sunrise we would have to start hiking at 3am.
With head torches beaming the hike seemed to go on forever, especially carrying a 25-pound backpack…
We were just below the top and thoughts of hiking all this way and missing the peak colour raced through my mind. Every step was a struggle, but I forced myself to the summit. I wasn’t going to let this mountain defeat me! As I crested over the top, I couldn’t believe what I saw once again – a helicopter! Nicely dressed, fresh-faced, smiling people got out of the helicopter and looked over at the photographer gasping for breath. Next time, I’m taking the chopper!
The colour in the sky looked amazing as the clouds turned a fiery red. I quickly set the Nikon D810 mounted with the 24-70mm lens on the tripod. I used the path as a leading line that followed the ridge of the mountain to the lake. I didn’t like the merging peak with the islands, but there wasn’t any way to get higher without the use of a drone or helicopter. I used a Lee 3-stop hard grad filter over the sky to balance the exposure. I felt it was missing an important element so I asked Al to stand in the frame. It was worth the long hike up, but now there was the long hike down…
Every step was a struggle, but I forced myself to the summit. I wasn’t going to let this mountain defeat me!