My place, my inspiration… Aoraki/Mount Cook New Zealands highest mountain, at the head of Lake Pukaki in the centre of image… what I would have given to have the cloud base a few thousand feet higher… but then it wouldn’t live up to its name, affectionately known as Cloud Piercer.
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My place, my inspiration… time and place in the landscape create the spirit of Pukaki… or am I feeling the spirit of me?
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On my way… a low setting Sun reflects the aqua coloured glacial silt of Lake Pukaki into the cloud during a southerly storm.
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On my way… and Lake Pukaki reveals another mood.
This image has me asking the question. How many elements make a successful picture?
I count only three, the horizon line, the water depth post and the water and sky are counted as one because they are essentially the same in tone and form.
Surely at least two elements are required to hold our interest in an image… although I remain open to be moved by a single element in a story.
I am drawn to minimal compositions within the landscape. Through our busy lives and even in the natural worlds infinite complexity, simple forms are hard to find.
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On my way… towards the Southern Alps of New Zealand and chasing the fury of a westerly storm.
I recall the highest wind gust recorded in New Zealand, 250 kph at Mount John beside Lake Tekapo (my back door) in 1970.
Today is surely a threat to that record. Standing up, opening and closing a vehicle door was simply life threatening. This is yet another reminder of the wrath of nature and in these moments of fleeting weather and light, I am constantly inspired. The ferocity of the wind makes use of a tripod irrelevant and I look for anything heavier than a man to brace against. The continually changing elements of light, colour and form in a composition is not so much a hindrance, but an opportunity to capture a fraction of infinite possibilities speedily presenting themselves.
Tip: Look at scenes like this through polaroid sunglasses, whether or not you are looking for compositions with a photographic eye you will enjoy the view with much stronger contrast.
A few hours later I return to Lake Tekapo to find out the wind gust record was indeed under threat with gusts of up to 230 kph recorded.