The road to Mount Cook is a great road for sports cars if you are into that sort of thing. My friend Mark, who is really into this stuff, says that the road is perfectly engineered like a race track, so you can really take things to the next level. Not that HE does that or anything… He did tell me a little tip that “his friend” told him… that since it’s a dead-end road, you can go the speed limit from the beginning to the end and then turn back around. If you don’t see any cops, then you can turn around and do it again, going hog-wild!

Road Trip to Mount Cook

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2020-11-08 18:46:50
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture8
• ISO320
• Focal Length42.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias+2

One cool thing about the Mount Cook area is you can kind of walk anywhere, even though most people stick to the many existing trails. It’s a massive area with little rivers that weave this way and that. I usually put on my headphones, listen to some Hans Zimmer, and rove around for a few hours… besides getting a few photos, it’s both relaxing and invigorating.

Hiking Around Mount Cook

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-08-17 15:29:44
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/640
• Aperture6.3
• ISO200
• Focal Length70.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

About four hours away from my home is Aoraki (Mount Cook), and every drive is completely worth it. This was one of the first times I went in the winter and I was not disappointed. It’s almost impossible to get a bad photo there around there! The place reminds me a lot of Antarctica because it is so remote and raw.

On the Way to Aoraki

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-08-19 08:37:25
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture6.3
• ISO125
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

If you’re up near Mount Cook on the South Island of New Zealand and want a cool reflection shot, here’s a tip! There’s a big lodge there and if you start driving on the roads behind it that seem to go nowhere, eventually you’ll find this water treatment area. I know… I know you expected a lake. And, I suppose, it’s sort of a lake, even if it is man-made. Anyway, because it’s so small, there’s a good likelihood of getting a clean shot.

On the Way to Mount Cook

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-08-19 08:35:18
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/8
• Aperture6.3
• ISO125
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

This place near Mount Cook looks like the perfect idyllic clean lake, doesn’t it? Well, it isn’t! A bit more artifice here I suppose… but Stu and I spent the night in our truck right by the waste-water treatment facility! The water was actually quite disgusting, but it was a small enough waste-pond so that the water was nice and still. And, luckily, there was no wind!

Reflections on Reflections

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-08-19 08:39:09
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/100
• Aperture6.3
• ISO125
• Focal Length38.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-1

I made a variety of mistakes this evening. The only success was this photo!

I went here to Mount Cook with my friend Stu (who I happen to be with now in Antarctica). We decided to sleep in the back of the pickup, but it was so horribly uncomfortable that we decided to move to inside the truck halfway through the night. While transferring from the outside to the inside, I took a quick photo of the village here on the edge of this amazing mountain range at Mount Cook.

Making Mistakes at Mount Cook

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-08-18 21:28:53
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time30
• Aperture
• ISO320
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I started a little scene here by accident!

This lavender field is off the side of the road on the way to Mount Cook. It was so beautiful that I had to get out of my car, jump over the fence, and start taking photos. There’s no gate to get in, so no one ever really pulls over. But when someone saw me do it, they did the same thing, and so on, and so on. Before long, this place was covered in people! So funny…

Lavender Fields on the way to Mount Cook

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-01-05 12:38:19
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/60
• Aperture13
• ISO100
• Focal Length55.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

While driving up towards Mount Cook, I finally saw my first endless field of lavender. I’ve seen these before in photos and thought it would be fun to walk amidst them, which I then ended up doing for about an hour. I got all sorts of shots, from the close-in stuff below to wide vistas. I’ll publish some of those soon as well!

Lavender in the Fields

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-01-05 12:36:40
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture2.4
• ISO100
• Focal Length55.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias+2

I took a very nice photo road trip up to the north for a few days recently. I was lucky with the weather, except for the time I decided to sleep outside and got rained on at 3 in the morning. That’s about the worst time to get rained on, btw. I was so confused!

Anyway, there was no rain here, as you can see. If you look into the far distance, however, you can see some moisture beginning to boil over the mountains and coming my direction…

A One-Man Roadtrip

Photo Information

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• Date Taken2014-01-05 14:35:10
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/500
• Aperture8
• ISO100
• Focal Length16.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias