Another early morning for us. We had to leave Queenstown before sunrise to get to Milford Sound by noon...
Early morning at Lake Te Anau.
The sky was still mostly cloudy as a pair of ducks break through the still lake surface....
Beautiful shoreline at Lake Te Anau
We made a quick 10 mins stop at Mirror Lake along our way to Milford Sound
The water was really still acting as a perfect mirror.... beautifully reflecting every detail of the snow capped mountain
Switched to my 10-22 lens to fully capture the beauty before my eyes. I doubled stacked filters (CPL and graduated ND) so the corners are a bit soft (and cropped)
View from another small rest stop... the last one before Milford Sound. It seems like every rest stop in NZ offers amazing views.
Boats for exploring Milford Sound
Start of our amazing Milford Sound tour... The iconic Mitre Peak on the left and Lion Mountain (Mt. Kimberly) on the right.
Mitre Peak is one of the highest mountains in the world to rise from the ocean floor. Too bad it was covered by clouds today but still the view is stunning.
A better look at Lion Mountain (in the middle). It does look like a crouching lion doesn't it?
I believe this is The Elephant, there is the trunk forming the valley all the way up to the elephant head.
Fairy Falls, we were fortunate enough that it was pouring previously otherwise this waterfall would dry up quickly.
Unfortunately no rains today, but the waterfall is still gorgeous
Heading past the entrance to Milford Sound at Dale Point
I just love the shape of the clouds as it wraps around the mountain peak. Milford Sound was initially overlooked by explorers because the narrow entry here didn't seem to lead to anywhere. You can't see the interior until you get much closer...
For some reason our captain ventured out further than normal and we got the opportunity to meet some new friends :)
At least 4 dolphins joined the tour for a brief moment :)
Seal Rock, only 1 seal today :(
Stirling Falls
I was very... concerned about the camera at this point...
Needless to say, the camera, and me, got pretty soaked... Luckily the camera is fine... I think (and if not, 5D mk II here I come :D)
Me protecting my camera from the water... not sure what good it'd do though :p
Harrison Cove, that's Mount Pemboke in the back behind the clouds
Bowen Falls
Last look back at Milford Sound. All things considered we were extremely lucky on this trip. The road to the sound was closed due to landslide until about 30 mins before we got there. The abundant rain allowed us to experience all the waterfalls at their best and the weather was gorgeous for most of the tour.
Some people hate lens flares, but for some reason I like it in this shot :)
Our resort on the shores of Lake Wanaka. We arrived just before sunset but unfortunately it was too cloudy. This shot was largely inspired by Alex's "Have a Seat" album (http://picasaweb.google.com/antermoia/HaveASeat#)
A pair of paradise ducks. They usually live in pairs and form life long bonds (which is more than what we can say for humans...).
The female duck
The male just behind her...
Getting ready to take off again... running away from me.
Panning bird shots are hard especially in low light...
After dinner I went out for a walk along the shores of Lake Wanaka. After about 10 mins I was basically completely away from any light pollution and was near pitch black... THe weather was extremely cold so it made it difficult to manually focus to infinite (and there wasn't anything to auto focus on). I wonder if that is a shooting star that I captured?
Slightly better focus, you can see the milky way...
The bright star allowed me to autofocus much better. I had to use my 50 f/1.4 at iso 1600 to get quick enough of a shot without any star trails
For people who knows astronomy really well... what is that REALLY bright star? It got really cloudy shortly after this shot and I was too cold to wait around for it to clear up...
