Eloquent Images by Gary Hart
Insight, information, and inspiration for the inquisitive nature photographer
2024 in the Mirror: More Experiences
Evening Glory, Lake Wakatipu, New Zealand
Sony a7R V
Sony 24-105 f/4 G
ISO 50
f/18
15 seconds
I’ll be compiling my favorite 2024 images very soon, but before emphasizing my images, I’m trying to acknowledge the experience that went with their capture. In my previous blog post, I described three especially memorable 2024 photography experiences; today I’ll share two more. This time, instead of specific shoots, I want to celebrate my ability to visit two countries that are as beautiful as they are different, and distant, from one another.
New Zealand
My first experience of New Zealand came in 1995, when, while working for a company that sold a programming language, I traveled to Christchurch to train programmers how to code in our language. I was there in August (winter), staying in the rural countryside outside this beautiful city. My 7-mile run before traveling to meet my class each morning started in darkness and continued through sunrise. So beautiful was my route, I actually started carrying my camera to record it.
I interrupt this blog to bring you a funny story…
Approaching the Christchurch airport terminal to start my long trip home, I encountered a police roadblock. We were told in no uncertain terms to stay in our cars, and it soon became apparent that the parking lot was filling with people fleeing the terminal. This was pre-911, back when airport security measures were more of an afterthought for passengers, so I had no idea of what could be going on. Fire? Gas leak? Kiwi infestation?
My questions were answered when my car was rocked by a loud explosion that launched a swarm of brightly colored clothing that wafted like oversized confetti onto the pavement. Crisis averted, the road and terminal reopened and we all made our way inside. There we learned that a rogue suitcase had been discovered in the terminal; when authorities found no one to claim it, they decided the prudent thing would be to detonate it (because who wouldn’t pass on the opportunity to legally blow something up?). Only then did they learn that nothing nefarious was afoot—and some traveler’s wardrobe had been suddenly and significantly depleted.
I return you now to your regularly scheduled blog post…
After those two weeks, most of which were occupied with work more than sightseeing, I harbored dreams of someday returning to New Zealand, but never found the opportunity. That is, until Don Smith and I got the idea to partner on a New Zealand workshop. After a couple years of research and scouting, Don and I have done at least one, and sometimes two, New Zealand workshops every non-Covid year since 2018. To say I’ve fallen in love with this country would be an understatement—not just for its spectacular scenery, but also for its friendly people, surprisingly delicious food, pristine air and water (and cities!), and mesmerizing night sky.
Our New Zealand trip is always in June or early July—winter Down Under. In addition to avoiding tourists, winter offers the best potential for interesting weather. The potential for harsh conditions of course creates a real wildcard element, but photographers have more pressing priorities than comfort—like good pictures. Difficulties attributed to harsh weather are usually more than made up for by spectacular scenes only possible in the wildest conditions. For each shoot wiped out by rain, snow, or fog, we enjoy multiple shoots significantly enhanced by dramatic light, clouds, and weather phenomena.
For example, the snowy peaks and crimson sunset that blessed the first evening of this year’s New Zealand workshop. In July I shared one image from this sunset, but suffice to say, it wasn’t the only picture I took. (You can view that slightly tighter version in the gallery below.) Today’s image from that evening is similar, but composed wider to include more sky and foreground.
Scenes like this just demand to be composed wide, but I was inhibited by a few obstacles: specifically a railed vista to my right (where many in our group were set up), and a steep slope covered with dense shrubs to my left. After a little searching, I found a spot on the other side of the railing and a few feet down the slope that stayed out of everyone’s frame, kept me above the shrubs, and was as far as possible from the vista.
I couldn’t avoid a couple of nearby tripod legs, which allowed me to go just wide enough to include a small pool in the foreground rock that I noticed was reflecting the sky’s otherworldly color. Fortunately, the tripod legs were simple to remove in Photoshop without altering the scene in any visible way. With the mountain portion of the lake reflection disturbed by gentle undulations, and the reflection on the near shore beneath me even more wind-whipped, I added a Breakthrough 6-Stop Dark Polarizer to smooth the water with a long exposure.
This sunset was only the first of many off the charts scenes this year’s group enjoyed. Rain forests, snow-capped peaks, glaciers, fiords (the New Zealand spelling), glacial lakes, waterfalls—what’s not to love? Here’s a gallery with just a few of the sights we enjoyed this year.
Iceland
When Don Smith and I first considered offering an Iceland workshop, our primary goal was the northern lights. We had no idea that we’d make it an annual thing, and even though the northern lights turned out to be even more breathtaking than we’d imagined, it’s the scenery that keeps us coming back to Iceland. Given our new infatuation with New Zealand, it would be easy to mentally pit the two islands against each other. But much like picking a favorite child, doing so would be both unfair and impossible.
The things I love most about Iceland are also the things that differ most significantly from New Zealand. Though both islands are ribbed with snow-capped peaks, New Zealand’s beauty skews to lush and verdant, while Iceland’s beauty is stark and monochrome.
Iceland is a volcanic island that first emerged from the North Atlantic around 18 million years ago. Countless eruptions since have expanded the island with layers of hard black lava, building mountains that continue growing only slightly faster than the harsh conditions can wear them down. In winter, all that’s green on Iceland has died or been covered with snow and ice, creating a landscape that’s mostly white with black accents (or, in low-snow years, black with white accents).
But it’s the binary color palette of Iceland’s frosty, volcanic terrain that makes its (surprisingly frequent) ephemeral color especially stand out: The northern lights for sure, but also the glacial rivers and streams, sapphire ice caves, and, thanks to a winter sun that never rises higher than 10 degrees above the horizon, two-hour sunrises and sunsets. All this, plus the relentless pounding by violent surf, makes Iceland hands-down the most dramatic landscape I’ve ever photographed.
Check out this small gallery with an assortment of images from my 2024 Iceland visit.
Visiting these two contrasting islands, even once, is a gift. But doing it year-in and year-out has not only enabled me to appreciate their beauty more, my love for the people and their culture grows with each visit.
New Zealand and Iceland Through the Years
Click any image to scroll through the gallery LARGE
Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 
it was a pleasure to share these and many more amazing sites and experiences with you in Ice plans and New Zealand this year! Thank you.
Eliot