This is a cool hut we found on a mountain in Wanaka. I think it’s called the Bob Lee Hut. We were up here shooting a segment for the video you see above… one amazing thing about NZ is that there are about 1,000 of these huts scattered all over New Zealand and they’re all free or at least a very low price! I think this one was $30. Yeah, people just bring their own sleeping back and snacks and camp out inside. I think this one slept about 12, but there were only three of us this night. Everyone is also very good at cleaning up after themselves… I’ve never seen a mess left behind.

Free Camping in New Zealand

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2018-03-05 22:25:26
• CameraILCE-7RM3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time25
• Aperture
• ISO200
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

This is one of my favorite sunset situations… pastel pink clouds on top of a pastel blue sky. When I see this, it reminds me that I need to get over the hill more often to Wanaka. It’s only an hour away, so I really have no excuse!

Sunset in Wanaka

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2016-05-14 03:39:30
• CameraILCE-7RM2
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1.6
• Aperture11
• ISO50
• Focal Length14.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias

Here’s that little island that sits in the middle of Lake Wanaka. From the shore, it looks like a little perfect fairy island… a perfect little secret island to go have some adventures on. It also looks like you could swim out to it, except you’d defo die from hypothermia in transit. I think people are always surprised when they visit the South Island at how cold the water actually is. Some people are really into swimming in cold water, but I think those people might be kinda crazy.

There’s another quirky thing about New Zealand (this might be the case in Aussie as well). Anyway, you know that “heart” shape that we use to describe the shape that is, well, a heart? Well the Kiwis call it a “love heart” shape. I think that’s kind of a nice quirky thing about it… now my little girls say that, and sometimes even with a Kiwi accent!

Love Heart Island

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2018-05-12 14:11:30
• CameraFC6310
• Camera MakeDJI
• Exposure Time1/160
• Aperture4.5
• ISO100
• Focal Length8.8 mm
• FlashNo flash function
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias

Here’s one of my latest iterations of the tree. I used one of our Lightroom Presets for this one in particular. Thanks again to everyone out there that has been enjoying these presets… been working on a few more, but none quite ready for release yet!

That Tree in Warm Light

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-04-02 14:57:57
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time6
• Aperture8
• ISO250
• Focal Length10.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramAperture-priority AE
• Exposure Bias-0.3

I was driving home from a photo event from over the hill in Wanaka and I got to the edge of the crown range and saw this. So beautiful! The Aurora Australis is just incredible. In fact, when I got home, we got the whole family out on the deck on bean bags to watch it wash over us. So pretty and mesmerizing!

Aurora Over the Valley

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-04-11 17:46:54
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time15
• Aperture
• ISO1000
• Focal Length
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Well, I ascended it by air, which was much more civilized. I am so impressed by these mountain climbers that do it for real. Those are real dudes for sure… There’re a lot of mountains here in New Zealand that are huge destinations for serious mountain climbers. I understand there are a few extra challenges here because of the ice, snow, and glaciers… I know people die all the time trying to climb Mount Cook, which is not too far away from this one… those guys have some balls! (and some frozen ones!)

Ascending Mount Aspiring

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-08-28 17:30:55
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/640
• Aperture6.3
• ISO800
• Focal Length240.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

I’m never disappointed when I make the hour-long drive over the hill to Wanaka! It’s beautiful over there… when I took this photo, it was a particularly crazy day because I had an amazing heli ride with Aspiring Helicopters. We went up into the snowy southern alps and had a beautiful landing at this secret snowy cabin where we had wine, cheese, and crackers. This is the view of the cabin as we flew away…

Back to Wanaka

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-08-28 17:42:11
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture5
• ISO1000
• Focal Length58.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

The flight into Queenstown is maybe one of the most beautiful flights in the world. This is the Crown Range here, and you can’t quite see it, but there is a road there that connects Wanaka and Queenstown. It’s actually the highest road in New Zealand! It gets A LITTLE icy sometimes in the winter, and they often close it down… but when it’s open, the view there is as pretty as the view from this plane window!

Flying home between Wanaka and Queenstown

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-06-06 16:49:23
• CameraDSC-RX100M3
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/320
• Aperture4
• ISO125
• Focal Length12.1 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias-0.7

I had an incredible day up with Aspiring Helicopters right before my trip to the USA. We first went up to an amazing cabin way up in the mountains for a wine and cheese party, then we took off again to circle around this mountain at sunset. It was like a dream! I put on my earphones underneath my heli-big-boy-earphones and listened to all kinds of strange music as we flew around. It was very dreamy!

Incredible Mount Aspiring

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-08-28 17:49:34
• CameraILCE-7R
• Camera MakeSony
• Exposure Time1/400
• Aperture6.3
• ISO1250
• Focal Length24.0 mm
• FlashOff, Did not fire
• Exposure ProgramManual
• Exposure Bias

Here’s another photo from my amazing day up with Mount Aspiring Helicopters when we went to go visit their little chalet where you can overnight. What a romantic place! This is the view of the backside, away from Mt. Aspiring. I took this right before we re-boarded to the heli to take us on a loop around the mighty mountain before flying back to Wanaka.

Exploring the Mount Aspiring Area

Photo Information

---

• Date Taken2015-07-29 17:35:57
• CameraONE
• Camera MakeDxO
• Exposure Time1/250
• Aperture2.8
• ISO100
• Focal Length11.9 mm
• FlashNo Flash
• Exposure ProgramProgram AE
• Exposure Bias