How to Photograph Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, New Zealand

A dramatic sky over snow capped mountains above Lake Wakatipu near Queenstown, New Zealand.

I’m planning to return for what will be my third trip to the South Island of New Zealand in May 2018. This time I’m planning my trip around photographing the autumn colors.

New Zealand is a wonderful place that’s bursting with opportunities for the enthusiastic landscape photographer.

The Huge And Mournful Lake Wakatipu

The above photo was made under quite bleak light on the shores of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand.

The photo was made near the end of a walk I’d done along the shores of the lake, prior to diverting inland and, eventually, returning to the car.

The light was inky blue, providing a warning of the storm that was to follow.

 
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How To Successfully Depict a Scenic Location

It’s a simple picture: rocks, shoreline, lake, distant mountains and cloud filled sky.

I hope the image expresses the quiet, sombre mood of the location. It’s a place where one feels very close to nature.

But with a length of 80 kilometers and a mean depth of 230 meters this picture hardly tells the whole story of this very impressive natural feature.

Magnificent view over Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, New Zealand

Be On The Look for Alternate Viewpoints

The lake is so big that it can be photographed from many different vantage points.

The relatively low angle from which the photo at the top of this post was made is very different to the birds eye viewpoint provided by this photo of the lake made from a high vantage point in the town of Queenstown.

Reward Yourself By Experiencing Our Natural World

Most folks that fly into Queenstown probably do so for the snow and other action sports for which the town is renown.

I’d suggest that, whatever your reason for visiting, please make the effort to hike around the foreshore to enjoy this peaceful and most serene location.

I can’t wait till my return trip in May next year.

Glenn Guy, Travel Photography Guru