Twilight, Lake Hayes, New Zealand
Tree branches at twilight reflected in Lake Hayes, New Zealand.
Lake Hayes is a pristine, picture postcard location on the road between Queenstown and Arrowtown in New Zealand.
New Zealand is a beautiful country. It’s an adventure playground with loads of fantastic locations for landscape photography.
I’ve visited New Zealand’s South Island on three occasions, two of which included a photo session at Lake Hayes.
It’s such a beautiful place and I’ve often dreamed of building a holiday house, into the hillside, near the shores of Lake Hayes.
I envisage a grass roofed hobbit hole with a big, round, red door. Perhaps one day you’ll join me there for second breakfast.
Quiet And Stillness On Lake Hayes
I made the photo of tree branches and their reflections on the surface of Lake Hayes under the cool, blue colored light of fading twilight.
The melancholy mood associated with bluish light was well suited to the quiet, contemplative stillness I experienced at the time.
The photo is not so much about tree branches and water, but about mood and composition.
Color and line are key elements in composition and I was careful to position the camera so that the lines of the overhanging branches joined with reflections on the surface of the lake.
Here’s a post I wrote titled The Power Of Lines In Composition that will help you improve the composition of your photos.
But photos can also suggest things other than what’s directly referred within the bounds of the photographing frame.
I’ve long been interested in the concept of as above, so below and that concept was in my mind while making this photo.
The first time I visited New Zealand was way back in the days of film while I was working at Kodak (Australasia) Pty. Ltd.
My second trip was with a friend who traveled to Queenstown for a convention. I tagged along, took him on a few excursions and found sometime for my own photography explorations.
It was on that trip that I discovered the beauty of Lake Hayes and the charm of nearby Arrowtown.
On my most recent trip I traveled alone which meant I was able to dedicate the entire trip to photography, which is why I prefer to travel on my own.
I also prefer to travel on my own as it increases the likelihood of interaction with folks you meet along the way. I love meeting interesting people and making new friends.
Spectacular Lake Hayes on a sunny day near Queenstown, New Zealand.
Lake Hayes - Spectacular Picture Postcard
Next time I visit New Zealand I'm looking forward to hiking around Lake Hayes and photographing it from a range of different angles.
It’s such a sublime location and just a short drive from Queenstown’s international airport.
This overview of Lake Hayes, made on a beautiful clear day is my favorite. From a picture postcard point of view it’s perfect.
It’s not as intimate or as emotive as some of the other images in this post.
Rather, it’s the kind of photo that helps to describe the geography around Lake Hayes and the experience of visiting the location.
About to Travel?
How To Explore Lake Hayes
It’s an 8 km circuit walk around Lake Hayes, which is said to take two to three hours to complete. If you’re a keen photographer you might want to allow a few hours longer.
The trail offers fabulous mountain views and lake vistas. Part of the trail includes a boardwalk which has been installed to protect local wildlife.
As an added bonus your perambulations will take you quite close to historic cottages and some beautiful modern homes.
A pair of ducks on Lake Hayes near Arrowtown, New Zealand.
Photograph Lake Hayes From Your Perspective
As far as your photography is concerned it’s with noting that different photos serve different purposes.
Therefore, it makes sense to ensure you explore a range of viewpoints and approaches to the sites your visit on your own photography adventures.
Here’s some suggestions for how you might go about making the most of any particular photo opportunity.
Explore a worms eye point of view.
Explore a birds eye point of view.
Try different focal lengths and camera to subject distances.
Play with your camera’s white balance settings.
Experiment with the point of focus and/or depth of field.
Try a black and white (i.e., monochromatic) rendering.
Play with space and depth through the inclusion of interesting foreground, mid ground and background elements into the frame.
In the case of the image at the top of this post I was fascinated by the relationship between the tree branches and their reflection on the surface of Lake Hayes.
I experimented with the look of the photo by making several images with subtle changes to the point of focus and the depth of field.
The variations I ended up with allowed me to create images with the following key difference:
The tree branches were in focus, as you see above.
Only the reflections were in focus.
The whole image was in focus.
At the end of the day the image where the tree branches were rendered in focus and the rest of the image was slightly soft and mysterious produced the strongest mood.
It’s a simple image and a good example of the approach that underpins much of my photography: making something out of nothing.
Are You Ready To Photograph Lake Hayes?
Lake Hayes or Antarctica, I Can Help
If you ever find yourself in or around Queenstown, New Zealand I recommend you visit the sublime Lake Hayes. If the weather’s good, and you have the time, a hike around the lake would be incredible.
New Zealand is an amazing country with great people. It’s safe, clean and offers the landscape photographer abundant natural beauty.
But an inability to make beautiful, life affirming photos at places like Lake Hayes will prevent you from adequately documenting your travel experience.
I specialize in helping people overcome the difficulties they have using their camera so that making photos becomes a comfortable experience you can approach with confidence.
It’s only then that you can free yourself from the restraints of being a snap shooter and begin to realize your own, unique creative potential.
You see, more often than not, it’s not so much what you photograph, but how and why you go about your photography that’s important.
After all my photo of tree branches at Lake Hayes could have been made almost anywhere. Could it not?
If you’d like help along your own, unique creative journey feel free to contact me directly.
