Archive for the 'Latest' Category

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

New Gallery; Queenstown to Moeraki

Lake Tekapo

I’ve just uploaded a brand new gallery of images taken on a recent roadtrip from Queenstown to Moeraki on the eastern New Zealand coast. The trip was certainly a very colourful one with stunning scenery aplenty. Check out the gallery here.


Sunday, December 18th, 2011

What a wonderful world

Take a minute to watch this new advert for the BBC and appreciate that yes, we do live in a wonderful world. It’s probably worth protecting when you think about it…


Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Everyone should watch this!

When it comes to time-lapse videos I have to say I am a big fan, but this one is truly incredible. Composed from images taken from the International Space Station this video shows stunning night time views of earth, with it’s city lights, lightning storms and aurora clearly visible. It is evident just how populated our wee blue planet has now become.


Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Heliworks Queenstown Helicopters

I recently had the pleasure of flying with Heliworks on a couple of photographic assignments around Queenstown…

Heliworks pilot John Haora took me up in a R44, flying low over Lake Wakatipu and the Kawarau river to photograph the new Hilton resort complex. The key to the shot was getting in just the right position to include the lakefront, river and Remarkables mountain range to show off just how stunning the hotel’s location really is.

Hilton Hotel Queenstown

A group of us then took a tour in a larger Eurocopter Squirrel, piloted by Jason Laing who took us around The Remarkables, Lochy River, Cecil Peak and Earnslaw Burn with some jaw dropping views and mountain top precision landings that were just unbelievable. My hat goes off to Jason who displayed some amazing skills when controlling the chopper, at one point landing right at the top of one peak on a seemingly impossible ledge.

Heliworks The Remarkables

Heliworks Cecil Peak

Mount Earnslaw and it’s glacier was very impressive the last time I visited by foot, but flying directly over the ice and down to the base of the valley was a whole new experience. I loved the hike, but in future I know which mode of transport I’ll be taking!

Heliworks Earnslaw Burn

I cannot recommend Heliworks highly enough to anyone visiting Queenstown, check out their website here: www.heliworks.co.nz and for more images from this set see the Heliworks Facebook page.


Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Iceland’s Grimsvotn Volcano Erupts

I just had to post this stunning video of Iceland’s latest volcanic eruption from the Grimsvotn Volcano. I don’t think nearly as many people would mind the travel disruptions if they only had a chance to witness the thing at close hand. It reminds you of the constant processes at work beneath our feet and the awesome power of mother nature.

While on the subject you should give this video of last year’s eruption a watch. Some really nice camera work accompanied by music from one of my favourite artists Jonsi.


Saturday, May 21st, 2011

Hoi An, Vietnam

I have to say Hoi An was probably one of my favourite spots in Vietnam. It had a perfect mix of old versus new; traditional streets and market stalls, boats flowing up and down the river and clubs on the beach for when you feel like going wild.

A highlight for me was hiring scooters with a few mates and driving out of town to explore the coast. Motorbikes are the favourite mode of transport in Vietnam, you simply can’t avoid them. They’re great fun to drive around too, dodging people, traffic and the odd farm animal while doing your best to avoid some pretty serious pot holes in the road!


Thursday, May 12th, 2011

A word from Sir David Attenborough…

The WWF are celebrating their 50th birthday this year. Here is a poignant reminder of how important conservation is to us and the natural world from Sir David Attenborough. For more information visit wwf.org


Monday, May 9th, 2011

Koh Phi Phi, Thailand

Group on Boat, Koh Phi Phi

So far I’ve only really touched on my travels through Asia on the way to New Zealand. Finally catching up with myself I hope to start posting more images from various places I’ve visited in no particular order. For starters see if you can spot the two Scottish lads in the photo above!

Koh Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi was made world famous in the movie The Beach which featured one of the many stunning beaches found on the island. Tourists flock here to check out the secret beaches and coves, which are now of course not so secret. They still remain some of the most beautiful strips of sand in the world, enclosed by vertical cliffs and tropical rainforest.

A cheeky Macaque

The island is home to the odd troop of Macaques who decend from the forest to be photographed by the tourists and every now and then try and question our position on the evolutionary ladder. One such instance being when I found myself quite suddenly completely surrounded by at least five monkeys, two trying to steal my camera bag, one playing with my lens cap, another my snorkel and the remaining fast approaching for a square go. Luck for me all my fellow humans decided to form a big semi circle to laugh and watch the proceedings. I attempted to shout “please excuse me” in my best monkey voice, which only seemed to anger the little beasts, so resorted to scampering around wildly, grabbing my belongings and horsing it down the beach to safety. Luckily I escaped without any bite marks.

Sunset, Koh Phi Phi
Sunset at sea, Koh Phi Phi


Thursday, May 5th, 2011

Stunning Time Lapse Video

Sometimes still photography simply cannot do a subject justice. Capturing the moment is one thing, but very often the moment is just too long to fit in one frame. No, I’m not about to leap into the world of video just yet, but I would like to share a pretty spectacular short film I found recently. Shot by tesophotography.com with music by Ludovico Einaudi. Watch in full screen!


Sunday, March 20th, 2011

The Rob Roy Glacier

If it wasn’t the name that attracted me here, it was the promise of stunning views of a mountain top glacier and tens of waterfalls which stream from its melting ice.

About an hour’s drive outside Wanaka the Rob Roy Glacier is reached by a pretty breezy hour and a half walk through native Beech forest. The trail ends at the base of the glacier with truly stunning views of the ice which sits high on the mountain. Large waterfalls and many other small streams cascade down the hillside and the sound of rushing water echoes through the valley.

Rob Roy Glacier

My first visit in February was on a dull, overcast and rainy day, which in my eyes was the most dramatic even though most of the glacier was shrouded in cloud. I made the journey again recently on a blue sky day and was amazed at how much of the mountain and its glacier I had missed the first time around.

Rob Roy Glacier

The glacier viewpoint is a popular spot with hikers, a fact well known to the local Keas which often decend from the trees in small groups of five or six to harass people for food. They’re clever wee buggers too and will try and get into your backpack or jacket pockets if they can smell anything of their liking. The plus side means that they’ll happily pose for the odd photograph.

Keas at Rob Roy Glacier