Virgin River Zion in Winter

Zion National Park Virgin River in Winter

Zion is one of the National Parks in Utah and one of my favorites to visit. It is a far more intimate experience than the Grand Canyon, and has a range of hikes that are easily accessible.

I took this photo on my first visit to Zion in February of 2006. I have since been back twice, in the spring and summer of 2006. Of course it was a different experience each time because of the different seasons. This first visit was in the winter. The slopes and peaks were covered in snow, and the trees were bare. This photo with the Virgin river in the foreground paints a bleak and wintery picture. It wasn't quite this bleak looking in reality - I actually have deliberately adjusted the image to give it this very wintery feel. The rock at Zion is in fact very red, and if you want to get some idea of what the original image looked like, here it is:

Even this doesn't really show you just how red the rock is as so much color is lost in converting the image file to jpeg and making it small for the web. Believe me, the rock is much redder than appears here.

Sunrise at Opito Bay

Photo of Sunrise at Opito Bay New Zealand

Opito Bay is located in the Mercury Bay area of the Coromandel Peninsula on New Zealand's North Island. I got to spend a couple of vacations at a beach house located right at the water's edge thanks to a good friend. This isolated beach was the perfect location for endless photos. Of course capturing the sunrise was a great treat. I like the sweep of cloud above the sea in this photo. Because I was shooting directly into the sun and with all that reflection off of the sea as well, I was shooting at a very fast film speed (ISO50), and at 1/700th second shutter speed. That's all very fast and the photos came out gold. Yes, it's true, the color of the photo has not been altered at all!

Nikon E870011/700s atf8.0ISO 50

Black and White Photo Mitre Peak

Black and White Photo Mitre Peak

The vantage point from which I took this photo of Mitre Peak was from such a classic angle that I made this black and white version of the photo to emphasize it's place in New Zealand iconography.

Milford Sound

Mitre Peak Milford Sound New Zealand

Mitre Peak Classic Angle

This is a classic angle on Milford Sound's "Mitre Peak", the icon of the Sound. I can recall paintings by early New Zealand painters that capture this very outlook. For that reason, in the next post you'll find the black and white version of the photo that I made to emphasize the timelessness of this image.

Mitre Peak

Stirling Falls Milford Sound

Stirling Falls Milford Sound New Zealand

Stirling Falls are one of two permanent waterfalls that cascade into Milford Sound. Stirling Falls descend from 155 metres above the fiord. They were originally named after a seaman by the name of Captain Stirling. The deepest part of Milford Sound is 1,280 ft below sea level and is located in the vicinity of Stirling Falls.

When we first set out on our cruise of Milford Sound the weather was very misty making for conditions that were far from ideal for photography, but the outcome is to give these photos a very aged look, as if they are a century old.

Canon EOS 20D
1/250s at f/9
ISO200
70-300mm lens at 300mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Mitre Peak Milford Sound

Mitre Peak Milford Sound Fiordland National Park New Zealand

The most famous landmark at Milford Sound is the tallest peak known as "Mitre Peak", so named because its shape is reminiscent of a bishop's mitre or ceremonial hat. Mitre Peak has long been painted and photographed throughout New Zealand's European history. Mitre Peak is on the left side of this photo.

Canon EOS 20D
1/5000s at f/3.5
ISO200
18-55mm lens at 18mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Mitre Peak

Milford Sound Fiord New Zealand #2

Milford Sound Fiord New Zealand #2

When I took this photo on a recent trip to Milford Sound in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the mist had almost cleared. But just enough was hanging in the sky still when I took this photo to add some extra interest to the picture.

Canon EOS 20D
1/400s at f/13
ISO200
18-55mm lens at 51mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Milford Sound

Milford Sound Fiord New Zealand #1

Milford Sound Fiord, New Zealand #1

Milford Sound is the heart of Fiordland National Park and the most-visited of the fiords. Mistakenly named a "sound", Milford Sound is actually a fiord, meaning it was carved out by glacial action during the last ice age rather than by the action of rivers, which is the difference between a fiord and a sound.

After sailing out to the Tasman Sea and turning back in, the fog began to lift until the sky was completely clear by time we disembarked. Here the last of the fog is still lifting from the lake surface.

Canon EOS 20D
1/320s at f/13
ISO200
18-55mm lens at 54mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Milford Sound

Snowy Mountain Cloaked in Fog

Photo of snowy mountain wrapped in fog

Though late summer, Fiordland National Park is in the far south west corner of New Zealand's South Island, and with some very high elevations as well, it was not surprising to come across some mountain peaks with snow on them as I traveled the road to Milford Sound.

Early morning fog and snow cloaked this towering peak near the Homer Tunnel on the Road to Milford Sound.

Photo by John Corney,
Canon EOS 20D
f10/1000sec
ISO 200
18-55mm lens at 40mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Mountain Valley Fog on Road to Milford

Morning Fog In Mountain Valley

It was early morning that I set off for Milford Sound from Lake Te Anau. The morning fog was still lifting from the mountain valleys as seen in this photo taken on the road from Te Anau to Milford Sound in New Zealand.

Canon EOS 20D
f10/1000sec
ISO 200
18-55mm lens at 40mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Reflections Lake Wakatipu

Mountain Reflections in Lake Wakatipu New Zealand

New Zealand offers some of the finest scenery in the world for landscape photography. I had the privilege of growing up there, but have only recently seen much of its most beautiful places as a tourist visiting from my adopted home of California. Here are some photos I've taken over the years on my visits home to New Zealand. This photograph of Lake Wakatipu was taken from Highway 6 en route from Queenstown to Kingston which is located at the southern end of the lake. The photo was taken about half-way between Queenstown and Kingston from a view point at the side of the road.

Canon EOS 20D
f/221/80sec
ISO 200
18-55mm lens at 18mm
(c) John Corney 2007

Golden Mountain Meadow

Golden Tussock Grass Meadow

I took this photo of this meadow of golden tussock grass on the way to Milford Sound from the road going from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound in New Zealand.

Canon EOS 20D
f/101/400sec
ISO 200
70-300mm lens at 70mm

Glade Wharf Area, Lake Te Anau

Lake Te Anau Near Glade Wharf

This photograph of Lake Te Anau was taken in the vicinity of Glade Wharf at the start of the famous Milford Track in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park. The Milford Track leads from near this point to Milford Sound. Four-day hikes of the track are common.

Canon EOS 20D

f/5.61/500sec

ISO 200

18-55mm lens at 55mm

(c) John Corney 2007

For information about hiking New Zealand's famous Milford Track, visit the New Zealand Department of Conservation website.

In the Tradition of Ansel Adams

In the Tradition of Landscape Photographer Ansel Adams

Every aspiring landscape photographer, (American ones at least), aspire to the artistry of Ansel Adams who is perhaps the most well-known of all the American landscape photographers, known particularly for his photographs of California's Yosemite Valley.

On these pages you can find my efforts at landscape photography. Because of my love of the great outdoors, landscapes are one of the more common subjects of my photography. I hope you will find some pleasure in my efforts to emulate the great American landscape photographers like Ansell Adams.