Aerial
The way from Uyuni to the Andes is a bumpy but magnificent one. It’s a long drive through the surreal landscapes of Camino de las Rocas until you reach the Siloli Desert in the Eduardo Abaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve. I will cover this scenery in a few separate blog posts over the next couple of weeks, as I came away with too many spectacular images to fit into a single post.
Here are some highlights from the road and Árbol de Piedra (stone tree) in the Siloli Desert.
Not far from the village of San Cristóbal, there is a spectacular little-known valley where women dressed in traditional Bolivian fashion shepherd their free-ranging llamas. This was by far the best surprise of our recent travels through Bolivia - an unplanned and spontaneous suggestion by the local driver.
On our way out of the village our driver asked, “Would you like to see some amazing llamas?”, to which we responded with an enthusiastic “Yes!”.
Little did we know the scenery would be this breathtaking. I hope you enjoy these images of llamas in their fantastic natural setting.
Although I expected a much more dramatic sunset, our evening in Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia was nevertheless surprisingly pretty. The low clouds resulted in a pastel coloured sunset unlike anything I had ever seen before. The mirrored effect on the ground caused by a thin layer of rain added to the surreal landscape of the salt flats.
I only wish I had spent more time there to capture a variety of sunsets, as the merged land and sky makes for some truly spectacular scenery. Here are some of my favourite images from that evening.
If you are interested in travelling to the Bolivian salt flats as a photographer, make sure you check out our guide on Two Dusty Lenses to help you plan your trip.
Following on from La Paz, the Bolivian adventure followed onto the Uyuni Salt Flats. We had sunny and dry weather when we arrived, resulting in an otherwordly infinite white landscape as far as the eye could see in every direction.
This was an incredible destination and if you’d like to learn more and plan your own trip to Uyuni, I recommend that you check out our travel guide for photographers over at Two Dusty Lenses, which reveals all the best tips for an unforgettable trip to Bolivia.
But before you head on over and start booking your flights, I hope you enjoy the photo selection below!
I recently had a chance to explore Bolivia for the very first time. The first stop of the trip was the capital of La Paz. In between several rainy days, we squeezed in a lucky visit to Valle de la Luna under a blue sky. This was a great place to explore a completely alien landscape from both the ground and from the air, with aerial photography.
Here are some of my favourite images from this location. I will be posting more selected photographs from the rest of the trip - including the famous Uyuni Salt Flats and the Atacama Desert - over the next few weeks, so stay tuned for more!
I did not expect much from Hot Water Beach, one of the destinations on our Coromandel trip, which made it all the better when the photos I took surpassed my expectations. These were taken on a beautiful morning, just after sunrise at the Te Pare Reserve.
The contrast between the clear green waters and orange sand dotted with geothermal pools is a truly unique sight. Here are some of my favourite images of this location.
The next stop on the Coromandel roadtrip was the incredible Cathedral Cove. The winding walk down to the beach surrounded by rolling hills and lush farmland, and fantastic 360 degree views. This was definitely one of the highlights of the trip, providing excellent photographic opportunities both from the ground and from the sky.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves, this was a truly spectacular location, even on a cloudy afternoon...
My joint new venture with my partner, Two Dusty Lenses, is a travel blog aimed at other adventurous photographers and videographers. To inaugurate the blog, we took a weekend trip to the Coromandel and surrounding areas, following our 2-day itinerary.
The first stop on the short roadtrip was the Karangahake Gorge. Unfortunately it was a very cloudy day, but even so it was a worthwhile stop. My favourite part was photographing the Owharoa Falls, both from the land and from the air. Enjoy!
Following a snowy morning in Lake Tekapo, our short South Island roadtrip ended with a long drive back to Christhurch through the countryside. We stopped several times along the way to photograph the snow-covered pastures.
Over the next few months I will be returning to New Caledonia and spending two weeks in St Andrews, in Scotland. More photos coming soon!
The next day at Lake Tekapo proved to be a lucky one: we woke up at 5am to find that the town was covered in deep, fluffy snow. We headed out before sunrise to catch The Church of the Good Shepherd in the snow, and captured some aerial photography in the surrounding area.
The change of weather was a pleasant surprise. Over the span of three days, we had a beautiful purple sunset, followed by an almost-clear starry sky, and a snowy morning.
Our visit to Mount Cook National Park was an unlucky one, as the weather changed dramatically from the previous day and Mount Cook was nowhere to be seen. Nevertheless, the views from the Hooker Valley Track and Tasman Glacier Walk were still breathtaking.
Here are some of my favourite images from a very cloudy day at Mount Cook.
After working with the kea at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve earlier this year, I had the chance to take a short roadtrip through some nearby locations in the South Island of New Zealand.
The first stop was a return visit to Arthur's Pass National Park, where we photographed the fantastic landscapes and encountered some wild kea.
Here are some of my favourite images of our day at Arthur's Pass.
On the way back up from Tongaporutu, we stayed in Hamilton. We visited the Te Waihou Walkway. Never before had I seen such a brightly coloured green and blue landscape. The luscious forest, cut by the river with one of the purest waters in New Zealand, was a surreal sight.
The aerial images really showcase the beauty of this location which, understandably, is sacred to the Maori people.
Tongaporutu was one of the highlights of our North Island roadtrip. Although Elephant Rock was destroyed prior to our visit, the rock formations were still absolutely spectacular.
We visited on two separate evenings for sunset, and the light was always soft and golden. It was surprising to have the beach all to ourselves on one occasion, suggesting this is a very underappreciated location in the North Island.
Here are only a few of my favourite images of this location, some of which were taken from a drone.
New Plymouth is the home of the famous Mount Taranaki. On a clear day, it can be seen from most parts of the city. We decided to make the short hike up from Lake Mangamahoe, where we could photograph it from the land and air.
That evening, we also went to the Festival of Lights in Pukekura Park, which happens every Summer between December and February. It's a really lovely walk around the small park, which is completely transformed at night by all the colourful lights.
We drove down from Napier to the vinyard region of Wairarapa. We stayed from Masterton, from which we explored the neighbouring towns such as Greytown and Martinborough.
As most other vinyard regions, this was a place with fantastic landscapes and incredible food. It was a nice relaxing place to spend the New Years'.
One of the highlights of this region are the beaches and rugged coastline.
We visited two lighthouses in Wairarapa, Castlepoint Lighthouse and Cape Palliser. Here are my favourite images of these two locations, both from land and from air.
Te Mata Peak is one of the landscape highlights of the Napier region. This was our next stop on our North Island roadtrip. We spent two sunsets at this location, which was truly spectacular and especially interesting for aerial photography.
Below are some of my favourite images from this location - I'll let the images speak for themselves!
The next morning following on from our visit to Huka Falls, we took a cruise to Lake Taupo, to see the Maori Rock Carvings by the water. The water was an amazing clear emerald colour, shining in the bright sunlight.
We then started making our way down to Napier, stopping by the Waipunga Falls on the way. These falls are just off a side road, with no signage, but really worth the visit.
Below are a few of my favourite images of these two locations.
Hamurana Springs was our final stop in Rotorua, following our visits to the Redwoods Treewalk, Kuirau Park, and geothermal attractions.
This walk through Maori-owned land is incredibly beautiful, and the waters are a surreal colour.
Our next stop was Tarawera Falls, halfway between Rotorua and Taupo. These falls are vastly underrated by travel guides and are a must see in the North Island.
We spent several hours there, photographing and flying our drone through this fantastic landscape. It is by far one of the most incredible waterfalls I have ever seen.
Below are some of my favourite images of both these locations.
Rotorua was the first stop on our North Island Roadtrip. Although the whole city is spectacular and surrounded by incredible sites of geothermal activity, there was one place that stood out as being vastly underrated.
Kuirau Park lies at the heart of the city, and offers incredible photographic opportunities less than a 10 minute drive from anywhere in central Rotorua.
Unusually for Rotorua, this is an area over which drones can be flown. The aerial view of the park is nothing short of spectacular.
Below are some of my favourite images from this location. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
