San Gabriel Mountains from Irvine

I actually missed the best opportunity for this photo last Tuesday when there was more snow on the mountains and the sky was impeccably clear. It had rained on the prior Friday, which is a very good thing for us in Southern California where we are in a drought, and snow had fallen on the San Gabriel mountains east of Los Angeles. I didn't think to take my camera with me we I rode my bike to work on Monday morning and as soon as I saw the view of the mountains my heart sank. On Tuesday it was cloudy and then on Wednesday I finally got this shot. It's not as good as it could have been on that Monday when there was more snow and the air was crystal clear, but this isn't too bad, I guess.

This view of the San Gabriel mountains is looking north across South Lake on Yale Loop. On winter mornings after rain has fallen and passed, the view can be pretty spectacular. This just gives you some idea of what it's like. Perhaps later in the winter I'll get another shot at it with lots more snow.

One plus in this photo, however, is that the liquidambar trees still have their leaves so that makes for a great contrast of primary colors in this photo. They are the trees with red leaves on the left side.

This is an HDR (high dynamic range) image composed of three exposures at f/20 with exposures of 1/125, 1/30, and 1/8 at ISO 100.

Lake Cachuma Early Morning

I'm pretty pleased with how this photo turned out. It almost looks like a tone-mapped HDR image, but it's not. I was able to uncover all these gold tones and the contrast in the clouds with Photoshop.

Here are other photos I took at Lake Cachuma.

Terra Lago Sunrise

The previous photo was taken at Tera Lago at night. Here's how it looked in the morning as the sun rose. I love how the gold light was coming through from behind the arch in the bridge.

Lake Te Anau Fiordland New Zealand

Lake Te Anau is at the center of Fiordland National Park. Located on its shores is the beautiful little town of Te Anau which boasts some absolutely fantastic restaurants and coffee shops. We had a fantastic time in the evenings here enjoying great food, New Zealand wine, and coffee. If you are planning to stay in Fiordland, this is the place to stay. It is just a 15 minute drive from the departure point for Doubtful Sound, and a 2 or 3 hour drive to Milford Sound - all depending on how many stops you make to take in the wonderful scenery on the way...and of course to take photos!

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

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

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.