There’s something truly magical about winter in the South Island. For a photographer, winter creates an opportunity to capture some truly unique beauty in the landscape. The dramatic change that is thrown across the land, provides an ideal canvas to capture those stunning wintery scenes. Here at New Zealand Photography Workshops, rather than making hay while the sun shines, we capture winter while the snow falls! Join us to see the very best of what we captured on our 7-day Winter Landscapes Photography tours in 2023.
Below are some of our tutor’s favourite images of the Winter Season captured on our Winter Landscapes Tours.
“I wandered out onto a little ridge that I’d explored on my first trip to Mt White and found this small tree over the ridgeline. I love the way it’s isolated within the landscape and it offers a sense of scale whilst being framed between the two larger beech trees. This is a big landscape out here and yet it also feels quite small within it, and I think a little bit of that it’s represented within this photograph.”
Richard Young
“On a cold lonely morning with no one around (well except 6 clients & Richard who was on a mission to find the wanaka tree in snow) I lurked around in the fog to find a view of the old musters hut, one that showed off both its old skool design and its location amongst the nothingness… ”
Glen Howey
““Edoras, the iconic backdrop to the Rohan Castle from Lord of the Rings. We made numerous visits during our day at Mount Sunday to capture the ever changing light, the location is both monumental and epic and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the scale of the backdrop. Panoramas are a specialty of mine and the only way to capture the grandeur of this scene ”
Ken Wright
“I photographed some ice pattern here last year, but was not really happy with anything a made. So I was quite excited when I discovered this patch of ice to create this abstract winter landscape. This is one of the reasons love returning to the same locations each year on our retreats, it allows me to engage with the landscape and create expressive photographs that offer more depth than I could ever make in one visit. ”
Richard Young
“Often one of the most satisfying things about being on location shooting is looking for a way to communicate both the location you are in but also importantly the way you personally see the world around you.”
Glen Howey
“Once again Tasman flats turned on the light. I was here a week earlier and the sunrise fizzled out, initially I thought it would fizzle again but it came back with full noise, getting more colorful by the minute. This is not the first time that I’ve had a flame red sky here, back in 2019 I was here with fellow guide Shaun Barnett and our guest Father Francis, a Catholic Priest from Malibu. Shaun said he couldn’t believe how tinny I was getting a red sky on my first visit, Father Francis who had a great sense of humour said he had put a word in with the “Big Fella” upstairs L.O.L”
Ken Wright
“Last of the light, we had just gone for a recy for our sunrise shoot. I prefer clients to see a location in daylight before walking there in the dark. On this occasion it was the right call, sunset was better than sunrise. The key to a shot like this is to get a camera angle that gives visual clearance above the rocks and a clean line of reflections. Normally we would use a long exposure to smooth out the water, no need in this case, the water was perfectly still”
Ken Wright
If you would like to experience the very best of winter, join us in 2024 on our Winter Landscapes Photography Tour, to journey through some of the best winter photography destinations in New Zealand!
Capturing winter is not just about taking pictures; it’s about embracing the season’s unique beauty and finding inspiration in its challenges. New Zealand’s winter offers endless opportunities for creativity and storytelling. So, grab your camera, bundle up, and let us help guide your lens, to capture the very best of Winter.
I just want to let you know how well the tour went. Ken and Glen were brilliant throughout. Both were extremely helpful, considerate and full of humour. They had to make decisions along the way due to weather changes and different environments, and it all went off smoothly.
I am looking forward to returning to Mt White in November. I’ve just got to review my wardrobe to see what orange garments I can find
Richard and the Team have a great relationship with the team at Mt White which made for great experiences, the weather played the part too. Great space to work in and good structure of lessons that took us on a journey.
I have been on three previous workshops and have been impressed with the tuition, that attention to detail and the fun with other like minded people. The tutors I have had so far have been very good. I know my photography and my way of seeing things has improved dramatically.