Vinayak Hegde

Everywhere we went on the South Island, New Zealand, we saw two things consistently, neat haystacks arranged on a farm and lots of sheep. New Zealand has the reputation for having more sheep than people by a large margin (it used to be 20 sheep : 1 person). Shot in Feb 2008.

More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).

Lake Wanaka is the 4th largest lake in New Zealand and located on the South Island. It was formed by a u-shaped valley of a glacier which melted in the last ice age. The Southern Alps are on it’s western shores and the Wanaka town lies at it’s southern tip. It is very close to the Queenstown – the adventure spots hotspot and the birthplace of modern bungee jumping.

More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).

A cruise on Milford Sound is an amazing experience. Milford Sound is the most famous Fjord in New Zealand’s Fiordland National Park with some of the highest peaks and U-shaped valleys (left by a melting glacier) typical of a Fjord. Rudyard Kipling has called Milford Sound, the eight wonder of the world.

Fur Seals and Sea Lions are commonly seen on the cruise through Milford Sound. The natural beauty of the place is almost impossible to capture due to the variations in light. Also as a photographer you are caught in a dilemma – whether to use to the Telephoto lens to capture the wildlife or to use the Wideangle lens to capture the scenic panorama. I was doing both (manically changing lenses between photographs). I was lucky to capture this moment through a telephoto lens (70-300mm Zoom-Nikkor lens) borrowed from a friend. More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).

There are two major glowworm caves in New Zealand. Waitomo caves on the North Island and Te Anau caves on the South Island. Te Anau is the gateway to the Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound, both famous fiords in the south-western coastal part of New Zealand called as Fiordland. Knowing that we would not be able to make it to Waitomo caves due to lack of time, we went to the Te Anau glowworm caves.

This photo is of the wharf on the shores on Te Anau in the Murchison Mountains. It was taken during twilight. More technical details about the photo at my photoblog (click on Image Info).