Lush EnZed Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

Lush, green New Zealand has 47.2 million sheep, more than 13 times more than the population of people. Australia has 102 million (‘only’ 5 times as many per person).

This image of four NZ icons; variable weather, tall snow capped mountains, greenery and sheep was taken between Hokitika (West Coast) and Wanaka (Otago). It was on the day I was supposed to fly into the remote Siberia Valley near Mt. Aspiring, the Matterhron of the south. Windy conditions cancelled this however.

Despite this I still enjoyed touring the countryside and taking some photos of this delightful part of the world.

I am unable to name the peaks here but some locals may recognise them. It is off the Haast HWY, south of Fox Glacier.

Enjoy.

dip, macondo, Floydian, melmcree, ChrisJ, Photo65Net, denisn72, MLINES, lilimih33 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

irfanat67 (215) 2007-12-18 1:31

Good work, Matt. The image quality is good, clarity and sharpness are stunning. The sheep in the foreground make this picture telling something.

Regards,
Irfan

dip (13068) 2007-12-18 1:44

Hello Matthew,
the scenery is very beautiful and you have it excellent captured and composed,
amazing colors and very good POV,well done!
tfs,
Dimitris.

macondo (13519) 2007-12-18 3:21

Yes, I remember the days when we had 150 million sheep and 10 million people! What happened to the 50m?
Anyway, I like the shot a lot. I last travelled in that area about 4 years ago. The mountains look great against that lush green. The huge number of sheep seem to add something to the already vast landscape here. Very nicely done.
Regards,
Andrew

Floydian (30970) 2007-12-18 4:09

Hi Matthew,
In my head there are plans to visit NZ, so i am looking with great interest to all the pictures here. It seems i can't take a landscape without some sheeps in them, well i can live with that ;-)
They create a nice focal point what can be seen here in yours. Colours are crisp and bright with very good detail and sharpness, wonderful....i like it a lot.
Regards, Henk

melmcree (2261) 2007-12-18 6:59

Hello Matthew,

Very nice composition. The nice clouds and tall snow-capped peaks is what drew me to this from the thumbnails. I like how you got the V of the valley right in the middle. Also, you nailed the straight horizon just before the mountains. It is perfectly situated in the rule of thirds and straight as an arrow.

I couldn't see the sheep from the thumbnail and it was a nice addition to the overall landscape.

Very well done,

Mel

Cormac (26461) 2007-12-18 7:03

This is an iconic shot of New Zealand, with the lush green fields littered with sheep, the snow covered mountains and the mixed weather! Beautiful colour and a very idyllic scene. Well done!

chpp (4187) 2007-12-18 13:05

Hi Matthew
very nice shot, great composition and view
very natural colours and nice depth
cheers
chris

ChrisJ (71614) 2007-12-19 0:41

Hi Matthew

Good repetition of the sheep, with superb sharpness, & natural looking colour. A marvellous blue sky, with a logical choice of a wide angled panoramic frame. Well done!

ribeiroantonio (22214) 2007-12-19 4:39

I have done that same road but going from Wanaka to Franz Joseph Glacier. I did not have at all the chance of a blue sky because it has pouring down without any chance of a photo stop. Next day morning, just during the morning, we had a glorious sun but it did not last. Anyway, you got a nice picture and those fellows look really good. Well done.
Antonio

PS. Where are the Redcliffe aerial photos? I have been waiting to see my house!

Photo65Net (43106) 2007-12-19 10:20

Matthew,
I like this one a lot !
Chromatic balance is so perfect, and in particular green and blue have the right amount of space.
Sheep provides good FG graphics too.
Very good job,
Regards,
JB.

denisn72 (7265) 2007-12-19 14:48

Hi Matthew
That's an excellent point of view. This large field surrounded by the mountains is a great place or the sheeps. Vivid colours and very good sharpness. The note is useful. Thanks for sharing.
Best regards
Denis!

MLINES (11225) 2007-12-19 19:53

Hi Matt. Another good NZ composition. Some of the best sheep country around there. Great colours throughout your composition. TFS. Murray.

vasariste (981) 2007-12-30 8:34

It's really beautiful landscape with sheep. good perspective.
Natasa

Manamo (3478) 2008-01-09 10:59

Hello Math,
I don't think I could think of a picture that's more New Zealand. I can't resist pictures with sheeps, so... The picture is really good and I can't think of an improvement to be made. At first I thought you could have cropped some of the sky, but finally, I think that darker blue kind of balance the composition and the color tones...
HAve a nice day,
Marc

skydive (111) 2008-02-18 15:04