I had another trip to Greymouth last week, accompanying my wife. The weather was fantastic, two more of a succession of ten or so clear days. By West Coast standards we were almost experiencing a drought. I got up well before dawn to do some exploring, around Lake Brunner and the little village of Moana. I got some great shots, but I want to concentrate in this post on a scene that I came upon after I had packed up. I was driving down a hill with a valley in the distance, driving directly into the sun at a place called Te Kinga. Then I saw them: a stand of kahikatea (white pine) trees which the sun had just reached, thick with frost.
I was able to turn around, drive back up the hill and find a spot for my tripod just off the road, with a handy road sign to shade the lens.
When I got home and was able to look at this image closely, I was surprised to see giant cobwebs in the tops of the trees. You can just make some out in this detail of the top RH corner of that last image, covered in hoarfrost:
Whatever the angle, those trees looked good:
I think of all the photographs I’ve taken in the past 12 months, none has given me more pleasure than these. So I think I should stop there, leaving the Moana images for the next post.