Lake Okareka is my most regularly visited local spot for bird photography and when conditions are right can offer some lovely light. Conditions aren’t often right but there are 3 steps to achieving success.

Step 1 – wait for the right weather conditions. Simply put, little or no wind and a clear western horizon. This gives a calm lake for reflections and allows low warm light on the hills after the light goes from the lake surface. A big, slow moving, high pressure system on the weather map is a nice indicator that conditions may be good. This can be a long wait at certain times of the year

Step 2 – wait for the light. What I am looking for is the last light of the day on the hills and a mirror lake to reflect that light. This wait isn’t so long but can be frustrated by clouds forming on the horizon. At times good things can happen while you wait. This image was taken looking in a different direction and using distant forested hills in deep shade as the background reflection.

Step 3 – wait for something interesting to happen in the good light. This only lasts about 5 minutes so is a short wait but can be a frustration if nothing happens. As can be seen in the top image the stage for a performance is quite small so you’re relying on a bit of luck and often a duck. Golden hour is often mentioned in terms of light. In this situation it is probably “Golden 5 minutes” so low probability of success.

With some luck, a player or 2 will make it onto the stage in a starring role.

Location photo with iPhone SE 2020, duck photos with Nikon Z9 and Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VR S. All images 17 July 2022.