New Zealand Photography Workshops recently marked their 10th anniversary with a staff retreat weekend at Mount White Station in the Canterbury High Country. Any excuse to head South is good and luckily I was able to get some short notice leave to attend. It was a great opportunity to catch up with some friends and make some new ones. Photographers are great company and the enthusiasm is infectious even if, as a wildlife photographer, I felt rather outnumbered by landscape photographers!

Part of the purpose was to explore the opportunities available at Mount White Station as New Zealand Photography Workshops has exclusive access to run workshops and retreats at this location. During the weekend we had the chance to explore a variety of locations facilitated by Unimog access. On the first evening we travelled up to a high ridge by Unimog and then hiked even further to gain a dramatic view down over the Waimakariri valley for sunset. The colours didn’t quite happen but gave me a Black and White image and when looking in the opposite direction, the image at the head of this post.

The following morning 4 of us made an early trip out to the quarry to explore sunrise options over the Waimakariri valley. As a wildlife photographer I had to look for wildlife to include in the frame and my 3 companions, Shaun, Glen and Spencer fitted the bill!

The afternoon saw an extended Unimog expedition to explore the further reaches of the station including the tarns at the Mounds of Misery.

Losing the light fast we had a final stop over looking over the Pūkio river.

It was a lovely opportunity to experience this excellent location and I can highly recommend it as a landscape photography destination. Under a cover of winter snow it would be a completely different wonderland to explore. See the NZ Photography Workshops Mount White page for options to explore.

Photos with Nikon Z7 and Nikkor Z 14-30mm f4 or 24-200mm f4-6.3. Leofoto Poseidon LP-284C tripod with LH-40 ballhead for the final 3 images.