ULTIMATE New Zealand / Winter   August 21 - Sept 1, 2024

This is a field workshop where we’ll spend full days in the field. We’ll meet at our Queenstown accommodation on the edge of Lake Wakatipu which we’ll use as a base to photograph and explore the southern portion of Mount Aspiring National Park with its enormous glacial lakes and mountains. After that, we’ll travel to Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park to photograph New Zealand’s single most iconic location. After Milford, we’ll travel to our lakeside lodge in the lovely town of Wanaka to photograph glistening snow-covered peaks in the northern portion of Mount Aspiring National Park and then, finally, off to Mount Cook National Park with its stupendous mountain scenery. Details below:

Queenstown Region (Southern Portion of Mount Aspiring National Park & Southern Lakes Region.)
With the jagged crest of the Remarkables Range as a backdrop, Queenstown serves as a gateway to both the southern portion of Mount Aspiring National Park and the eastern section of Fiordland N.P. Located along the shoreline of 60-mile long Lake Wakatipu on a narrow strip of land at the base of the mountains, you’ll understand why the Queenstown region has become one of New Zealand’s most photographed destinations. During our 3-night stay here, we’ll spend 2 full days exploring and photographing ice-clad peaks, turquoise rivers, and enormous glacier-carved valleys in the southern reaches of Mount Aspiring National Park. One of the highlights of our time here will be our private, customized helicopter flight to a landing zone high in the mountains where we’ll have more than one hour on the snow to photograph a vast array of glaciated peaks rising out of the turquoise waters of Lake Wakatipu, 3,000 feet below us. In the evenings, we’ll return to our very comfortable one-bedroom suites on the water’s edge and wonderful meals prepared by some of New Zealand’s finest chefs. Accessing our photo locations here will involve easy short walks.

Fiordland National Park
We’ll spend 3 days photographing Fiordland’s countless waterfalls, soaring peaks, tremendous glacier-carved valleys, and luxurious rain forests filled with Jurassic-era vegetation. The road from Te Anau (the gateway village for Fiordland) to Milford Sound on the west coast, is world-renowned as one of the most dramatic auto routes on Earth. With massive, glacier-sculpted peaks rising on both sides of the road, we’ll take one full day to explore and photograph the entire length of this route. Along the way, we’ll venture well off the beaten path to explore and photograph waterfalls, turquoise rivers, and rainforest-covered mountains in deep, glacier-carved valleys. When we arrive in Milford at the end of this first day, we’ll check in for 2 nights at the Milford Lodge with our comfortable chalets before heading out to capture last light at New Zealand’s most iconic single location. World-renowned for its views of Mitre Peak towering more than one vertical mile above the deep waters of the fiord, Milford is truly one of the most stunning locations on Earth. Our fleet of 3 helicopters will be waiting for us for another 1.5-hour long, customized helicopter flight above the most spectacular glaciated peaks in Fiordland National Park and 2,000-foot tall Sutherland Falls, New Zealand’s highest. Part of our excursion will involve a glacier landing surrounded by the most stupendous glaciated summits in Fiordland where we’ll jump out of our helicopters for 30 minutes to photograph the amazing scenery around us. Two nights here will allow us multiple opportunities, in this often-stormy region, to capture dramatic images of swirling clouds, waterfalls, and sheer-walled mountains rising thousands of feet from the water’s edge. We’ll also take an intimate, two-hour boat excursion along the entire length of the fiord, out to the Tasman Sea, to photograph soaring cliffs, plunging waterfalls, birds, seals, and dolphins. Accessing our photo locations here will involve short, easy walk. After dark, we’ll venture out to capture the brilliant Milky Way Galaxy as it fills the sky above us.

Wanaka Region (Northern Portion of Mount Aspiring National Park & Southern Lakes Region.)
Serving as the gateway to the central and northern portion of Mount Aspiring National Park and located along the shores of its magnificent, 25-mile long, namesake lake; the small village of Wanaka still possesses the same wonderful, sublime charm we discovered during our first visit over 30 years ago. During our time here, we’ll take another breathtaking 1.5-hour, customized helicopter flight, this time into the heart of Mount Aspiring National Park in our fleet of 3 helicopters (so everyone gets a window seat), including a fly by of its 10,000-foot namesake peak, Mount Aspiring, also known as New Zealand’s Matterhorn. Based on his countless helicopter flights above these mountains over the last 30 years, Jim has designed a unique customized flight path to maximize our photography potential. Part of this flight will involve a snow landing high on a remote mountain top with one of the most spectacular views in the park. Our pilots will shut down the engines of our 3 helicopters so we may enjoy the serenity of this location as we photograph the sea of ice-covered peaks around us. Once back on the ground, we’ll photograph glaciated peaks in the heart of the park during the day and star-filled skies at night. At the end of each day, we’ll return to our one-bedroom suites in our lodge; the only accommodation in Wanaka located directly on the shore of the lake. Accessing our photo locations here will involve several easy hikes.

Mount Cook National Park
Surrounded by stupendous mountains and glistening glaciers, we’ll have 3 days to explore and photograph some of the most magnificent mountain scenery in the world with 3 nights in our Premium rooms at the Hermitage Hotel in the heart of the park with jaw-dropping views of Aoraki/Mount Cook right out our windows. Whether you prefer the more recent name of “Mount Cook” or the original Maori name of “Aoraki” this 12,218-ft glacier-wrapped peak will take your breath away as it towers more than 10,000′ above us. Once you see these mountains, you’ll understand why Sir Edmund Hillary used this area as a training ground for his accent of Mount Everest. During our 3 days in the field, we’ll take one easy/moderate hike of 3 miles round trip, plus a variety of other short walks to our photo locations. One of the highlights of our time here will be another customized, 1.5-hour helicopter flight with our fleet of 3 helicopters through the heart of the most stupendous mountains in the Southern Alps. From his countless helicopter flights throughout New Zealand over the last 30 years, Jim has designed the ultimate, customized flight path to maximize our photography potential as we fly past tumbling glaciers, towering ice cliffs, soaring ice-clad peaks, and New Zealand’s longest glacier. Halfway through the flight, we’ll land on the surface of a glacier, shut down the engines, and jump out of our helicopters to photograph the ice-covered mountains surrounding us. We’ll capture first and last light as it illuminates the highest summits in the core of the park as well as brilliant star-filled skies at night. Mount Cook NP is located in the heart of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, the largest such reserve on earth and the only one in the southern hemisphere. With virtually zero light pollution and crystal clean air at this time of year, the views of the Milky Way Galaxy will simply take your breath away.