LAKE ROTOITI

 

We arrived at Lake Rotoiti (South Island) a few hours before dusk. Being practically alone there, we were really able to experience the lake in a very calm atmosphere. As I made my way down to the shore, I wanted to take the very popular "jetty photo" looking down the lake, where one of the docks on the lake lines up with the mountains in the distance. As I was trying to compose the shot, I decided instead to not include the dock in the frame, and chose to walk down the shore a bit to where the water was a bit calmer. I threw on my 24-70 lens and a polarizing filter and began framing the shot. As I was setting up, a flock of mallards flew into the lake from my right, with one breaking off from the rest. I noticed he was going to swim directly into my frame, so I quickly metered the scene and focused on the mountains in the distance. Right as he reached the frame I started firing shots until he swam out, I sorted through the photos and was stoked when I got one with him dead center in the frame. The photo really came to life during post-processing and I love how the final edit came to be.

Words and photos by Brendan Grieble

““It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings ”