Michael WilkinsPhotography

Menu

A series · 20 photographs

The Southern Alps

New Zealand's high country, mostly from one winter trip in August and September 2020: Queenstown and the head of Lake Wakatipu, then Tekapo, Pukaki and the road into Aoraki / Mount Cook the morning after snow, and a day up on the snow itself. Other visits added the rest, including a day's heli-boarding and a night under the Milky Way at the Church of the Good Shepherd. The lakes are coloured by glacial flour, not filters.

Photograph of an empty road with a white centre line running straight toward a wall of snow-covered Southern Alps peaks in winter, snowy tussock flats on both sides and two distant campervans far ahead. — Straight at the Mountains
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand · September 2020 · 1 of 20

Photograph of Lake Wakatipu and the snow-covered Remarkables range seen beneath the dark spreading branches of a bare tree, a pine-covered peninsula reaching into the blue water. — Through the Branches
Queenstown, New Zealand · June 2019 · 2 of 20

The jagged, snow-dusted ridge of the Remarkables across Lake Wakatipu under a sky of streaked pink and violet cloud, the lakefront trees and lights of Queenstown along the far shore, layered rock slabs in the foreground and willow branches hanging in from the top of the frame. — The Remarkables, in Pink
Queenstown, New Zealand · August 2020 · 3 of 20

Photograph of a row of bare winter willows standing in still lake water at Glenorchy, each tree perfectly mirrored, with a long snow-covered range filling the background. — The Willows
Glenorchy, New Zealand · August 2020 · 4 of 20

Aerial photograph of a braided river spreading silver channels across a broad gravel valley floor between mountains near Glenorchy. — The Braids
Glenorchy, New Zealand · August 2020 · 5 of 20

Long-exposure photograph of a lone willow growing out of the water of Lake Wanaka, its bare-topped crown leaning right, smooth grey water and cloud-covered mountains behind. — That Wanaka Tree
Lake Wanaka, New Zealand · March 2018 · 6 of 20

Aerial photograph of Lake Pukaki at dawn, glassy turquoise water mirroring a pastel sky, mountain ranges layered on the horizon. — Pukaki at First Light
Lake Pukaki, New Zealand · September 2020 · 7 of 20

Very wide panoramic photograph of the snow-covered Southern Alps in winter, Aoraki Mount Cook rising at centre, an empty highway entering from the lower left through golden tussock, braided river flats and the teal edge of Lake Pukaki on the right. — The Road to Aoraki
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand · September 2020 · 8 of 20

Panoramic photograph of Aoraki Mount Cook rising above the grey glacial water of Hooker Lake, small icebergs floating in the foreground. — Aoraki Over Hooker Lake
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand · September 2020 · 9 of 20

Photograph of a small vivid turquoise glacial lake sitting in a basin of dark broken rock, surrounded by heavily snow-covered peaks under a pale blue sky. — Meltwater
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand · September 2020 · 10 of 20

Photograph of a smooth wind-sculpted snow ridge in the foreground, its clean curved edge catching the light, with a long dark serrated mountain range behind under a thin blue sky. — Ridge
Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand · September 2020 · 11 of 20

A lone snowboarder in dark clothing carving down a vast, steep, untracked snow face, a thin line of spray behind the board, a wall of rock and snow rising beside the run and a sharp snow-covered peak against blue sky beyond. — One Rider, One Face
New Zealand · September 2020 · 12 of 20

A near-monochrome snow basin ringed by jagged, rock-ribbed peaks, a set of looping ski tracks crossing the fresh snow, a tiny second figure in the middle distance and, in the foreground, one rider in a red jacket moving through powder, the only colour in the frame. — The Red Jacket
New Zealand · September 2020 · 13 of 20

Photograph of a wide untouched snow bowl in soft flat light, a handful of curving ski tracks running down the smooth white slope with two tiny distant figures for scale. — First Lines
New Zealand · July 2017 · 14 of 20

A ski tourer in a red jacket with a backpack climbing a broad snow slope on skins, a vast snow-covered range rising behind under scattered cloud. — The Long Way Up
New Zealand · June 2018 · 15 of 20

View across Lake Pukaki at dusk from low over the water, the lake a deep teal grading to pale pink where it mirrors the sky, a band of snow-covered mountains along the far shore with Aoraki rising at their centre, and the sky a smooth gradient of peach, pink and lilac. — Pukaki in Two Colours
Lake Pukaki, New Zealand · September 2020 · 16 of 20

Panoramic photograph of Lake Pukaki at dusk under a violet and pink sky, snow-covered ranges with Aoraki Mount Cook catching the last alpenglow, the lakeside highway curving through willows and tussock in the foreground. — Pukaki, Last Light
Lake Pukaki, New Zealand · September 2020 · 17 of 20

A stacked stone cairn balances on a boulder above Lake Tekapo, turquoise water and mountain ranges stretching behind under streaked cirrus cloud. — Cairn Above Tekapo
Lake Tekapo, New Zealand · March 2018 · 18 of 20

The Collie

Lake Tekapo, New Zealand · August 2020 · 19 of 20

The small stone Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo at night, its doorway glowing warm, under a sky dense with stars and the bright band of the Milky Way rising behind it, tussock grass and stone walls in the foreground and snow-dusted hills along the horizon. — The Good Shepherd, Under the Milky Way
Lake Tekapo, New Zealand · August 2023 · 20 of 20

Black and white photograph of a long jagged mountain range standing above a level sea of cloud filling the valley below, dark pine-covered slopes just breaking through the white. — The next room
The Alps in Winter