November

Out of the 40+ countries I’ve had the privilege to visit, New Zealand is arguably my favorite. After spending a couple months camping and hiking around the North and South Island in 2013, I shared enough pictures and stories to convince my older sister to take a trip there in 2014, which convinced my other sister to come along as well. They didn’t have all the time I did on my first trip, so I took them on an abbreviated tour showing them the highlights.

One of the highlights was Lake Matheson. The lake is on the west coast of the South Island and provides visitors with a view and reflection of the tallest mountain in New Zealand, Aoraki/Mt. Cook. I stumbled upon this view in 2013 and made a note to return to capture more pictures at a better time of day. We were able to camp just down the road at a beach 
that had an equally great view of Aoraki/Mt. Cook which allowed for a push for a sunrise shoot. Of course, enroute to Lake Matheson the next morning, I got delayed because there were pictures I wanted to take along the way. The calendar photo was one of those photos.

Not only was I able to capture a beautiful mossy tree with the mountains in the background, this angle gave me Fox Glacier as well. I greatly appreciate the patience of those that waited in the car while I moved up and down the fence trying different angles. Below you can see another angle of the tree that I captured as well as other shots from near that area. That was not my only stop on the way to Lake Matheson, but I did eventually get there and capture the picture I had been planning for a year. It can be seen below next to the first photo I took of Lake Matheson back in 2013.