With A Paddle

The rain is slapping the window outside as I am back home in Scotland after spending almost two fantastic years in New Zealand.  This week has mostly been spent trying to find various bits of gear that I have hidden in our luggage and going through hard drives which brought up a trip I did with Kirsty back in January.

With January being a summer month on the other side of the world we packed the truck and fitted our paddle boards on top, and spent a week looking for stunning spots to paddle around Otago and Canterbury.  A highlight of the trip was getting to paddle on the stunningly blue Lake Pukaki and have New Zealand's highest mountain, Mt Cook, ahead.

Off To The Mountains, Back Soon!

Over the past 18 months I have noticed that it is pretty easy to spend a lot of time behind the computer, either editing or keeping up with emails.  This comes with the job, and I am not complaining about it - I absolutely love being a photographer. But its important to get outside.

I always read about the importance of having a great work-life balance but mine is definitely sporadic.  There are a variety of tips online and recommendations for companies to work for who give the best work-life balance but it is really what works for yourself.  A lunchtime walk, evening run or biking with friends can make all the difference.

This weekend called for a bit more than a run around the city after a long week of working at the computer and drinking far too much tea.  We decided to head up 1,800 metres to stay the night at the Mueller Hut in the Southern Alps, which was far enough away from the emails and editing.

The Mueller Hut is about a 5 hour trek up to the top, including our various photo and snack stops. The walk starts with a nice gravel path then moves onto a few steps, 2,200 to be exact!  I had heard about the steps but nothing prepares you for the sheer number and steepness of them. As I type this two days later, my calves are still contracted.  After doing what felt like a never-ending Stairmaster 2000, we reached Sealy Tarns (the top of the stairs). The rest of the hike involved rock hopping, and a snow filled push to the ridge.  Throughout this hike there are great views, but when we reached the ridge we were greeted with 360 degree views of high peaks and glaciers. Then, 30 minutes more along the ridge, and we were glad to see our accommodation for the night. Although peaceful, every now and then you would hear a crack and rumble from ice falls on the glaciers.

Of course I am typing this while back in front of my computer with tea but shifting through the images reminds me to get my ass back outdoors.  

With GodZone

The first time I heard about GodZone was back in 2016. While staying at a friend’s house, I noticed his wife was constantly at their computer looking at a map.  She explained to me that the map had markers which were moving to indicate the location of teams participating in an adventure race.  The teams were required to kayak, run, hike and cycle a distance which spanned 530km in total, and lasted for up to 7 days.  I was intrigued, and knew instantly that this was definitely something which I wanted to document.

For the 2017 event, I landed a spot on the media team and was excited to follow these crazy teams as they negotiated their way around the Queenstown course.  I didn't imagine this would be an easy shoot, and this was confirmed on the first day.  An awesome spot caught my eye, where I would be able to capture the teams and give a sense of scale in the landscape.  However, the problem was, this awesome spot was in a river.  I rolled up my shorts, and waded across the water, getting into position just in time to catch the first team go by.  The shot looked great, and I decided to wait for a few more to come through.  After waiting for about 30 minutes I heard teams coming, and got my camera ready, sadly only to realise that they had gone a different route to avoid the river crossing - they were on a trail up on the left behind trees!  This is probably the worst part about shooting adventure racing, not knowing where teams will be coming from. But this is also the best part, as teams don't all go the same way, and you can end up with a good variety of images. 

After running around for the first few days I was able to hop on a helicopter into the Queenstown backcountry in search of teams.  I have shot from motorbikes, cars, bicycles and boats but never while flying.  This proved to be quite difficult with the airflow and trying to coordinate leaning out while being strapped in with a lap belt and lanyard.  Thankfully there were plenty of teams dotted around which gave me a few opportunities to shoot while I cautiously learnt how to lean out of the chopper and shoot from above.