Lake Matheson

Gallery: LandscapePosted August 2, 2010516 views34 comments

Westland, New Zealand

There aren't too many iconic views in New Zealand but this view of the Southern Alps reflected in Lake Matheson is pretty classic. I arrived at Fox Glacier late in the day and ran down to this spot. I had been there last trip and knew that I wouldn't have to scout the location and could start shooting sunset immediately. Bit of a postcard, but it's pretty.

Canon 5DMkII, 60mm, ISO 100, f1, 13 seconds, GND filters, polarizer.

Comments

34 comments

Comment posted by Jeremy Kessler on August 2, 2010 at 9:11 PM

Incredibly pretty. Beautiful shot.

Registered on September 13, 2007, 36 Posts, 1283 Comments

Comment posted by Chad Merrell on August 2, 2010 at 9:12 PM

Doesn't look postcard to me at all. Very nice, pretty and moody. I usually like things not quite as dark as parts of this image but it works here. NZ is one of the few places that I would care to travel that far to see.

Registered on July 8, 2010, 91 Posts, 304 Comments

Comment posted by Dan Baumbach on August 2, 2010 at 9:33 PM

Beautiful color. Those mountains look wonderful.

- Dan.

Registered on November 1, 2003, 473 Posts, 7980 Comments

Comment posted by Buck Ward on August 2, 2010 at 9:42 PM

The color is gorgeous!

Registered on December 8, 2003, 96 Posts, 1917 Comments

Comment posted by Kyle L. Krause on August 2, 2010 at 10:53 PM

Wow Kah Kit, Lovely scene, beauitful reflections and colors are outstanding. I really like this image, one of your best.

Registered on June 15, 2010, 29 Posts, 605 Comments

Comment posted by Abdullaziz Bin Ali on August 2, 2010 at 10:57 PM

The way to Fox glacier is just surviving.
It's to long and sharp turns all the way.

This work looks beautiful .. love the composition Kah,

Registered on May 31, 2009, 112 Posts, 1590 Comments

Comment posted by Jay Nielsen on August 2, 2010 at 11:18 PM

I like everything about this, it is very peaceful and pretty. Absolute beautiful sky with some awesome colors that are reflected very nicely!

Registered on October 6, 2008, 137 Posts, 720 Comments

Comment posted by Dean Sauskojus on August 2, 2010 at 11:58 PM

Very serene peaceful scene. I can almost feel the moist air and the quietness of the place. Great image Kah.

Registered on September 29, 2009, 137 Posts, 2659 Comments

Comment posted by Daniel Cartamil on August 3, 2010 at 12:02 AM

The picture is flawless and well executed, but the magenta cast denotes a bit too much of the GND coloring - at least thats what I thought immediately when I saw it. Thats not to say the long exposure doesn't work, I love the effect....

Registered on November 15, 2007, 50 Posts, 601 Comments

Comment posted by Koveh Tavakkol on August 3, 2010 at 12:15 AM

Love the light on those peaks!

Registered on September 1, 2009, 41 Posts, 608 Comments

Comment posted by Scott Smorra on August 3, 2010 at 12:16 AM

Very nice image Kah Kit. I'm really drawn to the color in the sky and the reflected light on the water. Well done.

Registered on November 2, 2009, 161 Posts, 2143 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 3, 2010 at 12:17 AM

Daniel, the while the GND may have imparted some cast, I doubt it was a major factor since the reflection is also a similar colour.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Vance Gese on August 3, 2010 at 12:31 AM

This is beautiful. The color, composition, and the reflection really invoke a serene, quiet sense to your image. Far from a pretty postcard in my opinion.

Registered on November 13, 2008, 298 Posts, 6629 Comments

Comment posted by Stuart Williams on August 3, 2010 at 2:17 AM

yes, pretty postcard from NZ but that's no bad thing. we get lots of pretty postcards from the northwest of the US here

and this is very good. gorgeous light. i only slightly regret the tall tree and wish that it was on the other side of the image!

Registered on December 7, 2007, 247 Posts, 4792 Comments

Comment posted by Tomas Kaspar on August 3, 2010 at 2:47 AM

I like top top of the image. Not sure if the lower half works for me. The trees are little distracting for me to be honest. The upper half is beautiful thou.

Registered on December 26, 2005, 158 Posts, 736 Comments

Comment posted by Bill Maile on August 3, 2010 at 5:11 AM

Nice, simple, beautiful, crisp, spot on!

Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments

Comment posted by Nick Bristol on August 3, 2010 at 7:55 AM

A very nice calming feel. This is one of those images I like to just sit back and enjoy for awhile. Well done.

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Registered on February 1, 2004, 752 Posts, 14140 Comments

Comment posted by Gary McGhee on August 3, 2010 at 9:41 AM

Yet another top notch shot Kah.

Gary.

Registered on April 15, 2010, 142 Posts, 2416 Comments

Comment posted by Harley Goldman on August 3, 2010 at 10:22 AM

Very pretty scene and colors. Sweet.

Registered on November 19, 2003, 586 Posts, 11271 Comments

Comment posted by Floris van Breugel on August 3, 2010 at 10:23 AM

I love how the light makes the mountains stand out so well. The bottom half isn't so interesting to me, but more importantly, I think it unnecessarily draws my eyes. Cropping some of the bottom and placing the shore closer to the 1/3 line helps focus on the mountain much better for me.

Registered on December 19, 2008, 306 Posts, 4840 Comments

Comment posted by Arnab Banerjee on August 3, 2010 at 10:29 AM

The water is not doing much for me - no reflection, flat w/o details. The far mountains and sky is wonderful - I guess that a crop of top part will be much more powerful

Registered on January 3, 2007, 313 Posts, 2270 Comments

Comment posted by Andreas Resch on August 3, 2010 at 10:29 AM

Great shot, Kah. Love the mood here.

Registered on November 14, 2007, 322 Posts, 6101 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on August 3, 2010 at 10:31 AM

Magnificent scene captured extremely well. Love the long shutter speed. Gorgeous light!!

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Alex Mody on August 3, 2010 at 1:47 PM

Love the dreamy, look and feel to this... I don't see the postcard comparison at all! This photo is full of mood, it's dark, angry, mysterious, etc.

Registered on December 25, 2007, 163 Posts, 1896 Comments

Comment posted by Bob McQuade on August 3, 2010 at 5:36 PM

Great color and atmosphere, a very nice image

Registered on October 8, 2009, 214 Posts, 432 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Metternich on August 3, 2010 at 9:16 PM

Stunner!

Registered on June 19, 2009, 276 Posts, 6240 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Shephard on August 3, 2010 at 10:58 PM

I love the overall purple(magenta) feel and the illumination of the peaks thru the clouds is bang on!! Fantastic.

Registered on February 23, 2010, 62 Posts, 132 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on August 4, 2010 at 12:31 AM

Kah Kit,

Simply a gorgeous landscape and "reflectionscape." Now the muted colors and patterns of the reflection are great enough as captured and work well with the vertical format - however, it leaves me wondering if you captured a horizontal version as well? You probably did... but for me, this beautiful scene is just saying horizontal to me... a gorgeous large print hung over the fireplace of a stone wall... you get the picture.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Stan Rose on August 4, 2010 at 1:09 AM

Awesome shot, great scene! I agree with Lon--id tighten this up by cropping top and bottom, all the fun stuff is in the middle

Registered on September 15, 2005, 836 Posts, 17099 Comments

Comment posted by John Williams on August 4, 2010 at 9:30 AM

Beautiful Kah! Truly magical lighting. I too would crop a tad of the bottom off, to focus more on that amazing mountain scene.

Registered on September 6, 2007, 221 Posts, 5985 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 4, 2010 at 10:46 AM

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I understand the reasons for cropping the bottom but I think that upsets the balance of the composition. Having the top and bottom dark gives it a sort of snadwich effect with the good stuff in between. I think if I were to crop I would go square taking some off top and bottom to keep it symmetrical.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Overacker on August 4, 2010 at 7:54 PM

Kah Kit,

Yes, there is a certain "balance" to this vertical presentation. My comment wasn't directed towards a crop, but rather an original horizontal capture? I'm just curious if you considered the H, or if there were elements on either side you wanted to exclude - something along those lines. Just curious.

Lon

Registered on November 24, 2006, 521 Posts, 19147 Comments

Comment posted by Kah Kit Yoong on August 4, 2010 at 9:09 PM

Lon I usually see things horizontal rather than vertically so there's always a good reason why I do portrait orientation. In this case the trees were just too tall on the side, going over the top of the mountains.

Registered on September 27, 2006, 636 Posts, 10682 Comments

Comment posted by Kent Mearig on August 5, 2010 at 1:34 AM

I figured your framing choice was based largely on symmetry, and I learned such as I skimmed through the comments. I understand the desire, but I would still probably wouldn't be willing to extend so far below the more interesting and detailed parts in the lake.

Registered on September 4, 2006, 237 Posts, 4748 Comments