Photographing Aoraki Mount Cook

Photographing Aoraki Mount Cook: A guide to the best walks & photography locations

By Mark Watson
Published by New Holland
ISBN: 9781869664503
Paperback, $35.00

Dramatic snow-capped peaks, turquoise lakes, braided rivers and deep glaciated valleys make Aoraki Mount Cook a spectacular place to take photographs. The National Park is surprisingly accessible on foot or by car from Mount Cook Village, with a network of well-developed tracks. Skilled photographer and climber Mark Watson has produced a pictorial guidebook that doubles as a photography and walking/driving guide to some of the prime scenic areas within the park.

Having spent a considerable amount of time himself in the area, Mark is ideally placed to introduce 33 of the best locations for mountain photography on camera, tripod and mobile phone. He covers a range of walks in the Hooker and Tasman Valleys, the Sealy and Mount Cook Ranges and alongside Lake Pukaki, with stunning photographs of each.

Mark also provides numerous tips and techniques for beginner and intermediate photographers, as well as 12 tutorials on double-page spreads. He identifies the best vantage points to capture scenic shots and highlights special features, the season and time of the day for optimum light conditions. Historical and geological facts of interest and mountain safety warnings are also included.

All making this a book in which both visitors and photographers will find inspiration and guidance.

About the author/photographer

Mark Watson has spent most of his life tramping, climbing and cycling among the hills and ranges of New Zealand. His images have been widely published in magazines and calendars, and he has published two other books with New Holland, Our Mountains (with Paul Hersey) and the acclaimed Te Araroa: Walking New Zealand’s 3,000-kilometre trail. He spent over four years photographing Aoraki Mount Cook, building up an archive of images and researching new shoot locations to cover each area through the different seasons. Mark and his partner Hana Black are presently undertaking a 30,000km transcontinental cycling journey, following the length of the Americas from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina.