KEY POINTS:
I was gazing at the interesting patterns formed by the dark clouds scudding above the Dart River Valley in Central Otago when suddenly they swirled into a giant vortex around a particularly forbidding saw-toothed peak which jutted viciously above the tranquil river flats, fields and forests.
"Look at
that," said landscape photographer Mike Langford. "That's amazing. I've never seen anything like it."
At one point the clouds formed a huge eye just above the mountain, almost like a scene from Lord of the Rings, and I half-expected to see a vast all-seeing eyeball appear in the centre.
It should have been no surprise because we were very much in the heart of Lord of the Rings country. That peak we were gazing at also loomed above the film version of Isengard. The tower of Orthanc, home of Saruman the White, sat on the nearby flats of the Dart River. The forest just opposite was Fangorn, last home of the Ents, the ancient tree folk. Another forest nearby served as the fairy dwelling of Lothlorien.
And ... but enough of this cinematic reminiscing. We were here on a photo safari, not on one of the Lord of the Rings tours. We grabbed our cameras and zoomed in on those amazing clouds.
The vortex effect was sufficiently unusual that even Langford, who hitherto had concentrated on telling us how to get more out of our cameras - I had no idea there were so many settings I could change to improve particular shots - grabbed his own Canon and clicked away.
Fantastic. Another great shot. This landscape photography is easy ... when you've got amazing views round every corner and a multi-award-winning photographer telling you what to do.
It isn't hard to see why Langford, and partner Jackie Ranken, chose Queenstown as the place to base their photography business. This is a photographer's paradise - in fact, according to the road signs, the spot where we were snapping away is actually called Paradise - as well as a favourite setting for the world's film producers.
Our room at the recently refurbished Novotel Queenstown Lakeside had amazing views through a screen of trees to Lake Wakatipu in one direction and across a small stream to the delightful Queenstown Gardens. I could have taken nice photos while still lying on the bed.
And when we headed out of Queenstown in Langford's four-wheel drive for our five hours of practical tuition in landscape and travel photography there was no shortage of great subject material.
Just a few kilometres down the road we pulled up at Bennetts Bluff, with famous views of Lake Wakatipu and the attendant glaciers and mountains, the perfect spot to learn how to compose an effective landscape photo.
A bit further down the lake shore the lovely patterns formed by golden meadows and dark lines of trees attracted our lenses. Next we stopped at an extension of the ancient forest, where the Chronicles of Narnia was filmed, to learn how to illustrate the movement of water in a pretty stony creek using a tripod and long exposure, to create impressionist shots of trees by zooming or moving the lens up the trunk while shooting, and how to reveal the beauty of the mosses and lichens with macro lenses.
Further down the road - after passing the remains of a barn blown up during the filming of the latest episode of the X-Men: Wolverine - some four-legged filmstars obliging posed on the fenceline so we could experiment with picture composition, angles and use of lighting.
"That's good, that's good," said Langford encouragingly as I took a backlit photo of two horses. "Crop out a bit of the sky to emphasise the horses and you'll have quite a nice shot there."
By the time our safari was over I knew a heck of a lot more about how to use my newly purchased Canon EOS 40D and felt inspired to try to make use of that knowledge to take better pictures. Hopefully that will be reflected in the illustrations in the Travel section over the months ahead.
There was further inspiration back at the Novotel which has black and white photos by Langford and Ranken in every room.
And when we went downstairs for a pre-dinner G&T at the bar it was lined with magnificent colour pictures - some reminiscent of Grahame Sydney's magnificent paintings of the Central Otago landscape - taken by the pair.
But I have to admit we were more excited about our own photographic work. The hotel bar has a few outside tables in a delightful little rose garden, protected by two accommodation wings and looking out to Lake Wakatipu, and my wife and I took our drinks there and looked eagerly through our shots.
I've since studied our photos on the computer and some are quite ... interesting.
One of the Herald's real photographers even commented reluctantly, "Maybe you're starting to become a photographer," though he's since denied saying it.
Perhaps we really did learn something.
* Jim Eagles visited Queenstown as guest of the Novotel Lakeside Queenstown.
GETTING THERE
Qantas flies daily Auckland to Queenstown return from $238 and Christchurch to Queenstown return from $158. For more details visit www.qantas.co.nz.
WHERE TO STAY
Novotel Queenstown Lakeside offers rooms for just $150 per night for April, May and June. Or enjoy Novotel's Autumn Bed & Breakfast Special: for just $170 per night you'll receive accommodation, breakfast and a $50 voucher to spend on dinner and wine at Elements Restaurant (one voucher per stay). Receive a complimentary upgrade to a premium room subject to availability. Valid until June 27. Visit www.accorhotels.co.nz or phone 0800 44 44 22.
WHAT TO DO
Photographic Safari Experience with Mike Langford and Jackie Ranken costs $260 per person (for the rest of 2008). Minimum of two people, maximum of eight. Private charters available from $900. See www.qccp.co.nz or call (03) 409 0272.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For information about things to do in Queenstown see www.queenstown-nz.co.nz.