Bryan had been out yesterday afternoon and trekked through the rain to scout out Hooker Lake whilst I had sat in the hotel room licking my wounds from dropping my filters so he knew what to expect. This morning the weather was a little cold and the snow still falling but the scene was set for a great shoot.
Hooker Lake is a proglacial lake at the foot of Hooker Glacier. The current glacier lake only started to form in the 1970s, left behind as Hooker Glacier melted and retreated. Like many of the glaciers in the Southern Alps, Hooker Glacier is rapidly melting, with the glacier lake projected to grow as the terminus retreats until it reaches the glacier bed about 4 kilometres upstream from the current terminus.
The walk into Hooker Lake takes about 45min and is absolutely magnificent with the most amazing views of Mt Cook (if you're lucky) and the towering alps.
We spent most of the morning in and around Aoraki before we started the long drive back to Wanaka.
Enroute to Hooker Lake surrounded by peaks!
Canon 5Dmiii, 24-105L @ 50mm, ISO800, f/4, 1/25s with 0.6 Soft GND
The rising sun starts to brighten the landscape.
Canon 5Dmiii, 24-105L @ 50mm, ISO400, f/5.6, 1/15s with 0.6 Soft GND
Mt Cook peeks out from behind the cloud.
Canon 5Dmiii, 24-105L @ 50mm, ISO400, f/5.6, 1/15s with 0.6 Soft GND
Mt Cook catching the first rays of sunshine.
Canon 5Dmiii, 100-400L ii IS @ 100mm, ISO100, f/13, 1/5s
Some of the surrounding peaks lit up like torches!
Canon 5Dmiii, 24-105L @ 75mm, ISO100, f/22, 1/4s
One of the few glimpses we got of Mt Cook this morning.
Canon 5Dmiii, 24-105L @ 47mm, ISO100, f/22, 4s with 0.6 Soft GND
Hooker Lake with Mt Cook shrouded in cloud.
Canon 5Dmiii, 24-105L @ 47mm, ISO100, f/16, 1/30s with 0.6 Soft GND
Mt Cook still not coming out to play
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 32mm, ISO100, f/16, 1/30s with 0.6 Soft GND
Some scale :)
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 16mm, ISO200, f/7.1, 1/50s
Front face of the Hooker Glacier
Canon 5Dmiii, 100-400L ii @158mm, ISO400, f/5.6, 1/500s
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 16mm, ISO100, f/7.1, 1/50s with B+W CPL
The long walk home
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 35mm, ISO400, f/9, 1/160s
Love this place!
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 16mm, ISO50, f/22, 1/6s with 0.6 Soft GND
I loved the monochrome feel of this scene
Canon 5Dmiii, 100-400L ii @ 241mm, ISO500, f/36, 4s
From the last suspension bridge near the car park.
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 16mm, ISO50, f/22, 1/40s with 0.6 Soft GND
Back in Wanaka!
Canon 5Dmiii, 16-35L iii @ 32mm, ISO200, f/10, 1/15s with B+W CPL