Tropicalpine, a photo from Fiordland, South Island

Photographer's Note

Milford Sound is a very well known place, but a visit here has its annoyances. This region receives on average 6 METERS!! of rainfall per year. When the waether is nice like this, millions of vicious biting sandflies come out. Regardless of weather, on any given day, there are hundreds of tour buses on day trips, making this in my experience the worst touristy hell outside of China. It's astonishing the number of people the tour companies try to squeeze in such a tight spot.
I have other shots from here with full reflections but I chose to upload this one today because the cabbage trees add a somewhat tropical air to the fjord scenery. The point peak is Mitre Peak 1695m., the top was covered in snow, if that damn cloud wasn't there, you would be able to see it.
A more optimistic and rosy description of this place from the internet:

“For thousands of feet upwards the eye looks upon straight cut rocky frontages, not worn smooth by time, or by wind or water, but as sharply defined and as fresh looking in all respects as if riven asunder but yesterday by the stupendous wedges of Titanic Masons.“ James Hingston 1883

The Maori were the first to attribute the creation of the fiords to a “titanic mason”, Tute Rakiwhanoa who hued out the steep sided valleys with keen edged adzes. No other explanation seems to fit, as it is impossible to comprehend the sheer breadth of geological events that created this seemingly perfect sculpture, as sheer cliffs rise vertically upward from the ocean.

Wet or fine Milford is incredibly grand. Mitre Peak magnetises photographers, and the fiord’s sheer cliffs excite both admiration and apprehension.

Milford is by far the best known of all of the fiords and the only one that can be accessed by road. It is approximately 16km from the head of the fiord to the open sea, which means visitors can comfortably travel the length of the fiord to open ocean and return on one of the many cruise options available in one and a half to two hours cruising time.

ccooper, hayu, Vagabond, ahmet54, vincent24, kebek, iehuiah, skeelerik, MiguelP, AmiBe, fayeulle, Tue, anakin, jjbach, cam, sarju, quantabeh, devimeuxbe, bazal, Paolo, rbcy1974, carper, MarekP, sarpedon, sayzey, sleon, john_c, maphoto, Roly, gren4, nerve, jpages, Fon, rajhema, jbweasle, captain_banana, apazevedo, Jeppe, perryhooter, benkrut, martou, cherryripe, schobi, MIMACSKA, madman1, munte, IgorDeleze has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

kozerog (1288) 2005-07-17 14:21

Beautiful shot Tan. Great colors, composition and perspective. Congrads.

danyy (0) 2005-07-17 14:29

Bonjour Tan,
Merveilleuses couleurs pour un paysage à couper le souffle. On y percoit presque du relief, telement la mise au point et les contrastes sont excellents.
Un endroit idyllique.
Bien vu et capturé.
Daniel.

Vagabond (5848) 2005-07-17 14:37

Very nice picture with great composition, strong and amazing colours and light. Congratulations ..

gilou530 (34) 2005-07-17 14:52

cette photo est vraiment magnifique, les couleurs et le contraste sont de toute beauté, même s'il y a beaucoup de touristes, que l'on ne voit pas, cette photo donne envie d'y aller félicitations....

ahmet54 (3590) 2005-07-17 14:54

Beautiful shot Tan. I was in New Zealand in February this year, but I could not reach Milford Sound because planes did not start because of the cloudy weather. So I can really enjoy your picture, you lucky one.
Selamlar Ahmet54

vincent24 (9060) 2005-07-17 14:59

Hello Tan,
What a beautiful POV!with a great depht and sublime colors,a little piece of heaven,very well done,congrats,
vincent

kebek (5438) 2005-07-17 15:23

Serwus Tan !
Clarity of Your image is absolutely outstanding. Wonderful place with amazing tones of green.
I love it. Thank You!
Mat

iehuiah (186) 2005-07-17 15:25

AMAZING! Seems like it popped out of a fantasy story! I like the contrasting colors and the deep tones in them.

MiguelP (14470) 2005-07-17 15:41

Wonderful terrible places... I feel sorry for you 007, pour little boy in an mosquito paradise in New Zealand... Well I think I´ll visit it although the sadflies. Perfect framing, I dont like the grass ground on the left but impossible to avoid it. Great one, be prepare for new sensations about points OO7

skeelerik (763) 2005-07-17 15:43

Hi Tan,
A very clear view and nice colours of green. Despite that damned cloud I can see the snow on top of the mountain. Nice note too. It's one of my wishes to go to NZ once. CU, Erik

AmiBe (6042) 2005-07-17 15:47

Hi Tan,
until now there were hundreds of tour buses going there, but now, after seeing this shot, the frequentation will increase !!!
I must admit that this landscape is absolutely wonderful and I want to go there one day... and I want the same weather...

lolo-06 (169) 2005-07-17 16:26

Hi Tan.,

Again a paradisiac shot .
No more to tell

Lolo

fayeulle (27827) 2005-07-17 16:28

Hello Tan
Incredible green country.
You was very lucky to have sunny weather.
I'ts a great shot !
I would like to visit New Zealand.
Perhaps next Trek....
Regards
JP

poulinp (4528) 2005-07-17 16:57

What a beautiful landscape here Tan! The DOF is huge and the whole picture clear and sharp.

ccooper (840) 2005-07-17 17:02

Tan,
I have heard similar complaints about Milford Sound and the overabundance of tourists. I guess I want to be a tourist and hike around the area someday, especially due to your wonderful photo.

Tue (91648) 2005-07-17 18:05

Hi Tan,
With such a climate, you must have been very lucky to get such a nice blue sky. And what a steep mountains, they run straight into the lake. Well composed picture, well done!
Groeten,
Lars

anakin (2775) 2005-07-17 18:10

It is greeeeat...very good compo, very good place and superb perspective....really beautiful colours,good work...
well done

aslhann14 (203) 2005-07-17 18:16

Contrast is increduble. That´s all. Wonderful.

jjbach (9326) 2005-07-17 18:54

Hi Tan,
Excellent landscape shot. Amazing nature !! Wonderful colours and lighting. Very nice work!

Regards John

cam (9043) 2005-07-17 20:03

Hello Tan
I can understand why everyone wants to see this,but usually tour bus are not the way to visit these spots,they don't stay long enough.I guess that you were not on a tour bus.
The place is fantastic and the composition excellent.
Well done
Charles

huynt (5081) 2005-07-17 21:15

Hi Tan
It is very interesting. Thank yu very much to sharing the great nature, espcial at this shot. Well compsition. Beest regards. HUY

sarju (5324) 2005-07-17 21:18

Hi Tan
I always associate NZ with lots of rain ... so it was nice to see what this awesome place might have looked like when it is not raining .... lols
Nice capture of the great landscape
Cheers .... Sarju

quantabeh (5205) 2005-07-17 22:25

well composed, with live colors and contrast. It definitely though begs for a wider angle. It's just too beautiful to be viewed so narrowly. nice work!

Paul57 (2223) 2005-07-18 0:04

Hi Tan,
W O W!!!! Simply magnifique. I have never seen such a clear, sharp, colourful, etc. picture in a long while. As I look at this shot I could just feel like reaching out and grabbing those palm trees. And that cloud just above Mitre Peak!! I'm sure this is where the Garden of Eden must have been.
And now I can go to bed and hope to dream about this Milford Sound.
Regards,
Paul

bazal (7900) 2005-07-18 4:08

Hi Tan.
Just one thing to say, looking at this picture: It's amazing ! The landscape is so incredible, that we could think it's a photomontage ! One more time, an exceptionnal light and superb colors. Thanks for sharing and for your very complete informative note !

Paolo (41258) 2005-07-18 4:23

Wonderful image Tan!
excellent composition, with amazing colors, a strong light and a great perspective to the mountains.
thanks, ciao

rbcy1974 (20758) 2005-07-18 4:25

Hi Tan,
This is great landscape photography. The colours are excellent, as is the DOF. I really like the contrast between the now and the tropical looking trees. I guess al that tourist hell was worth it even if you only got this one picture.
Regards
Daniel

carper (96) 2005-07-18 4:50

this is a nice one too,
fantastic view, great colours, nice point of view, well Tan this is good,
gr. Jaap

MarekP (4750) 2005-07-18 5:36

Hi Tan,
This´is a stunning scenery -- like from another world. I like the forest climbing up to the peak and the lake well taken from very acute angle. Very well done!

Thanks,
Marek

sarpedon (352) 2005-07-18 5:47

Verdigin bilgi cok ilginc alti metre ha?...
Tropik adalar olur ya hani yuksek volkanik daglari ve palmiye tipi agaclariyla, aynen oyle burasi da. Cok guzel.
Serhat.

PixelTerror (0) 2005-07-18 6:25

Hi Captain,
This one looks popular... Inaddition to your usual clarity and superb colors, I like here the contrast between the tropical looking vegetation and the high rising snow capped mountains, another splendid and spectacular place, and another hit from you for our enjoyment !
Have a nice day,
Jean-Yves

dkeus31 (27739) 2005-07-18 7:05

Hi Tan,
Nice perspective and colors.
Good foreground.

devimeuxbe (58557) 2005-07-18 7:21

Bonjour Tan
tout est déjà dit.bien sur c'est superbe. Le verticalité des montagnes, l'horizontalité de l'eau, la fantaisie des arbres, tout cela fonctionne à merveille.
Très beau travail
bertrand

lukie (0) 2005-07-18 9:38

Hello Tan,

what you show us here, it's just like paradise. Fabulous shot ! Great colors !

Luc

davido (1982) 2005-07-18 12:31

What is amazing in this part of the world is the changes of weather.
Here it seems to be tropical and warm.
But I already saw pics where this seemed to be an english weather.
Anyway the composition is very good.
And the colours are sublime.
David

banyanman (7797) 2005-07-18 13:02

Beautiful colours and sharpness, Tan. Yes, I know what you mean about the sandflies there - they are hell on earth. It is such a pity because it is such a beautiful place. Cheers . . . David

mjdundee (4663) 2005-07-18 14:00

OK - Tan,

This is a 'as good as it gets' photo of Milford sound. First because the sun is shining, second because your POV is perfect and third because it is a brilliant scan from a slide which will never be beaten by digital cameras - never! One second later you would have had a chance to have the peak of Mitre Peak also captured - nevertheless: GREAT JOB!!!

;-) Thomas

srabbe (1424) 2005-07-18 14:43

Wow, this landscape is incredible, with that high peak, the lake, these trees !...
This is an excellent composition, with nice blue and green tones.
Excellent !
You were lucky with the light too!
Sophie

sayzey (2358) 2005-07-18 15:09

Very nice shot Tan, so many different elements to look at, from the palm (cabbage?) trees making the place look tropical to the snow on the mountains!! Quite a contrast and as you say if we could see th etop for hte cloud it would be better still!

Well done!

sleon (9402) 2005-07-18 16:37

Hi Tan
Do you have a magic camera? This is simply stunning, as ever. I like the combination of palm trees and snow in the same scene! The shape of the mountains is amazing. Beautiful scene.
Regards
Susanna

toni_al (15875) 2005-07-18 18:18

Salut Tan
Une tres joli vue de NZ, incroyable contraste entre les palmiers et les montagnes.
Regards
Toni

donluicu (24741) 2005-07-18 18:54

Isn't it strange to find those trees (palms or yuccas) in this region..the background looks freezing, and i thought those trees needed sun..
excellent colors.
bye
loic

john_c (24666) 2005-07-18 21:26

Hello Tan.
A great composition, with good balance, colours and contrast. I like your POV and the manner in which the foreground grass angles into the scene. An idyllic spot, subject of course to the tourist buses referenced in your note. Regards.
JOhn

maphoto (8082) 2005-07-18 22:17

Such a beautiful place Tan, I'm almost out of word to describe this marvelous place that you are offering us. Congratulations with the scan, your doing a great job, thanks again for sharing so many beautiful place around the world, have a nice day.

Roly (2024) 2005-07-19 1:57

Blue sky, water, mountains and bright colors, only the reflection is missing and it would be the perfect shot. :) The scenery is indeed fantastic, you should post also the other images from this area. I like the cabbage trees on the right, but I would have preferred a slightly different angle, so that the mountains behind them would be visible as well. Excellent note!

gren4 (603) 2005-07-19 2:27

The colours are what make this nice for me especially the dark green mount in front of the bare rock mountain.An interesting looking topography.The inclusion of the plants frames this well and the perspective of the diagonal works here to

Seena (0) 2005-07-19 3:08

fantistic and beautifull shot. great landscap.

hayu (646) 2005-07-19 9:09

Amazing nature. Often photographed, but I must say with all the green in the foreground this one of the nicest I've seen. Tourists are mostly annoying, but hey, we are usually tourists our selves. Regards, Huub

19-07-2005 I can give you your points now ;-))

tjanze (5674) 2005-07-19 9:55

What a fantastic landscape.Some sort of palm trees and snow on top of mountains.Wow! Never see something like that.Beautiful image.

kabe (2011) 2005-07-19 13:10

Great shot. I like the colors and the contrast between them. Good light and sharpness. I like the composition and point of view. Good job!
Regards, Krzysztof.

jrzufferey (7305) 2005-07-19 14:23

Magnifique capture, ton image est magnifique, j'aime bien cette saturation des couleurs. Ciao/jr

leonorkuhn (16237) 2005-07-19 15:21

Hi Tan,
Another beautiful image where the day smiles to you. Great contrast of colours, lightness, depth of field. Wonderful!
Greetings
Leonor

bnallama (3763) 2005-07-19 18:20

Tan, I was away for a while and nice to see some great postings from you... another lovely one. Well done. Bala

jpages (1670) 2005-07-19 19:45

Hi Tan,
I like to see how the blue and green colours are combined here, in this very clear view. The sunlight coming from the right hand side creating these linear shadows in the trunks of the tropicalpines distributed almost in diagonal, creating this good foreground increased by this great landscape, is very nice to see. Great again!.
Best regards.
Jaume

betogrein (2232) 2005-07-19 19:47

Good shot, great contrast of colours and depth of field. I like this.
Greetings.
Beto

Fon (2302) 2005-07-19 20:46

Place wonderful, green and that green, good depth and great sharpness, great composition.
Regards,
Sérgio

nerve (10231) 2005-07-20 4:14

müthis bir yer burası, yeni zelanda en çok ziyaret etmek istediğim ülkelerden biri.. (Maorileri çekmek istiyorum, gerçi zormus onları çekmek ama..)
Harika bir slide gene Kaptan..Notun da çok faydalı..(Circular polarizer'ın varmıs, ukalalık etmisim, kusura bakma artık.. :)

Selamlar, sevgiler..

rajhema (1873) 2005-07-20 15:46

compared to all the explanation you gave in the note, the picture is very clear and very beautiful. The steepness of the mountain is very visible. Very good picture !

jbweasle (9393) 2005-07-20 18:11

A wonderful view of this very famous mountain. I think all the "classic" shots I've seen have been taken from a boat on the sound. I have to say I like this one more with these fabulous trees in the foreground. Well done with the title too!

Janice (4403) 2005-07-20 21:29

This is one of the most photographed scenes of NZ, but I think you've shown it from a better than usual angle Tan. The cabbage Trees certainly make it look good and the sunlight is great.
I agree with your comments of the rain, the buses and tourists, and definitely the sandflies!
And I am so pleased you didn't manage to get one tourist or boat in this scene. Well done Tan, and thank you.

rabdelnoor (3423) 2005-07-21 0:16

Hi Tan,
This photo is amazing. Make me really want to visit NZ as soon as possible. Is this picture really from an scanned photo, as you mentioned on your intro? The quality is excellent. Beautiful colours and highly sharp.
Congratulations.
Ricardo

captain_banana (43) 2005-07-21 9:00

Wow ! Simply amazing !

This scenery looks really great and you really took a great picture. Such pictures give me a lot of motivation for a future trip to NZ ! Thanks !!

ndb1958 (9289) 2005-07-21 11:11

Hi Tan,
how beautiful ... great colours and light ... nice composition.
Nino

greg64g (11193) 2005-07-21 12:00

Hello Tan,

When the landscape is like that with the sunny days, it's must be paradise.
A so beautiful light, contrast and colors.
this is perfect.
cheers
greg

apazevedo (5469) 2005-07-24 11:25

What an amazing place, Tan! Real wild and beautiful Nature, although, as you say, It's astonishing the number of people the tour companies try to squeeze in such a tight spot. It is hard to believe, in fact, but you showed us a "free of people" and fantastic place... :-)
Very good work!

baba_flies (8829) 2005-07-25 11:26

I like the name of the pic ... that is exactely how it "feels" ... simply beautiful.

Jeppe (18654) 2005-07-26 16:42

Hi Tan
Sorry I missed this and a lot more - what a place - very beautyfull green indeed - and I beleived we got a lot of rain here ;-)

Thanks for sharing this magic shot.

perryhooter (2424) 2005-07-26 19:08

Hello Tan,

Thank you for this stunning shot. I may repeat all the same superlatives, but it would be useless.

When we look at your pictures. We are always discovering wild landscapes. The fuuny thing, they seem so deserted. It is strange to read hundreds of people could be behind you with their cameras.....

Thanks for sharing your memories. As I cannot travel as often as you, I am glad to travel with you virtually.
Robert

dexter (170) 2005-08-10 12:30

Mukemmel renler, notu okuyamadim cok uzun eminim ilginc bilgiler vardir..Simdi ben muzik esliginde senin fotograflarini izleyeyim bu bana yeterli..Selamlar, fotograflar icin tesekkurler..

R_Chevalier (344) 2005-08-11 11:08

Very eye catching shot. The colours are fantastic. Well done.

ayobami (1353) 2005-08-11 11:55

Beautiful landscape and what stunning colors you've captured here! Great saturation and good overall composition!

mumek (20226) 2005-08-15 4:12

Good afternoon Tan!
Another beauty from your gallery! Super composition with fantastic colours and details.Very good light. Thanks for the note
regards
ziggy

benkrut (2407) 2005-08-21 19:31

Amazing picure. It was a very good idea to show us the view with the trees. Thanks to you finally I have an idea how Milford Sound looks like during a very nice weather. One of six meteres of rain you wrote about, fell there probably the day I visited this place - I haven't seen anything just the misty air.
Great job!

Hanssie (11022) 2005-10-30 16:04

What can I say about this one, soooo nice, great foreground and view on the spectacular mountains, Tan !

martou (1660) 2005-11-16 18:25

fantastique prise de vue
quel paysage!
good work! merci
Martin

ukasz (803) 2005-11-26 14:15

hi,
wow, what an incredibly beautiful place and view :) I could spent hours in such a place unless the sandfies made me run away... anyway, I am totally amazed, superb colours, great depth of the composition, nice sharness, just lovely :) greetings
ukasz

cherryripe (21033) 2005-11-29 6:31

Hi Tan
How did you happen to be there on a sunny day ? This is the most interesting view of Milford Sound I've seen, thanks to the cabbage trees. The contrasts are stunning.
Thanks for sharing this one.
Regards Nikki

schobi (187) 2005-12-13 17:18

...one more perfect shot! Great landscape! Best regards, Schobi

pawelen (92) 2005-12-13 17:18

What a view! what a place! what a photo! well done. cheers!

arnie (1817) 2006-01-09 22:47

Hi Tan,
You must have got there at the right time or did you find a tranquil spot. Again the colours are amazing.
Regards Arnie.

MIMACSKA (291) 2006-07-12 11:26

WoW!!=)
What a beautifull, colorfull rich piture!!!
There are snow, mountains, sun, water, palms....
I wanna visit this place someone!
TFS
Erika

krakowiak (4762) 2006-08-03 15:34

Truly breathtaking view! Great composition!

Best regards,
Pawel

IgorDeleze (585) 2007-06-02 16:23

Hello Tan,
All the time when I'm connecting to TE I take a look at the home page to find a fabulous picture of you that I have not seen in your gallery!
This one, like a lot on your page, is simply incredible. The landscape, the point of view, the colors, the exposure, the framing .... all is excellent on this one.
Congratulations.
Greeitngs.
Igor

batalay (41261) 2007-06-13 8:35

Hello Tan,

This photo from 23 months ago came up in the random order in which you've presented the photos on your Intro page. A good friend of mine will be traveling to Australia and New Zealand soon. When I came across this compelling image of New Zealand, I had to offer a comment and also to send her the link. I had heard of Milford Sound, I had no idea that it was so beautiful with the steep mountains and fjords. The composition, colors and definition are all first rate. Warm regards,
Bulent

Tibo (1906) 2007-07-11 5:54

unbelievable!! I wanna go! Perfect composition, quite unique on TE New Zeland... u got the perfect angle! Cheers, Tibo

wojtal (353) 2008-04-19 12:33

What an awesome landsape! Thanks a lot for that shot. It's great!

gut31 (144) 2009-08-07 6:24

Wonderful picture..... the colours are so nice... and the mountain.....very nice.....

samson (2250) 2010-12-09 2:29

Hello Tan

A beautiful scene (best shot among all the Milford Sound pictures). I was on a boat when I looked at Mitre Peak hence this is new to me.

Regards

Sam