Timing is Everything

Why ruin a good thing? Since last week's picture was taken in New Zealand, I am continuing with the Kiwi theme.

The big idea for this post is timing; it is everything or nothing in photography. And sometimes you just get lucky! Just minutes after I took this picture a slight gust of wind came through and turned this watery mirror into a lake full of ripples. It's a good thing I had my 5D ready to go and I knew exactly how I wanted to compose my shot. So the moral of this post is always be ready.

I wish I could remember exactly where this picture was taken, but I am not 100 percent sure. Although I do know we were headed North from Queenstown on highway 6. If I had to guess I'd say it was taken at Lake Hayes, northeast of Queenstown.

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On the Way to Arthur's Pass

Before I get to the meat of this post I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! We are all blessed to be here experiencing 2010, so let's live it like nobody is watching!

Also I want to be sure you know the details of our picture of the week. It's pretty simple, but a little explanation goes a long way. Last year Brian and I lived in Singapore and Cambridge, United Kingdom. We put VanHatten Photography on the back burner and Brian's career took the reins. And even though we went abroad for work, we took every travel opportunity we could muster.

Now we are back at home in San Diego and we have gigabytes of pictures to show you, so we came up with VP Tuesday, which is VanHatten Photography's picture of the week. Every Tuesday I will post a picture from our experience abroad. We are open to suggestions and comments so please let us know what you think.

Now onto the meat of this post.

Brian and I had the pleasure of being guests at a wedding this past Saturday and it was such a vibrant reminder of all the great adventures we've had since we got married! It also stimulated conversation about traveling, which is something Brian and I hold dear to our hearts. So in perfect form New Zealand became a topic of many stories that night, mainly because it is so hard for us not to talk about it.

One of the most difficult things to conquer when you travel through New Zealand is the urge to stop driving and look around. Everything is so breathtakingly magnificent that you want to stop every 20 minutes, and at that pace you will never reach your destination. So our advice is plan your trip well! Talk to people who have been there and listen to what they have to say.

This picture was taken at Lake Pearson on our way to Arthur's Pass; it was one of several stops along the 73, also know as The West Coast Road.

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Kepler Track, South Island of New Zealand

If you find yourself on the South Island of New Zealand, this track is a must do! It may be 60 kilometers long, but it is worth every step.

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