We returned from a trip to Hong Kong that we took in 2018 and saw an image on a photographer’s web site that connected us with that holiday. The picture showed an area we had just stayed at and instantly recognised. This led to us finding a photography tour being arranged in Queenstown by Trey Ratcliff, whom we had followed for years. He pioneered a lot of HDR photography techniques and processes with digital processing, and this photo tour was a great next destination for us.

As part of this tour, we were taken to the Queenstown Gardens one afternoon. Established in 1867 on a small peninsula reaching out into the glacier-carved waters of Lake Wakatipu, the gardens offer a striking contrast between New Zealand’s rugged alpine wilderness and meticulously designed heritage landscapes.

Walking through the park, we watched the sun set behind the autumn leaves and historic trees. The scene and area were magical; much of the region’s special places have a character that is distinctly New Zealand, framed by the towering, snow-dusted peaks of the Remarkables mountain range, yet incredibly photogenic and peaceful to experience. Queenstown is world-renowned for its autumn palette, where the crisp Central Otago climate turns the exotic poplars, oaks, and weeping willows into a brilliant canopy of fiery oranges and deep golds.

This specific location in the park, situated right along the edge of the tranquil lily pond, gave us a few magnificent angles to enjoy. The light reflected cleanly up from the water’s surface, while the direct sunlight projected onto the back of the trees. The fallen autumn leaves carpeting the ground glimmered in the low-angled afternoon sun, providing immense texture and impact for this picture. The gentle misty spray of the pond’s fountain in the background added an extra layer of soft, atmospheric depth to the frame.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography extends the ability of a camera by taking multiple shots with different exposures. You can then later combine them into a single image that covers a wider scope of bright and dark areas. This technique was essential for capturing the extreme contrast of this park scene: it allowed us to pull out the intricate bark details of the dark, shadowed tree trunks while simultaneously taming the intense glare of the sunburst piercing through the autumn canopy, keeping the sky and highlights from being completely overexposed.