**PSNZ is the Photographic Society of New Zealand and this article was originally written for the society's Camera Talk magazine**
Sandwiched between two weather bombs, the PSNZ Landscape Photography workshop with Meghan Maloney couldn’t have been more perfectly timed.
13 eager photographers met on Friday 15th July in the afternoon at Pinewood Lodge - an unassuming accommodation with spacious six-bedroom units and ample communal space. After an introduction to Meghan's approach to landscapes, we made a (very) last minute decision to head towards Glenorchy. Given the near 100% cloud cover in Queenstown it turned out to be the right decision and we found a pull out just past Bennett's Bluff lookout to settle in for the evening.
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And settle in we did. After a moody sunset complete with ‘second sunset’ due to the Tonga effect (volcanic remains in the atmosphere from the Tongan eruption earlier this year), our quirky van decided it was done for the night. Cue kumbaya and storytelling (during which we discovered we were in the presence of a bona fide rally car driver) while waiting for a jump start. The knowledge that our Ferg Burger dinner courtesy of “Ted’s Eats” delivery was on its way, helped keep spirits up too!
Given Glenorchy had pulled through with the weather on Friday night, we were straight back out to the wharf for sunrise. Moonrise coincided, so we were able to capture some near full moon shots as she made her decent behind the mountains. But by gosh it was cold! When we could no longer operate our cameras due to numb fingers, thawing and breakfast in front of the fire at the Glenorchy Hotel was in order – the hot chocolates at the Glenorchy Hotel were a particular hit with the group!
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Not content that Glenorchy was sufficiently ‘paradisal’, we continued on. Our poor wee van wasn’t capable of making it all the way to Paradise, but we certainly found some cracker vistas en-route! This included gnarly trees and epic mountains, plus beech forests for some sun starburst action between the branches. We followed this up with sunset at Lake Hayes before tacos and tutorials.
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We then had one last chance to put our learnings into practice at sunrise the following morning. We predicted it was either going to be a clanger or an absolute banger… I’ll leave the images to speak for themselves. It was certainly a high to end the workshop on!
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**If you're not familiar with PSNZ and it's workshop series, PSNZ membership is open to everyone with an interest in photography. The society hosts several specialised workshops per year, and this was a hands-on, practical workshop interspersed with learning sessions. Although participants had varied photography experience and ability levels, there was something new for everyone in Meghan’s slides – from how to use filters, composition tips, editing techniques and Lightroom shortcuts, to planning your shoot using Photopills and a variety of weather apps. Find out more about PSNZ at www.photography.org.nz**
