Beautiful ropework
After summiting 1921m Blimit at Arthur’s Pass National Park on a picture perfect day with stunning cloud-cover, John Perry demonstrated his rope-coiling skills. The climb was made as part of...
Dennis Radermacher
Dennis is a professional photographer and long-time contributor to Wilderness Magazine. When he is not capturing the architecture of Christchurch, you can find him teaching landscape photography workshops in the mountains.
Stargazing at Mt Sinclair
Mt Sinclair tarn, Mesopotamia Station, Rangitata Valley When I came across a picture of the tarn just below Mt Sinclair, I immediately filed it under ‘to be done soon’. As...
Wind-whipped walk
Heading up to Mt Cloudsley from Castle Hill Village on an easy day walk, we soon found that the forecast for high winds about the tops was accurate. Gale-force gusts...
Over the tops
On our first tramp of the New Year, we pitched our tents by these lovely tarns on the Lewis Pass tops. Inspiration for the trip had come from an...
Ballrooms and dinosaurs
Ballroom Overhang, Paparoa National Park Backed by a perfect weather forecast on Waitangi day weekend we started our trip from Tiromoana on the West Coast. An easy track follows the...
Tarn to summit
After a tranquil night at a tarn above Crow Hut in the Arthur’s Pass region, our group of three made an early attempt on Mt Guinevere, 2042m, in the golden...
Adventure to Lochnagar
Rain, snow and thick scrub turn a tramp in Mt Aspiring National Park from tour to trial in double quick time With our packs straining at the seams with a...
A tarn fine spot
Wye Creek Route, The Remarkables My partner and I set off one weekend to journey into The Remarkables from the conveniently located ski field car park. We followed the markers...
Urban getaway
Mt Pleasant, Tauhinu-Korokio Scenic Reserve, Christchurch Since moving to Christchurch, the Port Hills have been hardly more than a place to exercise in preparation for the ‘real deal’ out in the backcountry....
Backcountry for rookies
Mount Guy, Hakatere Conservation Park There comes a time for most trampers when straying off the beaten track provides an exciting new challenge. A few years ago I went through...
Side-stepping the crowds
Hinapouri Tarn via 3rd Basin, Nelson Lakes National Park The route along Robert Ridge to Lake Angelus Hut is one of the busiest tramping highways in the country. My partner...
Take better night photos
Dennis Radermacher shares his top tips for taking the perfect photo once the sun has set New Zealand is one of the top spots in the world for stargazing. Jump...
Lazy days at Wye Creek
Wye Creek Basin, The Remarkables Conservation Area, Queenstown The upper Wye Creek basin is the perfect destination for a spontaneous camping trip. Camping on high alpine terrain usually requires a...
Finding Guinevere
Mt Guinevere Tarn, Arthur’s Pass National Park The journey to Mt Guinevere tarn asks a lot of a tramper. Good navigation skills, proficiency at river crossings and healthy stamina are...
King of the Castle
Castle Hill Peak, Arthur’s Pass National Park The experience of re-discovering a tramp in snow is what I like most about tramping in winter. Exploring the backcountry with snow and...
Pastoral allure
Camping on Te Ara Pataka, Banks Peninsula The new Te Ara Pataka Track, less than an hour’s drive from Christchurch is the latest addition to an amazing portfolio of outdoor experiences near...
Big shoes to fill
Four snowshoe trips for beginners For those who prefer to stay active in the winter months, options were once limited to skis. But a more easily accessible winter activity has gained...
Panorama photography
Merging several sequential images into one photograph will allow you to capture a landscape that is much wider than the field of view of your lens. Be a straight shooter Shoot all pictures along an imaginary horizontal line, using...
Tents at night
Interesting foreground subjects can be hard to come by when camping on open tops. Lighting up a tent after sunset will bring an otherwise dark landscape to life. Wait for...
Principles of mountain photography
Subject Sometimes you are spoilt for choice. When facing a beautiful sunset in the mountains with lakes, trees, tents and people, take a breather and think about your intention. What...
Composing better photos
Lead Lines How to guide your viewer’s attention to the subject is one of the most important challenges for a creative photographer. Lead lines, like trails, rivers or fences, guide...
Think on your feet
Layers Try to present the environment as a stack of layers. Shooting in portrait orientation can help to emphasise the vertical aspect of a scene and its constituent parts. Foreground ...
A walk in the park
Let’s face it, tramping is not a particularly action-packed activity. When taking tramping pictures, your subject’s natural state of being is walking. And while there is nothing wrong with someone...
Mountain selfies
A good tramping photo captures people enjoying the outdoors. But when you are tramping by yourself or want to be part of a group photo, you have to be creative...
Amazing spaces
New Zealand’s hut network is second to none. Whether an old musterer’s shed or purpose-built backcountry palace, our huts play an important role in our tramping stories. The following tips...
Outdoor portraits
People are as important as amazing landscapes when it comes to capturing the tale of your adventure. The following tips will help you engage your subjects and tell their tale....
Blinded by the light
Into the sun Position the subject between you and the sun to achieve a clear outline with lots of contrast. This is one of the few situations where a lack...
Walking on sunshine
It has been two years since my last snowshoe outing when I drive south from Christchurch. After many weather and health-related delays, I finally shoulder my 23kg backpack to conquer...
Too good to be true
A panorama of towering limestone formations, crags, sheer cliffs and smooth mountain flanks opened up around us. When I first came across images of the incredible karst landscape at Mt...
Make your own mood
Good outdoor photography is all about interesting light. Unfortunately, our control over light conditions in the great outdoors is limited. On some days we are stuck in the undesirable middle...
The night is your canvas
Light painting images have become increasingly popular over the past few years and despite their otherworldly quality, they are easy to make. All you need is a camera with manual...
Turn down the volume
Mountain landscapes are often a jumble of what photographers call ‘micro contrast’: tussock, scree, trees and rock create a visually distracting environment full of small detail high in contrast. Your...
Taking pointers
It’s all connectedAny naturally or artificially existing line in an environment can be utilised as a leading line that draws attention to the subject. Rivers, streets, fences, skylines and shores...
Change your perspective
Tiny worlds Macro photography is a beautiful way to access a world normally invisible to us. Getting up close with tiny subjects like flowers and bugs is par for the...
Capture the feels
Tramping in general, and tramping photography in particular, seem to attract people with a certain mindset. We are lovers of extra elbow room, and a mountain shared can feel like...