Photographer, writer and FMC Backcountry editor Peter Laurenson has published a new book, Aotearoa Light. The 30-year body of work encapsulates the beauty of the New Zealand wilderness – with a potent message.

What’s the book about?

Aotearoa Light takes readers on a journey through the New Zealand wilderness via photographs that catch the light, and experiences and reflections that explore our role within Earth’s connected ecosystem. It’s a compilation of some of my best landscape and outdoor images. I hope readers will feel some of the wonder and appreciation I felt when creating them.

The book is also about shedding light on human-induced climate change. We’re putting huge pressure on our environment and we’re doing it mostly out of choice, not out of necessity, which puts the onus back on us to do something about it. When I say ‘us’ I’m referring to the wealthiest 10 per cent of the world’s population who live relatively comfortable lives, who produce over half of global carbon emissions, and who don’t have to fight to survive. About 30 per cent of New Zealanders are in this group, including me.

Was there a light-bulb moment when you became aware of our global predicament?

I think it was cumulative. I started to grow up and become more concerned about our planet’s future. My time with my friend Shaun Barnett, a former Wildernesss editor, helped. I did a lot of trips with him over seven years, and the book is dedicated to him. Shaun really had his head screwed on. He believed in social and environmental equity, and having conversations with him expanded my own knowledge. I’ve done a lot of reading and thinking, too.

What choices have you made to reduce your impact?

The first was to become informed, which has resulted in better decision making. I’ve become vegetarian – it’s probably the biggest thing an individual can do, because we eat every day and industrial farming is one of the major causes of global warming. I’m also more frugal. My partner and I waste less and recycle more. 

We are fortunate to have 28 solar panels on our roof, which enables us to produce about twice as much electricity as we use. 

When it comes to climate change, are you a pessimist or an optimist?

I’m a realist, because I do see a dark potential, particularly when I look at our leaders. There’s so much unnecessary waste and harm going on that we could be fixing, yet we’re choosing not to. But I also see the magic in humanity. We know how to love and produce music and art and we’re incredible innovators. To have a successful response to human-induced climate change, we need to grow a moral spine and become more equitable, both environmentally and socially. 

Of the hundreds of images in the book, do you have a favourite?

The one on the cover is an impressive light show, fitting for a book titled Aotearoa Light. It’s moody and warm, and it captures the ruggedness of the New Zealand backcountry. I also particularly like the one of Piotr Nowak on the summit of Mt Brewster. He’s raising his hand in triumph and the perspective is from where I belayed him. Technically it’s a good image, but for me it symbolises the joy of climbing and of overcoming the fear of exposure.

Aotearoa Light is available on the Wilderness website. Subscribers receive a 10% discount.