New Southern Magnets

This is along the incredibly scenic trail from Aoraki/Mt Cook Village in New Zealand towards the Hooker Lake and Glacier at the foot of Aoraki/Mt Cook. To get a brilliant day like this in mid winter was sheer luck. 16 August, 2014 Canon EOS 550D, ISO 200, f/11, 1/500 sec, 13 mm

Humid swampy Florida marsh

BlTra

The brilliant hues of gorse light up an otherwise monochrome day at Erewhon Station in Canterbury. The hill in the middle of the valley is also known as Edoras, the village that the Rohirrim evacuate from to Helm's Deep in the second Lord of the Rings movie.

Les Bonne Temps Rouler

Show your love for New Zealand with this country badge showing off the New Zealand Flag. New Zealand Country Badge design.

Keep Firing

How amazing is this?! I'd hoped for auroras to appear during our time in Tekapo, since it's known as having one of the darkest skies in the world. We were lucky enough to have it two nights running (although we could only see it with the naked eye on one of those nights). I should have known the minute I got to the Church of the Good Shepherd that they could be seen with the camera, since there was a horde of photographers all facing south, which is probably not a normal occurrence at 11pm!

As we drove north along the west coast towards Hokitika and Arthur's Pass, we passed a sign for the Lake Mapourika camping area. I decided to quickly pull in and see what the lake was like. Boy was I glad I did that, since the water was completely still with an absolutely perfect reflection, with only the occasional ripple breaking the unending calm.

A misty mountain hop, skip & jump through Kangaroo Valley a few years ago revealed this gem of a waterfall flowing down the mountain. Being my first trip to the Kangaroo Valley, I didn't realize at the time that this wasn't a permanent feature, but a flow created by a heavy downpour. Subsequent trips were missing this great sight. Fitzroy Falls was impossible to see because of the rain & blowing mist, so I had to go back another day for that beautiful view. I needed the telephoto lens to capture this, which explains the slight fuzziness. I like the misty cloud .. bottom right. Photographed with a Canon 400D at Kangaroo Valley in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia. Dedicated to Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin. Vid...

"That Wanaka Tree," Wanaka's most famous resident, standing tall above the water on Christmas Day, 2014.

A chill was in the air and Holiday music mixed with the timeless jazz. This December evening in New Orleans was made cozy by the light of gas lamps.

The Hooker River was definitely in a rush to get as far away as possible from Mount Cook, which stands imposing at the end of the Hooker Valley. For the first half of the Hooker Valley Track, Mount Cook was hidden behind the mountain to the right, but it finally came into view here and stood tall over us for the rest of our walk.

Looking from Lake Matheson on the west coast of New Zealand, Mt Tasman is more prominent than Aoraki/Mt Cook. 14 April, 2015 Canon EOS 550D, ISO 200, f/11, 1/1600 sec, 250 mm

Texas_BLK

DIXIE BEER OF NEW ORLEANS SIGN TYPOGRAPHY ADVERTISEMENT

The Hooker Valley track was absolutely worth the walk. This was one of the first epic lookouts we reached, just before the first swing bridge. Around every corner there seemed to be yet another amazing view!

RAP ROYALTY

Cruising down the gravel road between Treble Cone and the Rob Roy Glacier in the Matukituki Valley.

It's unbelievable how blue Lake Pukaki is from afar...but once you actually stand in the lake, as I was doing here, it's so clear it seems that you can see for miles underwater.

A rainbow appears over lupins blooming on Lake Tekapo's shore. A great way to end a bit of a rainy day.

Looking at this amazing view near Belmore Falls in the Southern Highlands made me appreciate how lucky we are in Oz to have such beautiful scenery. This is a 3 vertical photo stitch of photos taken from the lookout. I tried a 2 horizontal photo stitch but preferred this one. Lots of sunshine but few dark shadows .. perfect !! This is in the Morton National Park in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. Photographed with a Canon 400D. *Feature* Cover Shot Photography, January 2016.

The majestic Belmore Falls in the Morton National Park near Robertson in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia. This lookout is a short walk on the track from the carpark. Located on the Barrengarry Creek, the two falls measure almost 100 metres as the waters tumble into the valley below. Photographed with a Canon 400D with telephoto lens. I had to get back to this spot because the last visit was in polarising sunny light. *Features* All Water In Motion & Reflections In Water, July 2012. Cover Shots, July 2012. Australia At Large, July 2012. National Parks of Australia, Aug 2012. The Great Outdoors, Dec 2013. Pixelations, Aug 2016. Canon DSLR, Aug 2016. *Challenge Win* Tall Waterfalls, Amazing Challenge Entertai...

Ironwork is a dying art form. Special schools in Charleston, South Carolina have been set up to teach apprentices how to create this exquisite craft.

The spectacular Belmore Falls in the Morton National Park near Robertson in the Southern Highlands of NSW, Australia. Located on the Barrengarry Creek, the two falls measure almost 100 metres as the waters tumble into the valley below. Photographed with a Canon 400D. *Features* Destination Australia, Aug 2012. Focus on New South Wales, Aug 2012. A Place To Call Home, Aug 2012. Australian Scenic Excellence, Aug 2012. Rural NSW, Aug 2012. No. 1 Favourites, July 2013. Theme Thursday, Feature Friday, Oct 2015. Australian Landscapes, Mar 2016. Hometown Photography, Apr 2016. Featured Men Photographers, Apr 2016. Pixelations, Aug 2016. Up & Coming Photographers, Aug 2016. 2449 views as of Aug 10, 2016.

The gorgeous view of the Remarkables as we cross the Kawarau River in Queenstown. What a perfect day to arrive there!

South Berwick townies, represent.

The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox in 1939, 1942, and 1946.

New Orleans French Quarter Black and White Piano Nola Music Home with Green Botanical Garden and Red Iconic Architecture in Southern Louisiana

Digital painting of a gorgeous sunset over Mt Cook, New Zealand

Digital painting of the peak of Mount Cook

Digital painting of New Zealand's tallest mountain, Mount Cook

Ducks going for an early morning swim on Lake Wakatipu under an impressive sunrise.

The usual brilliant blue of Lake Tekapo briefly turns pink as the sunset lights up the heavy clouds.

The Hooker Valley Track is one of the best half-day walks in New Zealand. Not only is it an easy, relatively even walk on a gravel path, but you get amazing views of the Southern Alps for your entire trip -- and that view constantly changes, sometimes including glacial lakes, other times including rushing river rapids, and most times including Mount Cook/Aoraki, the tallest mountain in New Zealand. Read more about my experience on the track at http://www.bootsandabackpack.com/how-the-hooker-valley-track-nearly-killed-my-dad/.

Gorgeous wispy clouds floating high above Mount Cook and the Hooker Valley. The clouds here were crazy in the way they can only be in the mountains.