Df Tank Tops

A tram rushes down Aleksanterinkatu on an otherwise quiet winter's night in Helsinki.

These reindeer refused to admit that it was summertime, and instead found one of the few patches of snow remaining on Pyhätunturi and settled down on that instead. I don't blame them, since mosquitos don't tend to hang out quite as much on snow as they do in the forest!

At the end of my walk through the Isokuru Gorge area of Pyhä-Luosto National Park, I came across a small herd of reindeer that had found the last snow of the season to lounge on -- apparently the 15ºC that it was outside was just too warm for them! This guy was the only albino reindeer in the group, and I found his pink fuzzy antlers to be very impressive (even if his molting fur was a little less so)!

The sun sets behind a man in an akubra at the Queensland Instameet in October 2014.

The cabins of Shadow Lake Lodge nestled in amongst the pine trees of Banff National Park. It snowed for most of our 13km snowshoe trip in, so we were happy to get even a glimpse of the area -- resplendent in its fresh coat of snow -- before we snowshoed out the next morning!

The giant arrow shape of the end of Hill Inlet pointing out to sea. This was by far the highlight of our helicopter trip from Hamilton Island. The colours were unreal! Read more (and see plenty more photos) on my blog at: http://www.bootsandabackpack.com/helicoptering-paradise-hamilton-island-air/

The (nearly) full moon rises over the wreck of the SS Dicky on Caloundra's Dicky Beach. This photo shoot was significant because it was likely the last time I ever shot the Dicky as it was removed earlier this year.

Natural Bridge is a favourite of photographers across South East Queensland. This difficult-to-shoot scene, found in the Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park, is part of a very short bushwalk through the area, which takes you along Cave Creek, into the cave, and then up and over it. It's best seen when there has been a lot of recent rainfall; otherwise, it can slow to a faint trickle.

Natural Bridge is a favourite of photographers across South East Queensland. This difficult-to-shoot scene, found in the Natural Bridge section of Springbrook National Park, is part of a very short bushwalk through the area, which takes you along Cave Creek, into the cave, and then up and over it. It's best seen when there has been a lot of recent rainfall; otherwise, it can slow to a faint trickle.

9.30am on a January morning in the Arctic Circle. Reine was an unreal place to visit in mid-winter, and the light made this village -- one of the most beautiful in the world already -- even more gorgeous.

The newest feature of Cave Creek Falls in Springbrook's Natural Bridge is this log, which wedged itself in the falls in late 2012 and has been there ever since. It adds an extra dimension to the falls, especially when there is less water in them during the winter months.

A lone visitor stands on the ice of the Vermilion Lakes just after sunrise. It was a frigid March morning, but there's no reason to let -25ºC temperatures get in your way when the world around you is just beckoning to be explored like it was here!

We were very surprised to see fireworks during our sunset shoot at Wilson's Outlook. Unfortunately they weren't quite as close as they will be during Riverfire (in 3 weeks time) and in fact, it takes a bit of looking to even find them in this shot...especially since the Story Bridge was lit up in red as well!

No matter what time of year, the view from Morant's Curve is stunning, with the mixture of natural (the mountains, the Bow River) and the manmade (the train tracks). The frame of golden aspens in late September just makes it even moreso.

The Church of the Good Shepherd, barely visible over a field of lupins on the shores of Lake Tekapo.

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.

The hot springs at the end of the last Vermilion Lake steaming at sunrise on a -20ºC winter's day in Banff. I loved how the steam had coated the entire marsh nearby in frost!

The graffitied hull of the Gayundah shipwreck sticks out from underneath a ring of fire. Funnily enough, this is actually a self-portrait since I was the one spinning the burning steel wool!

The lighthouse at Fingal Head shining its white and red lights (the latter is illuminating the seemingly red tree) out to sea on a somewhat cloudy night.

Waves roll in over the rocks at Miami Beach on the Gold Coast, just after sunrise on the second day of the year.

Sometimes you need to take your focus off what you've come to take photos of an look around. I was at Dicky Beach to take photos of the wreck, but the clouds behind me were just as interesting!

What an amazing sight this was. The few of us that were on Mon Repos beach late in the afternoon were treated to the sight of four hatchlings, stragglers from a nest that hatched the night befoe, as they made their first run to the sea. This poor girl in particular got tossed around by the waves, but eventually she made it out to the open sea. Hopefully she'll be returning back to the same beach in 30 years time to lay her own batch of hatchlings!

The full moon shoot I ran last night at Currumbin Beach was very successful! It's always good fun to see the reaction after someone takes a long exposure under the full moon. Even though we were standing on the rocks in darkness, their cameras were showing them a landscape lit as though it was the middle of the day. It's one of the many reasons I love night photography! This was one of my few shots from the night. The moon was very red as it rose above the horizon so it gave the whole scene a nice soft colour.

The Milky Way was bright in the sky once the (almost new) moon went down -- so much so that it was even reflected on the calm waters of Lake Wyaralong!

The sun peeks over the horizon and lights up the clouds over the rock pools at Point Cartwright on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

We weren't sure what we were going to get at Overlander Falls as we just blindly followed signs promising a waterfall (and got lucky enough to find another sign shortly after pointing out a closer parking lot before we embarked a 3-hour roundtrip walk). 15 minutes and a short descent later, we found a waterfall surrounded by winter wonderland and lit with the constant golden light that this time of year brings. It was perfection.

Our cabin for the weekend at Big River Caravan Park on the Clarence River near Grafton, NSW. That feeling of amazement when you look up and can see the Milky Way with the naked eye will never get old.

This morning was a great morning to be out on the rocks at Currumbin. The nearly-high-tide waves were crashing over the rocks and there was a gorgeous sunrise...once it appeared from behind the clouds on the horizon!

I didn't quite make it down to the coast for the first sunrise of the new year, but I didn't wait long to catch a sunrise in 2016. I've never been to this spot on Miami Beach before, so it was a great new spot to start a new year of shooting.

Even after having seen the moon rise a number of times, it's hard to believe the sight of it imitating a sunrise as it pokes out from behind the clouds. This moonrise scene was captured over the wreck of the SS Dicky on the Sunshine Coast.

Golden hour in any part of the world makes everything look just that little bit more beautiful. Golden hour in the mountains is spectacular and seems to make for completely different scenes every few minutes as the light catches different parts of the mountains. This is one such scene, with the craggy slopes of Mount Rundle, covered with a recent snowfall, lighting up in pure gold.

Chalahn Falls is located about 5km from O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park and is accessed via the Tooloona Creek Circuit. Despite the fact that we had to climb over multiple fallen trees -- the result of torrential rains two weeks before -- and the fact that I fell off the rocks and ended up hanging upside down while trying to compose a shot, every step of the way was worth it to see this waterfall. We ended up spending more than 2 hours there, first just enjoying the view as we ate a picnic lunch and later as we took plenty of photos. I definitely have a new favourite waterfall in south east Queensland!

Chalahn Falls is located about 5km from O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat in Lamington National Park and is accessed via the Tooloona Creek Circuit. Despite the fact that we had to climb over multiple fallen trees -- the result of torrential rains two weeks before -- and the fact that I fell off the rocks and ended up hanging upside down while trying to compose a shot, every step of the way was worth it to see this waterfall. We ended up spending more than 2 hours there, first just enjoying the view as we ate a picnic lunch and later as we took plenty of photos. I definitely have a new favourite waterfall in south east Queensland!

Big waves crash into the rock walls of the Gorge at Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island.

The gorgeous old Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church, located about a 4.5km hike away from the town of Inari. This church used to be in the centre of the main settlement in Inari. Now, the only part of that settlement that is left is the Wilderness Church, which has fortunately been kept in great condition. And why do I say "all hail" the church? Well, that menacing cloud arrived very shortly after I took this photo, and before I knew what was happening, hail was bouncing off the ground all around me!

What good luck is this?! Of our three nights in Lake Tekapo, we were treated to pink southern skies for two of them. The aurora may not have been visibly dancing, but it was most definitely there! If you'd like to capture a photo like this, why not come along on our Explore Capture Repeat tour next year? We can't guarantee auroras but if the southern lights are in the sky, we'll be out capturing them! Learn more at http://ecr.photo/nz. Camera: Nikon Df w/ 16-35mm f4 lens ISO 2000, 30s @ f4