Snow doesn't settle on Te Mata Peak often — only a handful of mornings since I moved to Hawke's Bay. This time I was ready for it, walking my familiar trail before dawn as sleet gave way to sun, cold hands and all.

The best landscape photographs are rarely handed to you. Sometimes they require you to stand in the cold, staring into absolute nothingness, and wait. This is the story of a single autumn morning at Lake Tūtira, a morning that began in total fog and slowly resolved into something I hadn't expected: clean reflections, sharp light, and a geometry in the landscape that the fog had been hiding all along.

Over several mist‑filled mornings below Te Mata Peak, I set out to capture more than just the view — I wanted to express the quiet mood and shifting light of the Tukituki Valley. This series presents images with a more interpretive approach, revealing the beauty, atmosphere, and subtle rhythms of Hawke’s Bay in golden light.

Step into the serene beauty of Lake Tūtira, where a foggy morning and tranquil waters set the stage for magical reflections and unexpected inspiration. Discover how this 36-hour retreat turned into a photographer’s dream!

There's a stand of trees in a paddock I've now photographed for years, sometimes returning to the exact same spot without planning to. This piece looks at what keeps pulling me back to the same handful of trees, and what changes when you know a subject well enough to wait for it rather than simply find it.

Most mornings, a small group gathers at the top of Te Mata Peak before the sun clears the hills, the same faces on the same track more often than not. This piece follows what that daily ritual actually looks like, and how the peak's mood shifts from one sunrise to the next even when the people watching it stay the same.

Cyclone Gabrielle changed parts of Hawke’s Bay in ways I'm still photographing years later. This piece was written during the recovery, and it doesn't try to resolve the discomfort of finding beauty in a landscape still working through disaster.

The first leg of a slow trip around Hawke's Bay in a motorhome, starting at Kairakau Beach, where an unexpected shaft of sunrise light broke through the clouds right beside the Hinemahanga Rocks. Part travel diary, part reminder of what turns up when you give a place more time than a single visit allows.

A visual story about autumn in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. It includes images of Waimarama Road, Te Mata Peak, Pekapeka Wetlands and Lake Tutiri.

A visual story about Te Mata Peak in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand featuring photos taken in 2020.

A photographic illustration of the Pekapeka Wetlands just south of Hastings.

Finally, a misty Te Mata Peak!