New Zealand Landscape Photography:
How to Capture Rainforests, Chasms & Waterfalls
New Zealand is one of those places that almost feels too perfect to be real. Towering waterfalls, ancient rainforests covered in moss, winding rivers, dramatic chasms, and constantly changing weather all come together to create an incredible environment for landscape photography. In this adventure, Daniel and I explored deep into some of the lushest forests I’ve ever photographed, searching for unique compositions, beautiful light, and hidden waterfalls tucked away throughout the landscape. New Zealand Landscape Photography Workshop Presale List
Photographing in the Rainforest
One of the first things that stood out to me while photographing these forests was just how quickly compositions changed when using a wide-angle lens. Unlike telephoto photography, where you’re isolating distant scenes, wide-angle photography is all about movement and perspective. Shifting your camera even a foot to the left or right can completely transform the balance of the image.
For many of these rainforest scenes, I used my 14mm lens to capture scale and movement throughout the frame. Ferns became natural leading lines, twisted branches created framing elements, and pockets of light filtering through the forest helped create atmosphere and a sense of separation.
One thing I constantly looked for was symmetry and flow. In chaotic environments like rainforests, it’s easy for compositions to feel cluttered, so I tried to simplify scenes by arranging foreground elements carefully and using repeating shapes to guide the viewer through the image.
Rainforest Photography: Chasing Light Through the Forest
The conditions throughout the day constantly shifted between soft overcast light and small bursts of sunlight breaking through the clouds. Those brief moments of light completely transformed the forest.
At one location, I noticed the sun periodically peeking through the distant trees, creating a beautiful sunstar through the branches. I stopped down to F16 to enhance the effect and experimented with both horizontal and vertical compositions while waiting for the light to align perfectly.
I also tested out Sony’s automatic focus bracketing on my A1 for some of these scenes. In theory, it works great for rainforest photography, where you need front-to-back sharpness, but moving ferns and branches create blending challenges due to wind and motion. In the end, many of my favorite images were actually simple manual blends using only two focal points.
Waterfall Photography: Rainbows & Shutter Speed
Later in the day, we moved toward a large waterfall surrounded by dense forest. At first, the light was fairly flat, but I noticed the sun was beginning to break through behind us. That immediately made me think there was potential for a rainbow forming in the mist.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the entire waterfall lit up with vibrant rainbow colors.
For these shots, I switched to a fast shutter speed around 1/4000th of a second to freeze all the intricate textures spilling off the waterfall. The result felt energetic and chaotic, with every detail of the water visible throughout the frame.
After capturing those sharper moments, I slowed things down with an ND filter to create a long-exposure version of the same scene. It always amazes me how dramatically shutter speed changes the emotional feel of a photograph. One image can feel wild and powerful, while another from the exact same location feels calm and almost dreamlike.
Exploring Hidden Chasms
Some of my favorite moments from the trip came while exploring narrow chasms and waterfalls hidden deep within the forest.
One location in particular looked incredible online, but when we arrived, it quickly became crowded with tourists and people taking selfies on the rocks. It was one of those classic “Instagram versus reality” moments. We still managed to capture a few compositions, but eventually decided to move on in search of somewhere more secluded.
That decision ended up leading us to one of the most memorable locations of the entire trip.
We bushwhacked through dense forest, crossed freezing creeks, climbed over slippery rocks, and eventually arrived at an incredible hidden waterfall surrounded by lush ferns and dramatic canyon walls.
Photographing there was chaotic in the best possible way. Mist covered the lens constantly, the rocks were slippery, and nearly every composition required standing knee-deep in cold water while trying to keep the camera dry.
But those are often the moments that make landscape photography the most rewarding.
Finding Abstract Details
While photographing the larger scenes, I also spent time searching for smaller abstract moments within the water itself.
Using my telephoto lens and extremely fast shutter speeds, I isolated tiny patterns of spray, swirling reflections, and flowing water textures that almost resembled abstract paintings. These quieter details often become some of my favorite images from a trip because they capture the feeling of a location rather than simply documenting it.
I think that balance between grand landscapes and intimate details is one of the most important parts of telling a complete story through photography.
New Zealand Landscape Photography: Final Thoughts
This adventure through New Zealand’s rainforests and waterfalls reminded me why I love landscape photography so much. The unpredictability, the constant problem-solving, the changing weather, and those fleeting moments of light all combine to create experiences that feel impossible to replicate.
Not every composition worked. Some locations were crowded, some shots were chaotic, and some conditions were far from perfect. But that’s part of the process.
At the end of the day, getting out into incredible places, exploring with friends, and doing your best to create meaningful images is what it’s all about. Wanna learn more? Check out my workshop page here.
