Milford by Moonlight

[Octane (Humayun)]

Milford Sound captured moments after our satellite had reached full status.

In this 16-minute exposure, we can see streaking clouds, misty spray (to the right) caused by the full force of Lady Bowen Falls, Mitre Peak to central left, the Elephant and the Lion are centre right; nestled between these two is my favourite waterfall -- Stirling Falls.

To give you an idea as to the sheer scale of the landscape presented in this composition, Stirling Falls is at least 8 kilometres away.

RAW blend for clouds.

Slightly larger version available here.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
960s f/8.0 at 17.0mm iso400

Comments, critique, most welcome.

H

[En1gma (Robert)]

hrmpf..

Man, I don't know how your brain works, but you always hit the composition right. Where can I get me some of that.

Absolutely no critique other than maybe a slight touch on the contrast. BUT, each to their own and their monitor setups.

Cheers
Rob

[M54 (Molly)]

Just Beautiful H!
As usual, well composed.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Just seeing the thumbnail before opening the shot I though Wow! That's cool! I'm a sucker for black&white that's why I love Ha I guess. Simply superb!

[iceman (Mike)]

Now that's a beautiful shot. Lovely.

[astroron (Ron)]

A superb image Humayun
It looks so stark but beautiful

[SkyViking (Rolf)]

Stunning H, that sky is simply haunting and the whole scene is eerily beautiful. A very strong contrast to how Milford Sound is usually presented! Great work
Somehow the scene reminds me of 'Night on Bald Mountain' from Disney's 1940 Fantasia.

[suma126 (Shane)]

wow thats beautifully captured.

[DavidU (Dave)]

I love that one !Very dramatic & menacing.

[troypiggo (Troy)]

I'm with Rolf, it's haunting. Love the emotion it envokes.

Don't know how you stood there for 16 mins, though. I took photos from that area and those midges/sandflies were killing me. I had to run back to the car else enough of them could latch on and carry me away!

[Omaroo (Chris Malikoff)]

Awesome image my friend.

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Now that's what I call a landscape shot, outstanding mate!

[gary]

Milford Sound of course is one of those rare places on Earth where it seems
nearly impossible, wherever you point the camera, not to get a beautiful shot.

However, you have chosen some of the least ideal conditions with regards
lighting, at a time when most other people would be back in the warmth and
dry of the hostel drinking beers, to capture this extraordinary image
that is completely different and refreshing when compared to the same
old pictures we see for sale on the postcard rack.

Absolutely beautiful. Well done!

[Ric]

Top stuff H.

A lovely use of B&W imagery to create a great effect.

Cheers

[Suzy]

Breathtaking & haunting. Far out. Beautiful, just damn beautiful. You never cease to amaze me.
H, quit your day job already!

[StephenM (Stephen)]

Another masterpiece Humayun!

Cheers,
Stephen

[Mike21 (Michael)]

Careful Suzy, if he takes your advice he might get a posting with National Geographic or something and then we'd have to pay to see his work. That's my selfish opinion.

You are a truly inspirational photographer Humayun. Congrats - again.

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Beautiful. Just gorgeous. It's gone straight to my desktop where I suspect it will have a long residence.

[pin3appl3 (Darcy)]

H your NZ photos are unreal. I only recently got into photography...back in 2007 Chrissy I travelled around NZ and must say the landscapes are stunning...Milford is just ridiculous! Wish I could take the setup back there! (maybe one day!)

Keep up the good work

[Starman73]

Hello Humayun,

Absolutely stunning photo. As the others have said very haunting but it has a real fantasy land feel to it. I love it, so much so that I have to ask if I can use it as my desktop picture?

Paul