Project New Zealand
The best few months of my life were those I spent studying abroad in New Zealand in 2009. ย The day I left, I typed out a list of everything I had yet to do—so many reasons to come back. ย Something I’d add to that list now? ย Take better pictures.
There’s a huge difference between taking photographs to chronicle an entire experience or journey and taking photographs to capture a subject in as aesthetically-pleasing a fashion as possible. ย My NZ photography fell into the former category, and combined with the fact that for the majority of my time abroad, my only camera was a tiny point-and-shoot in the 4-megapixel range, I wouldn’t rate my photo collection as particularly high-quality. ย Nor did I initially spend much time editing my photos—with a grand total numbering in the thousands and a student/traveler life to lead, I simply didn’t have enough time to devote to making sure individual shots were perfect.
But when it comes down to it, New Zealand deserves more than I gave it. ย In an attempt to do my favorite country justice, I’ve begun the process of selecting my very best shots out of thousands and retouching them to more accurately represent the beauty I observed—not the watered-down, lifeless originals my camera captured. ย With so many photos, this is merely the first in a series, so stay tuned for more!
Lake Wanaka close after dawn, as viewed from Mount Iron
