Outdoor Photography & Kepler Challenge.

The last outdoor sports shoot that I did before taking some respite, was for the infamous Kepler Challenge in 2017 as an official photographer. I’ve had a fascinating relationship with the Kepler event as a runner, and completed the 60km challenge in a day, for three consecutive years from 2009 – 2011. I’ve always wanted to capture the event from a photographers point of view and jumped at the opportunity. I’ll never forget it. I drove my camper van to Te Anau, and was graced with a chopper ride to the Hanging Valley Hut right into the mountains before the route towards the descent into the forest. The wind was so strong that day, and on the way up that it made me very nervous. The pilot knew exactly what he was doing though, and at several points of the flight he literally hugged the mountain side to avoid the wind currents I guess? Regardless of his skill, it was still terrifying being blown around in such a light weight machine. Exiting the chopper, myself and other image makers, were greeted with gale force winds, rain and freezing temperatures. I’m pretty accustomed to the New Zealand mountains, but on this day the weather was some of the worst I’ve experienced. I was equipped well for the day with multiple layers, down jacket and waterproof gear, but my camera equipment got so saturated that both lenses (wide and zoom) started to malfunction. I’m assuming it was because water had got into the contact points of the lens and body. In reflection, I had let my lens sealing perish over the years, and with such strong winds liquid was forced past these seals. I ended up capturing most of the high mountain running on my 16-35mm as it was the only only lens that worked! After a full day shooting along ridges upto 1300m +, it was time to head back down the mountain.

The flight was even more perilous this time, with the chopper being pushed aggressively from side to side as we plotted our route back. Once again the pilot looked outwards and this time towards the forest below at lower altitude. It looked like he was watching for tree movement and working out where to fly from there. We made it back and I was gobsmacked at the conditions we had just experienced. Can you imagine what it was like above the forest line for the runners?!?!

2022 will be exciting for me as I look back to where I started, but also where I’m going with my work as an outdoor photographer. A lot has changed in my life and work, and I look forward to making images with you, your brand or event with a style that even after all this time stands apart from other image makers. See you out there! Bookings are limited though, so please contact me for details.

This set of images have sat on my hard disk for 5 years, so this is the first time I’ve published the set. They are not perfect and clearly affected by the extreme weather conditions, but it’s good to share the feelings of being on a mountain top in horrific weather as an athlete. I’m not a Facebook user, so I’d really appreciate it if you could share to your page? Please use the sharing buttons on the right side. If you do download images of yourself and friends, please can you credit me, give me a share, add a link back here, or tag me on Instagram. Thank you.