PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

Looking For Light in the Darkness

Week 177 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

Not that I’m ever interested in Christmas or the consumerist hype our society created of the religious holiday, but this year in particular, I had no desire to celebrate anything.

Anyway, after a week of tears, I knew I had to look forward again and while work mostly had me distracted, I reached for nature and exercise to keep my mind and body busy.

On Thursday, our Sunday and mandatory off day, we drove to Queenstown to get warmer sleeping bags for our alpine hiking experiences and get a paddle board.

While I had traveled previously from Thailand to Namibia and Germany and back again with an inflatable stand-up paddleboard in tow, when we booked our tickets to New Zealand, David stated immediately, I wasn’t going to take it along. Our luggage capacity simply didn’t allow for it.

But instead, he said he’d buy me one for my birthday. So here it is.

On Friday we had to get up at stupid o’clock (the alarm was set at 5:30 am) but by the time we reached work, the sun was standing high already. Quirks of living so far South during the summer.

This picture was taken in front of the hangar, our workplace where we meet our customers before entering the plane.

On Saturday, I didn’t think we’d get to work and jump out of airplanes as the weather forecast looked bad but we managed to get this sneaky load in early before the sky closed up entirely.

I loved how the snow-covered mountains of the Southern Alps peaked through the clouds. It was a different but still spectacular office view.

Sunday, the 24th of December and the day my family back in Germany would celebrate Christmas and unwrap presents, I went back to work and once done with jumping out of planes for the day, David and I jumped into our already loaded car to head North.

We explored dams, lakes and canals in the MacKenzie Basin. David tried his luck with fishing and I paddled across the safer and calmer bodies of water.

We settled down on Lake Poaka setting up our tent just as the first raindrops were falling. It didn’t last long but the clouds were hanging on the mountains moving in and out showing us several light downpours throughout the evening.

I specifically packed all my lenses and the tripod to be able to do some night shots but forgot to take a mount off my camera which prevented me from screwing it on the tripod.

The sky was anyway overcast but I wished I could have taken a still photo of the moon and the lake. This way, I had to take the reflecting moon handheld.

The next morning, the lake was flat and reflected the surrounding mountains like a mirror. With peace and calmness surrounding the site on the 25th, I grabbed my paddleboard and floated amidst families of ducks and geese across the crystal clear water.

On our drive back South, we crossed Lindi’s Pass where the road was lined with fields of lupine flowers blooming in all shades of purple and rose.

Coming down the mountains on the other side, some huge thunderstorms and rain clouds surrounded us. We saw at least one and drove through another heavy downpour.

On Tuesday, the 26th of December, we were back at work. Unfortunately, heavy winds and clouds were cutting our day short but after landing in Wanaka, the boss asked if we’d like to help the boys out down in Queenstown.

I said why not?

I wish I could show you a scenic picture from the dropzone with the most scenic view I’ve ever seen (right behind the dunes in Namibia, nothing beats that) but they erase all images off our cameras right after we land, so you have to take my word for it.

Queenstown is as close as one can be to the majestic mountains of the Southern Alps and we jumped so close to the lake, we had to wear lifejackets on every jump.

Coming back home after a long day of action, driving back and forth and jumping out of planes, we ate dinner while the sun was still up.

Remember what I said about those early sunrises? They come with late sunsets and cause long days. This picture was taken at 9:30 pm. I was tired but how could I possibly sleep while it was still so bright outside?

Oh, and yes, this is my backyard view.

The 27th of December is my birthday. While neither David nor I are big into birthdays, we had thought of doing a hiking adventure as the 27th and the 28th were our off days but since some people were missing at work, they called us in and so I spent most of the day jumping out of planes.

After coming home from work, I sat down with a glass of wine and watched the sunset from the couch. I put a time-lapse on outside and admired the skies.

Moving then into the bedroom and relaxing in bed, I noticed I should have placed the camera rather toward the South. Being so far South on the globe, the sun doesn't set in the West but more in the South. What a burst of colors in the sky.

And while writing these words, the colors still haven't vanished. It's half past ten in the evening and the sky is still shining from the sunset colors. If I talk about finding light in the darkness, then it be this.

This has been my weekly photo essay. Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since.

Dennett / Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy / Lisa / Lynne / Julia

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