refocus-aorakui-reflections-2021-300dpi-1738478617

Aoraki Reflections

Chris Pegman

New Zealand

refocus-selfie-square-photog-2023-1738484253

Entering, beginning, bringing nothing of yourself (naked), through doorways open to you, to something greater than yourself and what you currently are.
The Orion nebula, new stars
The Pleiades,  in NZ Maori = newness
Our Milky Way, in a never ending infinity
The naked figure vs the angelic/Devine.

refocus-and-from-now-on-a-new-beginning-2024-1738478607

Nominee

.. and from now on, a New Beginning

This image was shot during a spectacular show by 'Come Together' (a collective of finest NZ artists) of Led Zep IV. I used my ultrawide non fisheye lens to capture band, crowd and venue. 
The venue is a building that has been rebuilt following the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 & 2011.

refocus-241205-cometogetherchristmasbash2024-0466-edit-1738478614

Gold

Come Together at The Issac Theatre Royal

NZ's highest mountain, Aoraki, reflected in glacial waters, with a bonus shooting star glancing the peak.

Honorable Mention

I had been looking for several years for a 'waterfall' of trees, so I was delighted when I found this tree alone.
A picture of hope through defiant survival: I wonder mettle it had to survive, and what is was that caused it's neighbours to perish?

refocus-indefatigable-2sharp-cleaned-1738478620

Indefatigable

refocus-inside-the-archway-1738478622

Inside the Archway

I used a low tripod and panoramic apparatus within the crown of a large spreading tree. Using a very wide full frame lens (non fisheye) I shot just four frames vertically upwards at degrees of 0, 45, 90 and 135 thus covering the whole sky.

refocus-islands-in-the-sky-plus-bird-2024-1738478627

Islands in the Sky

An image shot for the Waitangi Treaty Grounds (a site of NZ historic significance). The craft (Ngātokimatawhaorua), the largest waka in NZ & a national treasure, was photographed on Waitangi Day, and blended in.
I hope to create a scene of what it may have been like for the 1st Maori arriving to NZ.

refocus-ngatokimatawhaorua-under-the-milky-way-urupukapuka-bay-jul-22nd-tif-1738478630

Ngātokimatawhaorua under the Milky Way

It was a bitter cold night in NZ - see the grasses in long exposure battered by the cold wind  - yet there was such wonder at being out among the stars, feeling miles away from it all but so relatively close to a city. I processed to reflect the icy coldness yet the beauty and awe of being there.

refocus-packhorse-hut-astro-image-2023-1738478633

Packhorse Hut

A viral image that had 2 million hits on 1 site alone, and been discussed in places such as snopes.com concerning its execution. It is of course a perfectly timed composite.