After a long night of shooting the stars in Tekapo, and a solid 3 hours of sleep, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and day tripped out to Lake Pukaki & Mount Cook Village. The winding roads high above Pukaki provided sweeping views of nothing but blue. Just when I thought Tekapo was the most incredible body of water I'd ever seen, Pukaki had absolutely raised the bar. I mean, Lake Tekapo was blue, but Lake Pukaki was really, really friggen BLUE.

We could see our destination 40 kilometers across the way, shining in the sunlight.

The road to Mount Cook was incredibly scenic, and lucky for me, very desolate with opportunities to set up shots smack dab in the middle of the highway.

We trekked the 2 hour Hooker Valley Trail up to Hooker Glacier shooting nearly everything in sight. It was on this hike that I learned one of the most important lessons while shooting on the islands. If you have the chance to set up a good shot, TAKE IT. Never hesitate and don't ever say that I'll get it on the way back or the next time you'll pass through - chances are, weather will move in and the opportunity will be lost. As you may have already guessed, the weather on the way back was a bit drearier than the sunshine on the way up.

Seize the moment.