New Zealand Lake Tekapo Church of the Good Shepard 0233

     As a professional landscape photographer I generally try to avoid including any human-made elements in favor of the beauty that nature provides us every day. The reason is that I see human-made things (like building, roads, power lines, etc.) that are in stark contrast to the natural world.

     The exception comes when there is a synergetic connection between what is human-made and what is nature-made. Such was the case with the mountain landscape of New Zealand’s South Island in which the Church of the Good Shepard stands. Built of native stone in 1935, care was taken to use local elements and not disturb the surrounding environment.

     While neither ancient nor modern, the structure feels like it is an integral part of the scene. In the early morning light I could see a synergy between elements of the building, surrounding plants, and the distant hillsides and mountains. It can be seen in the colors present in the image. The sunlit side of the church has a warmth that matches both the nearby bushes and the grassy hillside across the lake. The cool tones of the shaded sides are in sync with the distant mountains, lake water, and sky.

     To achieve visual balance to the composition I positioned the church and dark bushes towards the right side of the frame to offset the visual weight of the taller, distant mountain placed on the left. My timing was good as shortly after I had completed shooting, the tourists started to arrive.