Four Missing Trees, Mullers Station, New Zealand
Phase One IQ180, f11 @ 1/125 second, ISO 35

I first photographed this location perhaps 10 years ago, maybe a little longer. It was an early trip to Middlehurst in New Zealand where I fell in love with the red and orange crack willow trees. They look sensational against the high country landscape with the stark cliffs, towering mountains and long yellow grasses.

And in winter when we visit, the sun never really gets right overhead, so you can shoot most of the day and still find angled light for your subject. These four trees struck me as we drove along the dirt road between Middlehurst and Mullers, the way the overhead light caught the tops of the branches, highlighted against the dark shadow of the cliff face behind.

Of course, the background wasn’t perfect. I can remember spending several hours in post-production, controlling the specular highlights on the cliff. These highlights were light in tone, confusing the shape and colour of the trees, so I was darkening them down so the background was a more contiguous dark shade. It was a way of simplifying the photograph so the subject was clearly defined.

Also in post-production, I have selectively lightened an oval of yellow grasses below the trees, darkening and desaturating the edges so the eye is lead into the centre of the frame where the trees are – not that the trees really need much help to be visible! I have also slightly desaturated the blues in the sky - I felt that with the bold yellows and reds, a bold blue too was a bit confusing and complex. Sometimes fewer hues make a strong colour composition.

These trees are still there today but only just. All that remains of these four are their desiccated trunks and they look like falling over soon. What I didn’t realise on my first visit is that crack willows are an introduced species and considered weeds – not in keeping with the authenticity of the natural environment! There is currently a program of eradication, but I am hopeful many will remain as, introduced or not, they are now an integral part of the environment and its charm.

At least for photographers!

To see more photographs from Middlehurst, please visit my personal website - https://www.petereastway.com/portfolio/explorations/middlehurst-2024?ct=2

And if Middlehurst looks interesting, check out our art photography experience there in June 2026 - https://www.betterphotography.com/photo-tours/middlehurst2026-detail