Hundreds of Waterfalls in Milford Sound with Makina 67
Hundreds of Waterfalls in Milford Sound with Makina 67
Diary
Hundreds of Waterfalls in Milford Sound with Makina 67
Milford Sound has an average of 182 rainy days per year, making it the wettest populated area in New Zealand and one of the most waterlogged areas on the planet. It was spring in New Zealand when we visited in early December with my medium format camera – Makina 67.
Sound It can refer to a narrow sea or ocean channel that separates two bodies of land (akin to a strait), an inlet that is deeper than a bight and wider than a fjord, or the lagoon situated between a barrier island and the mainland.
Te Wahipounamu, a UNESCO World Heritage site, includes the park. Milford Sound is the crown jewel of Fiordland National Park, a hidden treasure awaiting discovery. Milford Sound, despite its name, is a fiord, not a sound. It is also the only road-accessible fiord in New Zealand.
The 14 fiords of New Zealand are located in the south-west of the South Island. Glaciers carved them out of the mountains about 20,000 years ago. When the ice melted, the sea flooded the fiords. Mounds of rock block the entrances, allowing little water to flow between the sea and the fiords.
I booked my cruise through bookme.com; the terminal is about a 5-minute walk from the parking lot. The sand flies were the first thing I noticed, not the scene. I was bitten 15 times on my leg after this trip, and they are extremely itchy! I thought we’d take advantage of the nice weather and shoot some colour slides. However, it was raining heavily and foggy as I drove there from Manapouri. Some people believe that visiting Milford Sound when it is raining is best because there will be hundreds of thousands of waterfalls. Some even claimed that if there is no rain, you haven’t been there.
Makina 67 and Xpan II with 30mm f5.6 asph were the gears that I carried. I shot 2 rolls of black and white film during the cruise, it took me 2 hours to complete the journey. From where we sailed to the point where fiord meets the open sea. The landscape in Milford Sound is magnificent and gorgeous. I must say the captain onboard played a key role in explaining all the formations and even spotted seals toying with a salmon by flipping it over and over again (I couldn’t manage to capture but enjoyed it with my eyes).
Waterfalls come in various sizes. They are breathtaking, and our boat can get up close, allowing us to feel the power of nature. One of the photos I took showed how the wind controlled the shape of the waterfall, which I had never seen before. I used Kodak Tri-X 400 and Ilford HP5, and the 400 speed provided me with a good shutter speed of 1/125. I set the aperture to around f/5.6. All photographs were developed in 1+50 dilution with Rodinal and self-scanned with my Epson V800 in SilverFast software.
Photography Techniques and Skills
Looking for Cameras / Lenses or Gears?
Support this Community
Recent Posts

The Dance of Focal Lengths: Exploring Wide Angles and Telephotos

Nikon F3 HP Film SLR Review: Why This Beauty Still Matters

Panoramas with the Hasselblad Xpan 2 and Horizon 202

Rekindling My Love for Medium Format – Pentax 67 to Pentax 67 II

Experimenting Cross Processing with the Reflx Lab Pro 100 Film in E-6
