Limited Edition of 8
 
Rotorua
 
I've always wanted to capture the geothermal lakes of Rotorua from the air, but it was crucial that I waited for the right conditions to photograph them. On a beautiful autumn’s morning, I managed to arrange for a plane to take me over the lakes, and I had only one shot at this. Months of planning, for a single moment. Through an open window, I looked down from the aircraft, and I could see it all. The soft morning light drifting across the lush green landscape, illuminating both lakes and accentuating their natural colours of crystal blue and turquoise. From this perspective, the scene resembled a face, with the lakes as eyes looking back at me. I held my breath, braced against the vibrations of the plane, and clicked the shutter, capturing this image you see before you, of the Frying Pan lake and the Inferno Crater of the Waimangu Valley.