nz west coast workshop 2027

Sun 4 - Sat 10 July 2027 (SOLD OUT)

Tue 3 - Mon 9 August 2027 (4 spots left)

NZ West Coast Wonders Photography Tour

Location: Arthurs Pass, Punakaiki, Motukiekie, Hokitika Gorge, Lake Kaniere, Okarito Lagoon, Lake Mapourika, Lake Matheson, The Glaciers, Bruce Bay

Workshop Length: 7 days

Investment:

$4,099 NZD (Deposit of $1,000)

Max attendees on tour: 4

Sponsored by:

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Kase Filters New Zealand logo with "Kase" in large red letters
Department of Conservation approved logo with green and blue design.

Overview

The West Coast is one of NZ's most captivating yet diverse regions, and travelling the 500km length you'll find incredible reflective lakes, hidden river valleys, rugged mountains & glaciers, lush and varied forest, and unique coastal seascapes. If you want bang for buck for photography locations, you won't find a more varied set of landscapes than what the West Coast offers. Winter is usually the best time to visit NZ’s West Coast with settled weather and snow on the mountains, and with a small group of only four attendees, you’re guaranteed to maximise your learning opportunities!

What you'll experience

It's one thing to visit amazing NZ landscape locations, but quite another to photography them in a way that truly captures the essence and feel of a place. On this tour we will help you create quality images in each location, finding unique compositions to really portray the beauty we find, whether it's a sunrise or sunset, long exposures, amazing reflections, serene waterfalls or astrophotography. The light in winter is much softer and lends itself to landscape photography, and we'll take advantage of that on our travels down the West Coast of the South Island. This will be a photography adventure to remember!

Your Host

Meghan Maloney

I'm a full-time landscape photographer, and my greatest passion is helping you discover your photography potential through photography adventures around New Zealand. Whether it's teaching you the art of capturing beautiful images with the help of filters, helping you to transform your raw images into stunning works of art in Lightroom, learning how to improve your workflow, or simply having a grand adventure together in amazing places, you will come away from my workshops filled with new knowledge and skills, not to mention amazing memories.

When not photographing and educating, I'm a mum to two teenage boys and I spend my time sideline supporting their football endeavours, and finding places to go hiking in NZ's outdoors.

A person wearing a knit hat and blue jacket takes photographs in a field of purple flowers using a camera with a zoom lens.
  • Day 1-2 Arthurs Pass & North West Coast

    Meet at Christchurch Airport at 10am for the drive over Arthurs Pass to the West Coast. We’ll spend the next two days exploring the areas around Punakaiki, Motukiekie and Hokitika Gorge.

    Days 3-5 Glacier Country

    Experience the beauty of the Southern Alps from vantage points such as Lake Matheson, Peters Pool, and Okarito Lagoon. On one morning, we’ll also take a trip out on Lake Mapourika to experience the mountain views and wildlife in the area.

    There will be time explore further south to locations such as Bruce Bay, Ship Creek and more.

    Day 6-7 Greymouth & Arthurs Pass

    We'll return north to cover any locations we haven’t yet seen such as Lake Kaniere and Lake Brunner before heading back across the Pass for a 1pm arrival at Christchurch.

    • Professional photography guide tuition

    • 6 nights AirBnB accommodation in single share room

    • All breakfasts

    • Transportation for the duration of the workshop

    • Post-Processing sessions

    During the workshop, there will be time to go over post-processing to help you create images that will wow. I’ll assist you with your image selection process, and guide you through Lightroom and Photoshop workflows and techniques to bring out all the potential of your best images.

    The workshop is suitable for the photographer with basic knowledge through to expert level.

    • Airfare to/from Christchurch

    • Lunch & dinners

    • Insurance

    • Camera and lenses - ideally to cover wide angle from 16-24mm right through to telephoto 200-300mm

    • STURDY tripod - very important

    • Torch or head torch

    • Spare batteries and charger (plenty of batteries as we are unlikely to be able to charge during the day while travelling)

    • Laptop with both Lightroom Classic & Photoshop installed

    • Plenty of memory cards and adapter to link with laptop for editing

    • Remote shutter control (unless your camera has bulb timer)

    • Neutral density filters (if you do not have your own set, please advise)

    • Warm winter clothing - it's midwinter so you will need merino layers, puffer jacket, hat, gloves, warm comfortable hiking boots and possibly gumboots

    • Umbrella, rain poncho and waterproof camera sleeve

    • The full workshop fee is $4,099 NZD

    • A deposit of $1,000 NZD is required to secure your place

    • Remaining workshop tuition amount is due 90 days before workshop. A reminder invoice will be sent out 120 days before the workshop commencement.

  • Click on the link to view Terms and Conditions.

Let’s sign you up!

  • See what my workshop attendees say

    “Meghan organised a very enjoyable Scent of Summer workshop in Tekapo. She is a very knowledgeable lady and can impart her knowledge very well. If you get a chance a workshop with Meghan is a very worthwhile experience. I can highly recommend her.”

    Hugh, Hawkes Bay

  • See what my workshop attendees say

    “Had a fabulous three days with Meghan. The more you learn, the more you realise how much you don’t know. Meghan fills in the gaps, and is a very good hands on teacher. I have come home a lot more confident in being able to translate the landscape I see into the image I want. Post processing help was invaluable. Thanks Meghan.”

    Lois, Tauranga

  • See what my workshop attendees say

    “This was my first long trip / workshop with Meghan (having done amazing one day workshops before) and I can’t praise her enough for her commitment and knowledge around conducting these workshops. Her enthusiasm is infectious and you come back falling in love with photography again! All fellow photographers were super amazing to hang out with and our comfort was certainly Meghan’s priority. I have come back with a wealth of knowledge about how to chase the perfect sunset. And I will always remember the first Astro session. Meghan made it so so easy that all I felt was the wonder and amazement at what my camera was capturing. Highly recommend her workshops - beginner or pro it’s a must if you love photography. I’m already looking forward to joining her again in the winter workshops in the coming years.”

    Keerti, Auckland