Scenic walks in Dunedin: Mt Cargill to The Organ Pipes

Getting There:

Mt Cargill is an easy 10 minute drive from the central city. Access is gained via Cowan Rd, be careful to dodge the pot holes on the ungraded road. The starting point of the walk is beside the signal tower and is 676m in elevation. There is a poorly sign-posted parking area just prior to the summit, but I always drive past it and park up under the signal tower.

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View from Mt Cargill out beyond Butters Peak to the Otago Harbour and Otago Peninsula.

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View from start of walk from Mt Cargill to Organ Pipes. Plenty of haze in the air on this warm sunny day in Dunedin.

The walk:

The walking track starts near the signal tower and is easy to follow. Follow the path toward Butters Peak. Butters Peak is an excellent place to stop, but as I was returning the same way I decided to visit it on the way back. Just keep walking past Butters Peak. I have been spending a bit of time in the Catlins recently so have been a bit spoilt with stunning rainforest bush. The bush on this walk is not on the same level, rather more dry and spindly in character. After about 30 minutes walk you will arrive at the Organ Pipes

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The distinctive Organ Pipes of Dunedin.

The Organ Pipes are a fascinating geological feature, and are fun rocks to climb over. Scramble up them and find some good spots to enjoy the view and take a break from the hectic pace of the world.

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Organ Pipes, Dunedin, NZ.

Organ Pipes, Dunedin, NZ.

The walk back is more or less slightly uphill. So, stopping at Butters peak for a breather is highly recommended. The views from Butters Peak are sensational and I rate this location as one of my favourite places in Dunedin.

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View of Blue Skin Bay and Karitane from Butters Peak.

View of Otago Harbour and the Otago Peninsula from Butters Peak.

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View from Butters Peak to the Otago Peninsula.

Butters Peak rock formation.

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View from Butters Peak to Mt Cargill and the signal tower where the walk started.

The walk back to Mt Cargill takes about 20 minutes and is mostly uphill. I just like to think of it as a nice bit of exercise.

Handsome looking steps are part of the last push to reach the summit of Mt Cargill.

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Back to the start again, Mt Cargill signal tower.

The Mt Cargill to Organ Pipe walk is a nice way to spend a couple of hours in Dunedin. Another great day out in Dunedin.

Photoshoot: Street Fashion

Here is the latest blog in my series on street fashion photography. Dunedin has some very interesting back alleyways, making for fantastic fashion shoot locations. All of the images were taken within 30 metres of each other. Technically, I used a single Godox AD200 pro in conjunction with sunlight.

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We incorporated the pink paint on the brick wall with Rachel’s tracksuit top.

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An old stairwell provided a strong graphic element to the shot.

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Seated and framed.

I loved this teal coloured door, and will definitely use it again.

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A single Godox AD200pro provides the light in this scene.

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Going vertical.

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A closer look.

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Colourful street art pops off the wall against the pink of Rachel’s track suit top.

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I am using a single Godox AD200pro to light Rachel from the front, the sun is rim lighting her hair. The wind was just doing its thing!

Another fun shoot with Rachel. Dunedin is a wonderful city, and I look forward to sharing new locations to shoot fashion street imagery.

Photoshoot: Dunedin City Grunge

A few images from a fun photoshoot with Rachel in Dunedin city. I had scouted out 2 locations for us to shoot and both worked really well.

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Here I used the Distinction hotel carpark wall to create a really interesting background for the shot. I placed a Godox ad200pro at about 40 degrees to Rachel camera right.

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This stairwell is located down an alley on Rattray street. The colours of the wall art worked really well with Rachel’s blue top.

Same scene as above but different perspective. Rachel definitely looks more ‘street’ in this image.

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I loved the whole scene here with the hire bin and unwanted mattress on the wall.

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Just opposite where we were just shooting is a large wall of street art. Rachel got down low for this shot.

Photoshoot: Vogel Street Dunedin

Vogel street is a great place to take urban fashion images. The buildings have plenty of character and within 100 metres there is ample opportunity to find multiple locations. I used both natural light and strobe depending how i approached the scene. For strobe lighting I used a single Godox AD200pro with bare bulb fresnel head. Soft boxes are great but they are big, cumbersome and catch the wind easily. So set up and moving on with a bare head becomes really easy and mobile. The resulting light is ‘hard’ but I think within the fashion genre, this works really well. My fantastic model for the shoot was Rachel. Most of the images I ended up liking were with sunglasses on, however, I promise there are a couple with Rachel revealing her eyes!

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Natual light. Vogel Street, Dunedin.

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Natural light, Vogel Street, Dunedn.

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I had Rachel stand just inside a doorway, at the entrance of Wine Freedom, Vogel Street, Dunedin. Natural light.

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Strobe light. On the shadowed side of the street so the strobe can create some directional light to give the scene more dimension with shadow and highlight.

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Behind the Vogel Street Kitchen cafe. Here I used strobe to create some punchy light over Rachel. Vogel Street, Dunedin.

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Just around the corner from the previous image, again using strobe to create a strong rim light over Rachel and illuminate the metal bars on the garage gate. Vogel Street, Dunedin.

Here I just used the wall opposite the gate of the last image. I really like the ambient light coming from the end of the alleyway. The wind was swirling in this spot so Rachel had lots of fun controlling her hair. Vogel Street, Dunedin.

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Finally an image with Rachel revealing her eyes. Again using strobe. Vogel Street, Dunedin.

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Under the over-bridge on Vogel Street. Strobe lighting very much needed in this location. Vogel Street, Dunedin.

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We went up the walking ramp toward the over-bridge and found this spot overlooking Cumberland Street on SH1. Rachel has her back to the sun and I am using a strobe to light her front. After this image we drove over to Wharf street for a final few images.

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This image is all about those lanterns. I have used a strobe to light Rachels face. Wharf Street, Dunedin

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Boats in the background and strobe lighting to create some dynamic light on Rachels face.

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A final image of Rachel on the Wharf jetty. I balanced the light from the sky on Rachel’s face with my Godox Ad200pro strobe.

All in all a fun shoot with Rachel. The Godox Ad200pro proved to be a handy tool when approaching each location.