a great backyard

On Sunday night my father Rory passed away. He had a stroke last August and the last ten months have been full of goodbyes.

Dad saved my life when I was 2, and saved the day so many times since - like towing my sh*tbox cars that had broken down at 3am in the middle of nowhere. Nothing was ever too much for him.

He raised me when Mum went back to work at a time when that wasn’t done, and that fierce bravery shone throughout his life.

He’s the reason I became a photographer; he bought me my first digital SLR camera when he and Mum couldn’t really afford it, because he saw something in me that maybe I’d lost sight of. That decision changed the trajectory of my life.

Dad was my greatest supporter, a philosopher, the kindest man I ever met.

This is him and I on the shore of Lake McKerrow, in the heart of Fiordland National Park.

Beach full moon 🤩🤩

We had an epic night in Spellbound Cave for a very special occasion - more to be revealed soon but here are some glowworms to start 🌌

When the photo you got is a quarter of what you saw 😆
That’s Ruapehu in the bottom left corner. What a night!

Bubbles. Here one moment, gone the next.

Coromandel goodness. So many bays, so little time 💚

On the road to Milford. Could you get any more inhospitable or more beautiful? ❤️❤️❤️

Aoraki Mt Cook 🤩🤩🤩

Good morning everyone! Have a wonderful day ☺️

On 24.2.24 we were honoured to photograph the wedding of Kendy and Bren in the Karangahake Gorge.

What a brilliant, beautiful day. ❤ ❤ ❤

If anyone did a Valentines dance as good as these two herons I want to hear about it 😆

“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.”

― Herman Hesse

Best Christmas gift for anyone from Wanaka? This classic 1952 map of the town. ☀️☀️☀️
https://www.agreatbackyard.co.nz/south-island-maps/wanaka-map-1952

Mt Madeline in this mist - always a favourite 💜

Tunnels to the sky ☀️

‘You are not in the mountains. The mountains are in you.’
John Muir

Wentworth Falls, Whangamata. 💛

We finally made it! Long-time listeners will know we have tried repeatedly to get to this waterfall and failed every time - sore feet, too tired, all the things. So we were delighted to find this view - until our darling children ran ahead. I sprinted, and found them playing in the stream at the very top. ‘Don’t worry, we only looked over the edge a little bit.’ 😭😭😭😭

Sunrise at Cathedral Cove from a sunnier time ☀️

Take me back to Fiordland 💚

We’ve been updating our online galleries and are proud to show off the new images in our Coromandel section.

From gorgeous Stony Bay at the tip of the peninsula to the popular holiday spots of Whangamata and Whitianga, the Coromandel has a view for everyone.

These images are available as ready-to-hang Acrylic or ACM prints or classic photo prints sent in a tube ready to be framed.

They would make a stylish addition to your bach artwork and would make brilliant gifts for the beach-lover in your life.

Let us know what you think! 💛

https://www.agreatbackyard.co.nz/coromandel-gallery

Fresh postcards with brand new designs arrived this week! 🥳🎉

Today we’re creating a print of this gorgeous Whitianga sunset for a happy customer. 🌅

Isn’t it incredible how moments crystallise in time - for us this was a summer evening when Tawa wouldn’t sleep. Both of us walked him back and forth in the pram, and this was the unexpected result. 🧡

This week we sent off a very special photo by astrophotographer Peter Ambrose. He was delighted with the results:

‘Another fantastic job done by Corin. He goes the extra mile and takes a personal interest in getting it "just right" and fussing until it is. The delivery was also really fast and I will be using Corin again for my next printing projects!’

Thanks Peter! ☺️

If you’ve come through the school holidays as chirpy as this pīwakawaka, nice work. For the rest of us, let’s just hope for more of those blue skies ☀️

Glowworm River, Waitomo Caves. Come and check them out. 🌌🌌

Kākāriki / Red Crowned Parakeet enduring the rain at the 💚

Ancient beach castles on the West Coast.

Doesn’t get much more New Zealand than a Massey Ferguson on the beach. 🙌