Steve Kelsall, Aotearoa Braided Rivers (LANDSCAPE 2023)

Braided rivers are rare. They only occur where a very specific combination of climate and geology allows rivers to form ever-changing and highly dynamic 'braided' channels across a wide gravelly riverbed. Aotearoa ~ New Zealand is a braided river hot-spot. I was privileged to do a scenic helicopter flight from Queenstown in December 2022, which took me to numerous spectacular areas, including a landing overlooking the Dart River / Te Awa Whakatipu, that flows from the Southern Alps and the Dart Glacier in Mount Aspiring National Park, until it reaches the northern tip of Lake Whakatipu near Glenorchy. These photos were taken using my Nikon D4s handheld, with Nikor 24.0-120.0 mm lens, and ISO 100.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.