Shot by photographer Brian Brake as a NFU tourism promo, Snows of Aorangi surveys New Zealand's mountain landscapes. Brake captures stunning imagery: ethereal ice forests, lightning storms, volcanic craters, glaciers, avalanches, kea. Three skiers are mesmerising as they scythe downhill from Alma Hutt: "for a little while they've given themselves to the rhythm of sky and earth" runs the James K. Baxter-scripted narration. It was the first NZ film to compete for an Oscar, nominated in the Best Short Subject (Live Action) category in 1958.
Part of the Snow Collection, July 2009
Brian Brake is internationally known for his work as a stills photographer, but in the early 1950s, after training with Spencer Digby (a well known Wellington photographic studio), Brake, just into his ...
alpine, skiing, mountaineering, kea, mt cook, yodelling, backcountry huts, aorangi, avalanche, southern alps