New Zealand Adventures with Photographer Aleksi Hornborg
Hannah delves into Aleksi Hornborg’s adventures in New Zealand whilst sharing his experiences as a travel photographer, before and during COVID.
Illustration by Maddy Smith.
Aleksi is a Finnish photographer based in Helenski, the capital of Finland. He first started photography when he was younger and is now a full-time filmmaker and photographer. His main medium is film photography but enjoys both film and digital. Aleksi is in awe of the variety of views you can capture within landscapes, an additional perk to travelling alongside. He explains that there is always something new to shoot, whether it be humans or nature, you will always find something interesting. Even when he opts for portraits or urban environments within particular projects, he always gravitates back towards landscapes.
Finland is known for its stunningly untouched scenes and the majority of people live sustainably with the environment, respecting the surrounding nature. However, his excitement about New Zealand came from when he first started travelling around the world in 2019. He spent time hiking and capturing his journey in nature. He explains, “I have always been fascinated by mountains, which we unfortunately don’t have in my home country Finland, so I ended up taking a lot of landscape photos of mountains, especially in New Zealand.”
The mountains in New Zealand are particularly special as not only do they range from 3,000 to 10,000 feet, they are known to be sacred and have a spiritual connection to the Māori, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The names of the mountains are from the Māori ancestors, stating that the peak is the head of their ancestors and the most sacred body part, which is why they won’t stand on the peak of the mountain. However, from any location, whether it be at the peak, or following a trek, or admiring from above or below, you can capture the most picturesque views.
Aleksi has travelled around many countries capturing beautiful landscapes, from Norway to Kenya, to Australia and Argentina and then finally, New Zealand, where he travelled 5 months with his partner. He hiked for many miles around some of the most amazing national parks including Nelson Lakes, Mount Ben Lomond, Mount Cook, Arthur’s Pass, Milford Sound and Tongariro, which Aleksi described as breath-taking. New Zealand is such a diverse country with so much to see in such a small proximity, Aleksi felt very spoiled as he explains that it’s very common to be able to see snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, forests and glaciers all in one day. Even though there is so much to see, when being outside in a place like that, you always have to be on the ball with the weather because lighting can change so drastically.
Tasman Glacier, photographed by Aleksi Hornborg.
Through photographing such incredible landscapes, Aleksi has found that there is a lot of planning that needs to be done prior to every hiking trip, especially with some of the trails being tough at points. With this type of travelling, it’s also quite challenging to have all of the photography equipment that you would normally need for a landscape shoot. Aleksi explains, “I wish I had more room for more camera equipment, but I had to settle with one DSLR and one old 35mm Nikon F2, each with one lens, in my backpack.” However, the behind-the-scenes struggle to capture those perfect images aren’t apparent within the outcome. The photographs emit a sense of peace and stillness. You can imagine yourself within those landscapes feeling calm, fresh and almost a feeling of accomplishment, taking it all in. Being able to portray those feelings through a still image is remarkable and having something that catches your eye within every part of the image transports you to that place, helping us appreciate our surroundings and the world we are able to explore.
With each trip, the travel photographer’s exploration and appreciation of nature grows. Being able to travel to new places every day, every week, every month and taking the time to get those perfect shots are acts of appreciation in themselves.Although the process may be hectic, the images are well-thought out. Once the shots are taken, the photographer can sit back and breathe in the whole atmosphere.
This has been a hard year to practise travel photography. COVID came as a shock to a lot of people, especially freelancers and creatives who had to replan and cancel a lot of work. With Aleksi, his work has shifted more towards video editing, instead of shoots. Finland has been in a good position in relation to lockdown restrictions by containing the outbreaks and keeping strictly to the rules and regulations. So, Aleksi has been able to do some travelling and hiking around Finland to take photos. However, the virus has still stopped Aleksi from being able to take part in upcoming projects abroad, one in particular is based in Uganda, where he would have had video and photography shoots for an entire week. “So, all other travelling outside of Finland has been put on pause for now. Hopefully travelling is going to be safe soon again.” And when it is safe to do so, Aleksi highlights some of his plans, “I’m planning to go to the US and Australia with my partner when the pandemic eases. Planning to go out in nature and hopefully to shoot some film stuff in cities as well.”
If you want to keep up to date with Aleksi’s adventures and shoots then visit his website and Instagram @aleksihornborg.
Hannah Varney
Hannah Varney is based near London and graduated from Falmouth University in BA (Hons) Photography in 2019.
Hannah is working on her personal portfolio whilst also acting as the visuals director for Bloom in Doom. Her own work mainly revolves around nature and abstraction containing a personal story, which is also what she’s passionate about when writing and collaborating with creatives who have the same drive.
You can find more of her work on Instagram @hannahvarneyphotography.