Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand, is one of the wettest places on earth: up to seven metres of rainfall annually in some places. It was no surprise then to encounter heavy rain during my recent visit there. Four whole days of constant rain, to be precise. It felt like we were getting seven metres in one day!

I scouted the location during the day, even though the mountains across Lake Te Anau were barely visible through the low clouds. I knew immediately that I would want to select a telephoto lens for my composition. I am a big fan of the compression effect of telephoto lenses in landscape photography, and this scene called out for it.

First, I wanted to bring the distant mountains closer to the viewer's eye and create the impression that they are more dominant on the horizon.

Second, I felt that a wide-angle picture – often preferred by other photographers – would make the jetty the subject, and the mountains would serve only as a distant backdrop. All I needed to photograph it as visualised was incredible light.

Finally, on the fourth day, there was a break in the rain! And as luck would have it, it was during sunrise. The scene that greeted us was extraordinary: unusually early winter snow on the opposite ranges, a flat, calm lake, and a beautiful orange hue across the cloudy sky reflecting in the water as the sun rose.

No filter was used as I wanted to keep some of the texture of the still water in the mid-ground, enhancing the very natural look of the image. Knowing I had a successful picture, I started packing up – just as the rain came pouring down again.

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