Ben Hines

GEOLOGIST - ADVENTURER - NEW ZEALANDER

I'm a keen geologist, adventurer and outdoorsman, with pursuits ranging from climbing, kayaking, free diving and scuba diving. I'm also a keen photographer and aim to document my travels, adventures and encounters wherever possible. 

I'm currently a geology PhD student at Victoria University of Wellington, working on everything from sedimentology and stratigraphy, paleontology, structural geology, organic and inorganic geochemistry and thermochronology, with the primary objective of piecing together depositional and structural evolution of the East Coast Basin of New Zealand from the Cretaceous through to the present. 

Getting amongst some West Coast beech forest and karst in Kahurangi National Park. Pretty happy to have escaped the wind and rain in the capital for three days. See if you can spot @jan_mayer_fox amongst the foliage! #nikonnz #nikonphotography #tram
Getting amongst some West Coast beech forest and karst in Kahurangi National Park. Pretty happy to have escaped the wind and rain in the capital for three days. See if you can spot @jan_mayer_fox amongst the foliage! #nikonnz #nikonphotography #tramping #nzoutdoor
A slightly different perspective for some astro. @jordy.e.mills surprised me with a lockdown gift, so I took the opportunity to run down to the south coast and have a play with some long exposures on my new lens ball EXIF: Nikon D750 50mm prime @ f1
A slightly different perspective for some astro. @jordy.e.mills surprised me with a lockdown gift, so I took the opportunity to run down to the south coast and have a play with some long exposures on my new lens ball EXIF: Nikon D750 50mm prime @ f1.8 30sec, 2000iso #lensball #nikonnz #wellingtonnz #longexposure #longexposurephotography #astrophotography #nikonphotography #lensballphotography
Getting amongst fish! Took a shot of @jan_mayer_fox in the midst of a school of Koheru on my birthday dive with @jordy.e.mills, Kirsty and Jan back in January. South Coast is pretty underrated I reckon. I’ve been looking at the flat seas lately
Getting amongst fish! Took a shot of @jan_mayer_fox in the midst of a school of Koheru on my birthday dive with @jordy.e.mills, Kirsty and Jan back in January. South Coast is pretty underrated I reckon. I’ve been looking at the flat seas lately and absolutely itching to get out there! #diving #padi #wellingtononagoodday #wellingtonnz #underwaterphotography #nikonnz #nikon #ikelite
Something a little different - for a while now I’ve been working on photographing some Deep Space Objects with some pretty basic gear. It’s been quite a progression to get to this point with several targets, but it’s been a good cha
Something a little different - for a while now I’ve been working on photographing some Deep Space Objects with some pretty basic gear. It’s been quite a progression to get to this point with several targets, but it’s been a good challenge for when I’m stuck in the bush with no comms and only a campfire for light and entertainment. The night I shot this, I was based out of a cold, rusty and leaking old Landrover, camped on a mountaintop at -6 degrees C. Great imaging conditions, but crap for everything else! From top to bottom: the Orion Nebula, Running Man Nebula, Horsehead Nebula and the Flame Nebula. The three stars along the bottom are Orions Belt. The Orion Nebula is a large gaseous cloud complex and a significant star forming region, that is visible with binoculars or even the naked eye if you’re in a particularly dark spot. Tech Specs: Nikon D750 180mm prime f2.8 40 x 20s frames stacked iOptron Skyguider Pro #astrophotography #trackedandstacked #deepspace #nikonphotography #nikonnz #orion #ioptron #astrophoto #longexposure #nightsky #universe #constellation #astrographer #deepspaceobject
Merry Christmas from Cairo! Spent an awesome Christmas day exploring Giza and the surrounds with @jordy.e.mills, @careymills and Tonsi. This place lives up to, and exceeds expectations. So incredibly amazing! No Santa hats for obvious reasons. Kiwis
Merry Christmas from Cairo! Spent an awesome Christmas day exploring Giza and the surrounds with @jordy.e.mills, @careymills and Tonsi. This place lives up to, and exceeds expectations. So incredibly amazing! No Santa hats for obvious reasons. Kiwis at home might think I’m the usual day late and dollar short, but timezones and exchange rates are in my favour this time! Enjoy the beaches, barbecues and holidays everyone! #sandychristmas #cairo #greatpyramids #egypt #geologistsontour
Last week we were lucky enough to spend a couple of days diving around the Poor Knights Islands, based on a @yukondive liveaboard with @jordy.e.mills, @jervissteph and @tony.macpherson.5. It was an utterly awesome experience and I thoroughly recommen
Last week we were lucky enough to spend a couple of days diving around the Poor Knights Islands, based on a @yukondive liveaboard with @jordy.e.mills, @jervissteph and @tony.macpherson.5. It was an utterly awesome experience and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone. For me, this has been a long time coming and was a dream come true. Before we went, I kitted myself out with a housing for the DSLR so I could snap some sweet picks - be prepared to be spammed with heaps of photos! Highlights include the abundance and diversity of species, all the nudibranches you could ask for, and spending a night anchored in a sea cave. More to follow! #diving #scuba #poorknightsislands #padi #divenz #underwaterphotography #canonphotography #canon600d #meikon #divehousing #marinereserve
Flying visit to Whangarei on the way through to dive the Poor Knights. The falls are looking as gorgeous as ever #whangareifalls #nzmustdo #autumn #longexposure_new_zealand #longexposure #nikond750
Flying visit to Whangarei on the way through to dive the Poor Knights. The falls are looking as gorgeous as ever #whangareifalls #nzmustdo #autumn #longexposure_new_zealand #longexposure #nikond750
Eye spy on the South Coast Came across this guy while out giving my new underwater photography set-up a test run on the Wellington south coast. The marine reserve is such a great asset on our doorstep #octopus #eyesonyou #freediving #canonphotograp
Eye spy on the South Coast Came across this guy while out giving my new underwater photography set-up a test run on the Wellington south coast. The marine reserve is such a great asset on our doorstep #octopus #eyesonyou #freediving #canonphotography #wellington
Found this scene while out on fieldwork in the bush and just had to come back with a camera. This sits it an area of mountain gum that had been cleared for an old sawmill. This is all that remains. Nikon D750, 14mm f2.8 180s tracked. #australialong
Found this scene while out on fieldwork in the bush and just had to come back with a camera. This sits it an area of mountain gum that had been cleared for an old sawmill. This is all that remains. Nikon D750, 14mm f2.8 180s tracked. #australialongexposure #nikon #astrophotography #longexposure #milkyway
Soggy days and Takahes. Spotted somewhat waterlogged takahe along the Zealandia fence line #takahe #zealandia #brooklyn #nznative
Soggy days and Takahes. Spotted somewhat waterlogged takahe along the Zealandia fence line #takahe #zealandia #brooklyn #nznative
Getting amongst some West Coast beech forest and karst in Kahurangi National Park. Pretty happy to have escaped the wind and rain in the capital for three days. See if you can spot @jan_mayer_fox amongst the foliage! #nikonnz #nikonphotography #tram A slightly different perspective for some astro. @jordy.e.mills surprised me with a lockdown gift, so I took the opportunity to run down to the south coast and have a play with some long exposures on my new lens ball EXIF: Nikon D750 50mm prime @ f1 Getting amongst fish! Took a shot of @jan_mayer_fox in the midst of a school of Koheru on my birthday dive with @jordy.e.mills, Kirsty and Jan back in January. South Coast is pretty underrated I reckon. I’ve been looking at the flat seas lately Something a little different - for a while now I’ve been working on photographing some Deep Space Objects with some pretty basic gear. It’s been quite a progression to get to this point with several targets, but it’s been a good cha Merry Christmas from Cairo! Spent an awesome Christmas day exploring Giza and the surrounds with @jordy.e.mills, @careymills and Tonsi. This place lives up to, and exceeds expectations. So incredibly amazing! No Santa hats for obvious reasons. Kiwis Last week we were lucky enough to spend a couple of days diving around the Poor Knights Islands, based on a @yukondive liveaboard with @jordy.e.mills, @jervissteph and @tony.macpherson.5. It was an utterly awesome experience and I thoroughly recommen Flying visit to Whangarei on the way through to dive the Poor Knights. The falls are looking as gorgeous as ever #whangareifalls #nzmustdo #autumn #longexposure_new_zealand #longexposure #nikond750 Eye spy on the South Coast Came across this guy while out giving my new underwater photography set-up a test run on the Wellington south coast. The marine reserve is such a great asset on our doorstep #octopus #eyesonyou #freediving #canonphotograp Found this scene while out on fieldwork in the bush and just had to come back with a camera. This sits it an area of mountain gum that had been cleared for an old sawmill. This is all that remains. Nikon D750, 14mm f2.8 180s tracked. #australialong Soggy days and Takahes. Spotted somewhat waterlogged takahe along the Zealandia fence line #takahe #zealandia #brooklyn #nznative