This was my third trip to Namibia after 2009 and 2014. The landscape is so fabulous I knew I had to return. This trip was a larger group tour (run by PhotoPills) necessitated by the economics and logistics of spending five nights in the Namib Desert. That part of the adventure was the highlight of the trip. We had two quality guides in Carel Steenkamp and Kyle Goetsch. Below are the different locations of the trip, presented in order along with some more text than usual to help put the images into what I hope is a more useful context. The trip was in June, winter in the southern hemisphere, to allow us more nighttime hours for astrophotography opportunities and avoid the summer heat.
I arrived a few days early to give me time to drive from Windhoek out to Henties Bay on the coast and visit Tas and Suzette. Tas was the guide on the previous two trips but now (almost) retired. All along the coast in winter you can get fog and low cloud that may burn off by mid-day or not at all. The morning I had for photography Tas and I drove south to the Zeila shipwreck (this isn't called the Skeleton Coast for no reason), arriving before dawn and unable to see the ship at that point. Even an hour after 'sunrise' the fog hadn't lifted much, but you're there so you shoot.
Loaded with a package of Suzette's rusks I set off back to Windhoek but with a night's stop at the rock formations of Spitzkoppe. I had neglected to visit there on the first two trips and now regret that since there was a lot to explore and I understand now why it's such a popular destination.
The tour started with a long drive from Windhoek to the Quiver Tree Forest near Keetmanshoop. We had two sunset and two astro shoots as well as two morning shoot opportunities for those with the energy. We were lucky that both sunset shoots had some clouds that lit up after sunset; much more interesting than featureless blue sky. You will notice that in a couple of the images the Milky Way is curved, a result of stitching together a series of shots into the panorama and flattening the horizon.
We then headed for Fish River Canyon, a massive geologic feature but sadly limited in photographic opportunities. We had an afternoon and then a morning shoot, and this image is from the early morning, just still able to expose for the Milky Way.
The next stop was Kolmanskop, the famous deserted diamond mining town that's on all the photo (and non-photo) itineraries. Having been there twice previously I was determined to keep my eyes open for images that I didn't already have. Carel and Kyle set up a couple of images for us and were there to offer advice but otherwise left us to explore. It is a unique place.
Then the comfort of the two big vehicles was abandoned in favour of eight 4x4s (five for the clients and guides and three more for the camp staff and gear). The tents were set up for us and we were well fed, able to concentrate on photography. We were always close to the coast with daytime temperatures in the mid-teens Celsius and almost always windy. At night the temp would drop to about 5C, and usually still windy. One night we had to settle for a secondary camping spot because at the one closer to the coast it would have been difficult to set up the tents.
At the second camp we had spotted a jackal in the evening, so seeing it again the next morning was not a surprise. What was unexpected was a slightly larger brown blob appearing on the edge of a dune; a brown hyena. And then a second one! This was truly rare to find these elusive creatures out in the kilometres of dunes. The reason they and the jackals were there was the proximity to a Cape fur seal colony where they can feed on pups and washed-up carcasses. Fortunately they stayed around long enough for the light to improve (I struggled to focus in the low light when they were first sighted). An amazing encounter to start the day.
That same day took us deep into the dunes and for the next few days we saw nothing but sand and more sand; difficult to describe or capture in a few photos. To start, here are a few images from the next evening where we just walked up to a nearby rise for the sunset shoot, again fortunate for some clouds. For me the magic happened after sunset when the lighting went soft. From the one spot I was able to make a series of images that are among my favourites from the trip. I'm still trying to decide which treatment of one image I like best, and have also thrown in a high key B&W version.
The following morning did not disappoint, and another great day cruising the dunes. The views are stunning and quite abstract without a vehicle to provide scale. Vast is a word that comes to mind. Windy is another condition we experienced almost constantly, and you can see the blowing sand in some of these images. Having many high contrast images of the dunes from previous trips I was pleased to come away with softer images and a mix of small-scale as well as grand landscapes.
The fifth day we stopped at the wreck of the Eduard Bohlen from 100 years ago and now hundreds of meters from the shore, but this was midday and the light harsh. That night we camped within walking distance of the Shawnee shipwreck. Our attempt at a star trail exposure was abandoned after only eight minutes as the clouds rolled in, but is still an interesting image.
Our final stop was the famous dune corridor leading to Deadvlei, Sossusvlei and all that is to be seen in the Tsauchab River Valley. The clouds that had been kind to our sunrise and sunset shoots during the trip began to get darker and darker as we approached Sesriem. A sprinkling of rain that afternoon turned into a deluge overnight, unexpected in an area that only receives about 75mm of rain in the entire year. While a truly unique sight this was not a situation that led to stunning photographs for me. It was just too messy, especially Deadvlei with puddles everywhere and an accumulation of footprints from our group as well as the busloads of tourists wandering about. We were hoping the muddy footprints would soon dry and crumble and return to a more normal appearance. The last morning provided a spectacular sunrise but we only had time for a quick shoot along the road before departure back to Windhoek. Sad to leave, eager to return.
