4626 – In search of Epic light

This was the total number of kilometers traveled in March 2012 with 2 great friends and spectacular photographers, Mark Dumbleton and Ruby Wolff. We travelled Southern Namibia to capture the amazing natural beauty of this inspiring landscape and titled this adventure, In Search of Epic Light……………………….

Our aim was to find unique compositions of some of the well known photographic destinations with some of the legendary Namibian light, that has been captured by another gifted photographer, Hougaard Malan. Our first stop on the adventure was the famous Quiver Tree Forest at Keetmanshoop.  After doing research and speaking to some friends who have visited Namibia before, I had a fair idea of what to expect regarding the landscape and placement of the quiver trees in relation to nearby Keetmanshoop and the roads. It was none the less extremely challenging to find appealing compositions within the single sunset and sunrise that we were going to spend there.  We spread out and hiked around the area and I was excited to capture this image of a quiver tree with the late afternoon sun.

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Later that evening after a few cold ones to wet the extremely dry throats and a 1400 odd kilometer drive from Gauteng, I slipped into the night and started searching for a Quiver Tree scene with the stars and  Namibian night sky. I was not disappointed when I noticed a bank of clouds over Keetmanshoop about 25 km away and captured this image titled ” Apocalyptic Quivers “. The light pollution of the ever growing town was instrumental in the end result of this image as it created the red glow on the clouds……….

 

Apolyptic Quivers

 

 

Our next destination was the famous Sossusvlei with its Dunes and  Deadvlei.  The end of summer heat was intense with days averaging 38 degrees and reaching 45 at some points during the day, which made for intense and sometime physically draining hikes in and around the area in search of the unique landscapes.  I can spend many hours describing the time spent there but will leave that for a later post.  This image is one of my favorites and is the result of a loooong hike in 40 degree heat. The shear size of these dunes as you get to there base is awe inspiring…..

 

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Halfway through my stay in the Sossusvlei area I caught a glimpse late one afternoon of what true epic Namibian light is. It would not be but a few days later that I would experience the magical light of Namibia for myself……………This is a panoramic stitch of 9 images where I tried to capture the immense expanse of the dunes and light of the rain over the distant Namib Rand.

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The final leg of our adventure was in the Namib Rand and we spent some time on the farm Excelsior.  A truly unique and spectacular area with endless compositions and opportunities for landscape photography.  We were exposed to the most epic light and sunset on our second last night in Namibia.  An image that I will also do a entire post on as it was one of the highlights of my photographic career.

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A big up to Mark and Ruby for a extreme trip on which they shared some amazing insights and photographic magic.  I cannot wait for the next adventure a little futher north east.Please visit the landscape Portfolio section of my  website  to view more images .

 

Peace and Light – AA