Namibia for the wildlife photographer - Part 1. By Shem Compion
A road trip of note
Goshawk meal: Sometimesthe grey skies compliment the subjects nicely though.Pale ChantingGoshawk feeding on snake. D200, 200-400mm & c1.4converter @560mm,1/640 sec, f8, iso 200, beanbag
Known primarily as a desert country, Namibia offers the enthusiast photographer a veritable feast of opportunities. Oceans, deserts,wildlife, and lush rivers are all well covered within Namibia's borders and the thought of travelling to Namibia immediately brought images of desert, sand and open spaces to mind, and much use for my under-used wide-angle lenses. At first glance that may be true, but once the itinerary was finalised, it seemed that the long lenses were going to have a full outing as well. That made me much happier! The problem however, is the size of the country. Road travel takes up a lot of time and distances are very large. To cover the whole country in one trip is very difficult and nigh impossible if you would like to get any decent photography done. Indeed, you could spend many weeks at some of the locations and still not be satisfied. I was invited along with three other people on a photographic trip to Namibia in August 2007. For practical reasons and our own photographic demands our trip was broken into three parts: 14 nights in Etosha National Park (yes that is fourteen), 4 nights in Sesriem and 4 nights Luderitz. 2 days allocated for travelling to and from South Africa and voila, you have a 26-day trip just like that. In this article (Part 1) I will cover Etosha;whilst in part 2 I will discuss Sossusvlei and Luderitz.
Etosha - The Great white place Etosha in winter is a wildlife paradise. The procession of animals coming to drink at the waterholes is literally that: a procession. Every day I took a book along with me to read whilst waiting at the waterholes. I never read a page. Every time I thought I should pick up the book, some new animal came out of the bush to drink, or another bird species appeared. It was great! That is the main advantage of Etosha in the dry season; the concentration of wildlife at the waterholes. To me though, there are a few disadvantages or I should say, 'Photographic aspects to be aware of'. These are:
The 'Great white place' could well as have said 'The great white Photograph'. The white, calcrete rocks make for horrible backgrounds in photographs and scream 'this image was taken in Etosha'
Etosha is flat, very flat. It is difficult to get some sort of height advantage for scenic shots
There are no clouds in the sky. Nothing to fill the sky with interest. Great light, but interesting skies for scenics is impossible. (If you do manage to find a vantage point) This is only a winter phenomenon though.
The dust in the sky. The dust creates a grey, flat colour on the horizon, making bird photography difficult.
The sun sets as a red ball every night. This is due to the excessive dust and the effect is nice shooting into the sun, but there are only so many shots you can take of that. What it means is that the strength of the light, when shooting with the sun diminishes rapidly in the afternoons.
However, these are very critical negatives and of course, they could be lived with...There are ways to overcome each of these problems and they are discussed further in the text. We stayed 7 days at Namutoni camp and 7 nights at Okaukuejo. No time at Halali you ask? Well, after looking at the available waterholes near each camp, we thought that Halali did not have nearly as much to offer as the other camps. Sure, it did have Goas's double waterhole, but overall, compared to the other sites and from a photographic perspective, Halali's waterholes didn't have much on Namutoni and Okaukuejo. Starting with the Namutoni area, I will highlight the best areas visited.
Grey skies:Grey skies low on the horizons don't make for the best backgrounds-Lilac breasted roller. D200, 200-400mm @ 400mm, 1/1600 sec,f7.1, iso400,handheld
Namutoni waterhole- This waterhole does not offer much from a photographic perspective. Its one consolation is the red-billed queleas that come to roost in the evening. Flocks of hundreds of birds fly in at sunset, against the setting sun and roost in the reeds and acacia trees near the camp. Klein Namutoni- Anafternoon waterhole from a light perspective. There is a lot of general animal activity here as well as a large lion pride (10 animals) that frequents the waterhole. Elephant are also fairy common in the afternoons there too. The main problem with Klein Namutoni is the white rocks in the background. There are two areas that are devoid of these stones and the difference in images is amazing. The only problem is that you have to wait for the animals to move into those areas... Chudop-the parking area is on the north of the waterhole, meaning that there is good light in the evening and the morning. The water is in a deep hole and animals descend right into it for their drink. There are minimal white stones here meaning the images are much nicer than at K.N. A very popular waterhole in general and we spent many afternoons there with some spectacular action and interaction between animals. About 10am every morning the red billed queleas come to drink in their flocks- quite a spectacle as they swoop in and out of the water to drink. Andoni- A long 60 km drive north of Namutoni camp, Andoni is situated in open grassy plains and is best in the morning light. These plains hold good herds of zebra, springbok and wildebeest and thus these are the main animals at this waterhole. Due to the grassy plains, photography is easy and there are no obstructions. This is one of the best places to get the classic zebra stallions fighting. Wildebeest interaction at the waterhole is also very good, creating opportunities for great shots in the dust. Tsumcor-The parking is on the southwest side of this waterhole- not very good for photography, although lions and elephant frequent it quite often. Dik Dik Drive-The best place to see this diminutive antelope as well as get images of it. It is quite confiding, but if you spend time with them, they do offer some nice opportunities.
The triangle of roads formed between Namutoni and the Halali road and Chudop offer nice open scenes and are also a good place to see leopard. This triangle area is great for the late afternoon shots of animals silhouetted against the sun. Twee palms-not the best waterhole, but the whole Twee palms loop is an excellent drive. The drive circum-navigates the edge of the pan, allowing great views into the open. Due to having bush on the one side of the road and pan on the other, many raptors are seen in the trees, ready to ambush any rodent or snake that may venture out onto the open areas of the pan. There always seems to be some animals on the edge of the pans and the palm trees break the landscape nicely, making for some different images.
Quelea sunset:The classic red sun orb of Etosha winters: D200, 200-400mm& c1.4converter @ 560mm, 1/200 sec, f5.6, iso 320, tripod
The other waterholes in the area don't offer much in terms of photography.
Okaukuejo rest camp
Undoubtedly the best rest camp in the park. The gardens and lawns attract a large array of birds and the waterhole is one of the most active in the whole park
Okaukuejo waterhole-Very, very busy with all types of animals drinking throughout the day. It is close enough for the cameras, but there are a lot of white rocks making a busy background. In the winter, springbuck and gemsbuck wade deep into the water offering different shots. Elephant start arriving from about 10am and can be there anytime after that. This is the place to get close up shots of elephants. Black rhino normally only visit at night. Lions are always in the area- seeing them drink in the day is luck of the draw. Double banded sandgrouse, sparrows and buntings also drink in their hundreds here from 08h30 onwards. In two mornings I sighted Lanner falcon, red necked falcon and gabar goshawk hunting the smaller birds there. I would recommend a morning's photography and even perhaps an afternoon at the waterhole.
Gemsbok vlakte-A waterhole situated in the middle of an open, rocky plain. If you want to get the classic Etosha photo of an elephant herd crossing a dusty plain, then this is the place for it. When there is water, (you will hear the pump pumping) there is action. Springbuck and zebra frequent the waterhole as well as elephant herds. The open space offers nice clean shots of all these animals as they hurriedly come out of the bush in the far distance and start their dominance displays.
Zebra fight:fightingamongst stallions is common in Winter- gemsbokvlakte area. D200,200-400mm & 1.4 converter @ 560mm, 1/1500 sec, f8,iso250,beanbag
Nebrownii-An excellent afternoon waterhole regarding light. The morning light here is from the side, so it does tend to get harsh earlier. It is a popular waterhole for gemsbok, zebra and springbuck in the mornings and bull elephants, giraffe and Black rhino in the afternoons. Due to it being raised on a slight incline, the background is thrown wonderfully out of focus in the afternoons. Lion also are common here.
Okondeka (and Wolfsnes)- Definitely an afternoon waterhole- the parking is due west of the water. The water is very far from the parking lot, but many of the animals come from the dunes in the west, past the parked cars. Well known for good lion sightings. There is some potential for photos of animals walking out from the dunes in the east.
Salvadora and Sueda- Nearer to Halali, and 35km from Okaukuejo, these two waterholes are part of a loop off the main road. Both are morning waterholes and both have good lion sightings linked to them. The parking is raised so that you look down into the water. It provides a nice vantage point and one that commands a respectable view over the pan. Lots of zebra, wildebeest and springbuck frequent these water sites and thus the many lion in the area. The area is quite open and makes photography that much easier.
Newbrownii waterhole:Popular for bull elephants and Black rhino in the afternoons. D200,200-400mm& c1.4 converter @ 560mm, 1/250 sec, f7.1, iso250, beanbag
Ozonjuitji M'bari- known commonly as M'bari it is about a 70 km drive from Okhakeuo. This waterhole is great in the mornings where hundreds of animals congregate to drink. And that is perhaps its one downfall; the scenes can become too congested with animals. For mornings though, there are no real waterholes near Okhakeau that have a parking lot in the east.
Those are the waterholes I found that worked for me whilst there. The others either didn't offer much in terms of photography or were dry at the time.
In conclusion, Etosha is an excellent place to visit if you want action and interaction. In all probability, it holds the best wildlife viewing in southern Africa during the dry season. (I am sticking my head out here!) Springbuck are fighting, wildebeest are fighting and zebras are fighting at waterholes. These alone can keep you busy without the addition of jackal fighting, elephant drinking and dusting themselves,lions roaring, Raptors feeding on snakes and black rhino drinking in late afternoon light. A great relief from the photographing in the South African bush was the vast openness. This allows easy positioning of the vehicle and no stray branches or leaves protruding into the your frame. The bird life in general is very good,especially the raptors. Total bird species seen was around 70 species. Not too bad considering no migrants. What impressed me most was the quality of light in the evenings and mornings. It was really soft and golden; and for a sustained period. This was before or after the sun was in the 'red zone'; when the sun became the red orb and gave no workable front lighting. What was frustrating was the lack of what I call 'sky'. We didn't see a cloud for 14 days. This doesn't aid in scenic, animals in environment or landscape type images. It is very difficult to create a story of the place you are visiting without landscape type images. The setting of the sun as a huge red orb into the west provided beautiful opportunities to photograph silhouettes in the evenings and the results are quite spectacular, albeit a bit clichéd.
Wildebeest fun:Wildebeest doing their thing at waterholes makes for great action photography. D200, 200-400mm & c1.4 converter @ 560mm, 1/400sec,f5.6, iso 320,car mount
Jackal fight: At Chudop waterhole, two jackal pairs have a brief, but intense dominance fight. The lack of white rocks makes this a much more pleasing image. D200, 200-400, 1.4x converter @ 560mm, 1/500 sec, f5.6,iso 400,beanbag
Lenses and equipment used I used two camera bodies: One body was attached to a 200-400mm f4 lens. I also had a 1.4 converter for extra reach. The other body had a 70-200mm lens on. This body was also changed with the wide angled lens, a 12-24f4. I found this the best lens combination for my use. Fast, constant aperture, zoom lenses are invaluable for constantly changing compositions in nature photography. Although a third body for the wide angle would have made sure no dust got onto the sensors... I alternated between a car mount with a panning head attached as well as a heavy beanbag for in car photography. A tripod was used when at the rest camp waterholes. All images were downloaded onto a laptop after each session and then backed up onto a portable hard drive. Our party had three laptops and various portable drives if any one of our drives or laptops died. This was our insurance in case anything crashed.
