Namibia for the wildlife photographer - Part 2. By Shem Compion
The sand of Sesriem, Sossusvlei and Luderitz
Sand, solitude and wind. These are the three elements that make up Sossusvlei for me. If you think you can go to Namibia and miss these dunes, think again. Every one knows these dunes- they have been photographed a million times; but get in amongst them and feel their presence and the creativity just turns on. They are like meercats, you just can't get enough! A hint- Get away from the crowds. Everyone heads for dune 45 first thing in the morning. There are
Scale:The dunes can be used to show scale of animals such as this Pale chanting goshawk. D200, 200-400 @ 400mm, f 6,3 - 1/1250 sec, iso 320,handheld.
about 30 other dunes to go and see where you won't encounter another person the whole morning. That is what makes Sossus for me: the feeling of solitude in amongst the dunes makes the heart beat just a bit faster, as if feeling that wind whip through your hair is a curser to increased heart rate. It really stimulates.
Sesriem campsite is situated just inside the Namib-Nauklauft National Park. What this means is that you get to go into the park 1 hour before sunrise and return 1 hour after sunset, whilst all the lodges can only enter at sunrise and have to be out at sunset. For any keen photographer, accommodation in the park is a must. There is a new Namibian Wildlife lodge inside the park (open July 2007) so camping is not the only option for early risers anymore. From the entrance gate, the drive to Sossusvlei itself is 60km and the speed limit is 60km/h. Doing the maths you will note there is very little time for setting up before the sun rises. This little problem seems to have been solved by the overlander trucks with their clients who line up at the gate at opening time. As the gate opens it becomes very much like the gumball rally! The trucks drive at speeds up to 120km/h to get to Dune 45 first. I don't suggest that you drive at120km/h, but you do get caught up in it and, advantageously, you arrive at your destination a bit earlier; allowing for you to set up your shots in peace. Up until now, no one polices the road, so it is a bit of a free for all. The last 5 km of the road to Sossusvlei dune and dead tree pan are heavy sand and you need a 4x4 to access this road.There is a shuttle service for those who don't have a 4x4 vehicle. I will cover the various aspects to photograph as you approach them along the 60km entrance road.
The large dunes As you drive from the entrance gate down the ancient riverbed, the first large dunes you encounter at about 30 km are what I have termed 'the large dunes'. The famous dune 45 is amongst these. You can choose any which one you like, park your car and walk up to it. The dunes on the south are generally better due to angle of the sun. Once there, the shadows, lines, s-curves, textures, lighting, patterns and compositions flow quite naturally. These are quite probably the most photogenic pieces of silicone in the world. An afternoon's session here leaves you spellbound by their immensity and the various patterns that are created by the setting sun. Truly a great photographic (and personal) experience. I would suggest spending at least one afternoon or morning up close and personal at a dune of your choice.
Sossusvlei dune and Dune 45 At 45 km down the road and at the end of the road (60km) you get Dune 45 and Sossusvlei dune respectively. Sossusvleis' two most famous dunes are now each morning attacked by hordes of tourists running up them to catch the sunrise. From a pure landscape perspective, the photograph is ruined, but as a travel image, there is a lot to offer. Photos with people in them show scale and emphasize the size of the dunes. Also, when the wind picks up, it creates a wind lip on the dune and when people are walking in this sand lip, it makes fora very interesting image! The S-curves of these two dunes are quite pronounced and offer great lead in lines with the walkers along them.
Feral horse: Accessible subjects allow for environmental type images. D200, 12-24 @ 12mm, f 10 - 1/90 sec, iso 250, handheld.
Ghosttown Dawn: The colours of the rising sun make for great colours on theaging wood. D200, 12-24 @ 12mm, f6.3 - 1/13 sec, iso 250, tripod
Dead tree pan Another Sossousvlei gem, and after the actual dunes, perhaps the most well known landscape feature of Sossusvlei. (And one that was chastised for always making the finals for the old Agfa awards; along with photos of lion) you reach it by following the road all the way to Sossusvlei dune,where you will see a parking lot indicating Dead tree pan. From there it is a 1.1km walk following the well-worn path to the pan. Set amongst some towering dunes, it is quite a spectacle and once again, offers creativity in bucketfuls. It is a morning place, as if you drive well and walk straight there, you should get the place to yourself for the first hour at least. After that, the tourists come pouring in and walk into your scenes. Due to it being set to the west of a very high dune, the light only enters the pan about 20 min after sunrise. This allows you some time to set up and then work your way with the light as it creeps along the pan, lighting up the dead trees and the cracked clay floor. Photographically, It is hard to do the place justice, as there are so many good images of the place. But when you get there, the creative juices are stirred and you instinctively get to work.
Driving the main road into Sossusvlei So you thought the dunes were for the wide-angle lenses only? Not so. Driving along the main road reveals excellent compositions with an emphasis on lines, patterns and a play on light. Here a 70-200mm or an even longer lens comes in very handy. If you spend some time at the Sossosvlei area, you begin to feel that the place has many moods. Just comparing the place at midday to in the late afternoon is a huge contrast in it self. In the midday hours, the flat light makes the dunes look exactly that- flat. In the afternoon however, the long shadows and the winding dunes create all manner of lines and patterns, shapes and curves and colour. Add the quintessential dead acacia tree at the base of the dunes and you have some very good images in the making.
DTP Shadows: The shadows create impressive lines at Dead tree pan. D70, 70-200 @ 180mm, f 8 - 1/320 sec, iso 200, handheld.
Luderitz
We spent 4 nights in Luderitz, I would say that was two nights too many. A small town with distinct German architecture and a quaint port lend it a nice charm. The main attraction at Luderitz is the ghost town of Kolmanskop. An old mining town that experienced a boom of diamonds and money in the 1930's, Kolmanskop is now an uninhabited, derelict town that is slowly being taken over by the encroaching sand dunes. For Nam$125.00 you can purchase a photography permit that allows you access to the town for all the hours between sunrise and sunset. Permit in hand; we entered 15 min before sunrise. What transpired over the next few hours was like trying to relive the past. Capturing images of times gone by are quite difficult and the place makes you work for your time there. The results do show though, the place is littered with excellent opportunities. Things to take note of are converging verticals, especially with the wider lenses and exposure conundrums resulting from the dark rooms and the bright windows. The best part about a having the permit is that, like at Sossusvlei, you get the place to yourself for a few hours. This means no footprints in the sand, nor any people walking through your carefully composed images. By the time the tourists came in at 09h30, I was drinking my coffee in the café, my work done for the morning.
Flamingos and Dias point As you drive out to Diaz point you come across inlets, bays and some salt flats. These often have both greater and lesser flamingos feeding in the shallows. In the mornings we could drive close enough to the flamingos to get good shots. With the wind really pumping hard at times, seeing them take off was like watching it in slow motion! Photographing them was probably the easiest flight photography I have every done. Diaz cross, at the head of the point offers nothing sensational in photographic terms. There are hartlaub's gulls and many black oyster catchers around, but are quite wary of stalking photographers. There is normally a lot of wave action, allowing for some spectacular crashes on various rock outcrops, making for dramatic sunset back lit shots.
Deadtree pan: A photographers paradise. Dead tree pan has it all. D200,12-24 @ 12mm, f 22 - 1/8 sec, iso 100, tripod, polariser.
Feral 'wild' horses of Aus 100km from Luderitz (a short distance in Namibia), near Aus, is the lookout and waterhole for these feral horses. The actual origin of the horses is still disputed, but they have been running wild since approximately1909. They number about 300 horses in total and forage widely in many small herds. The Garub waterhole is their only permanent source of water in the whole of their range. In winter a horse drinks about every30 hours, meaning that the likelihood of seeing some horses in the dry season is very good. We stopped in three times, (going in and out of Luderitz included) and there were horses there every time. They are remarkably photogenic as well as being very relaxed around humans. If I hadn't known better, I might have jumped on one for a quick canter! They allow you to slowly get quite close, and the mountains makes a very pleasing backdrop to the images. Definitely one of the highlights of the area.
Lenses and equipment used I used two camera bodies: One body was attached to the 12-24, f4 lens,which had become my primary lens for the images in this article. The other body had a 70-200mm lens on. I love the compressed angle of view the 70-200mm gives for landscapes and a lot of my landscapes were taken with this lens. A heavy tripod with the centre column cut off made those low ground shots much easier. I tripod and a cable release are essentials here, along with mirror lock up. 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.
Human scale: People walking up dunes add a sense of scale and size. D70, 70-200 @ 200mm, f 8 - 1/1000 sec, iso 200, handheld
The sea of sand The Sossusvlei area was one of my highlights on my recent trip to Namibia.The large open spaces with large dunes allow for all manner of photography. If you are staying there a few days, I would suggest that on your first drive into the dunes, you just drive slowly in on the main road and witness the place in its entirety. Its easy to just jump onto the first dune you see and start photographing away, but there are many such dunes, and by seeing the tourists, all the dunes and dead tree pan you will have a much better overview of the actual area. Kolmanskop is a slightly different. You get into the town and after looking at a few houses, find yourself immersed inside one and then two hours later you are wandering around with no idea of where you actually are! I would recommend three nights at Sesriem and two nights at Luderitz for any serious photographer. You may think that three nights are a lot at Sesriem, but the desert winds are bound to blow for at least one session, negating any photography. Oh I almost forgot to mention that- when the wind blows, it blows hard. It is especially strong in August and covers everything with a thick layer of red sand. I woke up to Dune 45 in my tent and a sandy taste in my mouth on my first morning there. It's a hard life in Africa.
