The vastness of the Namibian landscape is what I was drawn to share for the topic of the week, silence. While being out in nature is rarely completely silent, with the rustle of the wind, the chattering of birds, or the sound of distant water just a few of thing things you might hear, it is the lack of man-made noise that makes it so appealing, and so peaceful.
Below are a few images from my time in Namibia.
A hilltop sunset in the middle of nowhere. The wind was blowing and sandstorms had been whipping through the area, but it was incredibly peaceful.The Skeleton Coast. Vast desert and the Atlantic Ocean as far as the eye could see.I find there is nothing more peaceful and quiet than being outside and watching the stars. I shot this from the deck of my room at Ongava Reserve, but being outside alone, at night, in the bush isn’t the smartest idea, so I only took one quick photo and went back inside to my glass of wine.
The photo challenge topic of the week is weathered, and I have chosen to share some landscape images captured in the Namibian desert. There, it was easy to see the effects of wind and water on the landscape, both from the ground and from the air.
I hope you enjoy my selections.
While driving through the desert, we came to this spot where the wind and water had carved the sand and soft stone into beautiful shapes.The tallest of these sand sculptures only came up to my knees.Some day, these too will be gone, reduced to grains of sand blowing in the wind.Devil’s Thorn growing in the rapidly drying desert.Mountaintops weathered flat by the wind. Somewhere between Hoanib and Windhoek, April 2017.
This past week I was pondering my reaction to the weather quite a bit. I spent the first 8 years of life in Ontario where we had a true winter each year, but then moved to the Vancouver area, which doesn’t get much in the way of winter weather, and then the past 3 years in Prince George where there is a guarantee of significant cold temperatures and snow throughout the winter.
For many years, I said that I hated the snow, but I’ve come to realize what I really meant was I hate the snow that gets delivered occasionally in the Vancouver area; heavy, wet snow with temperatures hovering near freezing. The area essentially gets paralyzed by the weather, roads turn into skating rinks, and getting to and from work, which would normally be an easy 15 minute drive, could turn into a 2 hour nightmare. It was the inconvenience of it, and living in a place ill equipped to deal with it. I never believed people when they said winter was so much nicer further north. The thought of the cold and all that snow filled me with dread.
But, I must say, all those people were right. The colder temperatures and generally brighter, sunnier days are much more pleasant than the continual fog and grey skies at the coast. The colder, drier air here often feels less cold than the chilly damp that seeps into your bones further south. I’d still prefer plus 30C, but I now realize that for me, dealing with -15C is much easier than dealing with 0C in Vancouver. Know thyself, right?
Now to this monthly project. Last weekend I jotted down ideas with gusto. I planned and prepared, and then mother nature decided to turn up the thermostat for a couple of days and deliver rain one evening, and constant grey skies for the last couple of days. It was like being transported to the coast, without having to go anywhere. So much for all my photo plans.
But the freezing rain did leave some lovely frozen droplets on branches, and a light dusting of snow yesterday coated the branches once again. So I went out on a short walk to see what I could find.
Another year has drawn to a close, and I have welcomed 2018 with open arms. I’ve taken a little break from posting over the past week; it has given me a chance to reflect on my blog, and come up with some plans for the future.
I feel like I lost focus with my blog in 2017; at times posts were rushed or forgotten about altogether; shoved to the bottom of a to-do list that never seemed to get any shorter. I’m sure that is something that everyone struggles with from time to time, and I am very grateful for everyone that continued to view my posts and photos, despite the lack of focus.
For 2018, I have decided that I need to add some structure to my photographic life; in terms of continuing education, time out in the field and with my editing. I have a couple of year long photo projects that I am finalizing, but I am also planning to explore a different topic each month, and use that to guide my reading, shooting and editing. I really thrive when I have schedules and plans of action, so I am hoping that this will ensure that I am getting out to shoot regularly, and be able to post some interesting content each month.
For January, I am going to focus on the frozen world. With the cold temperatures we have been having, it is a timely starting point. I’ll be posting on the topic each Sunday in January, and then move onto something new for February.
I’ll be working to participate more regularly in the WordPress topic of the week, and will still be posting my usual Monochrome Monday and Wordless Wednesday posts. I still have lots of images from my last trip that I am working on as well, so I should have lots of content to share over the year ahead.
Below are a few photos from out and about over the last couple of weeks; its not much, but it gets the ball rolling.
Here’s to a fantastic year ahead.
This is why I love getting up early. A beautiful sunrise greeted me while out for a morning walk with Spencer a few weeks ago.A few of the 7 deer that stopped by the yard late yesterday afternoon.Right now, the time between sunrise and sunset is rather brief. We do get a beautiful long twilight period though, which looks even prettier with some snow on the ground and in the trees. A quick snap while out for an afternoon walk, it was too cold to stop and do much more!
I decided that this image would be good for a before and after post after finishing the editing, so today I just have the before and after images to share, not all the steps I took to get there.
This image was shot during sunrise whilst on a game drive at Ngala Camp in South Africa. It was quite surreal to have these massive storm clouds, the light from the sun rising, the moon visible and a rainbow all at one time. With so much going on, it was a challenging scene to deal with, and the image ended up rather flat and uninspired.
I decided to edit the single image using Aurora HDR Pro, as I find that the software is great in bringing out the detail and colour in an image, although it can be a little heavy handed at times. Herein lies the editing issue of course; trying to coax the best out of the image you have, without it ending up looking crunchy and radioactive. I layered two different presets within Aurora, blending them at different opacities, and then dialed back the result within Photoshop to find a level of punch that I felt worked for the image, and for my memory of what to scene looked and felt like.
I’d be interested to know any opinions on the edit – did I go too far, not far enough, or just right, based on what I had to work with? Everyone looks at things differently and I am always interested in the reactions of other people.
Straight out of the camera.After some post processing love and attention.
The photo challenge topic of the week is rounded. And while I contemplated creating a post highlighting all the lovely rounded lines on elephants, I decided instead to offer up a bit more variety.
I hope you enjoy my selection of images.
A view from the top of one of the dunes on the Skeleton Coast. Namibia, April 2017.A zebra foal crosses a bend in the road, not too far behind Mom. Ongava Game Reserve, April 2017.Trying to capture the sunset from a moving vehicle is not the easiest task, but I loved the way the light was hitting the curves in the road, so I gave it my best shot. South Africa, May 2017.A lion pauses at a curve in the road, listening for his brother calling from the distance. Londolozi Game Reserve, May 2017.Elephants gather at a bend in the Hoanib River for a drink and a mud bath. Namibia, April 2017.
The prompt for the photo challenge this week is glow; the perfect opportunity to share some photos with some beautiful light.
I hope you enjoy my selections!
Sunset in the desert, seen on a drinks stop from the Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp. Namibia, April 2017.A leopard bathed in the last light of sunset. South Africa, May 2017.Following a lion into the light. South Africa, May 2017.
