To some, using software to make a photo look as if it were sketched or painted may seem like an abomination. Photographers often go to great lengths (sometimes at great expense) to create sharp and crisp images that show the viewer exactly what the scene looked like. But what about those times when that beautifully crisp, perfectly exposed image doesn’t convey the feeling of the moment? Or, heaven forbid, what if you goof up on the exposure, or mess up the focus a bit, but the moment was great and you still want to do something with the image? These are just some of the reasons for exploring painterly effects with photography. I’ve edited photos in the past for all those reasons and while I don’t post them too often, I do have a gallery of my favourite Artistic Impressions or Photo Art images.
This week, I was inspired by a vintage style travel poster I have had hanging up for around the last 12 years or so. I see it every time I walk towards my sitting room; this week I was struck by the interest in creating a photo series inspired by it, whereas most of the time I just look at it and think “I really want to go to the Serengeti someday”.
A quick snap of the poster that inspired this week’s editing.
I decided to do a series of Big 5 animals; I can imagine these in a vintage travel brochure advertising visiting the “Dark Continent” to see the wild and ferocious Big 5. I edited all of them using the Topaz Simplify filter through the Topaz Studio program.
The photo challenge topic of the weekly is unlikely. The first thing that popped into mind for me was encountering people I’d met before while traveling in Namibia last April.
My first trip to Namibia was in 2015, with a two night stop in Sossusvlei, and then a two night stop at Damaraland Camp. At the Damaraland Camp, we had a wonderful guide named Chris. He was an incredibly thoughtful and knowledgable guide and he took great care to show us the best of the area and share his expertise with us. At DMC, we also had an amazing host in camp manager Maggie.
My second trip to Namibia, we decided we wanted to see different areas, so we chose the Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp and Ongava Reserve outside of Etosha National Park. On our arrival at Hoanib, the camp manager told us our guide would be Chris, a recent addition to their staff who had moved over from another property. At 3:00 we gathered to head out on our first game drive, and saw none other than our fabulous guide from two years previous, Chris from Caprivi. Almost as far away from home as I could get, and there was a familiar face.
Chris chatting with my Dad during a trip to the coast from camp. April, 2017.
During our stay in Damaraland, the one thing Chris was absolutely determined to find us was the desert adapted elephants. It took until lunchtime, but he finally found them in the the rocky hills. During our stay at Hoanib, Chris was no less determined to find the elephants, but they were much easier to locate. He often said the elephants living near Hoanib were spoiled compared to the ones living in Damaraland.
The first desert elephants I saw, in 2015. Desert elephants seen on my most recent trip. These ones were not quite as tough to locate as the ones seen in Damaraland.
We had a great time at Hoanib but then it was time to move on. We arrived early afternoon into Etosha and were settled at the lodge with a drink, chatting with the relief manager that was looking after the property. She had introduced herself as Maggie but it took a moment to realize it was the same Maggie we had met 2 years previous at DMC, as her flaming red hair from 2015 had been replaced with a more subdued shade. For the second time in under a week, halfway around the world, I was running into familiar faces. My Mom pulled up a video on her iPad of Maggie and her staff singing a song to us as we departed camp two years earlier, a wonderful memory for all of us to share.
Maggie and her crew at DMC, wishing us well on our onwards journey.
Thinking about these memories makes me wish I had been more inclined to take lots of photos of people during my travels; that’s definitely something I need to do better with in the future. I don’t have a photo of Maggie from this past trip, but we do keep in touch now on Facebook; an unlikely second meeting has turned into a friendship 🙂
The photo challenge topic for the week is lines (not the kind you were stuck writing in school if you were misbehaving in class…) 🙂
Here are a few images that I found that I feel have a strong linear element to them. I hope you enjoy.
A game trail through the desert leads up a hill and around a bend. Don’t you find yourself wondering what might be just beyond the line of sight? Namibia, April 2017.Jagged hills zigzagging into the distance in this aerial shot above the Damaraland region of Namibia. April, 2017.Game trails through the desert again, but this time leading us to a lioness heading towards the river for a drink. Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, April 2017.A road through the Nxai Pan leading to the Baines Baobabs. The image is deceiving, as the tree trunks are as wide as a vehicle. Botswana, May 2017.I took this image of the sky while on a sundowner drinks stop; I was drawn to the way the setting sun was illuminating the linear clouds. South Africa, May 2017.
The topic this week and last are very similar for me. Last week, I told you that I’d rather be on safari and this week I’m going to tell you that my favourite place is being amongst the elephants in the African bush. I must admit, I don’t really like the concept of a favourite place per se, because it feels like it discounts so many amazing experiences over the years. But, I have often said if I could only limit myself to traveling to one place the rest of my life (and even so far as if I had to choose only one animal to spend the rest of my days with) it would be in Africa amongst the elephants.
There is just something about being in the proximity of elephants, feeling their rumbles, listening to their calls, watching them interact and go about their days that fills me with such peace and joy.
I hope you enjoy my selection of images this week.
Elephants playing in the Boteti River in Botswana.A large bull elephant at Nxai Pan in Botswana.A pair of bull elephants at a small waterhole on Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa.An elephant family drinking at a broken water pipe on Londolozi in South Africa.Pushing on the tree to shake down fruits in the Okavango Delta.Part of a larger herd that I spent time with one morning on Phinda Game Reserve.A desert adapted elephant seen near the Skeleton Coast in Namibia.
The photo challenge topic of the week is out of this world. I’ve chosen to share a stitched panorama image that I shot while exploring the Skeleton Coast in Namibia. We flew to the coast from camp for a day of exploration, and as we were driving through the dunes we came across this beautiful oasis in the middle of vast tracts of featureless sand dunes. It truly was an out of this world landscape to see.
This first multiple exposure image of the month is an idea that I jotted down in more than one place over several months, so I am finally glad to have a chance to explore it and create something.
I created this image utilizing photoshop, using some basic layer masks and adjusting the blend mode to suit. It really is that simple but that are lots of step by step tutorials available if anyone is interested in researching it further.
The lion image that is a basis for the composite was shot in Etosha National Park in Namibia in April 2017. This young male lion slunk across the road in full stalk position towards a herd of zebra, but as they had spotted him before he even started moving, it really was a wasted effort. The orientation of the zebra pictures I had from that same time period weren’t quite right for what I was looking to do, so I found one in my catalogue taken in the Okavango Delta in 2015 that worked much better. The positioning of the group of zebra and tsessebe give the impression that they were watching something in the distance… perhaps even a predator moving through.
The photo challenge this week was to show something, or someone, sweet. If that isn’t an invitation to share photos of elephants, I don’t know what is. Or maybe that’s just me. 🙂 So here are a few images featuring some adorable baby elephants seen last year on my trip through Southern Africa.
Enjoy!
This little one was struggling to climb out of the river bed, and got a helpful push from Mom. Hoanib Camp, Namibia. April 2017.Partially hidden behind Mom, this little elephant was very curious about our group. Botswana, May 2017.Another inquisitive youngster seen in the Okavango Delta. This one was busy watching a nearby group of baboons. Botswana, May 2017.A young elephant getting a drink from a broken landscape pipe. This was one of the youngsters that thrilled me by repeatedly visiting me at my vehicle while his Mom stood by. South Africa, May 2017.A young elephant sneaking a quick suckle whilst Mom grazes on devils thorn. Hoanib Camp, Namibia. April 2017.
