the country:

Along its entire length, the vast shifting sand dunes of the Namib Desert spread inland for 80 to 130km. In the interior, the escarpment of a north�south plateau slopes away to the east and north into the vast interior sand basin of the Kalahari. In the far northwest, the 66,000 sq. km of the Kaokoland mountains run along the coast, while further inland lies the Etosha Pan (a dried-out saline lake), surrounding grasslands and bush which support a large and varied wildlife. The Etosha National Park & Game Reserve is one of the finest in Africa.

I led a photographic wildlife safari in May 2008 organized by World Expeditions. This wonderful country certainly lived up to its expectations with fabulous camp parks, great wildlife, interesting, friendly people, stunning landscapes and the miracle of the Okavango River which floods the plains of Botswana once a year from its headwaters in Angola. Lets look at some of the highlights that photography in Namibia offers.

Namibia is certainly up there as a "holy grail" destination for photographers and certainly exceeded all expectations. You can either go on an organized tour or quite easily hire a car and travel around in 2 wheel drive or 4WD vehicle if you want to get off the beaten track. Its safe, the campsites and accommodation excellent, uncrowded, clean, good food....

photography gear:

I took 1 Nikon D300 body, 12-24mm f4 , 35mm f2, 50mm f1.4, 28-108mm f3.5 macro, 100-300mm f5.6, a compact Coolpix 5700, Film camera Mamiya 7II and 10 rolls of Fuji Velvia 50.  All fitting in a Lowepro AW Orion hip/shoulder bag, a Manfrotto 725B lightweight tripod, 32 " 5 in 1 reflector and polarizing, ND and split grad filters rounded out the accessories.  So I was travelling fairly light . I made the decision not to take a Speedlite flash and instead used the excellent pop- up flash on the Nikon D300 when the need arose.  I would also say that I had friends on this tour who both had Nikons and I occasionally borrowed their 80-400mm and 400mm Nikkor lens.

Sossusvlei :

Sossusvlei - superlative landscape photography

  

This well known area is famous for its giant sand dunes and the Namib desert.   One afternoon, we climbed one of these giant dunes.  Timing in photography is everything..... and physically pacing yourself. Even in mid May it was a hot 30 degrees with an unrelenting climb upwards in soft sand. An hour later and 10 minutes before sunset, our group reached a suitable set of dunes and went into a photographic frenzy before we lost the rich, slating late afternoon light.
Technique: get low down and find a dune where the sunlight is slanting across the ripples showing texture and putting the ripples in 3 dimensional relief. The line of the ripple leads the eye into picture. Use a wide angle lens around f22 to give great depth of field. Use low ISO's for maximum image quality and a polarizing filter to saturate the colours even further. Remember to shoot vertical images in case you are going to sell them as front covers for magazines.
(pic 3) The following morning was a red-eye departure before sunrise to the top of the famous Sand dune 45. A fast race down its face for breakfast was captured on a Nikkor 12-24mm lens (12mm, f5.6, 1/125 second, ISO 200) The horizon is tilted inwards to the centre of the pic otherwise the runners would fall off the page and the 1/125 sec shutter speed is slow enough to show motion of the sand, legs and hands.

Swakopmund:

Swakopmund- shipwreck and townships
Aptly known as the skeleton coast. many ships , humans and wildlife have perished on this barren coastline.  (165mm, f4.5, 1/5000 sec. ISO 400) Wait for the right moment and late afternoon light to catch the waves smashing against the hull.  Work as a team. Having a model like Serena allowed my to snap away without the kids in Swakopmund feel too self-conscious. Digital cameras are brilliant at breaking the ice and you can instantly show them the photos. The 28-105 mm lens allowed me to tightly crop the photo . An aperture of f4 blurred out the background and I pushed the ISO up to 500 giving a shutter speed of 1/40 sec. Any less and you risk getting a burred image.
Go on a locally organized guided tour. These township tours are great. Your group is small, the local guides know the locals and the wealth is shared around. It also removes any anxiety of whom you can or cannot take photographs of and and any safely concerns you may have. Use a photo reportage style. Keep your gear to a minimum. This style of shooting suits compact cameras. I personally love using a camera such as the Nikon Coolpixes or any quality compact in these style of shoots. They are unobtrusive and the 'live view' screen allows you to shoot unusual angles and to conceptualize the images easily. When using a DLSR camera in these scenarios, I like a lens which is not a monster such as a 35mm f2 prime Nikkor...its very sharp, the depth of field is not too shallow so you get a good feeling for the surroundings of the subject. Another favourite in low light is a 85mm f1.8 prime. (85mm, f4, 1/60 sec ISO 200).

spitzkoppe:

Spitzkoppe- landscapes and camping
 

 

If you have nasty visions of camping anywhere with 1000's of other campers, drizzling rain, fractious kids, or hot, mosquito and cane toad ridden campsites in Queensland then put them aside. Spitzkoppe must be one of thee best campsites I have ever been too. Fabulous scenery, sites 100's of meters apart, a swimming pool, gin and tonic at the outside bar, temperature ranging from C14 -30 degrees, low humidity..... perfect conditions for your well being and for photography. When it comes to shooting landscapes.. the less moisture in the air the better as the there is no moisture to defract and soften the light.  This archway is shot with a 12-24mm at 12mm f8 at 1/ 20 sec ISO 200. Side-lighting gives three dimensionality to the scene. The selection of a wide angle 18mm lens makes the lemons sharp and blurs the background out. A slow shutter speed of 1/2 second shows the flickering flames on the fire and creates a ghosting effect on the persons moving.

etosha national park:

Etosha National park - wildlife photography
Etosha..... does it live up to the hype? on the one hand the wildlife viewing at the water-holes was spectacular... on the other it was too civilized with accommodation in native style huts, a pool, bar and quite a few people. I suppose it depends on what you like. You can always get away from the resort scene on the day and dusk game drives with plenty of great wildlife viewing in a striking desert setting. Here... big is better! You need the pulling power of 400mm+ lenses to bring the giraffes in closer, to fill the frame with kudu and to capture zebra cascading through a river (Nikkor 400mm f5.6 1/400 sec ISO 200). 

At the camp waterhole.. a wide angle captures the twilight very nicely. As night fell... the parade of animals coming to drink is staggering and here a male elephant poses for us. (85mm, f 1.8, 1/30 sec, ISO 3200 and exposure comp of -1.33)

himba tribes

Himba tribes
Visiting the tribal communities such as the Himba tribes certainly is a must. The mother and her baby is a simple shot taken with a compact camera Coolpix 5700. Framing the subjects against a clean, clear blue sky gives a striking contrast to the skin tone. Its well worthwhile to spend a few hours in these villages, play ball with the kids (always have a few footballs, Frisbees or any balls, on hand) I prefer to have a small, non obtrusive camera bag and to be unencumbered with huge amounts of camera equipment, Think to frame the subject in doorway. Aim to get impromptu pics where they are not always looking at the camera. Use the exposure compensation dial (this shot was -1) as the black shadow background will fool the cameras metering and cause overexposure on the face.

okavango river

Okavango River - Ngepi camp
 

   
Ngepi Camp is situated in the unspoiled upper reaches of the Okavango delta panhandle in the western Caprivi strip, Kavango region, Namibia. With clean Kalahari desert air, the camp is set on an island under amazing trees with permanent river frontage and surrounded by seasonally flooded swamps. It is a paradise of flooded plains and secret swampy backwaters, teaming with wildlife as it is nestled nestled between Mahango National park and Bwabwata National Park.

The best kept secret of great wildlife photography is shooting on or near water Taking a makoro wildlife tour is a wonderful experience and hippos and crocs in particular are common sights. Birdlife is prolific with over 420 species of birds recorded. In a Makoro you cannot use a tripod.. so lenses such as a 80-400mm Nikkor with an image stabilizer allows to to handhold the camera and to compose the shot to your liking. Thers lots of hippopotamuses! This bored hippo yawning shot. (pic 18) (300mm, f5.6, 1/250 sec,ISO 400)took about 20 attempts. 

So as you relax in a hot bath and a glass of wine after a days adventuring and watch a full moon rise over the Okavango and listen to the sounds of Africa.....you are already planning when you will return.