Asterix goes to Namibia

[asterixsg]

Your sunset shot is absolutely stunning!

I and 3 others will be in Namibia before the end of the month and we had already planned to visit Walvis Bay, besides Sossusvlei during our two week trip.

Thanks. I thought that the sunset shot was poorly executed because I couldn't handle the flare...

Hello uncle Asterixsg,
How are you and again you are some where else on this earth capturing all the beautiful things in life.. nice series and thanks for sharing...

Thanks Manita. I am still learning and I am very proud of your work. You have a great future ahead...

Good to know you're safe now with plenty of war stories (and photos!)
Saw the stream on Flickr but came here for the well wishes
The truck should have said 'Adventurer'

Thanks for your comments. I definitely don't qualify to be an "Adventurer". Treading on paths that have been walked before, hardly qualifies to be an Adventurer

very lovely!

Thanks.

Love the light falls on the rocks...a beauty..

Am enjoying this series again and thank you for sharing...

Your minimalist series is an inspiration. I don't quite know how to shoot sunsets and certainly don't know how to handle flare...

 

[asterixsg]

Today's dedicated to Epupa Falls.

Was quite fortunate to see the Epupa falls in full glory, thanks to the exceptionally heavy rains that Namibia received this year. Visitors from previous years had said that the falls are but a trickle, but I was greeted by the thundering sound from far, and I knew that I was in for something special...

21. Epupa falls #01

Approaching...

22. Epupa falls #02

With the Angolan mountains as backdrop, the Epupa falls are quite a sight...

23. Epupa falls #03

Its really amazing to see huge Baobab trees and Palm trees growing out of the rocks...

24. Epupa falls #04

I get cheap thrills when I get to see a rainbow in the mist thrown up by the falls. I suppose the little child in me has refused to grow up

That's it for Epupa Falls, folks...

 

[jrdlim]

Great Pics! I admire ur courage and ur passion

 

[reallycheaptalk]

Dear asterixsg, you have some awesome pictures there! thanks so much for sharing!

 

[Will03]

wow.. i am sure its a great adventure.. and it must be a v satisfying trip.. looking forward to more images..

 

[casey4355]

breathtaking, our hdb also not bad hahaha

 

[pchmj]

The Epupa fall shot with the rainbow is spectacular!

 

[cubo21]

Beautiful!!! thanks for sharing!!:thumbsup:

 

[AlexK]

The Epupa fall shot with the rainbow is spectacular!

Fully agree with you. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[asterixsg]

Great Pics! I admire ur courage and ur passion

Thanks for your comments. Courage ? No. Passion ? Yes

Dear asterixsg, you have some awesome pictures there! thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks. Glad you liked the pictures.

wow.. i am sure its a great adventure.. and it must be a v satisfying trip.. looking forward to more images..

Will, Yeah, it was a great adventure and now I have to deal with the depression...

BTW, I admire your work a lot and good luck for your Kenya trip. Will be looking forward to your thread...

 

[asterixsg]

breathtaking, our hdb also not bad hahaha

Yeah, our HDB also not bad at all, just that we have to deal with different coloured snakes

The Epupa fall shot with the rainbow is spectacular!

Thanks. I was just blessed to go at a time when there was so much water...

Beautiful!!! thanks for sharing!!:thumbsup:

Thanks for your comments...

 

[asterixsg]

Fully agree with you. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Thanks Alex. Like I said, cheap thrills

 

[asterixsg]

25. Dune 45

Dune 45 is probably the most photographed dune in Sossusvlei, as everybody usually ends up there.

I wanted to try a different composition, rather than the usual ones I had seen on the internet before.

Not sure if a square composition works, I can't make up my mind as usual...

26. Togetherness

After I went to Spitzkoppe, I was driving past a couple of souvenir shops that had sprung up. I dunno what came over me but I decided to stop. At the first shop, I chatted up with an old lady and before I left, I gave her a packet of biscuits. She asked me for shoes for her husband who lived in a village nearby, but I only had one pair of boots....

At the next shop, there were these kids who gathered around me asking me to buy gemstones and other souvenirs. I was not in a mood to buy anything at all... The little girl in the purple jacket came and held my hand and asked me to take a photo with her siblings. After every photo, she would climb over my shoulder, see her photo in the LCD and would burst out giggling. And get ready for the next photo in a different pose... I must have taken a dozen photos of her with her siblings and her mother. She had a constant smile on and I just couldn't refuse anything she asked. As I left, I gave a packet of biscuits, a box of Pringles, and fought back a tear or two...

What was my connection with these people, I do not know...

27. Sandwich Harbour : Where the Namib desert meets the Atlantic Ocean...

This was the moment I was waiting for...

I wanted to see the place where the Namib desert meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was just amazing to stand on top of the tall dunes and look down at the ocean.

I was wondering how to compose the shot, when a couple from my tour group walked into my view. I quickly grabbed a shot...

I have a tip for people who go on a tour of Sandwich Harbour.
If you have enough people in your group, it is possible to make a special arrangement with the tour company to book a sunset tour (essentially, you need to book the entire vehicle).
In the late afternoon, you will get lovely contrast with shadows of the dunes, and will make for much better photographs...

28. What's odd ?

There's something odd about this photograph. Can you guess what it is ?

 

[Poseidon88]

...superb images
very well done!!!

btw... Asterix, the Gaul,
how can he make the long and difficult journey to Namibia?
maybe he had a good magic potion from Getafix

 

[chempaka]

beautiful and mesmerising series.

 

[Zichar]

#28: The 4WD is backing up? Sliding down the dune?
It makes me wonder how high up you were to catch that!

 

[stuck]

wonderful series! definitely camping here for more pictures! my guess is your jeep is slipping down the dune! =p

 

[melvinlee]

Amazing !!!

 

[asterixsg]

...superb images
very well done!!!

btw... Asterix, the Gaul,
how can he make the long and difficult journey to Namibia?
maybe he had a good magic potion from Getafix

ha ha ha. yeah, I had the MTD-48 :bsmilie:

beautiful and mesmerising series.

thanks for your comments...

 

[asterixsg]

wonderful series! definitely camping here for more pictures! my guess is your jeep is slipping down the dune! =p

thanks.
ah, its definitely not slipping down the dune. if it were to slip down, there would've been some tracks behind it

#28: The 4WD is backing up? Sliding down the dune?
It makes me wonder how high up you were to catch that!

You almost got that. Yeah, the 4WD was backing UP a dune.

Actually, we were on top of probably a 80-100m high dune (just my guess...) and I wanted to shoot the 4WD coming down the opposite dune facing us, which was equally high.

I spoke to my guide and he asked the driver from the other 4WD to go down our dune, go up the opposite dune and come down. I told my fellow tourmates that we had a wonderful photo-opportunity.

We all lined up and when the 4WD came down the opposite dune, I went trigger happy, without paying any attention to composition.

What happened next is that the 4WD didn't have enough momentum to come up our dune. It reached almost to the summit and then groaned in displeasure...

So, the driver backed down our dune (literally slipping and sliding...) and then backed up the opposite dune. This was the shot that I got as the 4WD was backing up. He then got the momentum that he needed as he came down that opposite dune in full speed and drove up to the top of the dune where we were standing, to cheers and applause.

Even this shot sucks in composition, because you can't really make out that the 4WD is backing UP a dune. I should've got some sky in the frame to give it the perspective...