Garry Black Photography

SOUTHERN AFRICA PHOTO SAFARI

Instructional Tips – Sand Dunes, Namibia

There are 3 distinct areas to the sand dunes. Here is a hand drawn map of the area from one of my previous trips. The first is the area where we will be staying, it’s just outside of the towering dunes. The landscape is one of gravel/sand with scrub brushes with an occasional tree. It's interesting but personally I don't find it all that photographic. We have to stay here, as there are no accommodations within the park. The park doesn't “officially” open until sunrise, but since "Little Kulala" has it's own private gated entrance we’ll be able to be at the dunes when the sun rises.

The drive into the dunes is along a good gravel road; the first stop is usually at Dune 45 (you can see the view from Dune 45 on this web page). It is called Dune 45 because it is 45 Kilometers from the front gate; from here it is another 15 Kilometers to the parking area for 2 wheel drive vehicles. At this point we’re right in the middle of the sea of sand.

Both of these images were taken in the area of the parking lot for 2 wheel drive vehicles. It’s not really a parking lot in the traditional sense; it’s just an area to park your car. A wide-angle lens was used for these 2 pictures, with a polarizing filter. They were taken an hour and a half before sunset.

The last area is considered part of the dunes but it’s uniquely different. The area is called the Dead Vlei, vlei means a pan type area. It was once a forested area, now all that remains are the black petrified tree skeletons, on a bed of white sun cracked clay, which is surrounded like an amphitheater by the tower orange sand dunes. This is a good area to come to in the middle of the day, as shadows aren’t as important here as they are for the dunes themselves.

Now that is not to say that there isn’t any life in the desert. The following 2 pictures were taken in the area of the 2-wheel drive parking lot. There are a few green bushes and trees in the desert, they run along a sub terrain river.

PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE DESERT

If you’ve read the suggested equipment list you’ll know that I’ve recommended Zip Loc bags and a Hurricane Blower. Both of these are essential for photography here. You will also need a tripod, if you study all the images on this page you will notice that they are all sharply in focus from the foreground to infinity. In order to achieve this, all of them were shot at an aperture of F22.

The lenses that you will be using will range from wide-angle to long telephoto (200mm – 300mm).

My preference for film here would be Velvia, as I want the shadows to be very dark. In my experience with Provia, I have found that there is an extra stop of tonal range in the shadows. What this means is that the shadow area of the picture really isn’t as black or dark as it would be with Velvia. But this is a personal choice, so either film would be fine. Keep in mind that the colour palette of Provia is not as saturated (or exaggerated) as Velvia.

For filters, a definite must is a polarizer! You may also want to use a Yellow/Blue Cokin#173 Polarizer for a different effect, but it isn’t really necessary – it’s up to you. Another optional filter is a Red Enhancing filter, this will make the sand appear very orange and almost pure red at sunset. I used a red enhancing filter for the 2 images that are on top of this page. Here is an example of this filter at sunset.

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