fine-art photography

“Here in the vast expanse of seemingly nothing a picture is born.”

For years I had the desire to travel the west coast of Namibia and when the opportunity presented itself I took it with both hands.  On the first stretch from Luderitz to Walvisbay I had two companions, a guide, and a friend to share the high costs of the trip.  After Walvisbay we headed north and teamed up with John, the representative for Nature Conservation and a police officer to check that no diamonds were stolen.

We drove up along the beach to the Kunene mouth which forms the border between Namibia and Angola. It’s a pity that a newly formed diamond mine disturbed the peace that one would not like to see in this remote part of Africa.

Later that day I managed to get one evening shot, a thirty minute exposure with a strong westerly wind blowing across the Kunene River proved to be quite a challenge. From there we worked our way south at a slow pace.  One of the Cruisers got damaged in a gully and although we came across the most beautiful scenes, time was an issue.  It is one of the things I really dislike about organized trips as I prefer to work without time constraints. Under normal conditions I always travel alone to free myself from this pressure.  John decided not to go on with his damaged Cruiser taking the police officer with him, who was not fit for the desert anyway.

On a previous trip I had crossed the Hoarusib River further up stream and was really looking forward to see the river closer to the coast. It is one of the rivers where the desert elephants roam. Of all the rivers in the north I find it the most interesting one with huge boulders and rock formations way beyond ones imagination.

As we turned into the wide riverbed leaving the coast behind us I saw this very simple scene to my left. In this vast vista of nothingness I saw a rocky outcrop where the sand was visually broken by small black stones. With the overcast weather the scene had a monochromatic feel to it. And I knew that I had to come back to have a closer look. After a couple of kilometers we stopped to make camp and we decided to stay a couple of days. When I mentioned what I had seen to Michael and Jacque they did not have a clue of what I was talking about.

Early the next morning I set out on my own and headed straight back to the rocky outcrop.  To get there I had to walk a long way as I will never damage the pristine land with a vehicle.  Even walking over the fine weathered stone which had formed a light crust pained my heart.  As I stepped on it my footsteps damaged the crust so I had to walk a detour on firmer ground.

My excitement was high, reaching this scene of simplicity which makes it so strong.  Desaturated colors with flowing lines of sand, stone and a rocky hill in the background.  The place was so beautiful; I managed to find three different compositions each with a different attitude.

I set up my camera at a low angle. The thin clouds finally made way for the sun and the colors brightened up. The scene excited me a lot and I just knew that this was going to be one of my better shots of the trip. I love strong simple compositions and the desert is just ideal for this.

I decided to use a gradual grey filter to tone down the clouds in the background, this darkened the sky and brought emphasis to the foreground.  I focused at bringing the two small bushes into play; once they formed a triangle with the hill the composition started working.  Now the viewer’s eye can move between three objects keeping attention within the image.  The line of sand on the right now also helps to lead the eye up to the mountain.

Fantastic, here in the vast expanse of seemingly nothing a picture is born. 

Back at home, when processing the film, the lab had a final say in the outcome.  When processing a film the temperature, replenishment of chemicals and agitation is of cardinal importance.  Any change will alter the density and color of the film.  During the processing of this photograph something went wrong with the agitation. There was not enough movement of chemicals over the surface of the film resulting in a loss of contrast.  Fortunately in this case it actually helped to tone down the intensity of the scene.  A bitter sweet pill because that rest of the films in the same batch were also affected.

To come home after such a long journey is always exciting to see the images that you took. On a trip like this I arrived home with about 170 rolls of exposed film.  It takes about a week or two to get processing and sorting done.  The selections for my fine art collection are done with the help of my good friend and fine artist, Martin Osner.  When he saw this picture, he liked it so much he bought a print right there and then, saying that I owed the lab a big thank you for messing up so beautifully. 

And now after all the excitement my mind wanders to another picturesque part of Africa and at the right time with the grace of God the wheels will roll again.

Fine Art Landscape Photography