27 September 2011

Death Row

This is one of my favorite images from this year's Namibia workshop. Even though I have visited Namibia countless times, it amazes me that it is still possible to find unique compositions, even at a popular and often photographed place as Deadvlei.



The trees you see here are dead camelthorn trees that are hundreds of years old. The extremely arid climate prevents them from rotting and their skeletons turn the location in a very surreal and at times eery place.

For this particular shot I used the shadow of the dunes behind me as a natural ND grad for the bright foreground. I waited until the shadow line reached the base of the dunes in the background and exposed for the bright red sand, turning the already dark trees into silhouettes. I'm kind of allergic to touching and overlapping shapes, and I thought I had already shot every possible angle with free standing trees, but for some reason I suddenly found a lot of new compositions this year that I had never seen before. Just like athletes that have good days and not so good ones, I think the same applies to photographers - one day you're really struggling to get even a decent shot, the next day you suddenly see great images everywhere.

If you would like to join us on next year's Namibia workshop, please have a look at our website for tour information, images and video impressions. It's a spectacular tour with lots of variety, incredible photo opportunities, and you will return with stunning images - and that's a promise!

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