Namibia Trip Report [Warning, Modem Buster Alert]

Back in late September I lead a trip to Namibia for Phase One as part of their PODAS series of workshops. My good friend, Bill Atkinson, was the other instructor on the trip, and we had an excellent time together with our travelers. Our trip began and ended in the capital city of Windhoek, and we flew between 3 different locations across the country.

Since I have been to Namibia many times in the past, I tried to put myself in a different creative mind on this trip. My goal was to find new compositions with shorter focal lengths, which isn’t always easy with all of the far away types of shots that Namibia has. I did use my Phase One camera system this time, which limits me on the long end anyway, and it is probably the best camera system for that type of environment: huge huge files from 40, 60 or 80mp digital backs for crisp/detailed images with rich color fidelity.

Our first destination was in the sleepy town of Lüderitz, which is a coastal town that was built to support the diamond mining efforts at the beginning of the last century. While at Lüderitz we were able to photograph the abandoned diamond mining town of Kolmanskop, where I have been many times in the past. This was, however, my first time to visit and photograph with a medium format camera. We spent 2 nights there, and had 2 separate shoots at Kolmanskop on separate days.

As a side note, I will be leading a pair of Namibia trips with Joshua Holko in 2014. We are working on the details right now. Please notify me if you are interested in more information when I have all of the details planned out. info@andybiggs.com
 

Staircase, Kolmanskop Mining Town

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 28mm lens

Two Doors, Kolmanskop Mining Town

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 45mm lens

Door In A Door, Kolmanskop Mining Town

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 75-150mm lens

After we left Lüderitz we flew over to Sossusvlei, where some of the tallest sand dunes in the world are located. We stayed in the area for 3 nights, and visited the famed Deadvlei a couple of times in an attempt to ‘get it right’. I do like visiting a location more than once, as I tend to get hung up with a particular style on a shoot. Sometimes this means that I stick with a single lens, sometimes it means that I envision only B&W or color or sometimes it means that I take huge creative risks in an attempt to do something completely different. We also took some time to scout some less photographed areas of the Namib-Naukluft, and found what I hear is the most northern quiver tree in Namibia. Talk about far away from its nearest relative, which is still at least a 50km drive.

Deadvlei in B&W

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 45mm lens

A Lone Quiver Tree

Sony RX-100 point and shoot camera

Yours Truly

El Grupo

At the end of the trip we flew to the more remote area of Namibia, Serra Cafema Camp. Serra Cafema Camp is located on the Kunene River, which separates Namibia from Angola. One of my all-time favorite locations to photograph is here, and it is the combination of remoteness, grandiose beauty and accommodations that keeps bringing me back. 3 nights just scratches the surface of what this area can do for photography, and I look forward to going back again in future years.

Overlooking the dune field from a vantage point

Driving through the dunes

A side view of one of the dunes near camp

Our thrones around the fire

I am not sure this is what Really Right Stuff envisions for their tripod support

Another vantage point before we went into the dunes for sunset

Dune field with the Serra Cafema mountain range in Angola in the background

Ovahimba Tribe

Sharing our images

Our final breakfast location, overlooking the Kunene River and Serra Cafema mountain range in Angola

Botswana Safari Report - Part 2

After I said goodbye to my safari group, I spent the next 3 nights in the Selinda Reserve with my good friend and guide, Kane Motswana. Kane and I have been on many game drives together, and I wanted to see him as well as spend some time between two of the camps in the reserve, Zarafa and Selinda Camp. Selinda Reserve is managed and operated by Great Plain, one of my favorite safari outfitters in Africa. They not only have great camps, but they also have a great ethos of delivering low impact, high value safaris. This really means few travelers, big pieces of land, community involvement and employees who care deeply about conserving habitat for wild animals.

During my three nights in the reserve I spent a night at Zarafa Camp and two nights at Selinda Camp. We had some great sightings, but nothing compares to the numerous game drives of nothing but African wild dogs (lycaeon pictus). I have a soft spot for wild dogs, often referred to as African painted dogs, or cape hunting dogs. We had 4 game drives in a row when the wild dogs were within 5 minutes of camp, and on one occasion they hunted down a young reedbuck and made their kill within 2 meters of my vehicle’s door. Awesome. Amazing. Violent. Efficient.

On another occasion we left for our game drive, only to turn around after 50 feet to follow the dog pack back into camp. After a few minutes we heard the staff screaming in the lobby area, and it turned out that a wild dog had chased an impala through camp and through the dining room. The impala got away, and it was funny that we would have had a better photo opportunity if we were still sitting on the couch, sipping a coffee or tea. We had some good laughs over that sighting.

As I left Selinda at the end of September the temperatures were starting to rise, and I was worried that my next safari in Namibia would be scorching heat, which ultimately never happened. Usually we refer to October as being the warmest month in Botswana, then some rains hit in early November to cool things down a bit. These early rains also coincide with very intense clouds, making for a very dramatic backdrop for photography.

I am planning on running some safaris to Selinda Camp and Duba Plains in the coming years, so look out for those on my calendar.

African Wild Dog (Lycaeon Pictus)

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

African Wild Dogs (Lycaeon Pictus) at the end of a kill

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

African Wild Dog Puppies (Lycaeon Pictus) at play

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

African Wild Dog Puppies (Lycaeon Pictus) at play

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

African Wild Dog (Lycaeon Pictus)

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 28mm lens (17mm equivalent)

Kane Motswana

Botswana Safari Report - Part 1

The Move To Medium Format

Back in September I led a safari to northern Botswana, which was my first safari where I shot exclusively with digital medium format gear. Sometime in the middle of 2012 I actually sold off all of my Nikon 35mm gear, adopted a Phase One IQ160 (60mp) digital back on a Phase One DF camera body and pursued the world of the biggest and best files I could possibly obtain. Here is the complete camera setup that I took with me: 

• Phase One DF camera body
• Phase One IQ160 (60mp) digital back
• 28mm
• 45mm
• 80mm
• 75-150mm
• 200mm f/2.8 APO
• 300mm f/2.8 APO
• 2x Teleconverter

Drawbacks

There are major drawbacks with this approach, and the major issue is that autofocus speed an accuracy isn’t even in the ballpark of what 35mm gear can deliver. Another major limitation is that I am limited to ISO 100, 200 and 400 in a pinch. I have to make sure that I stay within my opinion ISO range, which is ISO 100 or 200. Oh, and I haven’t even gotten to the best part: my preferred wildlife lens is a Mamiya 300mm f/2.8 APO model, which I was able to find still in the original box and was unused. The 300mm lens equates to about a 190mm lens on a 35mm camera, so the images won’t be ‘in your face’ type images that fill the frame with the face of a lion. The catch? It is also a manual focus lens. Oh, and aperture selection is manual (on the lens) and cannot be controlled on the camera. So my process isn’t exactly what I would call easy, but then again I absolutely love challenges and the payoffs that go with them. These drawbacks are just obstacles on the way to HUGE files that can be printed at any size that I wish. My goal is to always make images that stir the soul, and to be able to print these images at any print size that my 44” printer can accommodate. 30x40” prints are my desired target on a fiber / baryta type paper, and 40x60” on canvas. 

The Safari

This safari took place in northern Botswana, and we split our time between Chitabe Camp in the Okavango Delta and DumaTau Camp along the Linyanti River. I always like to split up my time between camps when I am in Botswana, because every camp has a different ecosystem, wildlife, look and feel that need to be experienced. Other places in Africa can work for only 1 camp, such as the Masai Mara, however Botswana is best when split between 2 or more camps.

While at Chitabe we took sole use of the camp for our 4 nights there. I typically take over a camp in order to control the dining schedule, as well as have sole use of all of the vehicles. September is a great time to be in northern Botswana, as it is one of the dry months and wildlife is easier to locate and photograph when the grasses are short.

After we left Chitabe we had 4 more nights at the newly built DumaTau Camp, which sits at the edge of the Linyanti River. These two camps could not be more different, as the vegetation, wildlife, scenery and feel are completely different. Between these two camps we had over the top lion sightings, great leopards, elephant water crossings, hyaenas, wild dogs and also general game. I have been running photographic safaris for the past 11 years and this was one of those safaris that had an excellent balance between all of the available mammal and bird species. 

Ok, on to some of the images!

Elephant Along The Linyanti River

Phase One DF, IQ160, 300mm f/2.8 APO

Leopard On A Termite Mound

Phase One camera, IQ160 digital back, 200mm f/2.8 APO

Two Giraffes Drinking From A Puddle

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

Leopard On A Tree

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

Elephant Parts

Phase One DF camera, IQ160 digital back, 300mm f/2.8 APO

Gura Gear Bataflae 26L camera bag in tan

Phase One camera setup with 300mm f/2.8 APO lens

Phase One camera setup with 200mm f/2.8 APO lens (gaffer tape all over the place, to ensure the back was sealed)

Pile ‘O Gura Gear Bags at the airport