Drive-by Kalahari Scenes

By now you should know that I love the Kalahari desert.
It's a place that soothes the soul.
It's a place of silence, solitude, serenity and splendour.

Most of my visits to this region have been to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, a National Park straddling South Africa and Botswana. Due to the nature of this place you are confined to exploring its landscapes photographically in two ways...within the confines of the rest camps and campsites, or from your vehicle as you drive around looking for wildlife (among which the magnificent black-maned lions of the Kalahari).

Over the years, I've managed to collect quite a few nice "drive-by" landscape photos in my pursuit to capture the arid beauty of the Kalahari effectively. It takes a different approach to traditional tripod-stomping, as you are really limited in how you can compose your photos. The following collection of images show some of the "drive-by" shots that I am most happy with to date. Most of these were taken handheld or resting on a beanbag on the vehicle door.

As always - the photos are best enjoyed by clicking on them...


1. "Kalahari Ghost Rain"
It gets very hot in the Kalahari - this image depicts "Ghost Rain", rain that evaporates even before hitting the earth. It's that hot! And this was taken right at sunrise!! Location - the dune fields between the Auob and Nossob riverbeds.

Nikon D800  |  31mm  |  f7.1  |  1/60 SS  |  ISO-640

2. "Southern Nossob"
A typical scene in the lower Nossob riverbed. Red sand dunes, camelthorn acacias, and big skies. This "river" runs only once every 100 years or so.

Nikon D800  |  24mm  |  Polariser  |  f8.0  |  1/320 SS  |  ISO-500

3. "Red and Blue"
A typical late morning scene in the northern stretch of the Auob riverbed. Another fossil river, this one experiences a flash flood a bit more regularly than the Nossob, perhaps every 20 years or so!

Nikon D7000  |  92mm  |  f8.0  |  1/200 SS  |  ISO-100

4. "Heart-shaped Cloud"
The space and the skies in the Kalahari are immense...and when the conditions are right you can capture something of that vastness on camera.

Canon 1000D  |  16mm  | Polariser  |  f11  |  1/80 SS  |  ISO-200

5. "Rain of Fire"
Although veld fires are common in the summer months, this was merely a spectacular sunset storm to the west, as seen from the lower Auob riverbed during a rare lush green season.

Nikon 1 V1  |  27mm  |  f3.5  |  1/200 SS  |  ISO-400

6. "Ominous Overheads"
The storms in this part of the world can get quite rough. We were parked at a waterhole on this particular afternoon when a ripper came through - dust, rain, wind and lightning...

Canon 1000D  |  16mm  |  f8.0  |  1/80 SS  |  ISO-400

7. "Road to the Kalahari"
Just a grab shot of the road in the northern Auob riverbed. Doesn't this just make you want to get in your SUV and drive to the Kalahari??

Canon 1000D  |  28mm  |  f18  |  1/160 SS  |  ISO-200

Did you enjoy these? I hope it inspires you to not neglect your landscape photography even when you are not allowed to leave the safety of your vehicle...

Let me know what you think - which is your favourite? I intend on building this collection with every return visit!


Morkel Erasmus

Special Print Series - Atmospheric Elephants

Good afternoon everyone...

I've just released a new special print collection on my website. It's a specific portfolio of black & white photos showcasing elephants under the vast expanse of the African sky. This series can be printed on the finest Hahnemuhle Photo Rag paper or fine art quality canvas, and it will be an exquisite adornment for a home or a corporate office space. I am making each image available as individual prints. 

I will also be running special prices on multiple orders of 2 or 3 prints, 5 prints, 9 prints or the whole series of 13...multiple prints can be designed and sized according to the specific space you intend for them to be hung.

You can see the entire collection HERE.
If you want a moody piece of "Africa" to adorn your walls - let me know!

For detail pricing and enquiries, please contact me on:
morkel@morkelerasmus.com

Have a great week!

Morkel Erasmus

Crumbling Walls

I really am neglecting my landscape photography - which is a shame, because I really enjoy my landscape photography! Anyhow, I was in the mood to share an older landscape photo from my archives - so I hope you like this one.

I captured this sunset a couple of years back on a local farm close to where I live. The farm belongs to family friends of ours so obtaining access is not a problem. These old farmhouse ruins provide plenty of interest on the otherwise boring scenery of the Mpumalanga Highveld.

I blended 3 separate exposures here to obtain the best representation of the dynamic range of the scene at the time.

Techs:
Canon 7D
Canon 10-22mm USM @ 12mm
f16  |  ISO-100

click on the photo to view at optimal sharpness and resolution

Thanks for indulging me!

Morkel Erasmus

Dune Prowler

During our recent family safari to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, we came across two male cheetahs who were strolling down the dry Auob riverbed with full bellies (having made a kill earlier that morning). We drove next to them for probably 8km, and after they slaked their thirst at the Kamfersboom waterhole, they crossed over the road and onto the dunes next to us. I managed to get a couple of photos of them in this typical Kalahari setting by repositioning the vehicle as they moved along the line of the road. At times they were close enough to reach out and touch - a special Kgalagadi sighting.

It was already mid-morning so the light wasn't at its absolute best, but once they did cross the road some photos were manageable. I just love the red sand and blue sky surroundings here, making it unmistakably Kalahari.

Techs:
Nikon D800
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 200mm
f8.0  |  1/800 SS  |  ISO-250

click on the photo to view at proper resolution and sharpness

Morkel Erasmus

Striped Lineup

I loved seeing Etosha under massive clouds most of the days during our recent trip. Most people tend to go in winter time and then it's mostly hazy blue sky you see in their images. This place truly is big sky country with an immense sense of space! This lineup of Plains Zebra were walking along the plains en route to the Salvadora waterhole in the Halali region.

I went for a monochrome conversion here, giving it a slight blue tone. Zebras just work so well in a colourless format, and the use of the circular polariser on the lens lends that deep punch to the blue sky which also converts well if you apply a red filter in the conversion process. I used Nik Silver Efex Pro for this quick conversion, though I often play around more with it afterwards in Photoshop to use more dodging and burning.

Techs:
Nikon D3s
Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II @ 70mm
f5.6  |  1/400 SS  |  ISO-220 

click on the photo to view at proper resolution

I hope to find more time to process some new images over the weekend. Let me know what you think of this one in the meantime.

Morkel Erasmus

The Amazing African Night Sky

Well, good afternoon. I don't really know where you are when reading this, or what the time is...but right now it is about 17h40 on a lazy Sunday afternoon in South Africa.


I am aiming to now post at least one blog post per week, if not more, but in a more "photo-of-the-day" style, with intermittent longer, more thoughtful posts. That way I can keep everyone updated on my photos as I process them from previous travels, and keep the site a little more active.


Those of you who've been to Africa before will know that there is just nothing like the night sky of Africa. In the USA I know they speak of Montana as "Big Sky Country", but in Africa it just seems that everywhere is "Big Sky Country". And if the daytime clouds and expanse don't convince you, the stars at night surely will. In general Africa has many places that are still quite devoid of serious "light pollution", which enables a much clearer view of the Milky Way and Southern Hemisphere "starscape".

The Milky Way as seen in the Kalahari desert, South Africa
f3.5  //  30s  //  ISO-6400