Amateur Photographer (2019-04-13)

Technique avoiding clichÉs

Thinknamibiaandeveryoneenvisages
orangesanddunes,blacktreesandblueskies.
Yes,namibia’sminimalcompositionhas
elevatedit tooneof themostpopular
geographicaldestinationsontheplanet.Go
thereandit’shardnottorevelin itsbeauty,
nomatterhowderivativeyourpreciousimages
mayappear.it’spossibletothinkwelloutside
thebox,withtheuseof differentequipment
anda differentapproach.
A nightshootin kolmanskopwasthe
antidotetoallthosesand-filledrooms
anddoors.it tookmynight-photography
knowledgetobuilda funimageof my‘zombie’
friend Greg lurking in the abandoned hospital

withjusta fewheadtorches(below).i regret

thati didn’thavea hatchettogivehim.

Ona helicopterflightoverDeadvlei,i was

abletophotographanincrediblecrackedmud

patternthati haveneverseenbefore(right),

despiteaerialphotographyoverthedunes

beinga popularadventure.

insideDeadvleiitself,a teamof equidistantly

spacedtouristsclimbinga nearbydune

becametheperfectsilhouettes,producingone

of thestrongestimagesof thetrip(above).

keepingmyeyeonthepartyasthey

ascended,i useda 560mmfocallengthto

isolatethemfromconsiderabledistance.

not an orange sand dune in sight.

David’s alternative techniques

Namibia – but not as you know it

Above:If you’reluckyenoughtogetin theairand

capturea differentperspectiveofa popular

location, home in on detail, shapes and patterns

Left:Don’tmakeexperimentationbecomea

chore,havefunwithit.A littleknowledge and

creativity can go a long way

Deprivethesceneofcolour
andthinkgraphically.This
mono-silhouetteimage
really packs a punch