This is one of my feeble attempts at capturing typical Kgalagadi landscapes while being confined to your vehicle (dangerous animals round, y'know? ;)).
The place is just so expansive. When we saw this iconic camelthorn acacia tree against a typical red dune in the background with the interesting clouds above it - we stopped for some shots.
The advantage of the winter sun here is that the sun travels along a rather low trajectory on the one side - meaning that this shot at noon still had a late-morning light quality. In the summer seasons photography becomes very frustrating in this piping hot place from about 9am to 5pm due to the harsh light and heat haze.
Techs:
Canon 1000D with 10-22mm USM @ 10mm
f11 @ 1/80 SS @ ISO-200
Exp +0.7
Kenko Pro CPL
Hi Morkel, The sky is very strong and makes the image. In a landscape nothing to my knowledge equals early or late light but in this case the clouds are so strong the image is still pleasing. I like how(in a pretty barren landscape) you managed to pull out some interest. I moght crop half way to the small tree on the left.
In this case I prefer the OP as opposed to the sharpened version...
Hey Morkel,
Well....not sure I'm buying the noon/morning light theory.....but you have still managed to capture a very effective image showing the expanse of the Kalahari! Yes.....the lower sun in the winter months isn't quite as harsh as the summer sun....but noon is still noon! I will be willing to wager that thiss.......same cloud and a few hours earlier.....would be extraordinary!.....as presented......very good because of the comp and clouds! I too prefer the OP....repost by David looks just a touch over sharpened in the FG.
Dave I added the sharpening before posting and then it looked to crisp, so I decided to post one with less sharpening instead :)
Roman - that's why I said "LATE" morning light, meaning that it bought me about an hour's light ;)...
if you've seen any photos in summer at this time of day from the Kalahari you would get the analogy a bit better ;)
That morning there were very little clouds - this puppy only built up by 11am, and this scene was about 40km from our camp.
If the areas is like Florida (;)) you don't get the cool clouds until later in the AM.
Though Roman and I agree on many things, one thing we diverge on is later in the day imagery. Having photographed a lot in New Mexico which was a lot of barren landscape, I find I like the later in the AM photographs for their starkness due to the strong directional light. The clouds are a big plus here which makes the image work along with the well placed trees in the FG.
The sharpened version works a little better for me. Either way, it is a beautiful image and the time of day is irrelevant to me. A sky like this should never be wasted.
Kalahari Dreams
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