Picture Story
The Namib Desert in Namibia, Africa, is absolutely stunning and worth a visit. I actually went as part of a photography workshop (something I highly recommend as you are taken places at the right time of day for light) where we stopped at several places to take images. It was early in the morning, and when we stopped at this famous (you often see photographs) dune, the lighting was unbelievable! The richness of the orange is indescribable. And people were hiking to the top of this and other dunes!
We were on our way to the famous Dead Vlei, which, it turns out, is nowhere near the road, so a big hike into the salt pan with camera gear in soft sand.
Talk about timing being everything - we went very early in the morning to catch the various sunrise stages over the dead trees (spectacular). Unfortunately, on our hike back to our vehicle, it was very hot and the sun unforgiving. That's when we saw the tour busses arrive for the big hike and disappointing flat light.
Sunrise is the key to this area!
A bit more about the Dunes:
The orange and pink colours in the sand show that there is a high concentration of iron present.
The redder and more intense the colour, the older the dunes are.
Some of the world’s highest dunes are located here. Many of them are more than 200 meters.
The highest dune is 325 meters and is nicknamed ‘Big Daddy.’
There is one dune higher than this in the Namib Desert. This is Dune 7, which is 388 meters high.
There are a number of underground rivers in the area that often flood the pans.
Water is brought to Sossusvlei via fog that comes off the Atlantic Ocean in the early mornings.
Sossusvlei is one of the top-photographed landscapes in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This scene has been featured in dozens of music videos, movies, and commercials.
The film, The Cell featured Sossusvlei in many of its scenes.
The Fall and Steel Dawn were also shot in this area
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor