Desert environments can be challenging and rewarding environments in which to shoot landscapes, as Theo Allofs discovered in the wilds of the Namib Desert on Africa's southwest coast.
I've been to the Namib Desert around Sossusvlei on many occasions during the past two decades. I vividly remember my great excitement when I first saw the gigantic red sand dunes there in the mid 1990s. The desert hadn't experienced rains for years. The dunes were bare of all vegetation. Over the three days I stayed among these monster dunes I became fascinated with shooting their undulating shapes in high-contrast early morning light and before sunset when their shadows were longest. And I became obsessed with abstracts. There are few places and landscapes that offer so many excellent opportunities to play with abstract photography. The dead desert came alive through the play of light and shadows, constantly changing during the course of a day. Only around midday did the dunes take on a monotone pale red colour, without any contrast at all. This was a good time for a relaxing siesta!
During my following visits I found it harder and harder to photograph anything new. I thought I'd seen and photographed it all, from every angle and every interesting place Sossusvlei had to offer. On my last trip there I hardly took out my camera. The previous rains had transformed my beloved pure sand-dune landscape into an "unclean" mix between desert and meadows. I was disappointed. Green grass on these once pure red sand dunes was something I hadn't expected, nor wanted. What I desired was what I knew and had appreciated so much before. Then, while I was driving a paved road along the dry Tsauchab River bed, framed by huge partly grass-covered dunes in the distance and with the dry golden Savannah stretching along the vast valley, a single leafless acacia caught my eye. From the tree my eyes wandered to the large dune behind it and then to the golden Savannah in the foreground. I stopped the vehicle and mounted my camera and a 600mm lens on the tripod to capture a scene which has become my favourite from all my trips to Sossusvlei. Since then I have learned to appreciate nature in all its forms, under all conditions, and to free myself from expectations.
Sossuvlei sand dune, Namib Desert, Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia. Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III, 600mm f4 lens, 1/320s @ f/10, ISO 100, tripod. Photo by Theo Allofs.
