You’ll be met at Windhoek Airport and transferred to our first accommodation, where there is time to spend the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and resting after the long journey. One of the photography workshop leaders will be there to meet the guests and can familiarize everyone with the plan for the next exciting two weeks!
After breakfast in Windhoek, we’ll start the beautiful journey to Keetmanshoop. In the afternoon, we’ll have a short introductory lecture and a photography session amongst the famous Quiver trees and dolomite rock formations. We’ll shoot from multiple locations at this phenomenal site.
We’ll get up early for a dawn shoot at Quiver Tree Forest. We will also have some guided editing time in the afternoon, followed by another photography session in the evening. We’ll end the day by photographing star-trails.
We’ll start our day with an optional dawn shoot and after breakfast, we’ll set off to the amazing Fish River Canyon. After lunch at the lodge, we will have some time to relax. In the evening we will be doing a photo shoot of the canyon itself. We will arrive in time to watch the light settle on the horizon and cast shadows through this giant’s playground of erosion. We’ll watch the last of the light before heading to dinner.
We’ll leave the magnificent Fish River Canyon after a critique session and travel to the coastal town of Luderitz. To break up the drive, we will stop at an old railway house to have a short photo shoot. After that, we’ll head to the amazing and hauntingly beautiful abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop, which is incredible to photograph. We will be staying at the comfortable Luderitz Nest Hotel, which has its own tidal beach and walk-on jetty.
As photographers, we are able to arrange for a special permit to enter Kolmanskop before dawn. This allows for a fantastic opportunity to walk through these decrepit buildings that the desert is slowly invading. We’ll spend the full morning here photographing this surreal tableau before returning to the Nest hotel for lunch. We’ll return again in the late afternoon to shoot during the warm afternoon-light, followed by an evening photographing the stars.
We’ll drive to Sesriem Canyon and the Namib-Naukluft National Park, where we’ll spend three days photographing Sossusvlei and Dead Vlei. In the evening, we’ll have dinner and relax at the lodge, which overlooks the start of the glorious red dunes.
On day eight we’ll be up early to get shots of the famous Sossusvlei in the best possible light. You’ll also have the option to book a helicopter or plane flight over the dunes. This offers a great way to see and photograph the famous dunes from a different perspective. After our photo shoot of Sossusvlei, or your exciting flight, we return to the lodge for a rest followed by some teaching and guided editing time. This evening we will photograph Deadvlei with its iconic trees.
Day nine will start early and will allow you to take star trail images over the stark skeletal tree forms of Dead Vlei. This will be followed by a morning shoot in the same location. The stars are spectacular and well worth the lack of sleep! After our morning shoot we’ll head back to the lodge for a rest. In the afternoon, we will have another critique session, followed by another opportunity to photograph Sossusvlei. Those who have not taken their scenic flight yet will do so in the late afternoon/evening. (NB the helicopter or plane flight will be dependent upon availability and the weather).
After a sunset session near Sossusvlei, we’ll head off towards Swakopmund on the coast. We drive around the edge of the Namib Naukluft National Park, edging our way towards the enormous dunes that march along the coastline. Our destination is Hotel Pension Rapmund, close to the Swakopmund Harbour, where we relax for the evening and get ready for a truly exciting day.
As a break from landscape photography, our day starts by taking a small boat out onto the waters of the Swakopmund harbour. This trip allow for unparalleled access to the population of Pink-backed Pelicans and Flamingos that abound in this area. The pelicans literally fly alongside the boat, allowing for wide-angle photography of birds in flight. After lunch we take a guided tour into the dunes at teh edge of the Skeleton Coast for a sunset shoot of the extraordinary colours of the sand as they glow pink-orange against the blue of the Atlantic Ocean.
Having spent the night in Purros, you’ll travel along another scenic drive to Twyfelfontein providing you with more rocky and rugged landscapes to train your camera’s sights on. From arriving in Twyfelfontein, you’ll already be in the shadow of the behemothic Brandberg mountains. You’ll capture a few shots of the mountainscape from a distance before stopping here for the night.
After a leisurely start to the morning we drive out north and then east towards the interior once more, heading towards the extraordinary rock monolith that is Spitzkoppe. We arrive by lunchtime allowing some much-earned rest before heading out to explore the amazing rock features of Spitzkoppe and Pontok Mountains. We finish the day with sundowners looking towards Spitzkoppe and photographing the dying light as it burns the mountain bright orange.Our location within the park in the luxurious Spitzkoppe Lodge allows for round the clock access to the rock arches and cliffs of the mountain. Depending on the weather, we plan to head towards the arches after dinner in order to photograph the mountain against the stars.
Our last active day of shooting starts with an early morning rise for stars and then sunrise at the arch. After breakfast we’ll spend a good deal of time finishing up with critique sessions and guided editing.
During this last morning of the trip, we’ll enjoy a last (optional) dawn photo-shoot at this magnificent location in Spitzkoppe. Afterwards, we’ll make our way back to Windhoek, where you canopt to fly out immediately or organize to stay near to the airport for a more leisurely departure the following day.
