Africa wallpapers (6)

Taken at Save Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe. One of the most beautiful places I've ever been...

Canon EOS 350D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens.

In 2009, I spent Christmas at the southern-most point of Africa: Cape Agulhas. I was eager to see another amazing sunset as I did so often being in Africa for a couple of months. However, there was a big layer of clouds covering the whole sky and I was pretty disappointed. That was when the idea for this shot struck me. There was this small strip just over the horizon where the Sun illuminated the clouds, restrained by the Atlantic ocean below and the thick layer of clouds above. I exposed for the sunlight and left everything else pitchblack to achieve this result.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 40D, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.

Photo settings: 1/800 second, ISO 200.

The African Black Oystercatcher is a resident breeder on the rocky coasts and islands of southern Africa. Sadly, there are currently less than 9,000 adult birds of this species, so it is highly endangered. However, it is easy to spot along the coasts of South Africa.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 40D, Canon 70-200mm f/4.

Photo settings: 1/800 second, ISO 100.

Within the boundaries of Etosha Nationalpark in Northern Namibia there are three campsites. The biggest of them beeing "Okaukuejo", located at a big waterhole with the same name. I spent the first night of my recent visit last November sitting at the waterhole, watching different animals drink and interact. But not only the animals but also the scenery of the waterhole itself, changing colors during the sunset was amazing. That's when I took this picture of an elephant and a giraffe drinking right next to each other at the waterhole.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 40D, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.

Photo settings: 1.3 seconds, ISO 800.

This photo tells the story behind my shot of the sunrise on top of Dune45 in the Namib, the world's oldest desert. The wind constantly blows the sand over the edge of the dune, giving it its unique shape and keeping it in place. The wind blows equally often and strong from West and East, making the dune itself immovable. I was thrilled by the thought of how many millions of grains of sand are blown over the edge of this and all the other dunes in the desert every second. This photo captures a few of them in flight.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 40D, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8.

Photo settings: 1/640 second, ISO 100.

I took this picture on my recent trip through Southern Africa. We went to climb up the famous Dune 45 close to Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert at about half past five to see the sunrise from the dune. This picture is taken just before the Sun appeared over the horizon. The colours were amazing and the untouched dune before me was truly magical.

Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop.

Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 40D with Tamron 17-50mm 2.8.