When I visited the Damaraland region of Namibia earlier this year, I found and photographed a few Namib Rock Agamas. This colorful lizard hung out on and between some of the large boulders that decorated the landscape.
A male Namibian rock agama splays out against the warm rock, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
While there were likely other species of lizards in the area, these lizards could be seen out in the open and were easily spotted due to their striking color against the gray rock. Unfortunately they were somewhat skittish and didn’t let me get close enough for more of a macro treatment.
When photographing small ground creatures, it is important to bring the lens as close to eye level as possible. Sometimes this means sacrificing personal cleanliness in order to get the shot.
A male Namibian rock agama splays out against the warm rock, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
While the big game is Africa’s major wildlife draw, it is important not to forget the little guys. Sometimes the smaller critters can have an even more interesting story to tell than the big guys.
One of my favorite locations I visited in Namibia was the Damaraland region. I was staying at the Mowani Mountain Resort – a collection of beautifully architected bungalows settled in among giant boulders. Each structure was connected by a series of footpaths, and situated so that each room felt completely isolated. I felt as though I had the entire landscape to myself.
The Damaraland region of Namibia is very dry, and features an occasional white-barked tree growing from the rocks.
The surrounding desert was composed of hard sandy soil and large red rocks. It was occasionally accented by gleaming white-barked trees that popped out of the rubicund scene.
The setting sun turns the boulder strewn landscape surrounding the Mowani Mountain Camp a burnt red, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
Luckily there was an interesting cloud bank to the west, blocking the sun and allowing its light to radiate into strong beams. The only element missing was a herd of desert-adapted elephants roaming the desert floor.
Godrays stretch out from the sun setting over the African desert region of Damaraland, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
I had two camera bodies with me for the shoot, one mounted to a tripod with a medium zoom (24-70mm) and the other with a telephoto zoom (100-400mm) which I was hand holding. This way I could capture the larger scene with the tripod, and still shoot the sun’s transition through the western clouds as a dominant subject with the telephoto. The photo above was taken at 170mm, emphasizing the sun’s rays breaking through the clouds.
Twilight decends upon the landscape of Damaraland, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
After the sun had set, the landscape radiated a deep blue, beckoning me to keep firing the shutter. This is a crop of a much wider panorama. Sometimes these photographs that appear more muted lend themselves to large wall hangings. Some day I may do just that.
As usual for a sunset landscape session, the action was over too quickly. Soon it was time to pack up the gear, have a quick sleep and prepare for an early safari the next morning.
When I was in Namibia earlier this year, I had a chance to see several rock hyrax up close. I came across them in the Damaraland region, living among the boulders in the dry desert landscape. Rock hyrax are small mammals resembling guinea pigs, distributed across Africa and the Middle East. However, their closest living relative is actually the elephant.
A rock hyrax sits on a granite boulder in the Damaraland region, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
At first they seemed very skittish, but I found that if I just sat down and was still, they could get curious and would creep closer. I small face would appear around the side of a boulder and then quickly disappear, only to reemerge in a closer location.
A rock hyrax sits on a granite boulder in the Damaraland region, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.
Unique among the hyrax is a dorsal gland that is used for territorial markings. Here is can be seen as an area of matted down fur on its middle back.
Although they can live among groups of up to 80 individuals, I only saw a few during my stay. They were a cute and pleasant variety to the larger mammals I saw there.
When I was little, I had a picture book about the wildlife of Africa. Due to my fascination with this book, the pages soon became dog-eared and worn. My favorite image was that of a large, strange looking bird. Half crane, half eagle, this creature looked like nothing I had even dreamed of. Even the name, “Secretarybird” seemed odd and out of place. Over the years, my obsession with this bird became a distant childhood memory.
When I suddenly saw this creature in the flesh, stalking through the brush just beyond the window of our van, these memories rushed back to me like a flood. Suddenly I was a wide eyed child staring at the worn page of this picture book – but this time the unworldly creation was moving! “Secretarybird!” I called out to the others in the van, surprising myself with unconscious recall.
The secretarybird stands up to 4.5 feet tall and is a mostly land-based bird of prey. Instead of swooping on its prey like most other hunters, it prefers to stomp on small prey (such as mice, hares, mongoose, crabs, lizards, snakes, and tortoises) with its large feet. There are two theories about how its name came about. One is that this bird resembled secretaries of old, who used to tuck their writing quill behind their ear. As this bird’s head feathers look like quills, this is origin seems plausible. The other main theory is that the name is derived from a French corruption of the Arabic saqr-et-tair, or hunter-bird.
A large secretarybird stalks its prey in African grasslands, Namibia, Africa.
Here is another secretarybird I saw later in the day. Here you can see it out in the open hunting in the short grass.
It was truly an amazing experience to see this bird in action only a few yards away. I had long forgotten this amazing animal from my past. As a child with a picture book, I never thought I’d actually see one out in wild Africa.
Gear I used to create the photos in this post:
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