Category: Photo of the Week

Posted on

Sunset Over Damaraland

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.

The low sun lit up the rocks all around me, accentuating the ruddy hue.

Godrays stretch out from the sun setting over the African desert region of Damaraland, 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.

Posted on

Rock Hyrax

A rock hyrax peaks out from behind a tree, Twyfelfontein, Namibia.

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.

Posted on

Secretarybird

A large secretarybird stalks its prey in African grasslands, Namibia, Africa.
A large secretarybird stalks its prey in African grasslands, Namibia, Africa.
A large secretarybird stalks its prey in African grasslands, Namibia, Africa.

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.
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:
[amazon_link asins=’B00IAYFDIC,B00T3ERPT8,B00132FXOW,B005JXEZEK,B00OD71FKU’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’hankchristens-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a2a5a946-90dc-11e7-a7bf-b5ee2948dd18′]

Posted on

African Paradise Flycatcher

An african paradise flycatcher perches on a narrow branch for a few seconds, before flying away, Namibia, Africa
An african paradise flycatcher perches on a narrow branch for a few seconds, before flying away, Namibia, Africa
An african paradise flycatcher perches on a narrow branch for a few seconds, before flying away, Namibia, Africa

I just returned from an 11 day trip through Namibia. It was a wonderful trip full of new sights and sounds, many new species for me, and a lot of fascinating locations. Overall, I traveled nearly 2500 miles, mostly on dirt and gravel roads.

While there is much to come on this blog, I thought I’d start by posting one of the birds I saw during my first morning in country. After 36 hours of travel, I finally made it to Namibia. I woke early the next morning to see which new bird species I could photograph. It wasn’t long before this beautiful paradise flycatcher landed on a nearby branch and gave me magnificent views in warm morning light.

An african paradise flycatcher perches on a narrow branch for a few seconds, before flying away, Namibia, Africa
An african paradise flycatcher perches on a narrow branch for a few seconds, before flying away, Namibia, Africa

The African Paradise Flycatcher is the most comment flycatcher in the continent, as well as the largest. Usually found in ones or twos, this bird lives up to its name by eating passing insects, or flitting about in the branches looking for flies. For one of first new species sightings, I new I was off to a good start of my trip. Stay tuned for lots more, including tons of wildlife (of course!), as well as some dramatic landscape spots.

Gear I used to create the photos in this post:
[amazon_link asins=’B00IAYFDIC,B00T3ERPT8,B00132FXOW,B005JXEZEK,B00OD71FKU’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’hankchristens-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a2a5a946-90dc-11e7-a7bf-b5ee2948dd18′]

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen