kahi
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Behind The Lens
Location
Sossusvlei, Namibia on December 16th, 2016Time
It was around 8:30 in the morning. The sun was already quite high, so golden hour was long over. I was already on my way out of the park, when I noticed the play of light on that specific dune: the inclination of the sun exactly matched the inclination of the dune's side, and brought out every little bump and dent beautifully. The drama lasted only a minute or so.Lighting
All natural light, of course. It was lucky being in the right place at the right time, and being able to pull out the camera fast enough before everything was over.Equipment
Nikon D750 with a Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 handheld @400mm f/8Inspiration
The play of light on the dune caught my eye, and I positioned myself so that I could compose with the photogenic tree in the foreground and fill the frame with the dune in the background. Although this tree has been photographed a lot, I think my image is special because of the sidelight on the dune.Editing
I use DxO as raw processor and did a bit of the usual stuff (contrast, sharpening, reduced highlights, vibrancy). I cloned out some spots and I also had to crop a bit so that I could eliminate all sky from the frame, as the telephoto was already at full length and I did not have enough time to walk closer.In my camera bag
I have a Nikon D750 with the 80-400mm (the one I used for this photo) and the Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art, Nikkor 20mm f1.8. These are my most used lenses. I also own a Lensbaby macro kit which I use mostly for flowers. Plus a tripod, a set of extension tubes, some ND and polarizing filters. When I am traveling by car, I usually have everything with me just in case. On a hike of course, I select more carefully and carry around usually only one or two lenses.Feedback
Namibia in general and Sossusvlei specifically are amazing places. But it's not easy to photograph during the golden hour, because the park opens at sunrise, and then you have to drive from the entrance to the location (in this case around 40 minutes), to Deadvlei it is 1 hour drive plus a 30 min walk. By the time you arrive at location the good light show is mostly over. Same on the way out, because the park closes at sunset. You can be lucky (as I was) to capture spectacular light outside the golden hour, or invest in a special permit to enter earlier / leave later (this must be possible, because there exist night photos from e.g. Deadvlei, but I have no idea how to get them), or stay at the park's campground or the (expensive) lodge, then you can enter 1 hour earlier / leave one hour later.