Namibia | 2019
Namibia is a country that I can sum up to be one of the most beautiful places on earth that I have ever seen. The mesmerizing colors, endless and colorful landscapes, vast and enchanting plains, amazing animals, impressive sand dunes and the kindest people… it was almost too much to comprehend. I gained such a clear image of Namibia, and it made me feel so lucky and so insignificant at the same time. It left a lasting impression that I wanted to share in these documentary photos. If you want to see more pictures, check out my iPhone series of Namibia.
The national parks were incredible. Unreal. We should be preserving these as best as we can. There are multiple ways to travel through these vast plains, one of which is with a guide who drives your car as well. This turned out perfect for taking pictures while driving, with the possibility to stop whenever you saw something amazing. Which was all the friggin’ time. It is very much advised to stay in your car however. One guide told me a story about him changing a wheel of his jeep. While changing the wheel he heard the sound of whistling grass, stopped and got back in his car, just before three lions – who’d been silently getting close to him – were in plain sight! Needless to say I was easily persuaded to stay in the trucks after that story.
After a stopover in Angola I arrived in Windhoek, traveling to Swakopmund and back to Windhoek in a giant circle of disbelieve. In two weeks I captured the enchanting plains of Namibia, visiting the locals and national parks like Etosha and Sossusvlei. It became a true game of kill your darlings because I ended up with over 4000 amazing pictures (and that’s after I’ve been deleting pictures during the trip).
Namibia became independent from South Africa in 1990, and was also previously colonized by the Dutch and the Germans. All of these influences where still very much visible, mainly in the languages that are spoken. It was very strange to be able to talk Dutch with some people.
