Northern Namibia: Etosha and Beyond

Moving along, we got to Goas and, as yesterday, there were plenty of zebra at the waterhole. I shot for a few minutes and then remembered I had brought along on the trip a 6-stop neutral density filter. Getting long shutter times in daylight is usually a challenge and this would decrease light to the sensor and allow those longer shutter speeds. My plan coming to Etosha was that I wanted some longer exposure shots of animals at waterholes with the hope one or two animals would remain motionless, while other animals moved around, creating a mix of motion and static animals. Than plan worked fairly well, however, I had not considered a few factors: I was in a vehicle with another person and I was on a beanbag with a super-telephoto lens. Any motion by my fellow photographer in the vehicle ruined shots. Any motion by me while shooting long ruined the shots. I quickly learned that the idea has great potential, but technique requires practice and patience. I will try this again in the future.

While I had the 6-stop ND on the camera, I also shot pan shots of the zebra as they came and went from the waterhole. While the keeper rate is always low on this type shot, I was moderately successful as this method did not depend on the driver or me staying still. This technique depends on some part of the moving animal not bobbing up and down as you pan.

A few more pans

I also shot a few 'traditional' shots.

Today we needed to transfer from the Halali Lodge to the Okaukuejo Lodge, so we headed west with plans to stop at a few holes along the way. We shot some birds, a few springbok, but the most in transit fun was when we got to the Nebrownii Waterhole. This is where we had seen the ‘white ghost’ bull elephants and, sure enough, they were once more headed to the water hole. There were several vehicles and a bus at the waterhole, so positioning our vehicles was a problem. I shot theses brutes from a great distance and has considerable problems getting shape images due to the heat thermals.

I also shot a photo of this scruffy little bird at the waterhole. The bird is a rufous-napped lark. It seemed to epitomize the harsh existence animals have in this environment.

We arrived at Okaukuejo at about lunchtime. During the mid-day, the options are a buffet similar to the one we had eaten at Halali or a few grilled items like sausage, hot dogs or hamburgers. I went with the hamburger, but had immediate regrets as I saw the lady put the pre-cooked burger on a bun into a microwave. Thank goodness, I also ordered chips (French fries) as they were acceptable once covered in salt and tomato sauce (ketchup).

By the time we finished our lunch, it was late enough to allow check-in to the rooms. We quickly did this, then grabbed our cameras to see what was happening at the Okaukuejo waterhole. GReat timing as a black rhino was going for a swim and also a few oryx (also called gemsbok) were having a drink.

Stay tuned, next up - my first impressions of Okaukuejo Waterhole!

Buddy .. many thanks for the early Christmas present. This thread is terrific. Quality photos but even more importantly, good detail of the trip.

Looking forward to the next installment.