Kgalagadi Sunset

Gallery: LandscapePosted October 3, 2011116 views7 comments

Processed this image from a trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa in June 2010. There's very little in the way of clouds in the Kalahari desert in winter, and I am looking forward to returning in the summer (rainy season) when there are thunder showers almost daily late in November this year.

This was captured in the Rooiputs campsite on the Botswana side.
Not the most interesting of displays of light, but I do feel it conveys a sense of the vastness of this semi-desert and the tranquility of the end of day one experiences here.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 10-22mm USM @ 10mm
f16 @ 2.5s @ ISO-100
Blended back darker exposure from the same RAW file for the sky.

Comments

7 comments

Comment posted by Raymond Klassen on October 3, 2011 at 5:50 PM

I like this simple scene, especially the colors of the sky. I find the foreground to be lacking in interest. I think this could be a strong panorama if you were to crop the bottom third or so.

Registered on November 30, 2008, 114 Posts, 790 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on October 3, 2011 at 6:04 PM

Thanks Raymond. I see your point. I purposely included the "burrow" in front to add some context to the scene.
Here is a "repost" panorama crop - is this what you had in mind?

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Vlad Sadovsky on October 4, 2011 at 12:10 AM

The second comp works way better for me. I saw the idea of a burrow to add context, but it also brings too much of non interesting foreground with it. The scene and the light in panorama work well together. Nice surroundings you have in these open land parks.

Registered on November 12, 2010, 48 Posts, 358 Comments

Comment posted by Peter Richter on October 4, 2011 at 3:19 AM

Morkel, I prefer the first version, it offers me a more immediate experience of the scene and a better sense of depth and scale. I think the rather empty foreground in this version is consistent with the atmosphere. Furthermore I appreciate the natural colors and your fine processing.

Peter

Registered on November 10, 2010, 218 Posts, 2723 Comments

Comment posted by R.Bill Moser on October 4, 2011 at 2:18 PM

I'd prefer the second version. Beautiful light and some nice colors. I love this simply scene.

Registered on January 29, 2010, 285 Posts, 4281 Comments

Comment posted by Morkel Erasmus on October 5, 2011 at 7:09 AM

Thanks for the additional feedback Vlad, Peter and Bill...

Registered on March 22, 2011, 385 Posts, 2068 Comments

Comment posted by Anil Rao on October 6, 2011 at 3:30 AM

This is a really beautiful image, Morkel. I prefer the original version. It lets me connect with this landscape more easily.

Registered on November 15, 2003, 234 Posts, 4923 Comments