africa Archives - Photo Tips, Creative Photography + Travel Guides - The Wandering Lens

Photographing the Dunes of Sossusvlei + The Namib Desert

Lisa Michele Burns — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 09:02:19 +0000

Photographing Deadvlei with Wilderness Safaris – Namibia Departing in darkness, a slight glow simmered on the horizon, a tiny hint of the magic soon to be revealed across the Namib Desert. With Kulala Desert Lodge being the closest lodge to Sossusvlei, a short drive led us to the Namib Naukluft National Park gate from where the peaks of dunes grew closer and my camera quickly jumped out of the bag, never to leave my hands for the rest of the day. Despite knowing photos from a moving vehicle don’t always produce the best results, I couldn’t help myself. As the sun rose slowly in the distance, the dunes changed colour and I was snapping out the window at anything and everything that revealed one of the dunes I’d been wanting to photograph for years. With me for the day I had the Olympus E-M1X and E-M1 MKII bodies, both with impeccable weather sealing to ensure the desert dust wouldn’t be an issue. The M.Zuiko 7-14mm f2.8, 12-40mm and 40-150mm pro lenses were also in my bag to ensure all bases were covered for the scenes I imagined along with the MC-20 2x teleconverter which I was using for the first...

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Wilderness Wonders at Kulala Desert Lodge, Namibia

Lisa Michele Burns — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 07:19:14 +0000

Kulala Desert Lodge – A Visual Hotel Review Staring into the distance, sand dunes dance in a haze of heat and oryx are spotted wandering on the horizon. It’s a desert scene of dreams, one that you can experience somewhere just as rugged as it is luxurious; Kulala Desert Lodge. Namibia is one of those places that takes your breath away at first sight. Flying over vast landscapes of rocky, sandy wonders was just the start of my time in the Namib Desert, on route to Sossusvlei, one of the most photogenic regions on earth. As we descended towards the runway, a small dirt airstrip beside mountainous ranges, it became obvious the desert was far larger than I’d imagined. Those images we see of Sossusvlei on Instagram are one thing, actually seeing the entire region from above and witnessing the expansive landscapes as they stretch for hundreds of miles is another. I’d actually say that nothing can really prepare you for how Namibia will dazzle you, especially when travelling with Wilderness Safaris. From Windhoek it’s roughly one hour by small plane with Wilderness Air, a flight you want your camera out for the entire way. The scenes below are some of...

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Photographing on Safari – A Bucket List Adventure in Africa

Lisa Michele Burns — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 09:36:36 +0000

A whirlwind adventure where the wild things roam… The grassland opens up as your safari vehicle cruises through the African savannah. Suddenly a shape forms in the distance and you see it. Its regal presence and majestic mane, you’re about to be one of the lucky ones granted a glimpse into the wild world of the king. The African Lion… Expectations are something that easily soar above mountain peaks and lead us to dreaming up what we hope an experience will become. Sometimes they’re met, other times they’re shattered but when it comes to a safari experience in South Africa, boy are they exceeded in the most magnificent of ways. As a photographer, a safari is the pinnacle of adventure. The unknown creates a heightened level of suspense, camera at the ready and eyes gazing in all directions. It’s anyone’s guess as to what you’ll be photographing next. Within seconds of landing on a dirt airstrip in the Madikwe Game Reserve, north-west of Johannesburg, I saw my first zebra standing beneath an umbrella thorn tree. I’d expected to maybe see an elephant during the trip but the secret was immediately out, an African safari really IS a true bucket list...

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I Know A Place – Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

Lisa Michele Burns — Thu, 20 Dec 2018 04:22:08 +0000

I know a place… Where the animal kingdom roams as far as your eyes can see… Where stars have an extra twinkle and the sun exudes a blanket-like warmth… Where roars, quacks and trumpets form a daily soundtrack and where eyes glow from shrubs in the dark… Sawubona, welcome to the wilderness of Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa. It’s exactly the kind of place ‘The Lion King’ depicts on screen. Those sprawling African plains hiding any number of animals as you glance across an expansive landscape. A place that feels oddly like home yet remotely wild and rugged at the same time. Not sure what to expect as I took my first steps towards the safari vehicle, I had my fingers and toes crossed that over the coming days I’d get to photograph an elephant or a lion. That was the extent of my wish list, anything else would be a bonus and I was along for whatever ride was about to happen. Driving from the rocky airstrip down a dirt track towards Tau Game Lodge, within a mere 30 minutes we had already seen a dazzle of zebras, a giraffe, solitary male elephant, herd of wildebeest, springboks and...

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The 12 Best Places to Photograph Around the World: Travel Bloggers Reveal

Lisa Michele Burns — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 08:00:18 +0000

It’s no secret the world is rich in enough beautiful destinations to keep even the most intrepid location scouter happy for a lifetime of photo adventures. From tropical islands to desert plains, bustling cities and snow caves, the possibilities are endless when it comes to choosing your next destination to visit and photograph. To share a little of their worldly wisdom, I reached out to my favourite travel bloggers to reveal the one place they couldn’t put their camera down. I wanted to know where that incredible landscape, town, country or mountain range was that blew them away on their travels and kept them clicking the camera shutter. For some it’s an exotic African landscape and others it’s a special place closer to home…take a look below to discover the best places to photograph around the world according to these travel professionals! #1 Iceland: Kiersten Rich – The Blonde Abroad “Iceland is quickly becoming to go-to destination for travelers of all kinds, but particularly for photographers. I was so enchanted with Iceland’s otherworldly beauty and natural wonder, I could hardly find a single moment to put my camera down. Between glaciers, puffins, waterfalls, geysers and the Northern Lights, it’s a...

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