Namibia - Endless Horizons

I grew up in the Middle East. I was born in Lebanon where it’s quite green. And while there is no sign of sand, there are plenty of cedar trees which unfortunately are shrinking in number. However, I have moved to and lived in other countries where the desert dominates the landscape. Each has its own unique character, and so does the Namib Desert.

It had always been a dream of mine to visit Namibia. I didn’t have much time – only 5 days including my arrival and departure day. I had prioritized, and so I asked myself: "Where should I go?" I marked Sesriem on my map which is located in the Namib Desert and is the main access point to Namib-Naukluft National Park. Here you can visit the very popular Sossusvlei Dune 45, Hiddenvlei, Big Daddy and Deadvlei.

I arrived at night after a very long drive, and I spent the next few days conquering the impressive Dune 45 and the drought Soussusvlei plan. There I met a roaming Oryx with its striking black and white face. But my goal was clear: I had to visually capture one unique feature of the desert, namely it’s very low light pollution.

Usually it's almost impossible to access Deadvlei at night, however I was quite lucky and was allowed to stay for a while after dark to shoot this image. Time was in short supply, but the result was excellent and I ended with this beautiful photo. I live in the city where it's impossible to see a starry sky, yet away from all the light pollution in Deadvlei you can see the constellations. Once the sun is down the landscape becomes quite mystical, with the breathless skeletons of trees, the vast sand dunes and a sky full of stars. All this provides the perfect composition for a long exposure shot – truly exceptional.

During my travels I met the park ranger Bradwin. It was intriguing to learn how he felt about nature, the human spirit and even infinity itself from working in such an extreme environment

My main lenses during the trip where i shot the movie with and the images, Zeiss Milvus 135mm, Zeiss Milvus 15mm & Zeiss Otus 28mm on Nikon mount.