My Photography & Travel Guide to Namibia
Updated January 2024
In this blog, I will share photography tips on locations from my recent Namibia Photography Adventure. This is the third and final part of my Namibia series. In the first blog post, I provided Safari Packing List Recommendations. In part 2, I provided my Photography Gear recommendations. This last part will focus primarily on photography, which is the most important part, right?
Our Wonderful Namibia Colby Brown Workshop Group (Colby, Ming, Elizabeth, Andy, Vito, Zena, Ping and Yann)
We joined Colby Brown's Namibia Workshop in Oct 2022. The workshop was fantastic. I cannot say enough good things about Colby Brown as a person and photographer!! I highly recommend going on a Photography Workshop with him. You will be going with someone who has not only traveled to more than 100 countries but has been to each workshop location dozens of times. He has so much experience and knowledge of each location he visits that he can create a very unique trip. I cannot recommend him high enough.
Our workshop began in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The Hilton Hotel in Windhoek is a great place to stay on your first and last nights in Namibia. In the map below, you can see the route that we took on our 12-day trip. Namibia is a huge country, so there are plenty of locations that we were not able to reach (i.e., Skeleton Coast). However, we were able to see a fantastic mix of fabulous landscapes, people in the Himba Villages, and, of course, wildlife.
Our Workshop Itinerary (from Elizabeth Anne)
You always hope there will be a friendly, fun group of participants at every workshop. We were very fortunate. Our group was simply fantastic!! We laughed, had tons of fun, took great photos, and learned a lot.
A Fun & Quirky Stop in Solitaire
On our way to our first stop, Deadvlei, we stopped at a fun and quirky location called Solitaire. It is literally in the middle of nowhere. Solitaire is a combination restaurant, gas station, church, hotel, car repair shop, and snack shop. Every tour company stops here for gas and to use the restrooms.
We stopped to drink something and taste their famous Apple Pie. I still cannot figure out where they get the Apples from! But they truly make a fantastic Apple Pie that should not be missed.
Location 1: Sossusvlei
Our drive from Windhoek took approximately 4 hours to reach Deadvlei/Sossuvlei. On our first photography drive, we took photos in Sossusvlei, which has the largest Sand dunes in the world. They are truly incredible to see. The most famous dune is Dune 45. Its s-curve shape and accessibility make it the most photographed dune in the world. Sunset is an ideal time to photograph these dunes.
I love how the sun hits one side of the dune, creating shadows on the opposite side. There are dozens of dunes to photograph, and each is more beautiful than the next.
The Famous Dune 45
A lot of people will climb up Dune 45. I am sure there are terrific views, but it does not look like an easy climb, especially over the sand.
Location 2 - Deadvlei
Deadvlei is one of the most iconic locations for photographers coming to Namibia. It might be the primary reason photographers first think of coming to Namibia. Deadvlei is a landscape location that includes dark, dead camel thorn trees that contrast with the white pan floor. The pan was formed more than 900 years ago when the Tsauchab River flooded. Our guides told us that the dry climate has prevented the trees from decomposing.
I found that it is challenging to photograph Deadviel. The composition options are tricky, especially since I was trying to get photos without people in the frame. The trick is to use a longer lens (70-200 mm) so the trees do not peek above the ridge line.
We stayed at a fabulous hotel called the Dead Valley Lodge, which I would highly recommend. I think 2 nights is the perfect amount of time for this location.
Location 3 - Spitzkoppen
Our next stop was Spitzkoppen. The distance and road conditions made the drive from Deadvlei to Spitzkoppen a very long drive. Yet, once we arrived at the Spitzkoppen Lodge, it was all forgotten. The landscapes in Spitzkoppen are incredible.
Spitzkoppen is a fabulous location for landscape and astrophotography. I would recommend staying for 2 nights.
Spitzkoppen is a range of dramatic mountain rise out of the desert plains. There are beautiful rock formations and photography options in Spitzkoppen. This would be a perfect location for Astro Photography as well. Unfortunately, when we were there, we had cloud cover.
Location 4 - The Himba Villages of Opuwa
After taking photos of landscapes for the first few days, we switched gears, and our new focus was people.
We then drove to the northern most of Namibia. We arrived in Opuwa, which is located close to the border with Angola. In Opuwa, we stayed at the Opuwo Country Lodge. We came to Opuwa to photograph 2 Himba Villages. The Himba are an indigenous people with an estimated population of about 50,000 living in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
We photographed 2 different Himba Villages. The first village we visited was about 1 hour north of Opuwa. We visited in the morning and had a chance to speak to the village chief and interact with the children.
The Village chief is an interesting character telling us stories of about people in the village and village life. He definitely did not like it when the villagers decided to move out of the village and live in Opuwa.
The Village Chief
We then had a chance to visit a second Himba Village in the evening. This village was interesting because our guide named "Beauty" was originally from the village. This village was made up of only women. It seemed that the men were away for months tending to the cattle.
I really enjoyed the second village. The women and children in this village seemed happier. Maybe it was because the men were away :).
Location 5: Etosha National Park and the Famous Watering Hole
After photographing Landscapes and People, it was time to begin the last part of our trip, which focused on Wildlife. Our first stop was to Etosha National Park. The park’s main characteristic is a large salt pan that can be seen from space. Yet, abundant wildlife congregates around the waterholes, giving you almost guaranteed game sightings.
The Watering Hole in Etosha National Park is one of the main reasons this location is so famous. They even have a live webcam that you can access anytime.
In Etosha, we stayed at the Okaukuejo Resort. The hotel is okay, but the draw is the watering hole, which was less than a 2-minute walk from our rooms.
There is an abundance of wildlife in Etosha, but the park can get quite crowded. It was also not pleasant to see some of the tour operators aggressively moving towards the animals, scaring them away.
The light at sunset at the watering hole was just indescribable. Such brilliant colors!!
Location 7: the Cheetah Conservancy
On the way to Erinidi, our last stop, we stopped at the incredible Cheetah Conservation Fund. The CCF is a conservancy that works with local farmers to prevent them from killing the cheetahs. I would highly recommend stopping at this fabulous location.
CCF works to develop best practices that benefit the entire ecosystem that the cheetah depends on.
Location 8: Erindi Private Game Reserve
Our final stop was the Erindi Private Game Reserve. For various reasons I will describe below, this was my favorite stop. In Erindi, we stayed at the Old Traders Lodge. The rooms in this hotel are very nice, and it was fantastic to stay in one location for 3 nights.
We were lucky to see a young female leopard on our first night. They are very hard to spot but sometimes the stars do align.
We were also able to get so close to the animals. We stopped less than 10 feet away from this lioness.
The sunsets were so beautiful in Erindi that even the baboons stopped to watch the sunset.
One of the highlights of our trip was meeting our guide in Erindi, Carel Steenkamp. You can see more of Carel's work on his website. He is a very intelligent, curious, and passionate young man. He is also a fantastic photographer. Keep an eye on Carel; he is going places!! He went way out of his way to make sure we were able to see incredible animals like leopards. In the picture below, he is using a particular device to locate some of the animals.
We really enjoyed our drives in Erindi. I would highly recommend staying here for 3-4 days.
Final Thoughts
Our trip to Namibia was fantastic. We saw and photographed so much!! More importantly, the workshop included a wonderful group of strangers who quickly became friends. I really enjoyed my Colby Brown workshop and I would highly recommend going on a workshop with Colby. He is a terrific photographer and person!
We saw a lot, took great photos, and came back with tons of stories of our adventures.
The Namibia Group