And so to Africa
I must admit to a deep rooted prejudice ("What, another one!" I hear you cry...), until recently I'd never found the idea of travelling to Africa in the slightest bit appealing. Partly this must have been due to my imagining this huge and very varied continent as a single mass, as one uniform space filled with Africa-ness (?!) What was I thinking!
I made my first journey to Namibia in February and it was a truly amazing experience for me. I was fortunate enough to be offered the chance to co-lead a workshop group with Charlie Waite. Charlie is a long term fan of Namibia and a veteran of many trips.
The image on the right was made in the abandoned mining town of Kolmanskop near Luderitz in the southwest of Namibia. This town was definitely one of the highlights of the whole journey for me. I'd seen many wonderful images from these abandoned houses which are slowly being reclaimed by the desert sands but nothing quite prepared me for the emotions I would feel when I was there – or, indeed, the huge variety of photographic possibilities. This is somewhere I'm keen to visit again and again.
In fact the whole country has got under my skin in a way that I've not often experienced before. For me it is on a par with Iceland, Norway and the Hebrides. Places that I cannot imagine not visiting again and places that I will be constantly inspired by.
Highlight this Comment Julian Parker01/04/2008, 17:45
A wonderfully satisfying image and delightfully distinctive in comparison with the more familiar Namibia mining town imagery. I thought that Kolmanskop/Namibia was becoming as well worn as Tuscany - but you've clearly pulled something different out of the bag with this one - magical.
Highlight this Comment Alan Rew01/04/2008, 19:56
This image makes delightful use of ambiguity and mystery. In the same way as with 'Strangles' the viewer is not immediately sure what they are looking at. Because the lines of light, presumably leaking through the slats of the roof, are easier to see, they become the figure and the interior of the building becomes the ground. The interior itself - the walls and the sand-covered floor - almost disappear.
If you're as pleased with this as you sound, why not just try some architectural photography (especially interiors). Have we seen the first image in a new direction for your photography (shock, horror!).
Highlight this Comment Tim Parkin01/04/2008, 22:15
I love this picture and, like Alan, my mind had to pause before it flipped and saw what was actually going on. I love the highlights in the sand and they add to the 'otherness' because the foreground looks both out of focus and in focus at the same time. In my opinion, probably one of the best seen pictures in your portfolio.
Highlight this Comment Sandy Wilson03/04/2008, 18:16
This my type of image, as I find shadows fascinating subjects. As I am not a landscape photographer and my images tend to be more of an abstract nature. My image making consists of photographing the mundane every day subjects and showing them out of context. They also tend to metaphors of the subject giving it a different meaning.
Here the image shows the difference from looking and really seeing. There is a fusion of light and shadows creating an abstract image of graphic patterns, that most people would miss making an image off. The focal point of the window prevents the eye from wandering around the image. Great image David.
David and the rest of the contributers to this item should look at the work of Canadian photographer Freeman Patterson, particularly his book "Shadow Light", sadly now out of print. He made a lot of images in the location.
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