The “floor” in these abandoned buildings in Namibia, isn’t really the floor, it’s an accumulation of sand over time that is slowly filling the structures. I assume that if I were to return sometime in the future, I’d find the whole place gone. Consumed by the desert, waiting for a future civilisation to find once we’re all gone.
Okay maybe “ancient” is the wrong word… I’m not even really sure how old something has to be before that word can be used… maybe relatively-ancient! Or just “abandoned”… Anyway, this amazing old-timey bowling alley is inside that ghost town in Namibia where the sand dunes have overrun the entire place. Because this is mostly underground and protected on the leeward side, it has yet to accumulate any significant sand inside.
What a place this is! I did my best to try to give a scale of the dune by showing a small group making the ascent. And, honestly, they are only halfway up that beast. I walked up the same dune with our group, but a different direction. The direction we chose was steeper, faster, and it made me want to curl in a ball and cry until the world was better again.
The sand dunes in Namibia are a sight to behold. They are among the highest and oldest dunes in the world, some reaching up to 300 meters tall! The dunes have a variety of colors, from pale yellow to deep red, depending on the mineral content and the time of day. The dunes are constantly shaped by the wind, creating curves and ridges that contrast wonderfully with the clear blue sky.
One great thing about a zoom lens like this 70-200mm for landscape photography is it allows this nice effect called “compression,” where you can do effects like this. The technique brings in the two layers of sand dunes from beyond and make them look more dramatic. I kept a little bit of light on the back sand dune to give a clue that I didn’t just Photoshop in a darker background. I don’t do that sort of thing, even though I could.
Deadvlei, Namibia
This is a rather unique Quiver tree, on the edge of the largest canyon in Namibia. Every one of these trees is totally unique, and one never looks like another. They feel a bit like humans or words in that way, and how they work in context to one another and the environment is as interesting as their individual shape. One evening, the sky was as clear as still water and everything came out in context behind and through the tree.
Visrivier Canyon, Namibia
TreyRatcliff.com
A study of light, shade and texture.
Dipping into NFTs with my Burning Man images has been a fun experience so I’ve selected a handful of my other art, converted into animated content and listed on OpenSea. You’ll find a whole range of options from straight up purchases to auctions and a couple of other twists. For example, if you’ve been considering one of my massive fine art prints for a while then this is a great way to get in on the action, you can bid on one as an NFT and receive the 1.66 x 2.5 meter physical print if you win!
Here is a little preview of one NFT…
Check out this preview of Madagascar, one of the many places we are going on the upcoming Africa Photo Workshop. I learned all sorts of things about this place… like 80% of the species there are found nowhere else on earth. There’s a whole documentary on Netflix too about it where you get to hear the sweet whispers of Sir David Attenborough!
Of course, the workshop is not just going to Madagascar, but also Zimbabwe and Botswana. It is going to be amazing!
Be sure to visit our workshops page to find out what’s happening next. In this little promo video below, you’ll see quite a bit of footage from Africa!
I’ve had a ton of fun going back into my unprocessed back catalog and re-processing them with some of these latest tools. In today’s adventure, you’ll see a fairly “harsh” (maybe that is too harsh of a word) treatment of this street scene from Paris.
Here’s one of my favorite (and rather simple) photos from Namibia. The deserts there are so beautiful, and it is a little confusing to figure out where to shoot. It all sort of looks the same, in a strange, flowing way. So, I found this all to be a particularly interesting challenge… actually I think everyone at our Africa workshop did!
