Namibia – Take the Postcard and Then Try A Different Approach

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Sossusvlei, Namibia has some of the most famous dunes in the world – 750 foot high coral dunes that close in towards one another as you move up the valley. When you think Namibia, you think Sossusvlei. Everyone who goes there has a similar version of my first shot. I took it too. Then I tried a different approach. I found the dunes made wonderful abstract panoramas.
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.

Namibia – Shoot the Same Things Together

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One interesting exercise I recommend to my students is to shadow a partner. Walk in each other’s footsteps and make pictures like the other person. Shoot the same things. Shoot them the way you’d shoot them. Then shoot them the way you think your partner would shoot them. It’s best if you partner with someone who can expand your comfort zone. Compare the results as you go. What you’ll find is you won’t end up making the same images. You’ll end up making your own images in new ways.
These two images from Serra Cafema, Namibia came out of this exercise. The horizontal one is Paul Tornaquindici’s. The vertical one’s mine. We smiled while we were doing it and we’re still smiling. We realized that while the conditions were identical, we were so different and that resulted in different images. There are many more realizations about our personal styles we’re still making.
See more of Paul Tornaquindici’s images here.
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.

David Wright – Help Two Good Causes at Once


David Wright, my fabulous assistant for the last two years, principle architect of the ambitious Pause to Begin project, is leaving soon to work with socially conscious organizations in Africa. He’s raising funds for his trip with a print offer. You can help two good causes with one action. Here’s how.
“In January 2009 I leave Maine for Alebtong, Uganda, where I will spend two months volunteering and photographing for A River Blue, a non-profit arts empowerment project for the children of internally-displaced persons in Northern Uganda.
I will be using my large format camera to photograph the people and landscape for a traveling exhibition and book that will be used to raise funds for A River Blue. Details will be announced in the spring/summer of 2009.
To raise funds for the trip, I am offering a selection of my limited edition prints at substantially reduced prices.”
Please visit davidwrightphoto.com to support his trip, A River Blue, and Africa.