Star Trail Photography in Africa

I have wondered about how to make interesting night photographs for a long time. In the 1970s, using my Canon AE-1 camera and a tripod, I took some time lapse photos of traffic moving along our street in Staten Island, NY, by holding a shutter release open for 45 or 60 seconds. The resulting photograph shows a mix of bright headlights and red brake lights plus the traffic lights are illuminated in all three colors simultaneously, basically a blur of traffic which was my goal.

With the new digital cameras things are a bit different. You can avoid the manual aspect by buying a relatively inexpensive camera shutter release that can be locked open for long exposure photography. Before leaving India, I read and printed some instructions on how to take a star trail photo. Basically, since the Earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours, the star field that we see can see at night rotates around the polar axis in a complete circle. Here in the Southern Hemisphere, it rotates around the “Southern Cross” (and no, I never heard of that before either.) Of course, the stars don’t move much but it’s the earth’s movement that makes it appear that way.

I began thinking that being out in the middle of nowhere; there might be a few stars visible that you don’t usually see. I remember the amazing sight of the quantity of stars and shooting stars I saw in the night sky in 2006 when I slept on the Great Wall of China. Well, this was a good thought, there are literally, a bazillion stars out every clear night. Couple that with an inability to sleep due to being overheated, and you have a person looking for some way to occupy their time for a few hours. The star trail photos I have attempted so far range in exposure time between 25 minutes and 2½ hours. As you might expect, my skill has improved as my experience has grown and I have figured a few things out. Later in the trip, when there are wild animals near our camp, this may not be possible.

This would certainly make a city boy more interested in Astronomy, if I could see this much every day...

The first attempt, maybe a 25 minute exposure...



The 2nd attempt; just the stars moving...



The 4th attempt, you can tell it's a longer exposure because the trails are longer...



The last attempt, #7, a two hour exposure, with the best outcome so far...



Remember, anyone with a Digital SLR can do this, just read up on it, find a place away from city lights and go on a night when you're having insomnia.

The Trek Begins: South Africa to Namibia

The first week was full of adjustments. We met our fellow travelers on the first night during an introduction meeting followed by dinner. Our 60 day Northbound Trek is actually three separate trips. Trip one is three weeks from Cape Town to Victoria Falls where 6 of our 13 fellow travelers will depart and two new ones will join. The group of 11 will continue north to Nairobi and most will leave as only three of the original group goes on to Rwanda and Uganda with 13 more people joining.

The group is a mix of Westerners from Canada, Australia and England plus us two Americans. Our trip leaders are American and British so this is an all English speaking crowd. The age mix goes from gap year students to a couple in their 60s. Half of the group is younger than 30. All pretty nice people who are very helpful. We all have “jobs” to do like unload the truck, set up camp, and rotate every five days in food preparation with our amazing Kenyan cook.

While I don’t want to bore anyone with too much detail of our everyday life (trust me, I remember that the Seinfeld Show was called a show about nothing), there are many daily events that are definitely different than most everyday Western life.

Today in the grocery store for example, the lady in line behind me had her baby in a papoose, her hair in braids or dreadlocks and a copper colored powder all over her body. Of course, I did a double take when I saw she was naked from the waist up and thinking nothing about it as she went through her daily life.

The first two days took us west through the southernmost portion of South Africa where we camped the first night. The camp was very nice with hot showers, a beautiful pool and a meal cooked by the camp owners. All good except it was very hot for us. (In Massachusetts, they would call this wicked hot.) The temperature was around 38 Celsius which is 104 Fahrenheit. We have been warned that it was around 45 C in Namibia which is around 113 F where we would be camping two nights later. While there is a lot of wind in the late afternoon, it takes a while for the air to cool so sleep didn’t come too quick for me the first night. To keep myself occupied, I went out while the others were drinking and tried to take some photos that are called star trails. My star trail efforts from the first week will have their own short blog.

The second day, we crossed the border into Namibia. No Visa needed so this was pretty simple. We continued on to a camp site just over the border, next to the Orange River that is the border between these two countries. They had a much nicer pool but much worse showers/bathrooms but still, very acceptable. For two days we had been riding on a vehicle to get us to the border that is not as nice as the one we will use for the rest of the trip. At night, we met up with that vehicle and transferred our goods and camped for the night. The combination of tired from heat and lack of sleep had me snoozing by 9 PM. The air was a bit cooler and the tent a bit nicer.

We are now in a routine of camp set up and break down that will hopefully make for a smooth trip. Day three, we had a late start and will headed toward Fish River Canyon, which is something like the Grand Canyon with lots of heat. It was an interesting place to see as Namibia began to unfold its natural beauty. We stay in this canyon (where it was “only” 100 in the shade when we arrived), because the following morning, we will rise early to go to a massive sand dune area to climb up for sunrise. The Grand Canyon of Namibia is shown in this composite of four photos “sewn” together on my computer.





The sand dune was a very interesting place as some of the photos may show. We hiked up a 400 foot path on the spine of the sand dune. The dunes are stunning with red and orange tones, little tree or plant life.







There was the occasional surprise around these dunes as we spotted an ostrich family with many young moving at the base of a dune.



After that we went to an area in the desert where there has been no water for a long time and the trees are still standing 300 years later. Talk about desolation!





We then proceeded to another area where we would spend the night but not before taking a tour of the 30,000 acre property by the owner who is a 4th generation white Namibian (Dutch origins). He showed and told us amazing things about living in this desert area where this year they have had 10x the normal rainfall. We saw a lush green desert filled with wild flowers that would usually be an arid wasteland. Here are a few from his property…





The end of week #1 finds us in Swakopmund on the western Namibian coast next to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a relief to be in a cool, temperate climate and not worry about beating the heat. Since I was in a bed for the first time in a week, I slept 11 hours. We will have three nights here to chill out here before heading into our first serious wildlife area called Etosha National Park.

Now a few words about Namibia. Namibia is a relatively new country established in 1990. Namibia was formerly German Southwest Africa until the League of Nations gave the land to South Africa, which had administrative control until 1990. The land is a mix of desert, mountains, colonial cities and seascapes. The people are a mix of Germans, Dutch, English, South Africans and local tribe people. The languages are English (the official language), German and Afrikaans (simplified Dutch). Namibia is one of the least populous countries in the world with a density of 2 people per kilometer.

The country is full of wildlife. The first few days we saw ostriches, Oryx, gemsbok, springbok, mountain zebras and gemsbok, among others. While the zebras (pronounced zeb-ras here) are the most interesting, the springbok are by far the most entertaining as they intermittently run and jump high in the air as the move away from us.

There is so much to talk about and what we are moving through is quite amazing. While it’s hard to believe one week is already complete, we still 7½ weeks remaining so there will be plenty more shock and awe at the people, natural beauty, wildlife, etc.

Oh yeah, here are a few animal photos...

Zebra



Springbok



Gemsbok



Ostrich

Penguin Breakfast Meeting

My wife "forced" me to awaken at 5:30 AM yesterday and go take photos of penguins on the beach. The truth is I wasn't satisfied with the prior penguin photos and we're staying 5 miles from the beach where a large colony of penguins live. These were taken at Boulder's Beach, Simonstown, South Africa.

The penguins are pretty acclimated to having humans around so I sat on my "assets" and begun taking photos to tell the story of the early morning march of the penguins.

Nothing but photos; enjoy!

Check out the slightly blurred leg showing movement on the first one...



















Want to see more? Paste this link in your browser.

http://spiegels.smugmug.com/Travel/Africa/16024022_E9wBo

Cape Town, South Africa - A little slice of Heaven

We arrived in Capetown after a nine hour flight @ 2 AM out of Mumbai to Johannesburg followed by a 2 hour flight to Capetown. Arriving in Africa, we were met by some obvious differences like the color of people’s skin, the language, the music, etc. and some unexpected differences like the weather (warm and windy), the lack of crowds and the lack of noise in traffic. Cars are small, clean and look new, nothing like India. There is generally a more satisfied attitude about life and what people are doing. The government is obviously trying to keep people happy by giving them jobs. At the airport, our plane was met by a ground crew of around 25 people looking to assist passengers deplaning.

I was expecting South Africa to be a bit more 3rd world like but have found it to be pretty progressive. The roads are clean, cars are clean, buildings and property are well maintained. Of course, we haven’t ventured into the “townships” where life is much more difficult so we might only be seeing a small sample. I’m not overlooking the crime issues here as there are lots of warnings about being out in certain places at night, carrying your camera in full view of others, etc. We have found many places take credit cards something that was fairly rare in India.

I am also surprised and impressed with the level of physical activity as many people are riding their road bikes on long, hilly treks. Others are seen running or kite sailing. The weather is ideal for all these activities. Staying in a guest house with a view of the East Coast of the peninsula here, we can see para-sailors and kite boarders from our room, watch the waves breaking on the shoreline and enjoy and almost 180 degree view of the water. It’s certainly a nice place to chill out for a few days before the 60 day trek north begins.



Our first adventure was to go see the African penguins this area is known for. While we were unable to find the main group, these few were entertaining.





The next day it was off to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. This is the southern tip of the African continent. Although it was quite windy at the top of the mountain at the point, the views are breathtaking and it’s an amazing thing to see. We were able to observe several animals in the wild like ostriches, eland, dassies, baboons and springbok. So here are some photos of the views and the animals…

Tip of Africa, two views…



Who lives in this house?



Dassies





Birds I’ve seen before in the Galapagos





Eland



Cormorants take flight among the water spray…



Ostrich in harsh sunlight…



Springbok (or some other antelope like bok)



The next day, it was up at dawn and a short drive to a beach area where they have some classic looking change houses in the early morning light.





After another great breakfast at the Guest house, it was off to see the botanical gardens called Kirstenbosch. This was another great experience as they have done a first class job of creating an environment for plants, flowers, trees and animals. I was able to observe some interesting animals as Susan “whiled away the hours, conferring with the flowers, consulting with the rain…” (you can name the title of that song pretty easily, I hope.)
My photographic efforts peaked with a sunbird feeding on a large flower with his made for this type of eating beak.







And then there was this guy ( a spotted eagle owl) watching the festivities…

Goodby Mumbai, Hello Africa

This is my last India blog. We have 36 hours to go before we depart Mumbai at 2 AM on Saturday, heading for a 6 days in Capetown, South Africa. We have a beautiful B&B near the beach outside of town and everyone tells us what a great place Capetown is to visit. Soon you’ll be seeing Jackass Penguins on these pages and, no, I’m not making that name up.
Departing Mumbai will be a little bittersweet for us. The Staples people have extended themselves beyond what we could ask for making the life and work experience easier to take. The work has been very interesting and I think I have made some valuable suggestions and adjustments to their business that will result in some needed changes. We have enjoyed our month and the lifestyle we have been able to experience here. Most people you meet at random are nice and helpful. The streets are not as clean as you would hope and we’re told it is much better than it was. Finding acceptable food hasn’t been a big issue except at lunch on work days but somehow I manage.
So before we get to the photo journal part of this blog, let me tell you about some things I don’t care for.
1. The lack of social support for very needy people. Every Westerner is inundated with beggars, invalids, sick people, poor people, children, cripples, families, etc. There is a guy who waves his leg stump at me every day asking for money. People have some never seen before maladies like bones, finger, legs and hands missing. If you don’t pause for a minute and thank whoever you believe in that you and yours are much luckier, well, you have to be pretty callous. The local people tell me they are so used to seeing these things that mostly it goes right past them.
2. The insanity of Cars and drivers. While I thought Shanghai’s big issue is too many scooters, motorbikes, mopeds and cars all trying to go the same way creating a lot of honking and chaos, it was really only preparation for a much more difficult situation here. Two wheeled vehicles are not issues but cars do whatever they want regardless of the color of the stoplight. Couple this with the businesses that have extended their selling area to the sidewalk forcing you to walk in the streets and you have lots of opportunity for chaos at the next level. There are 40,000 taxicabs in Mumbai and no one gives anyone an inch. The taxis are inexpensive, most have no side mirrors because they would get clipped off if they were there and they are typically old, rusted, not air conditioned and uncomfortable.
3. The lack of sanity conditions. In a place like this, where people are fighting for the very basics of life, sanitary bathroom conditions and clean drinking water are not at the top of the list. Everything is dirty and you have to use Purel or wash your hands constantly. Even with that, it is still a battle to keep germs and disease away.
4. Weather – To all of this add muggy, monsoon conditions and you would have a real mess. Fortunately, I had a month free from rain or high temperatures which combined with a hotel near the ocean affording nice breezes all day, the weather was very easy to take. I’m told that it is difficult to come to work in July and August during monsoon season without having your pants soaked up to the calf.
5. Odors - I have poor vision but an excellent sense of hearing and smell, so I may be more attuned to some of these things than the average person. Certainly, every region of the world has scents unique unto itself. In France or Italy, you might hear people speak about fragrant air. In the Western U.S. there is the distinctive mountain air. Well in India, it's certainly fragrant and distinctive, but at times it can be hard to take. On the train, jammed in with far more people than anyone would say is safe, it was a raw, ugly body odor. In the back of my mind, I hear someone making fun of Nelson Rockefeller referring to these people "the great unwashed". In the office, it's the food odors that bring a gag reflex to my throat. In the taxis, there is frequently the captivating incense smell. (Of course, I always think of the Archie Bunker malaprop, "Are you burning incest?")

So let’s take a final look at some people, places and things I encountered during this month…

A macaque having meal



A few Buddhist women in a sacred cave area





We all wear our saris to the beach…



Through a natural viewing spot…



A beach vendor…



Finally, as every man knows life ends if you don’t have a remote in your hands so who cares if you live in a slum along a highway, you’ve got to have satellite TV. These people have their priorities right…