by René Timmermans | May 13, 2017 | Photography
At the end of April I traveled for two weeks through Namibia in the southwest of Africa. This former German colony has a wide variety of wildlife and scenery to offer and some very unique landscapes. Namibia is twice the size of Sweden and slightly more than half of the size of Alaska. The country has only 2.5 million inhabitants, of which 325 thousand live in the capital Windhoek, in the center of the country.
The trip, specifically for photo-enthusiasts, was organized by Fotoresor i Fokus in cooperation with Aktiv Resor, a Stockholm based travel agency specialized in organizing active and adventurous holidays. Our tour guides, Elisabeth Landberger and Martin Agfors, are photo-professionals who offered a combination of energetic creativity and deep technological knowledge of anything photography.
The itinerary
From Windhoek we traveled north to the Etosha National Park, where we spent a few days spotting wildlife. From Etosha we traveled west to Damaraland and visited a Himba tribe village. We stayed in the Etendeka Mountain Camp, an eco-friendly luxury campsite that comes with the highest recommendations. It offers great home-made food and fantastic scenery all around.
From Damaraland we went onwards to the coast and visited the second largest city in the country, Swakopmund. This spacious and quiet city gives easy access to Walvis Bay, where tours for dolphin, seal and pelican spotting are organized.
Our last stop before returning to Windhoek was, for me, the highlight of the journey, a visit to the south of the Namib Desert, Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. Both areas offer unique landscapes of endless sand dunes that reach a stunning 300-400 meters in height and clay pans with dead camel thorn trees (Vachellia Erioloba). A true photographers paradise!
A wider selection of my photos can temporarily be viewed on the Namibia featured project page. A smaller selection will eventually be published in the Gallery section.
by René Timmermans | Sep 1, 2014 | Wallpaper
To use the photo as your desktop wallpaper simply click the image above, then right-click (or control-click) and choose “Save image as…” or “Set as desktop background”.
by René Timmermans | Aug 17, 2014 | Photography
Last week I posted a photo from the Chianti region of Tuscany in Italy. The Chianti region is known for it’s vine- and olive-yards. There are, however, very different landscapes to be seen in Tuscany, completely lacking the lush and green freshness of the grape- and olive fields.
South of the Chianti region you will find the Crete Senesi. This region, within the province of Siena, has a landscape with distinctive coloration in the soil reaching from grey, to yellow, to brownish, giving it an almost lunar feeling. The landscape contains a range of rolling hills and woods among villages, where small roads leading up to cottages and farms are often marked by Cypress trees. Although completely different from Chianti the Crete Senesi is open and nonetheless very beautiful in it’s own characteristic way.
The attached photos were taken around Asciano, southwest of Siena.
Click the image to view a larger version.
Click the image to view a larger version.
Continuing further south from Asciano I can highly recommend visiting the hill-top town of Montalcino, famous for it’s excellent Brunello di Montalcino wine. Standing on the north walls of the town you will get a fantastic view over the Crete Senesi.
by René Timmermans | Aug 10, 2014 | Photography
Two weeks ago we were traveling in Tuscany, Italy, and stayed for a few days in Radda in Chianti in the heart of the Chianti region. This region is famous for it’s beautiful and picturesque landscapes filled with vineyards, olive trees and typical Tuscan style cottages.
From our hotel room we had a magnificent view that demanded to be photographed at any time of day. My favorite moment was though during sunrise in the early morning when the light was still soft and the colors vibrant. The first sunbeams would strike the hills and cast long shadows.
Every morning at 6:15 am I would get up to open our bedroom window and enjoy the view, take a few photos to capture the sense and the beauty of Tuscany.
Click the image to view a larger version.
If you would like to enjoy this view for yourself in real life I can highly recommend staying at hotel Relais Vignale in Radda in Chianti and ask for the Superior Double room with number 37.
by René Timmermans | Dec 31, 2013 | Wallpaper
Happy New Year!
The January 2014 wallpaper is a photo from my project: Motion. Click the link to see more photos from the same series.
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