Landscape astrophotography is tricky, let me just say that up front. A lot of patience is required but the results can be spectacular. I took this photo recently on a trip to the Tankwa Karoo National Park. It is far from perfect and the foreground is poorly exposed but it is a start of something I definitely want to pursue.
This is not my first attempt. A while ago we hiked to the Wolfberg Arch in the wonderful Cederberg which is the perfect venue for this type of photography. Despite all the photos I took I could not get one right. Granted I was exhausted when we got there and I was unable to focus on the arch itself. I need to go back there sometime soon.
I also think my equipment could be better but that will have to wait. A Nikon D810 and A Tamron SP 15-30 f2.8 Di VC USD lens would do very nicely though.
It’s miserable rainy windy weather this weekend so maybe next weekend.
This past weekend saw myself and Nikki heading off to the Tankwa Karoo National Park for the first time. We had booked a secluded campsite at Skaapwagterspos that only allowed two people and had no water or ablutions. This was hard core stuff if ever there was.
The drive there took us about 4 and a half hours from Cape Town and involved a lot of dirt roads. We travelled in a light bakkie (front wheel drive) and that was only such car I saw in the whole Tankwa Karoo. Every single other car was a 4 x 4 which is much better suited to the territory and there are also a lot of 4×4 only routes.
The Tankwa Karoo National Park is a place of exceptional beauty. We loved every minute there and I can only say the place exceeded all our expectations. The winter weather played along beautifully with clear warm days and to be expected cold nights. Skaapwagterspos is a beautiful camping place that was once a big sheep farming station as witnessed by the many stone shelters and kraals that were built there a long time ago. You are pretty much allowed to camp anywhere around there and not once did we see anyone else there.
Driving around the park we were amazed to see most stunning display of flowers. We had no idea we were even going to see flowers so this was a bonus surprise. A stunning weekend and a stunning place. On our way back we headed off to Sutherland but first had to negotiate the Oupoort Pass that was a bit tricky in a front wheel drive bakkie. A definate yes to the Tankwa Karoo National Park.
I felt invigorated and motivated again as a photographer and had my first real attempt at Landscape Astrophotography. Very much still a learning curve and a lot of patience is required. Hopefully much more to come.
