Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/05/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Many people who go to Sossusvlei make their way up the road to Dead Vlei - Sebastiao Salgado even put a picture of Dead Vlei in his africa book. This is an old river valley which was cut off by shifting sand. The local microclimate changed and became very dry about 900 years ago. The trees died. When it rains and then dries the clay sediments form impressive geometric cracking. It hadn't rained for a long time when we were there, so a lot of the dried mud was wearing from visitors and natural erosion. On the way, more sand: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009/Namibia/img375a.jpg.html One of Jim Shulman's subjects got lost and followed us to Dead Vlei: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009/Namibia/img377a.jpg.html Up over another dune and the clay pan streched out in front of us: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009/Namibia/img741a.jpg.html Weathered cracked clay underfoot: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009/Namibia/img746a.jpg.html Framing the huge dunes are dozens of dead Acacia erioloba: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009/Namibia/img751a.jpg.html And always encroaching sand, more sand: http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/freakscene/Africa+2009/Namibia/img754a.jpg.html Leica MP, Hexanon 50/2, 35/1.4 asph. Yellow or light red (which did not lighten the sand anywhere like as much as you might expect) filter. Mix of Tri-X and Plus-X in Xtol 1=3. Comments etc welcome. More soon, Marty