Deadvlie Early Morning

On the journey back to the Deadvlie pan, I wondered what it would be like at this time of day. Yesterday, it was later in the morning with the light full-on and you can't get there for sunrise because you're not allowed into the park early enough. Mind you, due to the height of the dunes, you'd never see the sun that early, but the light would have been magical. I wondered if it still would be given the light on the dunes was lovely this morning.

Once again my spine was rearranged on the high-speed dash along the sand track, though this time I was in the passenger seat on the way there, so it was luxury. The walk was better too, because it was cooler, and when I arrived at the pan the light was a lot better and there were fewer people. There was a big difference though.

First, there were a lot of people climbing the Big Daddy dune, which is not something I wanted to do. Secondly, though there were fewer people around the old trees, this time they were women and girls dressed in costumes who posed for photos, presumably for their social media accounts. In fact, posing in front of the trees seemed to be the theme of the morning, and this meant it was still tricky to get the more fine art photos I like to take. Patience is important here.

The light was very different now with the shadow of the Big Daddy dune creating chocolate colours as a backdrop to the trees. Occasionally, those women in their dresses worked in my favour too - I have given you an example in the photos today. Once again, I loved my time here and time simply evaporated away.

Guilia had decided to wear a cool and flowing white dress today and at one point Kajsa and I thought it would be great to use Guilua as our model, so she posed by the trees for us, which was brilliant. She really enjoyed it and we did too so I'm looking forward to processing my photos of her then I'll send her copies.

I must say that there was a lovely atmosphere this morning. Not just because of the moment, the light and the photographic opportunities, but because everyone was so friendly and considerate of others taking photos. This is a special place for sure and I feel so fortunate to have come here.

Did I get the photo I came for? I'm pretty confident I did though I realise this footprint might not suggest that. I was engrossed in the moment and with using my camera and tripod so I simply forgot to use the phone at times.

We left the pan a little after 11:00 am, when the temperature started to get a little oppressive, then headed back to the lodge to relax. It was very hot during the walk back.Read more