Namibia

  • Under the Namibian Sky (Time Lapse)

    Namibia is truly one of the most amazing places for stargazing – sparse population, cloudless sky… Here is a timelapse by a group of folks who spent 10 days (and nights) on a Namibian farm doing just that.  Add a bunch of time on a computer making this video.  I didn’t see a figure, but

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  • Video: the Home of Good Hope

    Every now and then I get an opportunity to take a break from filming bugs and upside down chins and silly stuff, to making a video with some social value.  I heard there was a need to show overseas donors a bit more about a cause they were supporting – a soup kitchen in Windhoek’s

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  • New Sony NEX-VG20 – low light test (wildlife at night – Onduruquea Reserve)

    I was pretty nervous about the new camera I recently ordered – the Sony NEX-VG20 is an interchangeable-lens camcorder that boasts a sensor the size of most still cameras (23.4 X 15.6mm) – which, in addition to the versatility offered by the changeable lenses, apparently offers many features you don’t often see in a $2,000

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  • Best music for hanging out with giraffes

    When you’re editing vacation videos, it’s always fun to come up with the best music – ideally one that conveys the right mood, maybe something that relates to the place you’re visiting.  But sometimes the best music to convey the mood is no music at all.  In this video, we managed to get awfully close

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  • Our Coast, Your Photo Contest Entries

    The entire TAZM Pictures crew entered a local photo contest sponsored by the Windhoek newspaper, The Namibian, and Studio 77, a photography studio.  The contest was set up to raise awareness about the fragility of the Namibian coast, most of which is one or another national park (37% of Namibia consists of national parks).  You

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  • Life and Death at Avis

    We have this pretty amazing reservoir just outside Windhoek created by Avis dam – it’s a wildlife protected area / bird sanctuary / dog walking area / jogging area.  And fishing/boating pond.  And you can get some awesome pictures out there if you pay attention.  Examples: An egret takes flight   Pretty good fishing at

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  • Namibian fairy circles – mystery solved?

    There’s an odd phenomenon in southern Africa – especially in Namibia – that the locals call “fairy circles”, whereby vegetation refuses to grow inside a circle of anywhere from 3 to 10 meters in diameter.  Even stranger, the circles are dynamic – apparently they grow and “die”, to be filled in by grasses.  While they

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  • Video: Sossusvlei and Namib Desert from the air

    I had an amazing trip to the Namib Desert recently.  The oldest desert in the world, the Namib is where the Tsauchab river ends, seeping into the ground amid towering ochre dunes.  A few gnarled, dried camelthorn trees stand on the baked clay pans that explode into blossom just a few weeks per year.  Surely

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  • Windhoek’s Informal Settlements

    According to some statistics, 60 percent of Namibia’s urban dwellers, 25 percent of all Namibians live in so-called “informal settlements.”  They come to Windhoek in search of jobs, opportunities and a better life.  And in spite of the fact that Windhoek enjoys a reputation as a city which has taken better care of its newest

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  • Macro Photography: Grasshopper After Rainstorm

    Check out these macro photos of a grasshopper (or, as my daughter felt was more appropriate, “locust” – it was a good 3 inches long!) that was perched outside out front door.  If you look close, you can see little droplets of water on his face.  

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  • iPad for video and music creation

    Although you can’t beat the price for video and music editing software when it comes to iFilm and GarageBand for the iPad, trying to create a video from top to bottom using nothing but an iPad 2 still leaves a bit to be desired.  Probably people who have never used any other video or music

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  • Video: 24 Hours at Etosha

    Along the southern fringes of Etosha National Park, Namibia’s flagship park, are scattered a handful of camps and watering holes. The oldest of these is Okaukuejo, 18 km from Anderson gate in the southwest corner of the park. At Okaukuejo, the “bush chalets” are oriented around the watering hole in a westward-facing orientation, which makes

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  • Video – Elephants at Okaukuejo

    We spotted the first elephant in the distance, and soon noticed he was followed by many more, all neatly in line, ears flapping and trunks swinging in that crazy, bouncy, elephant way.  Eventually 32 of them arrived at the watering hole at Okaukuejo Camp,where they drank, bathed, played, and in some cases were a little peeved with

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  • Seeking Pledges for Namibia

    This November 19, I will be participating in the event, “Namibia Runs for Charity.”  From 9 am to 4 pm, I will have the opportunity to run as many laps as possible for Namibian charities.  And I could use your help! Now, it would be good to be able to post here exactly WHICH charity

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  • Supporting Africa’s Dwindling Wild Dog Population

    Today I’ll be participating in N/a’ankuse Lodge and Wildlife Sanctuary’s “Corporate Eco-Challenge” to help raise money for their efforts to advocate on behalf of Africa’s dwindling wild dog population.  African wild dogs, also known as “painted dogs“, are the second most endangered carnivore on the African continent, after the Ethiopian wolf.  Estimates of the remaining

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  • Spring has Sprung in Windhoek

    Spring is definitely in the air in Namibia.  At least that’s what my daughter tells me – she informed me that September 1 was “spring day”.  Apparently in South Africa and Namibia, it’s not the 21st that heralds the coming of spring, but the 1st of September.  And given the weather these days, it’s not

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  • Moon over Windhoek

    This morning when I woke up, the moon appeared full and orange in the sky just above the horizon.  Here are a couple of shots of it.  

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  • TAZM Pictures is moving to Africa!

    The countdown is on. Three weeks until I’m cruising down the runway, bound for Namibia for a couple of years. What I’m hoping to experience: Okaukuejo [in Etosha National Park] has become world-famous.  it is conveniently situated on the edge of the rest camp, separated only by a stone wall and overlooked by a paved

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