Beth Wold Photography

Choosing Art for your Home: Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

View Part I here: http://www.bethwoldphotography.com/2012/02/choosing-art-for-your-home-part-i.html

Since I am covering the what, when, where, how, and why of choosing art for your home(see the link at the top for the "why"), let's get started on the "When".

I did have to think about how am I going to do a "when" about art? Should it be a historical art periods? That seems to fit more under "what", as in what style of art do you like. Then it occurred to me that the most significant "when" I can think of in the choosing of art, is when in the design process should you choose it?

There's two main possibilities that I can think of. The first idea is to choose the art first. This would be great in the case of finding an artwork that you love. You love it so much that you are willing to make a place for it. Even if it means redecorating. This probably doesn't happen all the time. But imagine if you had something as famous, beautiful and rare as an original Vincent Van Gogh. Let's pretend for a second you had his Starry Night painting. You obviously wouldn't get rid of it because it didn't match your sofa. You would get rid of the sofa first. Now most of us can't afford something that precious, but we can usually afford something that we love. If you have the luxury of being in the middle of a home decor project or are about to start, then finding a piece of art you love, first, might make your new room decor all the better when you build it around art you love.

The situation most of us would find ourselves in is that we already have furniture and finishings that we have to work around. We don't have the luxury of changing our sofa to match our art. This does make it more difficult. We then have to keep things like color schemes and decor styles in mind when looking for art. While I don't think you have to "match" your sofa, you do need to make sure it "goes". Of course if you do find art that you just love, but it clashes with your sofa, you can always consider putting it in another room until you replace your sofa(even if that's 5 years from now). If you're sure you love that piece, whether it be a sculpture or painting or photograph, it's better not to let it slip away!

Using the first option(choosing art before your decorate) gives you the option to make your art the focal point for the room. If you have a perfect piece of art that really speaks to you and speaks about you(as I mentioned in Part I) then using it as your room's focal point is a fantastic option. Of course, just because you choose your art second doesn't mean you can't make it a focal point, it might be more difficult since you can't choose just by love as you also have to take into consideration the decor you already have.

A couple of basic tips for choosing art if you already have your decor in place:

Consider the colors in your room. Do you have warm colors? If you are using warm colors in your room you are better off keeping with warm colors in the art. Sepia tones might be better then black and white if you are thinking about monochromatic art. Bronze sculptures might be better then chrome, etc.

Consider your rooms overall style. Do you have a contemporary style in the room? You'll probably want to keep your art contemporary. At the very least you'll want to keep frames contemporary. If your room is traditional or perhaps you have craftsman style furniture you probably will want to avoid abstract or modern art.

Choosing Art for Your Home: Part I

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I'm starting a multi-post series on choosing art to compliment you home. One the most important question to answer before you start is: Why?

Why would I want art in my home?

People buy art for different reasons. Sometimes it's as simple as an empty space on the wall that needs filled. Other times it might be because you fell in love with a painting. While the answers to the question might seem obvious, sometimes it a good practice to spend a little thought on the process. How will this improve my life? What needs will it fill? Is it a need or just a want? Etc.

I can think of a few good reasons for investing in art you love. First it is a great way to incorporate your personality in a room. Are you quirky and have a great sense of humor? Your art could reflect that. Do you love traveling to exotic places? Your art can reflect that. Do you think of yourself as sophisticated and elegant? Your art should reflect that. I think it's great when you can walk into a room and immediately know something about the person who lives there just by looking at the art they've chosen.

Second, a great piece of art can give that finished feeling to a decor. Most of the time a couch and coffee table just isn't enough. You walk into a room and it just feels like something is missing. It just looks empty. A great piece of art can complete a room. It may be the pop of color that you're missing. It may be the relaxing landscape that lends a sense of serenity. You don't really just want to buy a piece that fits the space, you want to find a piece that makes the space.

Thirdly, art is a great way to show off your great taste. If you have great taste, choosing the perfect piece of art can really showcase your taste. People walking into the room should instantly be wowed by your art and the great way the room fits together. Sometimes black and white art can be great for this as it will often lend a sense of sophistication to a room.

Fourth, art can change or enhance the feeling of a room. A beautiful landscape with water can give you that sense of relaxation you might be seeking in your bedroom or spa-like bathroom. A bright colorful flower portrait could add that sense of energy to your office. Whatever mood you'd like to convey and emphasize in any given room, you can find a piece of art that embody that mood.

Fifth, your choice in art is what helps separate your house from everyone else's house. If you have no art, even if everything else in your decor is perfect, your house looks generic - perhaps even like a house that has been staged to sell. You want your art to give your house personality, to make it look lived in, and loved. You want your house to be unique and to be a great reflection of you. This is perhaps the best argument agianst buying generic big-box store, mass-produced art. You want your home to uniquely reflect you - and a mass-produced print sold at store X is perhaps not the best reflection of you.

I'm sure there are many other reasons to choose to put art in your house, but these should get your started thinking. If you are in a place in your life where you're making decisions about purchasing art, start by thinking about how you want to feel when you're in the room. Or how do you want the room to reflect your personality and taste. Then you can think about things like style and color. All, of those things should give you a good start in the process of choosing art.

P.S. A good place to start is to check out www.houzz.com. Houzz has thousands of photographs of home decor. You can choose a category based on style(such as modern or traditional, etc) and view photographs based on what room you're interested in(such as bedroom or living room, etc). Keep an eye out for what art catches your eye. You'll have a head start if you know what you like before we get to the "What?" question.

First Magazine Submission of the Year

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

In my Plans blog post last week I mentioned that I was going to start several new marketing campaigns this year and blog about them. My main reason for blogging about them is that it will keep me motivated and honest. Making the plan but not telling anyone only makes me accountable to myself... no one else would know if I slacked off. However, posting it on the internet... obviously makes me accountable to a lot more people! The secondary reason for blogging about it, is that there might be people out there, who like me, sometimes get lost when it comes to this whole marketing thing. Maybe you have the same questions as me... such as" How do I tell people about my art?" or "Who do I tell?" or "How do I find the people who would be interested in my work?" etc. So I thought if I blogged about what I tried and how well it works or doesn't work, then maybe I can help someone else out in the process.

One of my goals this year was to send out a least one submission to a magazine each month. Submissions can be a lot of work, if you want them to look professional, so that's why I specified one a month. Obviously I would like to get more sent out than just 12 this year, but my goal needed to be accessible.

Well, I've already taken care of this goal for the month of January. I got several images submitted to a magazine, and now I just have the long process of waiting to hear back. At this point I don't want to go into the who and what - as in what pictures sent to which magazine, but I definitely will if I get accepted. I still am hoping to get another magazine submission sent off before the end of the month, too.

If you are also an artist or photographer, and you feel you're ready to be published, I urge you to identify a magazine that would be a good fit for your work, find their submission guidelines and get a submission package sent off to them.

28 Photographers at Photoshelter

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 03:30:00 +0000

One of my resolutions was included with the 2012 resolutions of 28 photographers at Photoshelter. Check out the blog post here:
http://blog.photoshelter.com/2012/01/28-resolutions-from-28-seasoned-photographers/

I'm honored to be included with all these great photographers. I haven't really thought of myself as a seasoned photographer, and so I was surprised to see the title - but I think it's pretty cool and it feels kinda nice to have someone say that about me! :)

Plans...

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:30:00 +0000

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday, and your new year is starting out well.

I'm not much into New Years Resolutions - in fact I don't think I can remember any that I've made in previous years... But it's the new year - 2012, and there's a list of things I want to implement this year, and a list of things I want to do better. I'm calling it "setting goals". I plan to blog about it to keep myself accountable.

The main thing I want to do is to improve my marketing. This is one area that I'm really lacking in the know-how and persistence. I've bought several photography and art marketing books over the years, and not one of them has the "secret way to market your stuff" in it. You know - that secret that all the old pros know, and won't tell us newer pros? Lately I've come to realize the secret is that "there is no secret - it's just hard work". In fact, a lot of the ways you market photography are the same ways you would market anything else. Advertise, flyers, phone books, etc, etc. Of course, an art photographer probably wouldn't take out a Yellow page add, but the rest of the ideas behind traditional marketing is worth looking into. So in that vein... Here's my plan for 2012.

Marketing Goals

Advertise: I'm going to seek out locations where the buyers of art are, and advertise there. My ideas so far include blogs, and magazines. Of course, the work here is identifying which blogs and magazines are a good fit for my work, and then of course, designing an ad. Frequency: This goal is for an immediate start, and I'll re-consider how often based on success rate.

Postcards: I have a list and I already have the post cards sitting in my office. So this is a matter of addressing and sending. I'm starting with local decorators. I want to be on their mind when they are decorating a house. I have a few more ideas for who I'd like to get on my list. Frequency: I would like to send out postcards at least 4 times a year.

Magazine Submissions: I always say I'm going to do this... and then I don't. I'm one for one - I've submitted to one magazine and I've been printed in one magazine. You would think that a 100% success rate would be good motivation. Or maybe I'm just worried about ruining my success rate! I know that rejection is par for the course, so I am not going to let that fear keep me from doing more submissions. Frequency: My goal is to submit a package at least once a month.

Galleries: This ones a little harder to quantify... Should I seek out a new gallery each week? Month? More often, less often? Since artwork can be difficult to sell to people who haven't seen it in person - I know I need to get my work into the public. Frequency: To be decided

Photography Goals

Of course no photographer's list would be complete without photography related goals.

Get out and shoot more - This ones self explanatory. I don't think I can ever say I've been photographing too much!

Care less about what other people think - I think that sometimes worrying about how people might perceive your work can inhibit your creativity. While I don't think we can stop caring what people think, and in some ways it can be important motivation, I do not want the fear of what people might think to keep me from creating the art I want to create.

Experiment more with alternate processes/photography methods - Last year I started experimenting with older photography processes, specifically cyanotypes. I'd like to do more cyanotypes, and start dabbling in some of the other processes, such as Van Dykes, etc. I also might spend some time with my Holga.

Shoot more photography projects - My style tends to be very unstructured. I like to go to a location and let the location inspire the photography. I don't necessarily like to start with pre-conceived ideas or a list of photos to shoot, but sometimes I think it's good to work on projects and portfolios instead. It can be a great way to increase creativity.

So there's my list. What do you all have planned for the new year?

Profiled on Photoshelter

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:18:00 +0000

As some of you may know I use Photoshelter to host my website. Well, I was just interviewed by Photoshelter and they've written up a profile on my for their website. I'm pretty exited about it and I think it turned out great! Here's a link to my profile on their site. Read it and you might just learn something new about me!

View all the great profiles on Photoshelter

Namibia Trip Blog Posts Summary

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

I've done several blog posts of my recent trip to Namibia, and I decided to put all the links to all the posts here to make it easier to find for people who might be interested in planning a trip to Namibia.

Namibia Day 1: Fish River Canyon
Namibia Day 2: Klein Aus Vista
Namibia Day 3: Travel Day
Namibia Day 4: Namibrand
Namibia Day 5: Sossusvlei, Dead Vlei, and Sesriem Canyon
Namibia Day 6: Travel Day
Namibia Day 7: Swakopmund
Namibia Day 8: Cape Cross
Namibia Day 9: Travel Day
Namibia Day 10: Twyfelfontein
Namibia Day 11: Travel Day
Namibia Day 12: Etosha National Park
Namibia Day 13: Etosha National Park
Namibia Day 14: Etosha and Travel Day
Namibia Day 15: CCF and Travel Day

Namibia Day 15: CCF and travel day

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

One of my favorite places that we visited in Namibia was the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF). CCF was founded by American Laurie Marker who was so determined to do something about the possible impending extinction of the cheetah that she moved to Namibia and started up CCF. Apparently she started by knocking on doors of ranchers and trying to explain to the ranchers how they can co-exist with wild cheetah.

Now days the organization does a lot to help wild cheetahs. They have education programs for school children and ranchers and farmers. One of the biggest problems facing the wild cheetah is from ranchers that view them as a threat to their livestock. CCF's answer is Anatolian shepard dogs, who when raised with livestock will protect them with their lives. Cheetahs will not try to take on these large dogs(they are actually pretty lightweight cats and will generally try to avoid any fights) and so the livestock stays safe.

Namibia has the largest population of wild cheetahs in the world, and with organizations such as CCF helping local ranchers to co-exist with cheetah then there is hope that the cheetah will not go extinct in our lifetime.

If you happen to get to the Waterberg area of Namibia I highly recommend visiting CCF. They do have cheetahs at CCF. They are orphans that were raised at CCF after their mother's had been killed by ranchers. The cubs can't be released back into the wild because without a mother they can't learn all the necessary skills to live on their own. CCF offers, for a fee, a tour of the facilities as well as a lot of information about the projects they do there. You can also go on a drive through the enclosures with the semi to mostly wild cheetah residents(as they tried to leave the cubs as wild as possible even if they couldn't release them into the wild).

After our visit to CCF we headed down to Windhoek and the next day headed out of the Namibia via the trans-Kalahari highway through Botswana. It's a long drive and there's lots of cows on the roads to watch out for. Not a drive you want to make after dark!

I was pretty sad to leave Namibia, and would go back in a second. It was truly a beautiful and amazing place.

Free Shipping

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Free Shipping at my Etsy Store.

Use the code FreeShipping11 and receive free shipping to US addresses. This offer is good until December 15th. http://www.etsy.com/shop/BethWold

Holiday Shipping Guidelines

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Beautiful fine art prints can make stunning gifts for your loved ones(or for yourself!). If you would like to purchase a fine art print from Beth Wold Photograph as a Christmas gift, the last day to order and receive your item by Christmas is:

US Addresses - December 15
International - November 28*

If you need something faster(or it's past the recommended shipping deadlines) - contact me and I can get you a quote for rush delivery and overnight shipping.

*Note I can't guarantee international shipments will arrive on time as I can't guarantee that customs and shipping will all go according to schedule!

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding my prints or the printing process.

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:02:00 +0000

Today is the perfect day to be thankful for all the things you are blessed with!

I hope you all are having a great day whatever your plans may be!

Product Review - Epson Velvet Fine Art Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 09:30:00 +0000

Today I'm going to review a product that I use. I thought it might be useful to some readers out there that are looking for a good paper for their prints, and also useful to people who might be interested in my printing process. So here it goes:

Digital images from my Migration Series

When looking for a paper for prints there's several things that you have to consider - and these things change from person to person. I have been a fan of glossy papers for years and really never considered looking for anything else. However for my Migration series I wanted to try something a little different so I got some Velvet Fine Art Paper and fell in love. I've since gone back and evaluated quite a few different papers and I just keep going back to the Velvet.

The things I was specifically looking for: how archival is it? Does it have a texture? How sharp are the prints? How do the prints look overall? What's the paper made from?

Two 13x19 inch prints from my Migration series printed on Epson's Velvet Fine Art Paper

The Epson Velvet Fine Art paper is made from 100% cotton rag(which is important for fine art prints - because it means it's a quality paper and the paper is archival). There is a beautiful texture to this paper - which gives it a tactile dimension you wouldn't normally have with prints. The prints look fantastic - the color is deep and saturated the sharpness is good and the texture adds a great dimension to the print.

Close-up of a small portions of the print to show the paper's texture

Larger section of 13x19in print with signature in corner

With Epson's Velvet Fine Art paper it seems the printer and inks play a large role in how archival this paper is. Since I'm using a Epson R1900 with Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 Inks any prints I make should last more than 100 years if framed and more than 150 years if framed behind UV filtering glass(according to Wilhelm Imagine Research - http://www.wilhelm-research.com/). But apparently the Epson Velvet Fine Art paper only lasts approx 61 years framed if printed with some other inks. So this is something to keep in mind if you're not using the UltraChrome Hi-Gloss 2 Inks. Of course 61 years is still a really long time but not quite as long as 100.

Since it is a heavier paper it can be a bit of a pain to load the sheets into your printer - on the R1900(as well as the the 3880 and 3800) you load it through the back of the printer rather than the top. Don't get too frustrated if it doesn't load on your first try or even your 10th try - as this seems to be normal when you first start and I've tried it on three different Epson printers and they all seem to do this until you get the hang of it.

As I said before I do love this paper. I love the texture - I think it adds a gorgeous dimension to the print. I love the saturation of the tones that you get. It's a great paper if you prefer matte finishes and a little texture.

2012 Calendars Available

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:00:00 +0000

My 2012 calendars are available at Redbubble. They include Cheetahs, Namibia, Flowers and North Woods.

Print Warranties

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Since I posted about my Fine Art Prints last week, I thought I'd talk about a different subject that's related to the prints: Warranties. Basically, I want you as the buyer to be completely satisfied with your purchase from me. I also want each and every person looking at my work to know that I stand behind my prints and strive to make them the best they can be. This means that I use top quality papers and inks as well as mats. And since I print and mat all of the work myself, that means I know that its quality meets my standards before I sign the print. For these reasons I offer three different warranties.

First, a 90 Day money back guarantee. All artwork purchased through my website are covered under my 90 day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with your purchase you can return it for a credit, refund or exchange for up to 90 days. Some exclusions apply see the "Returns" section on my Prints page for details.

Second, a Lifetime Fade-free Warranty. All of my photographs are printed using fade-free fine art archival papers and inks. All artwork comes with a Fade Free Warranty designed to protect your investment: if your artwork was to fade I will replace it at no charge for as long as you own it. No questions asked, just return the artwork to me and I will ship you a new piece right away.

Third, a Lifetime Framing Warranty. If you purchased your artwork framed from me, and if your framed artwork was to get damaged because of my framing, I will reframe it or replace it at no charge. Sometimes the materials used by framers --such as tape, matboard, backing board, etc, can damage your artwork. To prevent this I use only the finest archival materials, and I guarantee that my framing will not damage your artwork in any way. However, if for some reason something was ever to happen, you are 100% covered. This warranty applies to each and every piece I frame and mat for you. My Seal of Authenticity, which is placed on the back of every piece framed by me, must be present on your piece for this warranty to be honored. This warranty does not apply to pieces which are not framed by me.

Mis-adventures in Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Sometimes I think I'm a magnet for "adventures". And by "adventures" I mean the kind that make interesting stories later. Here's a few of the more memorable adventures from my recent trips:

The bat in the bed
This happened to me a few years ago on a trip to Kruger National Park. It had been a long day and I was feeling a little tired so I just plopped down on my bed upon arriving in the chalet. A while later I was removing the bedspread from the bed and there was a friendly bat right under the bedspread in the bed. The bat seemed to be OK even though I'm sure he didn't enjoy sharing the bed with a human. He was released safely outside. I, however, now I always check under the covers before crawling into bed.

The python in the rafters
This was in Botswana. We were staying at the lovely Nata Lodge. Strangely enough they had been playing the movie "Anaconda" in the lodge area that evening - and I'd avoided looking at the TV as I didn't want to have "snakes on the brain" and jump at everything that moved. Upon retiring to our chalet for the evening we did some reading which included the Lodge's pamphlet of what animals you might see at the Lodge. Boomslangs(poisonous tree snake) were on the list as well as cobras I believe - but honestly I don't remember if they had pythons on the list. I should have recognized the signs that my night was going to get interesting...

After reading for a while, I walked to the dresser to grab a glass of water and while drinking the water I happened to glance in the mirror. Above and behind me there was a decent sized python looking at me from the rafters. I did remain rather calm and sent my husband to find the Lodge's manager. I stayed to keep an eye on the python as I didn't want her sneaking into my luggage! The manager showed up with a rifle and several men(they thought it might be the boomslang). The snake found a nice cosy place to wedge itself into and refused to leave. I didn't want them to shoot it and I didn't want to sleep in the same room as the python so our only other option was a new chalet. The lovely folks at Nata Lodge did oblige me with a new chalet(it was actually an upgrade) - but just as we started moving our stuff it starts storming! So we were making a mad dash through a storm, with suitcases in the middle of the African night. It did make for a fun story the next morning, and the manager did tease me a bit at breakfast for not wanting to stay with the snake. Now I always check the rafters in my room before relaxing for the evening!

The sneaky jackal
This incident was the most recent. During our last visit to Africa we were in Namibia. We spent three nights at the amazing Desert Homestead. I did just love it there - it was so beautiful. One night I was sitting out on our small patio in the dark - enjoying the peace and quiet and the gorgeous night sky. For some reason my mind started drifting to the subject of snakes - specifically that aforementioned python from the rafters... As I was lost in thought I heard a rock that was kicked right behind me in the pitch darkness. I'm sure some rational part of my brain realized that snakes can't kick rocks as they don't have feet - but at that moment I didn't behave rationally. I jumped out the chair and screamed - a loud scream on such a perfectly quiet night! As I turned around I saw it was just a black-backed jackal that had been curious and had been sneaking up behind me until that rock gave him away. He was only a couple feet away. I believe my scream scared the jackal at least as much as he had scared me - the poor thing yelped and didn't stop running until he was out of sight!

I don't know why these weird things seem to happen to me - I know lots of people who don't have such events happen to them. Every time I plan a trip to Africa I can't help but wonder what's in store for me next...

Save $10 on Namibia Book

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

Namibia by Beth Wold

If you're looking for a unique Christmas gift this year, and you're interested in Namibia, I'm able to offer you $10 off of my book. Enter the code BIGTEN when you check out. The deadline to use the code by is November 30th which will put you well ahead of any December deadlines. This only works for printed versions not the ebook.

Fine Art Prints

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:00:00 +0000

As some of you may know the purpose of my website (www.bethwold.com) is to show my photography portfolio and to make photographic prints available to the public. In the past month I have settled on three print sizes to make available. They are small, medium and large.

The small print is a 5x7 inch print matted to 8x10 inches. The medium print is 8x10 inches and matted to 11x14. The large print is 13x19 inches and matted to 18x24. The mat sizes are all standard sizes making it possible for you to purchase the print and frame it in a standard frame that you can buy at any place that sells frames.

The prints will all have a small white border and will be signed in the white border. The mat will cover the white border but I will also sign the mat. All the prints are on 100% cotton rag with pigment ink and the mats will also be cotton rag and archival quality. The mats will be white. When properly framed this combination will last at least 100 years.

To order any print you simply have to choose the photograph you are interested in, add it to the cart and follow the check out instructions.

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding my prints or the printing process.

Namibia book now available for iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Namibia by Beth Wold

You can now purchase my book "Namibia" as an ebook for $8.99. This ebook is compatible with Apple iBooks and will work on iPads and iPhones. Go here to order: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1773060?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

Short Description of the book:
Namibia is a place of stark beauty and contrast. Famous for its giant sand dunes, the Namib Desert is also home to many animals. These animals survive and even thrive in this seemingly harsh and unforgiving land. The violent waves of the Atlantic Ocean bring a revitalizing fog to the creatures of the desert. From the second largest canyon in the world to some of the tallest sand dunes in the world, Namibia is a breath-taking place.

I've wanted to photograph the Namib Desert for a while, and I got my chance in May of 2010. The photographs in this book are the result of that trip.

Namibia Day 14: Travel Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Young Black-backed Jackal

Jackals were abundant in Etosha National Park. We honestly lost count of how many we saw. They were even in the camp at night - especially outside the restaurant(hoping for handout - I suspect). In fact one ran within a few feet of our table one night.

However, as soon as you arrive in Etosha you see warning that the jackals might have rabies - so seeing them run past your table in the dark is a little less fun when you're not sure if they might have rabies.

Lilac Breasted Roller

The Lilac Breasted Roller was also abundant in Etosha. I'd been wanted to photograph these colorful birds ever since a missed opportunity at Kruger National Park several years ago.

Black-Shouldered Kite

We left Etosha at around noon on our way to the Waterburg Plateau area. We were staying the night in Frans Indongo Lodge. The lodge was a lovely place and they do offer game drives on their property. They have quite a large selection of antelopes but they are all extremely skittish of the game drive vehicles - which I did find a little disturbing. I was able to photograph a vulture with it's nest which is something I'd never seen before and that was pretty cool.

Cape vulture at nest

At this point our trip was mostly coming to an end - we only had one full day in Namibia left and then we were heading out of the country on the Trans-Kalahari Highway. Going through Botswana and down into South Africa. But we had one more amazing stop left on our journey, and hopefully I'll get that written up soon.

Sunset

Namibia Day 13: Etosha National Park (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Day 13 at Etosha National Park was a great day of wildlife viewing. Days like this make you want to stay forever. The park itself is quite beautiful in places. There's a lot of open grasslands and of course there's the Etosha Pan itself. If you're into photographing deserts the Etosha Pan is pretty cool. Granted it's flat as far as you can see - but if you get some wildlife out there or some interesting clouds there is photographic opportunity.

Etosha Pan

We saw a lot of zebra, springbok and oryx. We also saw a few kudu, elephants, wildebeest and red hartebeest.

I love photographing zebras. They always seem to come up with something interesting for the camera. This young zebra was eating a shrub that it apparently didn't like very much as it kept making faces like this, but it didn't stop eating.

These zebras were not getting along with one zebra - and appeared to be trying to chase it away. I love how the three zebras in the back are just looking on while all the ruckus is happening.

We also had a fantastic lion sighting. A male and female lion were laying out in the afternoon sun without a single bit of shade in sight(which is somewhat rare for lions to do). I guess they were more interested in each other than shade. The male had quite the collection of scars, and from some of the pictures it looks as if he has the "pi" symbol tattooed to his shoulder.

Pied Crow

There was two very enterprising crows that seemed to be aware of the fact that people like to watch lions. So they appeared to be waiting by the lions for cars to stop - and hopefully throw the birds some food. I've never seen that before - birds using a lion sighting to beg for food. We didn't actually feed the birds(it is against the rules) but the bus in front of us was. I've heard that crows are the smartest of birds and after seeing this - I believe it!

Black rhino at the Okaukuejo waterhole

If you're staying at Okaukuejo you should check out the waterhole after dark. They have floodlights to light it up and you'll see quite a bit of wildlife coming down for a drink. We saw giraffe, jackals, wildebeests and 9+ black rhino in the space of about an hour.

The rhino were pretty entertaining. There was one smaller rhino that was trying very hard to pick a fight with a larger rhino, and would basically follow them around trying to get them to fight. While the larger rhino seemed more interested in eating, it did indulge the smaller rhino with a scuffle.

Technical Note: While there are floodlights on the waterhole at Okaukuejo it is not bright enough for normal photography. You will want a tripod and you'll need to use your fastest lens, and even then you'll have to raise the ISO to get a decent shutter speed. The above image was shot at 2.8, 1600 ISO, and I still only got 1/25th shutter speed.

Namibia Day 12: Etosha National Park

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:30:00 +0000

Our first day at Etosha National Park had a rocky start - we had a time zone issue on the cell phone/alarm clock and got up two hours too early. Somehow I didn't look at a watch until we left our room and headed to grab a breakfast box on our way out the gate. It still being completely dark and no one around was our first and second clue that something wasn't right!

Our second start to the day was much better - the gates were open this time! It did seem like a "slow" day in terms of animals. Etosha seems to be different then other parks we've been too. You aren't nearly as likely to see animals while just driving around. Most of the wildlife congregates around waterholes - and most of the tourists seem to do the same. Many drivers seem to just race from waterhole to waterhole.

Steenbok - one of the few animals we saw that wasn't near a waterhole

I did find the adjustment somewhat frustrating. I'm generally a pretty good wildlife spotter - but for the most part we just weren't seeing much of anything between waterholes. Also, some drivers didn't seem to have a lot of respect for other tourists(or the animals) - racing past you and any animals you were watching/photographing and showering you(and the wildlife) with dust. Not to mention all the 4x4 vehicles going 2x(or more) above the speed limit seem to be tearing up the roads in Etosha. If you tried to drive a small vehicle in the park I imagine you would get shaken apart on the roads and your equipment would be in trouble from the rattling.

Typical waterhole at Etosha National Park

We didn't see a lot of animals on this day and that probably contributed to my general annoyance at other vehicles. Not to mention the two hours of sleep I lost by getting up too early. :-)

We did learn a few lessons that day: One- don't get your math wrong when calculating alarm times on a cell phone that's from a different time zone. Two- The waterholes really are the best places to look for animals at Etosha. Three - tourists can some times be jerks.

If your heading to Etosha try to not be one of the jerks. Have some respect for the flora, fauna, and other people while you're there. No - I don't think you'll get an award for it, but really why go to a place like Etosha if you're just going to try to destroy parts of it while you're there?

Day 13 did turn out much better for wildlife spotting -so tune back in for that day when I post it. I promise there will be much less complaining about other cars!

African moringa (Moringa ovalifolia) otherwise known as Sprokiesboom(ghost tree)

Namibia Day 11: Travel Day

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Black Backed Jackel

Day 11 was another travel day. We didn't leave too early from Twyfelfontein country lodge - enjoyed a nice breakfast first. We had lunch at Outjo, a nice town about an hour outside of Etosha National Park. They have a cafe and a bakery. We tried the cafe on the way through, as they had internet and open tables - with good parking.

We got to Etosha National Park in the mid-afternoon. After we checked in at Okaukuejo we went out for about and hour and a half to see if we could spot any wildlife.

We got to watch a black-backed jackel hunt for a little while - which was pretty cool. We stayed until we had to get back - as we didn't want to be on the wrong side of the gate when it closed.

Beautiful Day Today

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 01:26:00 +0000

It was such a gorgeous day today! I even got a sunburn! I figured it was too late in the year for that.

Lone Tree in Winter

For some reason this beautiful weather inspired me to work on some of the winter photographs that I took in the early Spring of this year. Better late then never!

This was one of those photos that I never finished working on, as I couldn't get the feel that I wanted for the photo. I think I've finally found the right mood for the photograph, to mirror what I felt and envisioned when I took it.

Namibia Day 10: Twyfelfontein

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:53:00 +0000

Organ Pipes - near Twyfelfontein, Namibia

We did a bit of driving around the Twyfelfontein area on day 10. We stopped briefly at the Organ Pipes and at Burnt Mountian. The Organ Pipes were pretty cool, though not as big as I had expected them to be. We weren't overly impressed with Burnt Mountain(in fact I didn't even take a photograph) I don't know if we ended up there at the wrong time of day or what... We did drive quite a bit hoping to see desert elephants or rhinos but no luck there.

In the late afternoon I mostly wandered around the Twyfelfontein Country Lodge area and photographed the plants and animals.

Starling

Seed Pod

It was mostly a relaxing day which was kind of nice. If I had the trip to do over I would've only spent one night in Twyfelfontein instead of two. I would've been happy to spend another day at Fish River Canyon, or Sesreim instead.

Cheetahs Gallery Featured on Photoshelter's Facebook and Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Beth Wold) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:40:00 +0000

My Cheetahs gallery was featured on Photoshelter's facebook page and also on twitter.

Quote from their Facebook Page:
"Beth Wold's photos of cheetahs up close. Simply beautiful animals - well edited into a beautiful series.

Portfolio | Beth Wold Photography
www.bethwold.com

Featured images from Beth Wold Photography's photography portfolio."