Photography

Kleinmond Strandmeer Lagoon

Posted by pkphotooftheday on December 28, 2020

Posted in: Landscapes, Marshes, Mountains, Nature, ocean waves, Photography, Seascapes, seashore, Travel. Tagged: Africa, icebergs, landscape, Marshes, mountains, nature, photography, seascapes, seashore, South Africa, travel. 3 Comments

This coastal lagoon and Atlantic seashore park reminded me of home, even though it’s about 10,000 miles from home (the West Coast that is). It seemed to me like a typical park we might have in the U.S. where you could rent a kayak or go swimming in the ocean.

Colorful kayaks are lined up for rent beside the saltwater marsh.

The lifeguard stand and waterfront are deserted because it is not yet summer. The view of a distant cape is one that you always see in South Africa with its curving coastline and mountains meeting the sea.

Stony Point Nature Reserve

Posted by pkphotooftheday on November 30, 2020

Posted in: Animals, Birds, Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Seascapes, seashore, Travel, Wildlife. Tagged: Africa, Animals, birds, landscape, seascapes, seashore, South Africa, travel, wildlife. 13 Comments

This reserve on the shore of the Western Cape, South Africa, features a colony of wild African penguins. These penguins are found in the waters off southern Africa and nest in colonies scattered along the coast. They are an endangered species, having been severely impacted by factors such as oil spills, the sale of their eggs as a delicacy, the use of their guano (which they need to make burrows) as fertilizer, and commercial trade in sardines and anchovies on which they feed.

What do you think they are talking about?

Penguins perch on the rocks lining the shore…..maybe thinking of a dive between crashing waves.

Penguins shelter from the winds that blow spindrift off cresting waves.

Rocks, constantly battered by the sea, are defining features on this Atlantic shore.

An abandoned seaside tower, a remnant of an old whaling station, serves as a sentinel for a colony of cormorants.

A solo cormorant flies across a rock face silhouetted by the churning surf below….

and three cormorants fly in a row farther offshore.

South African Countryside

Posted by pkphotooftheday on November 21, 2020

Posted in: farmland, Landscapes, Mountains, Photography, vineyards. Tagged: Africa, farmland, landscape, mountains, pastures, photography, South Africa, travel, vineyards. 2 Comments

Not far outside the coastal city of Cape Town, the countryside changes to mountains, valleys, pastures and farmland.

Plentiful rain keeps the meadows and mountainsides green.

Deep valleys trail off toward the horizon.

Vineyards at the base of a mountain range produce a good crop for wine-making.

Fall is time for harvesting canola.

Rolling hills are adaptable to pasture and farming.

Cape Town and Table Mountain

Posted by pkphotooftheday on November 14, 2020

Posted in: City Scenes, Harbor Scenes, Landscapes, Mountains, Photography, rock formations, Seascapes, seashore. Tagged: Africa, landscape, mountains, photography, seascapes, seashore, South Africa. 8 Comments

Cape Town is surrounded by ocean views and mountain peaks of all shapes and sizes.

In this panorama taken from the summit of flat-topped Table Mountain, you can see a lot: from left to right are Lion’s Head rising above the Atlantic Ocean, Signal Hill, Cape Town Harbor, and Devil’s Peak. In the distance is Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was held as a political prisoner for 18 years.

A nearby seaside suburb, Camps Bay, is nestled against the Twelve Apostles, part of the Table Mountain complex.

From the beach at Bloubergstrand, north of the city on Table Bay, a distant view of the Table Mountain complex dominates the horizon .

Namib Desert from Above

Posted by pkphotooftheday on October 28, 2020

Posted in: Desert, Landscapes, Photography. Tagged: Africa, deserts, dunes, landscape, photography. 2 Comments

We flew over the Namib desert (Namibia) in a small craft, just the two of us and the pilot, a young woman who knew the area well.

Here we are flying over the area of dead trees in a clay pan featured in yesterday’s post.

We continued to fly west over patterns of desert ridges towards the Atlantic.

Clay, Sand, and Dead Trees

Posted by pkphotooftheday on October 27, 2020

Posted in: Desert, Landscapes, Photography. Tagged: Africa, deserts, dunes, landscape, photography. 6 Comments

These dead trees in the Namib Desert area of Namibia are not petrified, but are believed to be 600-700 years old. Scorched by the sun, they stand in a clay pan and remain undecayed because of the hot, dry climate.

Nearby is a broad vista of the clay and sand terrain.

Oryx Finding Shade

Posted by pkphotooftheday on October 26, 2020

Posted in: Animals, Desert, Landscapes, Nature, Photography, Wildlife. Tagged: Africa, Animals, deserts, dunes, landscape, nature, wildlife. Leave a comment

This oryx (also called a gemsbok) has found a good resting spot near the dunes of Sossusvlei, Namibia. He is keeping an eye on me, but is reluctant to leave his comfortable place in the shade.

Shifting Sands

Posted by pkphotooftheday on October 25, 2020

Posted in: Desert, Landscapes, Photography. Tagged: Africa, deserts, dunes, landscape, photography. 2 Comments

The dunes of Sossusvlei, Namibia are national treasures reaching over 1,000 feet tall. But even though they have all been named (or numbered), they are not static landmarks. Desert winds are always working to alter the dunes’ dramatic shapes and form ripples of sand on the desert floor.