READER PHOTOS

A quiver tree under a starry sky, an egret on a zebra’s back and a leopard with fire in its eyes… Is your photo in the mag this month?

Nikon D750 Nikon 18 – 35 mm lens

ANNA-MART WRITES: I took this photo at the famous Quiver Tree Forest outside Keetmanshoop in Namibia. Because it’s so sparsely populated, Namibia has very little light pollution. This makes it great for night photography. I left my camera’s shutter open for 30 seconds at ISO 3200. I used auto focus to lock focus on the tree, then I switched to manual focus so the camera didn’t hunt for focus in the dark every time I pressed the shutter button. I used a tripod – vital for stability when you’re dealing with such a long exposure – and I used the camera’s self-timer function to trigger the shutter. If you start the exposure the normal way by pressing the shutter button, this will cause camera shake and make your photo look blurry. During the 30-second exposure, a friend used a powerful torch to light up parts of the tree.

TOAST SAYS: Namibia’s dark nights and bright stars – plus its iconic quiver trees, baobabs and camel thorn trees – make it a top destination for photographers who come out to play after sunset. You can’t stumble into night photography blindly – especially not after a few too many glasses of port around the campfire. Yes, stability is your best friend, and that includes using a tripod… Anna-Mart did everything right here and you’d do well to follow her advice. Use the self-timer as she did, or buy a remote shutter release, which serves a similar purpose. I like the skew composition, with the tree jutting out from the corner of the frame. The second tree in the distance adds depth to the image and the artificial lighting was applied moderately and thus looks quite natural. Neat!