Zoë Scholtz

In 2019 hubby and I glibly agreed to join a small group of friends on a trip to (what I perceived at the time to be) a mystical, yet scary place referred to as 'the Richtersveld'. The intent was to embark on our adventure in 2020. I had absolutely no idea what I was agreeing to! The Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is found to the northeast of the Northern Cape. The mighty Orange River flows through the park and forms the border between South Africa and Namibia. This unique park in the SanParks stable is the only arid biodiversity hotspot in the world and was declared a World Heritage site in 2007.  A simple keyword search on Google confirmed that a sojourn to this rocky, rugged terrain wasn't for the faint-hearted. Initially confident in our own abilities and with our  fellow adventurers being experienced overlanders - we were unconcerned.  Then the global pandemic introduced a smallish  complication by including the imposition of travel restrictions. The stri...

Where it all started I have always loved photographs and was under the impression that if I bought myself a fancy camera the logical outcome would be great pictures. In 2010 I had saved up enough money to buy myself a brand new DSLR camera (that was the good news) but other than being able to switch it on, I had no idea how to use it (the bad news). To my dismay, I realised that there were an awful lot of buttons, dials, and switches that I had no idea what to do with, and so I opened up the user manual. After trawling through the first few pages my head started to hurt. There were all these fancy words, descriptions of things I had never heard of: f-stops, focal points, and depth of field - it felt like I needed a user guide for the user guide! Feeling more than a little intimidated I snapped the user manual shut and phoned a friend of mine, he was a photographer in his spare time, and I knew he would help me. He advised that the best way to learn was 'to do' and recommended I...

Tip 1: Keep it clean Make sure that the lens is clean  before  you take a photo. A dirty lens will give you a blurry image. Tip 2: Hold it steady Use both hands to hold the phone, keep your elbows tucked in. You can also try burst (sports) mode if the subject is moving - this will help keep the subject in focus. Tip 3: The rule of thirds Understanding the rule of thirds will help you compose your photograph to ensure maximum impact. It means you mentally divide the image you see on the screen evenly into thirds (either horizontally and vertically). Then make sure that the subject of your photo is placed at the intersection of those dividing lines, or on one of the lines itself. Your photo will have more impact when you place the subject on the third. Tip 4: Check the background Before you take your photo, check all four corners you don't want a tree growing out of someone's head. For example, this photo could be better if that green stalk wasn't in the...