My trip to Namibia was the first big one I’ve done for Getaway. This is what I’ve learned from the experience.
1. Taking along an obliging boyfriend/partner helps. A lot. Especially one who is a good photographer, cook, driver and stress-reliever.
2. Relying on a guidebook for accommodation recommendations is not the way forward. A place that my guidebook called “˜a friendly guest farm’ was actually a full-on hunting farm, complete with creepy stuffed animal trophies in the breakfast room and caged animals.
3. Guidebooks are not reliable. They tend to make everything sound nicer that it actually is, so you have a picture in your mind of something quite different to reality.
4. Not uploading the hundreds of photos I shot every day in a systematic way to my computer was completely disastrous.
5. It’s hard to be a vegetarian in Namibia. Namibians really do like their meat.
6. The more I stress about a photo, the less easy it is to make it work. Less stress = more creativity = better photographs.
7. Wildlife photography is really difficult. The damn animals never stand in the right place.
8. I’m addicted to the bush.
9. Being on assignment is not like being on holiday, despite what everyone thinks. It’s stressful, exhausting and it is work. It’s also lots of fun.
10. I love my job.
