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Click to expand Over many years, I’ve visited Namibia a number of times. Whenever I go, I always find something different to marvel at. It’s a magic country with abundant secrets and a whole horde of exciting attractions for the first time visitor or the seasoned traveller returning for yet another trip. Our escapade last year proved no different in terms of offerings. We travelled in May, known by the locals as the windy month. What was different, however, was that they'd had bountiful rains a few months prior to our visit and it changed the surroundings. I was accustomed to seeing vast landscapes, all desert, leading to the foot of a mountain range. The stark red sands provided a beautiful foreground to the purple mountains. This time, the landscape was covered in waist high, golden grasses waiving in the wind. Once again, the views were spectacular, albeit it nothing like the deserts I remembered. What’s more, it was as if the grasslands amplified the magnificence of the mountains. They drew one’s eye into the landscape to rest, finally, on magnificent mountains, far in the distance. On the outward bound leg of our trip, we drove from Swakopmund to Lüderitz – a journey that winds through the Namib Naukluft Park – rather than the road more travelled via Windhoek and Keetmanshoop. What a pleasure. We spent a night at a spectacular desert guest house called At Kronenhof Lodge near a little town called Betta. Best food, best accommodation and best value for money we experienced throughout the trip. I hope it’s the same next time we go.

Many people think I’m impatient. True, Sometimes I have a short fuse. And when I want something, I want it now. But that’s more impulsive than impatient. In my youth I loved fishing and could sit for hours on the beach, dangling a line in the water. Having a handy beer or rum and coke (not something I drink today) almost made it worthwhile. Returning home empty handed never worried me. The images you see in this post reflect another side of me. One of infinite patience. At the top is the original, taken from a friend’s balcony in Knysna. Their gardener is an excellent worker rather than a craftsman – hence the untidy hedge trim. A strong wind was blowing at the time, lifting the tail of a Cape sugarbird perched on a branch. I took a number of shots and was rewarded with the one you see here. It probably didn’t take an hour and, yes, there was a beer on hand to help me whittle away the time. Next, I processed the image in photoshop. I cropped it, made adjustments to the light and contrast and I ‘sharpened’ the bird to make it stand out in the second image on this page. It might have taken me 30 minutes to get where I wanted to be with the picture. Hardly time for a beer. Then I decided to convert the image into a watercolour picture using photoshop techniques. I do this quite often and, to be honest, you either like the results or don’t. I do. Sherryl doesn’t. The procedure is complicated and I have recorded the steps to assist me in the process. There are over 120 of them. The watercolour version of the bird took around three hours to complete. (I redid the Marico flycatcher that’s in the ‘Water colours by Photoshop’ several times and it took about six hours to finalise.) Is it all worth it? Yes, I believe so. PS: Thanks to my photographic coach Martin Barber for a little help with the water colour version. If you’re curious how this way of seeing unfolds across more images, you can explore the full watercolour gallery here. Did you know you can own this print and transform it into your personal style items at will?

Those who’ve read my brilliant * book, Only one cow , will appreciate this heading is an unsubtle word play on the title of the said book. Actually, this isn’t about my book, although if you haven’t yet bought a copy do so before stocks run out. The cows in the picture represent opportunity. In photography, if you see a picture, take it. You may never see the same scene again. The cows in the image are from a local farm and I often see them grazing in a field alongside the road. But when I hadn’t seen them for a while I feared they’d been sold and cursed myself for not having taken pictures . Too late. Fortunately, the farmer had moved them over the hill and they recently returned. Seeing them, I rushed home to fetch my camera and got the pics I wanted . But isn’t this what life’s all about. If you see an opportunity grab it. You may never have the chance again. Time, and life, doesn’t wait for you. If you come across a beautiful sunset, by the time you’ve rushed home, grabbed your camera and returned to the scene, Old Sol has dipped below the horizon and it’s dark. I used to carry a camera in my car, but that’s no longer practical. I have different lenses for different reasons, so would need to carry more than one. Besides; the chances of having your kit stolen is a huge risk. I could rely on my cell phone but the model I have makes calls and receives messages. Its pictures are not great. That brings me to my final point. Make your opportunities. If you take your camera out and go for a drive – you will find a picture. Again, isn’t that just like life.   Spoiler alert: What follows is a commercial: * I know my book is brilliant coz my wife told me so. If you want a copy visit your local bookstore (they can order one in for you) or go to Amazon and get a paperback or Kindle version. Oh, I still have a few copies if you want a signed version. Just message me at robglenpix@gmail.com and I'll sort you out. Only R250 including courier fees. PS: Have a great 2026. Carpe diem or, better still, make it happen.

Most of us have jumped headfirst into the festive season, relieved that 2025 is winding down. For some, none too soon. For Australians, it’s a period of festivities tinged with great sadness. Our condolences to them. To me, activism underpinned by violence is nothing less than terrorism. And real-life violence is unconscionable, unacceptable, unforgivable and a whole lot of other words that Thesaurus puts out. And worst of all, it is always accompanied by pain – in all its devastating forms. I say 'real-life violence' because on TV its part and parcel of the show. We simply accept it or change the channel if get gets to us. You cannot avoid it. Unless you lived in Malawi in the early seventies where they banned violence in movies. In a barroom brawl, for example, you’d see two antagonists rush up to one-another, fists raised, and then the screen would black out. A bit like load shedding when you don’t have solar panels. Know what I mean. Then the movie would start again with the bad guy lying on the ground and the good guy rubbing his knuckles. But on a happier note, many of us are already on holiday and long may the good feelings last. For a few of us (eg retirees) we’re always on holiday. But hey, we earned it. If youre working over this period - thank you for what you're going for the rest of us. To all of you, I wish you fun and happiness during this time and buckets of health (is that the correct collective noun) for 2026. Have a great one - see you in the new year. Bye.

The Felsenkirche The Felsenkirche (literally translated as the Church on the Rock) was designed and built for the German Evangelical Lutheran congregation of Lüderitz. The cornerstone was laid on 19 November 1911 . It’s open for visitors for an hour each day and the experience is well worth it. Personally, I’m not really one for monuments, museums and churches – but I do like taking photos (as you may have guessed) so the majestic steeple jutting into the Lüderitz skyline was an immediate attraction. We visited the site twice – mainly because it was when we arrived there the first time, that we discovered it was open to the public for an hour every day. (Incidentally, I’ve often photographed churches during the day in South Africa, only to find they’re preserved behind locked gates. So maybe having an ‘open hour’ is something local pastors can consider.) If you know Lüderitz, you also know that it is frequently covered in a blanket of mist. I once camped on Shark Island, off Lüderitz, and didn’t see the sun for about three days. So it was no surprise to find the church shrouded by mist on our return visit. In fact, the mist created a great photographic opportunity. Almost all the pictures I’ve seen show this majestic building in bright light against a clear blue sky. Very handsome indeed. But I prefer the pic I got – a hint of mystery and a suggestion that there might even be a dark history attached to the church. Inside, the church is very much like a church – to a plebeian like yours truly. Until you look at the stained glass windows. They are magnificent. Unfortunately I didn’t have a flash with me, and the pics I took don’t do justice to the magnificent artistry that surrounds you. All in all – well worth the visit. Take it from me.

Red Alpha Well, maybe not every little boy wants an Alpha. Some may want a fire engine, while others hanker after a tractor. But most little boys dream of driving if not owning an Alpha at some point. And if it’s a red one, so much the better. It just looks faster. I was in my very early teens when I discovered Alpha Romeos. Never a petrol head, I knew nothing about cars other than the fact that they have six wheels if you include the spare and steering wheel. But that didn’t matter. You don’t need to know how to make bread to enjoy a slice with peanut butter and syrup – another little boy’s favourite. I liked the look of sporty cars and the Alfa Romeo Spider was the epitome of engineering fashion and speed. Then, in the late seventies, I needed to buy a new car and realised that I could afford my dream. Off to the Arnold Chatz dealership in Hyde Park. Where else, he was the champion who drove Alfas and sold Alfas. (The dealership still exists but has moved location.) Dressed in rather shabby jeans, I failed to impress the showroom salesman who saw me as an Alfasud buyer at best. He quickly informed me that there wasn’t a spider to test drive and suggested I give the Sud a spin. When I pointed at the spider standing on the floor, he informed me in a hallowed voice that it was Arnold’s personal car and wasn’t available to be driven by anyone else. Astonished that I would actually wish to speak to him, he disappeared for a while and returned to inform me that Arnold was busy, but that I could take his spider for a drive. I did so and within minutes, my dream was shattered. I’m barely six foot (in the old language) and was skinny as a rake at the time. But I felt too big for the car. Bitterly disappointed, I returned to the showroom where the salesman again suggested I drive the Sud. Turning around, I discovered the Alfa Giulietta. A blue one. After a quick drive, I knew it had to be mine. The salesman and I completed the paperwork and two days later I drove it out of the dealership. I kept it for eight years – until just after Alfa pulled out of South Africa. A sad day for little boy car lovers.

Three-banded plover - natural surroundings The statement holds true for everyone, but more so for the photographer. I took this picture because I don’t have an image of a Three-banded plover. So, it’s a record shot – not intended for this site. Not a rare bird, it caught my attention as it hunted along the edge of a stream and I watched it for a while – taking shots every now and then. Once back home, I took a look at this picture on my large screen. Nice bird, lousy, noisy background. I was going to trash the image but my photographic mentor, Martin Barber changed my mind, showing me how to use a gradient to completely change the background. Three-banded plover - modified surroundings And this is what the final image looks like. They tell you, while photographing, view your subject from as many angles as possible. Squat, lie down, climb up, move left, move right. Each positional change alters the perspective, so take a shot every time you move places. Very often, the keeper is not the image you originally saw. Come to think of it, so much of life looks different from another angle or following a tweak. There’ve been countless times when something in my life has turned out remarkably different from what I’d imagined. Over and over, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by an event, situation or occurrence that wasn’t what I pictured in the first place. Next time you’re faced with a situation, an obstacle or a hinderance, take a breath and another look. See if it works for you.

Only One Cow This is a collection of eleven stories, all different and each with twists and turns that will keep you turning the pages. Triumphs and tragedies – unique and commonplace, predictable and unforeseen – are woven into a rich fabric of storytelling that makes for a quirky and pleasurable read. Editor, Karina M Szczurek from Karavan Press wrote: ‘An avid reader and lover of short stories, Rob Glenister has now put pen to paper – to use the time­worn cliché – and produced Only One Cow. An admirer of writers as diverse as Roald Dahl and Herman Charles Bosman, Rob has developed a writing style that fits somewhere between these two great authors. He has a talent for seeing things differently and an insight into people that allows him to draw out a varied cast of characters to the delight of his readers.’ Take her word for it, not mine and enjoy the book. A signed version of Only One Cow is available at a price of R285 (including courier fees). Simply click on the Order Now button and complete your details. We will contact you as soon as we can to arrange

We all have some propensity for risk – some of us only a tiny, teeny little bitty. Others, like these men, photographed fishing off the Kalk Bay peer at the height of a storm, are just plain adrenalin junkies, not happy unless they risk life and limb. I always consider myself a bit of a risk taker, until I saw them. You get a perspective of the magnitude of the waves if you compare the height of the fisherman standing upright and the top height of the wave immediately behind him. For me, it was a frightening situation and, if you do catch decent size fish, how the hell do you land it in these conditions? But, was this courage or bravado – verging on insanity? Simply getting back to safe territory is going to be challenging. That wave is going to crash down on the pier with an almighty force. If you’re in the way, you’re in the water – simple as that. Me, I think they’re crazy. But then, everyone to his or her own. That’s what makes life so interesting.

People ask me why I don’t belong to a club. Or why I don’t pursue photographic ratings. The answer is simple. We see things differently. That gives you the right to associate or align with how I see things or to disagree. Differences of opinion are okay in my book. However, if you want to actively participate in a club or pursue photographic ratings then you need to conform to standards, rules and evaluation criteria that you may not agree with. Do these constraints make for better photography? Possibly. Do they make one a better photographer? The jury is out on that one. A simple image illustrates my point. This picture was taken during a “Street Outing” in Kalk Bay many years ago. I don’t know the subjects and didn’t even speak to them. I simply took a pic as they were about to cross a relatively busy road. On viewing the image back home, it dawned on me that crossing a road means different things to different people. At the time, I would have stepped off the pavement and walked – without giving a thought to what I was doing. Hopefully, I would have been programmed to look left, right and left again before doing so. For this group, it was a far more complex matter. The height of the pavement was an issue. The unevenness of the ground was an issue. The width of the road was an issue. The line of sight, given fading eyesight was an issue. The expected speed of walking was an issue. The time before the next vehicle arrived on the scene was an issue. The speed of the next approaching vehicle was an issue. The capability of the driver of the next vehicle was an issue. And the list goes on. Yet, all we asked of them was to look left, right and then left again. But any of the issues mentioned above could have resulted in death, rather than arriving alive on the other side. Ansel Adams said 'No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. So, I will judge my own images based on what’s inside of me, and break the rules if I deem appropriate. I will publish them on this site if I believe they warrant it. You have the right to like or not like my images. That way, we both get to exercise our choices.