Spring in The Netherlands is a very colourful season.  Together with Queen’s Day (now to be King’s Day I guess?) where everyone dresses up in orange, the vast fields of flowers that cover Holland’s flat terrain are vibrant colours, bursting to show their beauty.

White Rhinoseros (Ceratotherium simum) are known for their wide mouths.  This is one of the few ways to tell them apart from Black Rhinoseros (Diceros bicornis). It is believed the ‘wide’ was mistaken for ‘white’.  There are no black or white Rhinoseros, only grey.

The Himba, in Namibia in particular, still live a very traditional lifestyle.  This alone is fascinating.  The women, with the exception of some added modern ‘jewellery’ (note the plastic bottle rings on this young girls arms) dress as they always have.  This I greatly admire.

This is my favourite portrait from my Himba Women story.  This young girl and I could not communicate with words, but we understood each other.  Her look told me so much.

Himba Women photo story: Himba Women I and Himba Women II.

I instantly liked this woman.  Even without words (that were understood anyway) we both sat there smiling at each other.  It felt completely natural and comfortable.

She is pregnant, so stays at home to look after the other young children with the help of a village elder.

This image is part of a series I did on Himba Women, the first is here: Himba Women I.

Himba Women

I envisaged this series in black and white.  It was very important for me to show the person, the humanity.  Through the use of monotone, I feel I have been better able to connect with the women in these images.  I am drawn to their eyes, their expressions, their beauty.  And then there are the hints to her story.

The ripple detail of the sand dunes in Namib-Naukluft Park fascinated me.  I could often be seen with bum in the air and head and camera at sand level gazing at this incredible detail.

This is the last part of a photo story from the Namib Naukluft Park in Namibia, the first two are here: Desert Fire & Desert Sand.

This is part of a photo story from the Namib Naukluft Park in Namibia, the first is here: Desert Fire.

As the sun rises beyond the horizon and hits the side of the sand dune, they glow, like a desert fire.

Namib-Naukluft Park really held a spell over me.  What can I say?  Those red sand dunes drew me in and had me up at 5am each morning to make sure I wouldn’t miss anything.