I’m not usually comfortable photographing people, but when I was asked to produce some pictures for a new lodge being built for the fabulous Gondwana Collection I decided to face the challenge. Well, after 4 months of countless 80km round-trips, waiting for sand-storms to subside, meeting incredibly interesting people, and on many a day almost throwing in the towel, I produced a selection of 12 images that were transformed into 2m high framed prints for the rooms of the lodge. The Desert Grace is an amazing place to stay in one of the most beautiful areas of Namibia, and I am proud to have been part of it.
I photographed the Topnaars, a clan of the Nama people settled along the (usually) dry Kuiseb River in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. Living a very poor lifestyle, without access to sewage and electricity and building their homes with whatever material they can find, they depend on livestock farming, old-age grants, and selling !Nara melons which are also their staple food. I made friends with amazing people who live a very basic life to the fullest, who had the most interesting stories to tell, and who have no need for the materialistic lives most of us lead today.
Grandmother Elsie was very proud to let me into her kitchen. Open fire cooking is not a problem as there is plenty of ventilation, and living in the desert there is very little chance of rain coming through the partial roof. Her transistor radio keeps her company and provides her with church services every Sunday.
Water is supplied at central points along the settlements where everyone collects in containers, and cattle come to drink in the evenings.
Catherine has a wonderful zest for life, and dances in the desert to her own singing.
Looking in through a missing window of an old church built entirely of wood, this beautiful building is slowly breaking up due to lack of maintenance and use.
Kitchen essentials - coffee, a tin mug, washing-up soap, and a lazy cat.
Grandpa Paulus, a man with many stories to tell, has lived on the river for 70 of his 91 years.
Happy children, overdosing on fresh air.
Home structures, a rich mixture of textures and colour.
The donkey-cart, easiest transport method for checking up on livestock in the riverbed, transporting water, and social visits.
Catherine and Grandpa Paulus share a moment between shoots, against a backdrop of river flora and sand dunes.
Young Octavia captured my heart, a sunshine child with her hair extensions loosely caught in a mixed-up pony tail.
Grandmother Sofia chatting to Paulus, dressed in a hand-sewn dress she would have made herself on a pedal sewing machine.
The chicken lady… free-range.