SILENT SENTINELS

Around 700 years ago, shifting sand dunes cut off the surface water supply to Deadvlei in the Namib Desert. Its trees died but centuries later their skeletons remain, preserved by dry desert air. We arrived before sunrise and selected this composition, then waited for the rising sun to fully illuminate the dune beyond to capture images of dead trees silhouetted against a backdrop of gold to give this painterly effect. In order to get all the trees in sharp focus, two frames were required, one focused on the nearest tree and the second on one of the others, which I then combined in processing.

F/22, 1/10th second, ISO 100
Accepted: Welsh 2019