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Exposure: Craig Gibson

Wildlife and environment photographer Craig Gibson has travelled the world in pursuit of his passion. On this month's Exposure he showcases some of his African shots.

Lexy Savvides
Lexy is an on-air presenter and award-winning producer who covers consumer tech, including the latest smartphones, wearables and emerging trends like assistive robotics. She's won two Gold Telly Awards for her video series Beta Test. Prior to her career at CNET, she was a magazine editor, radio announcer and DJ. Lexy is based in San Francisco.
Lexy Savvides
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1 of 16 Craig Gibson

Thinking

Exposure is a series of photo galleries showcasing photographic talent in Australia. Our featured photographers share their best shots and give us an insight into both their creative and technical processes. If you are interested in being featured in Exposure, or know any photo buffs who might be, join our Flickr group and contact us at cnet@cnet.com.au.

 

Craig Gibson

(Credit: Craig Gibson)

Photographer: Craig Gibson

Speciality: wildlife, environmental

Biography: Craig was born and raised in Botswana, where the great outdoors and his father's collection of cameras inspired him to explore photography and the natural world. A career in the environmental field has seen him work as a safari guide and environmental consultant, and has taken him across the African continent where he has been able to combine his love of the natural world with his passion for photography.

Craig's writing and photography has been featured in BBC Wildlife magazine, online and in a WWF sponsored book Heat, Dust and Dreams — An Exploration of People and Environment in Namibia's Kaokoland and Damaraland. The book highlights the inter-dependence of people and the natural world, a theme that Craig would like to emphasise in all his work.

All these images are from the remote region of south-west Africa, where the Namib Desert is a dramatic and incongruous setting for semi-nomadic Himba pastoralists and desert-dwelling wildlife. Craig is currently a content writer and lives in Sydney.

Equipment: Nikon F4s (film), Nikon D40, Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 20-35mm f/2.8 D, Nikkor MF 80-200mm f/4.5, Nikkor MF 300mm f/4.5, AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED used with skylight and polarising filters. No post processing software used. Fuji Velvia and Fujichrome films when using the F4s, with the transparencies drum scanned and archived as TIFF files.

Want to ask the photographer a question? Leave your comments and questions below!

An unlikely mountain-top silhouette. Elephants are not averse to climbing rocky mountains in search of food and a cool breeze.

Exposure: 1/500, f/8, ISO 100, 300mm

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2 of 16 Craig Gibson

Heat, dust dreams

Fashioned from cattle horn, these traditional ochre and butterfat containers are a necessary accessory for all Himba women. Tree gum is used to perfume the butterfat, before being mixed with ochre. It is then smeared over the entire body to moisturise, beautify and protect the skin.

Exposure: 1/250, f/4.5, ISO 50, 80mm

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3 of 16 Craig Gibson

Inquisitive

An inquisitive giraffe feeding amongst scrub. In the absence of large trees, giraffe in this region often have to resort to feeding on dwarf shrubs and trees.

Exposure: 1/125, f/5.6, ISO 100, 80-200mm

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4 of 16 Craig Gibson

Shadow Himba

The shadow of a Himba male with headdress makes for a striking silhouette against the mud wall of his homestead.

Exposure: 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 50, 80mm

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5 of 16 Craig Gibson

Procession sunset

A small family group move to feed amidst the imposing backdrop of the Namib Desert.

Exposure: 1/250, f/8, ISO 100, 80-200mm

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6 of 16 Craig Gibson

Desert storm

Dramatic cloud formations herald welcome rainfall for this hyper arid zone.

Exposure: 1/60, f/5.6, ISO 100, 300mm

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7 of 16 Craig Gibson

Drinking

An elephant slakes its thirst from an underground water source in the bed of a dry river.

Exposure: 1/60, f/5.6, ISO 100, 300mm

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Himba teen

Hairstyles play a significant role in identifying age stages of both sexes in the Himba. This is an adolescent girl, with ochre-plaited hair fashioned into a number of twists over the eyes.

Exposure: 1/125, f/5.6, ISO 100, 80mm

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9 of 16 Craig Gibson

Lunar giraffe

Giraffe are an incongruous sight in the Namib Desert, often traversing extremely arid areas in search of browse.

Exposure: 1/125, f/8, ISO 100, 300mm

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10 of 16 Craig Gibson

Goat ear necklace

Goats' ears provide unusual and ornate decoration for a Himba elder's necklace.

Exposure: 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 100, 80mm

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11 of 16 Craig Gibson

Behemoths

Elephants are surprisingly silent and often the only evidence of their passing are these distinctive prints in the sand.

Exposure: 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 50, 20-35mm

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12 of 16 Craig Gibson

Himba feet

The heavy ankle bracelets and ochre-covered skin distinguish this Himba woman from her husband.

Exposure: 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 100, 50mm

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13 of 16 Craig Gibson

Damaraland

An expansive vista of the rugged Damaraland plateau.

Exposure: 1/60, f/5.6, ISO 50, 300mm

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14 of 16 Craig Gibson

Doros crater

Dark volcanic rocks dot the rim of the remote extinct Doros Crater.

Exposure: 1/250, f/8, ISO 50, 35mm

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15 of 16 Craig Gibson

Rock art giraffe

This rock engraving was most probably made by a hunter-gatherer, some 10,000 years ago.

Exposure: 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 100, 35mm

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16 of 16 Craig Gibson

Welwitschia Plains

The Welwitschia is one of the few plants able to survive on the desolate gravel plains of the Namib Desert.

Exposure: 1/60, f/8, ISO 50, 35mm

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