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Aerial Photos Make the World’s Oldest Desert Look Like Chocolate
At over 43 million years, the Namib desert is one of the oldest in the world. From above, travel photographer Peter Adams captures the mind-blowing vastness of the landscape, which composes the entire Western region of Nambia and spills into the northern boundaries of South Africa. With an eye for light and breath-taking contrasts, he highlights the strange and diverse sand dunes, which appear like crescents, horseshoes, and stars over the terrain.
Though populated by jackals, wild horses, hyenas, zebras, baboons, and scorpions, the desert appears here like curious martian territory, extending forever beyond the borders of the frame. It’s hard to believe that this magnificent space is inhabited by the people of the Topnaar clan, who until recently made a living off of the Nara Melon, a plant native to the desert. Due to winds rushing through valleys at unusually high speeds, the Nabid is excessively dry, save for rivers and occasional fogs. Its landscape has remained unaltered for 2 million years, and Adams’s gaze compels us into a netherworld where both time and space seem infinite.
All photos featured in this post can be found on Offset, a new curated collection of high-end commercial and editorial photography and illustration from award-winning artists around the world.Offset is an exclusive category channel partner on Feature Shoot.