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OMBA GALLERY: 'Kalahari Dreaming' by Bernd Wasiolka (Photo Exhibition & Book Launch)

Bernd Wasiolka may have been born and raised in Bochum, Germany, but his heart beats for Africa. After finishing high school, followed by an apprenticeship as a technician in communications, Bernd Wasiolka became increasingly fascinated with exploring the world. He toured Asia, Australia and Central America with a camera on-hand. His travel experiences resulted in a love for wild animals, and brought about a change in career when he pursued further studies in biology, upon his return to Germany. It was while studying at university that his interests and focus turned to Africa, its wildlife and geography. Bernd travelled extensively to southern Africa to photograph and document wildlife in exotic locations.

A three-year study of the impact of land use on animal diversity in the Kalahari, specifically the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, for his doctoral thesis, brought about a new dimension to his photography as his emotional relationship with the Kalahari environment deepened.  Many soul-touching moments in the bush and countless encounters with African wildlife persuaded him to change career again, in favour of wildlife photography.


('Portrait of a Lion' by Bernd Wasiolka)

Wasiolka currently divides his time between professional wildlife photography and working as an animal ecologist in southern Africa. For the past two years he focused primarily on the Kalahari, spending months at a time on location to capture the essence and spirit of this magical place. A total of seven-hundred (700) days were devoted to photographing an astonishing array of wildlife, culminating in the first photographic essay, capturing but a mere glimpse of his total experience, ‘Kalahari Dreaming’. 


('Marsh Terrapin' by Bernd Wasiolka)

‘Timeless solitude, endless blue skies, red sand dunes covered with sparse vegetation, dry open riverbeds framed by towering Camelthorn trees...this is the Kalahari; home to an abundant variety of wildlife. Here are charismatic predators, like the black-mane Kalahari lion, cheetah, leopard and clans of spotted hyena which coexist with large herds of antelope, including the iconic Oryx (Gemsbok), reptiles and a multitude of insects. 


('Springbok Herd' by Bernd Wasiolka)

‘The rich, natural diversity of the Kalahari guarantees spectacular sightings and excellent photographic opportunities. The seasons are dramatic...parched, dry months followed by a tempestuous rainy season consisting of sudden cloud-bursts and thundering electric storms. Just as suddenly, the red dunes vanish beneath a carpet of green and yellow flowers (duwweltjies), while animals congregate in the riverbeds to slake their thirst.

‘The magnificent spectacles of Mother Nature on display in the Kalahari leave lasting impressions on entranced visitors. Here, the sun rises and sets spectacularly, firing up the sky in red, orange and vibrant colours, creating golden dreamscapes, which linger pale and pink, long after the dark of night descends.’


('Leopard' by Bernd Wasiolka)

This, briefly, is a drop of the magic that inspired Wasiolka’s ‘Kalahari Dreaming’, a photographic exhibition and book launch, encapsulating an enduring love-affair with the Kalahari. The exhibition will run from 3 – 20 October 2013, at the Omba Gallery. Join us for the opening and launch of ‘Kalahari Dreaming’, and judge for yourself whether her latest lover has done the Kalahari, in all her splendour and magnificence, justice.

For more information:
Omba Gallery: Shareen Thude
Tel: (061) 242 222 / 081 124 0982
E-mail: craftcentre@iway.na

Or,
Bernd Wasiolka
E-mail: berndwasiolka@hotmail.com
Tel: 081 339 0761

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