Andy is a Psychology student and football player at Montana State University. He has had a passion for photography ever since he was a young boy traveling with Austin-Lehman to exotic places. In the past few years that passion has developed and continues to develop as he learns from one of the best, Dennis Coello, who has shot for ALA for many years. This past year Andy opened up his first photography website, peakphotography.org, to showcase his talents. Andy also has worked in Photoshop as a graphic designer since high school, with his latest work being Austin-Lehman's current t-shirt. Andy is also Co-Director of Wheels of Change-International with his father, Dan Austin. When Andy isn't training for football or studying for school he enjoys backpacking into Hyalite Canyon, which is a convenient 20 minute drive from his house in Bozeman, MT.
One of the most memorable experiences I had in Namibia was sea kayaking in a seal colony. While there were boat tours also in the area we were right in the mix. The seal pups came pouring into the water from the beaches by the hundreds to come greet us. I've sea kayaked amongst seal pups before, but never any this friendly. If you put your hand in the water they would come play with it, taking nibbles but careful not to cause any harm. I was traveling with a GoPro camera and had a blast sticking it into the water to capture their playfulness. Well enough talk, I'll let the short video I made speak for itself!
A question on everybody's mind when traveling to Africa is, "is it safe?". And I could tell you from personal experience that I feel safer in Namibia than I do in a lot of the United States. A recent experience only strengthened my view of the good natured Namibian people. On my recent trip to Namibia I lost my wallet while out in the bush. I thought the wallet was long gone after numerous hotels searched for me and nothing turned up. But upon my return the United States I got an email that my wallet was found and they were determined to get it back to me. At that point the wallet had already changed hands countless times as it was found by a cleaning crew and handed off time and time again to try and find the rightful owner.
I sit here now, wallet in hand. And not a dime of the $200 is missing, nor the small handful of credit and debit cards. I have a hard time believing that such lengths would be gone to people elsewhere in the world. My hat's off to the people of Namibia and them proving time and time again how good hearted and kind these people are. It's something you must experience to understand, so head out to Namibia and see for yourself!
When someone mentions Africa often the first thing brought to mind is the vast amount of wildlife. And don't get me wrong, the wildlife is incredible. But it's often the people that leave the greatest impression after returning to Africa. The people of Namibia are the friendliest I've met in all of my travels, always with a smile and wave to complete strangers. They always welcome travelers with open arms (and usually a cold beverage). On my recent journey I met people that have changed the way I look at life and I will never forget them. The constant success stories of how tourism has positively benefitted the people really opened my eyes to the impact tourism has on the local villages.
This post is the first in a short series highlighting my favorite pictures from my recent trip to Namibia. This particular one is devoted to the smiling faces of the Namibia people as well as our interactions with the locals.
Most photographers dream of going on a African Safari, while few get the tremendous opportunity. This May I get the amazing opportunity to go take pictures in Namibia. But this isn’t my first time, for me this is a second chance. In the summer of 2010 I visited the beautiful country of Namibia with Austin-Lehman Adventures and it quickly became my favorite destination. But I had one regret, that I was unable to capture the truly magnificent sights. I was armed with a 10 year old dSLR, with fewer megapixels than my phone’s camera and one telephoto lens. The trip wasn't a total photographic loss however, I did come home with 20 or 30 pretty good shots.
Fast forward two years, after a college class on photography and more hours spent reading photo blogs than my college textbooks; I am ready for my second chance. This time my bags are packed with more photo gear than clothes. As the clock counts down to my departure date I struggle to contain my excitement for my first real trip as a photographer.
Andy is a Psychology student and football player at Montana State University. He has had a passion for photography ever since he was a young boy traveling with Austin-Lehman to exotic places. In the past few years that passion has developed and continues to develop as he learns from one of the best, Dennis Coello, who has shot for ALA for many years. This past year Andy opened up his first photography website, peakphotography.org, to showcase his talents. Andy also has worked in Photoshop as a graphic designer since high school, with his latest work being Austin-Lehman's current t-shirt. Andy is also Co-Director of Wheels of Change-International with his father, Dan Austin. When Andy isn't training for football or studying for school he enjoys backpacking into Hyalite Canyon, which is a convenient 20 minute drive from his house in Bozeman, MT.
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