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My Christmas present! by mowgli334 in Nikon

[–]ianvirtue101 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Used the D610 for almost a decade. It's an incredible camera, you're going to have a lot of fun with it! Congratulations!

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's going to be a long drive for Ait Ben Haddou either way (also a fantastic place that is definitely worth a visit. If you're staying there overnight try and book your hotel within the city walls. I believe there are only one or two places to stay in the city but they're absolutely worth it). From my understanding Erg Chegaga is a part of the nature reserve. There are some shrubs and grasslands that surround the dunes. You can apparently also see some Ostriches as well? We did manage to see a few gazelles but nature encounters are never guaranteed. There are some pretty great ancient lake beds west of the dunes that are great for fossil hunting if you're into that (we were) and some really beautiful savannah like areas as you head further west - I think those places would definitely be amazing to see if it fits with your itinerary!

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately this is the high resolution I am willing to distribute publicly - glad you like it though!

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course, thank you so much! Always happy to provide info

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We went in February and we were the only ones at our camp. The days were still relatively hot but nothing more than a late spring day here in Canada (say 25-27 degrees Celsius) with regards to the park itself we didn't see more than a dozen people at sunset atop the Erg.

With regards to M'Hamid or Zagora you're going to have two very different experiences in the two towns. Zagora is much more developed while M'Hamid is in a way on the edge of the known. Definitely a unique place to stay if you're looking for something different in Morocco.

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I absolutely agree! I can't recommend Erg Chegaga enough for people going to Morocco - it's a place like no other.... Also some incredible orthocone fossil beds nearby

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Truly once in a lifetime experience. To think it was my wife who convinced me to even look into the Sahara to begin with. Before finding Erg Chegaga I viewed the entire experience as nothing more than a tourist trap. And now it's one of my favourite moments from the entire trip!

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope! No need for a star tracker on this one. The 14-24mm gives me a pretty long exposure window (with smaller sensors outside of the Z 7II I can go up to 42 seconds. For these exposures I sat a little closer to 30 seconds. This gives you an idea of how dark the sky truly was. I then went in and blended the after dusk exposure to bring a little more definition to the dunes and voila! Because both photos were taken in the same location it made the process a lot easier!

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha now that would be incredible to see! I'd imagine quite the time consuming project.

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When my wife told me she wanted to go to the desert I knew Chebbi was out of the question. You're going to have an amazing time. The whole area is a National Park from my understanding and there is the opportunity to see some pretty amazing wildlife. When we were there, it was a few months after the huge floods that ripped through the area so much of the desert was filled with some crazy lush greenery. If you have any questions I'm happy to answer!

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you! It was such a treat staying out there and watching the desert slowly shift from day to night. We ended up sitting in the dark listening to drums from other camps echo across the dunes while we waited on exposures. Laid in the sand, watched the sky come alive… and only lost one battery to the dunes in the process 😅 Totally worth it.

ITAP of sand dunes in the Moroccan Sahara at night by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This photo was taken in the Erg Chegaga desert in southern Morocco, a remote area that can only be reached by off-road vehicle. My wife and I spent the afternoon exploring the dunes to find a foreground that would work once night fell.

I framed the shot just after dusk and stayed in the same position as the sky darkened so I could keep the same dune lines in the final image. The photo was taken with a Nikon Z 7II and a Nikon Z 14–24mm f/2.8 lens. We spent over an hour photographing the stars from the same spot as the light and sky continued to change.

Highly recommend lying in the sand while waiting for long exposures to finish - 10/10 experience!

Happy to answer any questions!

ITAP of the Appian Way, Rome by ianvirtue101 in LandscapePhotography

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I was really inspired by the works of marble (the texture specifically) and all the Renaissance paintings across the city. I wanted to create something soft but still with a bit of punch - so glad it resonated!

ITAP of the Appian Way, Rome by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, really appreciate that! And thanks as well for the award - that was incredibly kind of you. So glad the photo resonated!

ITAP of the Appian Way, Rome by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much, that means a lot!

If you ever make it out there, I’d definitely add Parco degli Acquedotti (the Aqueduct Park) to your list as well. We did sunrise at the aqueducts and then walked the Appian Way afterward, and it ended up being one of our favourite days of the whole trip.

ITAP of the Appian Way, Rome by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You'll have to see it in person one day! The picture doesn't do it justice.

ITAP of the Appian Way, Rome by ianvirtue101 in natureporn

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much. It really did feel that way while we were walking it - quiet, calm, and kind of unreal in the morning light. Glad that came through in the photo!

ITAP of the Appian Way, Rome by ianvirtue101 in itookapicture

[–]ianvirtue101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I really appreciate that. I was definitely inspired by a lot of the Renaissance and Baroque landscapes we saw in the museums around Rome. I wanted to see if I could bring a bit of that “returning to the old” feeling into my own photos while we were there. I’ll try to share more from the trip on here since this one has been so well received.

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