How to ruin a shoot! Sunrise in the Drakensberg

[@MegaDwilkinson]

Glorious Alex - thanks for sharing. Such powerful memories of these places - such majesty, and wonderful images.......

[@danielpedersen6895]

Incredible landscapes! To be honest, I feel some of the images was a little bitt unbalanced, maybe to much "emty" space to the left? And a little bit more air over the mountain peaks perhaps? And why dident you take some teleshots? Incredible patterns on the mountain:) Cheers from Norway

[@alexnail]

I actually wasn’t particularly interested in the tele shots that I did take. But there is quite a stark difference in the time you have to shoot sunrise between South Africa and say, Norway!

[@paulwarrilow1019]

Stunning colours Alex! And some gorgeous images. Gutted for you about that pano, but you must be so pleased with those images 😍☺👏

[@alexnail]

Yeah I’m not exactly devastated, but it’s definitely a pity when you actually took the shot, but just messed it up!

[@NicolasAlexanderOtto]

Wow, that shot of Champagne Castle ist absolutely stunning. Seems like the foothills of the plateau make for some amazing photography as well. Damnit! I personally very much prefer the first foreground though since the darker bushes on the opposite side is framed better and is not so close to the border of the image as in the 2nd composition.

[@alexnail]

Sure the first shot is better. I don’t really feel the same way about the bushes to be honest, but we still fundamentally agree!

[@ianperkins1360]

Some great shots once again, Alex! Back in 2018 my family and I hiked up and down Cathedral Peak in a day, and the thing that stands out about that, apart from the simply stunning scenery, is that we seemed to be virtually sprinting to keep up with our very fit guide who clearly wanted to get back down for his tea!!!

[@alexnail]

Yeah Cathedral Peak is very tough too. Did you have any rope assistance? I understand that by the time I did it (2018 I think) part of the route had fallen away and there were a few wet slabs to climb up that certainly got the pulse going!

[@ianperkins1360]

@@alexnail Yes, he produced a rope near the end to get up/down a large slab! Not what you want when you're virtually exhausted but it added a little more excitement to an already exhilarating hike!! I think I'd rather spend several days hiking and camping and really savouring the experience up there!

[@jbairdexp]

Heart breaking.I thought the first image was wonderful but then I saw the pano and thought, yeah that works better. Gutted for you. And yes, everyone makes mistakes. :-) What an amazing location though. The walking there looks amazing.

[@alexnail]

Sorry I didn’t reply sooner Julian! I’ll get over the heartbreak!

[@jbairdexp]

@@alexnail lol, don't worry about it...I still haven't watched your latest video so we can call it quits. :-)

[@alexnail]

@@jbairdexp ah no, I’m afraid that is unforgivable!

[@jbairdexp]

@@alexnail lol, does it help that you are top of my Watch Later list?

[@alexnail]

@@jbairdexp no, I’m afraid if you don’t watch it within 1 day of release then you are dead to me

[@MarkDumbleton]

Great effort getting up there Alex! Pity about the Pano but that final image is great!

[@alexnail]

Thanks Mark :)

[@adrianabenettilonghini3699]

Hi Alex, I grew up in Kwazulu Natal in the 70’s and spent most of my school holidays in the berg. Brings such nostalgic thoughts. Beautiful shots!

[@alexnail]

What an amazing place to grow up!

[@kristapple]

What a stunning place, hope you get the chance to repeat the pano on your current trip 🤞🏼

[@alexnail]

Sadly not, it’s unlikely I will get back here, but if I have the chance I will!

[@bjoernsviews]

It‘s good to hear that I am not the only one who messed up a pano. Often it happens if you are in a hurry. Nevertheless great pictures. :)

[@alexnail]

Yes, I regularly shoot 2 images for each frame when it’s windy and then repeat the whole process. I think the tiredness, windlessness and the fact I was rushing were all factors. Tbh if I wasn’t vlogging there is no way I would have made this mistake but there you go!

[@Speedbird447]

Love seeing landscapes from other parts of the world in a well put video! Almost as if shooting along with you… Makes me want to make a good vlog for smoky mountains again! Cheers and look forward to more! 🍻

[@alexnail]

Thanks, I feel really lucky to go to these places to be honest. They still feel very unspoilt

[@brendanlynch7296]

I feel your pain on that one ... fantastic images all round, but that pano did look amazing. But what a wonderful experience either way, when you get conditions like that you can't beat those 'alpine' starts 🙂 As for that mountain range, just stunning.

[@alexnail]

Yeah it’s an epic place! Thanks for the comment Brendan

[@petermcilroy5742]

Love that you are so honest. I have lost count of the times I have made a silly mistake through rushing! Superb images. Are they single shots or did you need to focus stack?

[@alexnail]

I did shoot some very simple 2 shot stacks of some of the images ‘just in case’ but it wasn’t really necessary

[@piero_75]

Superb photos, I especially liked the light on the grass with the blue sky. Would you consider using some sort of AI to attempt to refocus your blurred frame, or wouldn't that sit well with your photographic ethos?

[@alexnail]

I suppose it’s something I would generally avoid just as a hard rule. I think the integrity of a photograph is going to become increasingly important and that will partially be derived from how much the photographer is trusted as ‘honest’ (at least until authentication methods come in)

[@mrbadventures8604]

Hi, hi. I love your content. Please let me know when you are coming to Drakensburg again. I would love to meet up.

[@alexnail]

I’m up more or less every March, but meeting up is tricky since I use that time to hike I’m afraid!

[@malcolmwilkie2498]

I was in the same area last year and stayed for a few days in a chalet opposite the Drakensberg Boys' Choir. A great spot for visiting the area. Where did you stay?

[@alexnail]

At the Champagne Castle Hotel. We went to see the boys choir just down the road

[@barrylyons8102]

Love your work. Planing to get a camera. What would you recommend? Budget of like 1.5 -2k including lenses

[@alexnail]

Hi Barry, I’m not sure what currency you are talking about but if you do a search you will find lots of recommendations. There really isn’t a bad camera these days and certainly almost any camera of the past 10 years could take the images in this video!

[@RewDowns]

Great work! did you do any focus stacking? It looks like 10:21 had good sharpness throughout

[@alexnail]

Yes, I did do a focus stack though if I had focussed close to hyperfocally I don’t think I would have needed to to be honest!

[@kennymuir1019]

It’s an awful feeling when one pano image doesn’t make the cut. Just leaves you with a tease of what could have been. I personally think the composition from the 2 right hand shots works really well from what I see. Last one excellent

[@alexnail]

I think the moon looks a little awkward without the other frame to balance it, and similarly the negative space needs to balance either side of the mountain. Thanks Kenny!

[@glensumner3425]

I've proudly managed to beat you on 1 thing I have got up on occasion at 1.30 for a dawn climb/shoot! that's it you beat me on all else lol

[@alexnail]

If you’re getting up that early I’d argue it’s more like you didn’t go to sleep properly, so you are just “still up” 😀

[@glensumner3425]

@@alexnail I had an hours sleep and possibly had a face like cats arse :)

[@Maheshrps]

Early morning hiking is fun but the rest, i really don't get it

[@alexnail]

@@Maheshrps ok thanks

[@thomastuorto9929]

I probably would of went up the day before. Check out the photo views & slept up top. I know, family.

[@alexnail]

Why haven’t you?

[@thomastuorto9929]

@@alexnail Your buying, I'm flying!