Swazi highlands Photo

Photographer’s Note

An ordinary view of the Swazi countryside, so far only the 9th photo on this site from this country, I upload this to contribute to this scant gallery, and of course also to add a new country to my list :-). This was taken from a panoramic lookout along the road from the capital, Mbanane, to Nelspruit, South Africa (the latter city looks like a transplant from Queensland, Australia). The terraced fields are not as impressive as the rice terraces of Asia obviously, and I had to crop to make the traditional rondavel village huts appear closer. I'm not sure if I selected the correct "state" for Piggs Peak, please let me know if it's not correct. This is in the northwest highlands, Swaziland is worth a detour when travelling in southern africa, even if the bureaucracy in crossing the border with a rental car takes longer than the time to drive across the entire country.

postvikram, leo61, carper, stefi, Gerrit, veve, john_c, Deepforest, Vasylis, ribeiroantonio, fijiphil, singuanti, ChrisJ, ahmetgedikli, pasternak, peter1892, Tue, abulafia, balatrek, VeeJayCee, magiqa has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dvlazar (6488) 2006-07-29 0:36

A spectacular beyond words panoramic shot. Nice layers of colors throughout the photo - and i find it hard to believe that Nelspruit could look like Queensland where im from - perhaps the more rural areas and Brisbane city!
Cheers,
Dave.

tcht (7298) 2006-07-29 0:57

Hi Tan,
I like all the colors here and the special lighting on those mountains in the background. Good details over the frame, excellent quality. Didn't expect to see such beautiful landscape in Swaziland! Gd post.
CheukHin

MDL (1062) 2006-07-29 0:57

Very nice composition, powerful mountains, soft field.

gravatar (1546) 2006-07-29 1:01

Very lovely, well composed. The positive film/polarizer combo really gave the colors a painterly feel to this. Beautiful! The square crop was a good choice as well. TFS

Grav

jjcordier (25226) 2006-07-29 1:15

Tan
Fantastique paysage aux couleurs extraordinaires.La composition est évidemment parfaite.
Amicalement
JJ

postvikram (1199) 2006-07-29 1:21

Hello Tan,
A very good view indeed. Very nice saturation levels, good color tones on the mountains and a beautiful sky.

The place really reflects the kind of tropical climate that prevails there. The Cattle or horses grazing makes this place more lively.
TFS - Vikram

kevinos (6927) 2006-07-29 1:29

This is another amazing picture Tan. I love the crispness of the detail, and, of course, that wonderful light that you always seem to find. The division of the frame between the wamth of the golden wheat fields and the cool, brooding mountains creates a dramatic efect. Regards Kevin

paul_lombard (373) 2006-07-29 1:33 [Comment]

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leo61 (43734) 2006-07-29 2:39

Hi Tan!
fantastic landscape and a wonderful image.Verry nice foreground with the curvy fields and good depth,with the mountans in the background.Nice bright colors and a fantastic sky.
Regards,Leo

carper (65646) 2006-07-29 3:34

very nice one Tan,
a fantastic view, great quality a very nice landscape to look at. good point of view, well done.
gr. jaap

stefi (1147) 2006-07-29 4:11

Hi Tan, and now...another country!
It's a lovely landscape, but what I like most is the sequence of different plans, becoming more and more vague going far.
Quantity and quality of colours is superb.
Bye,
Stefano

Gerrit (36269) 2006-07-29 4:22

Hi Tan,
Good to see such a brought view of this country.
I try to make a cycling route From Durban to Johannesburg leading through Swaziland.
Pictures like yours make my enthousiasm grow.
Regards, Gerrit

donluicu (23927) 2006-07-29 4:55

Hi Tan
again a wonderful landscape...now in Swaziland..damn , how many countries have you visited in your life???!!!
Excellent framing and good colors.
regards

loic

partha (13667) 2006-07-29 4:58

Its excellent shot. I like the composition and the nice colour tonality.
Good 3d effect in it.
Very well done.
Partha

veve (4149) 2006-07-29 6:08

Wow!This is a wonderful panorama!Very nice Pov!
Very nice contrast and colors!The mountains looks wonderful in the background!
Regards,
Veronica

Leonie (8647) 2006-07-29 6:10

hehe...and here comes another country marked on your world map....and what a view again! Fantastic coulours, landscape and wilderness...Lucky you to have been in this spot!

Cheers, Léonie

banyanman (7737) 2006-07-29 9:29

You are being too modest, Tan, this is more than just an ordinary view. It's a great landscape shot, your cropping to a square format works very well - and you've further expanded the yellow on your map ;)
Cheers . . . David

john_c (24635) 2006-07-29 12:38

Hi Tan,
A vast vista, with diverse hues and textures. The mountains in the background form an entirely separate scene of beauty and one can stare for some time to absorb all the detail. The terraced fields really enhance and there is a great sense of depth in the photo. Very well captured, Tan. Have a good weekend.
John

rhizomes (15325) 2006-07-29 13:11

Hi Tan,
Very nice picture !! I like the depth of the image and the colors, and also the shadows on the moutains...
Christophe

Budapestman (42810) 2006-07-29 13:14

Dear Tan!
What a colours and lights! Beautiful landscape, Super!
Thank you, nice days
George

gilou530 (35680) 2006-07-29 14:58

salut tan
une photo un peu irréelle par ce paysage et ces couleurs, une cadrage a couper le souffle, trés belle image
amitiés
gilbert

Deepforest (8825) 2006-07-29 15:55

Hi Tan,
You have presented wonderful landscape from that not too well-known small country...
I love the composition and excellent colours with contrast between the fields and the mountains. Very well captured.
Best regards,
Andrzej

ribeiroantonio (21969) 2006-07-29 18:23

Superb! This panorama is really beautiful with clear colours. The background mountains is excellent. Congratulations.
Antonio

fijiphil (1345) 2006-07-29 19:23

Tremendous depth to this shot. The sky looks kind of wierd though, like from the Simpsons. I have posted the only photo of 5 day trip through Swaziland as a workshop, to further deepen the body of Swaziland work on TE. Not as impressive as yours, but amusing in its own way.

[workshop] [compare]

singuanti (15240) 2006-07-29 21:55

Hi Tan. What I like here is the high POV. The sky adds a lot of interest as well. The depth goes on and on. I might brighten it up a tad though. tfs Tan.

ChrisJ (70443) 2006-07-30 3:28

Hi Tan

A superb overview of this attractive landscape, with a marvellous pov, & excellent color & sharpness. Congratulations!

ahmetgedikli (22106) 2006-07-30 3:29

Merhaba,
Ziyaret ettiğiniz ülke sayısı günden güne artıyor...
Ve bu harika manzaları bize sunuyorsunuz. Teşekkürler,s selamlar.
Ahmet

pasternak (13646) 2006-07-30 7:50

Excellent panorama of the very strange-looking countryside, even if you wouldn't tell it is Swaziland it is impossible to place the scene anywhere else but South Africa because of the characteristic colours that you nicely captured. I think one needs a looking-glass to fully appreciate this picture, there is so much to see, I see even some people there, but everything is so small... Anyway, a fantastic picture!

Cheers
Alexander

izmirli (3285) 2006-07-30 8:53

sevgili tan merhaba
muhteşem bir manzara ve muhteşem dağlar.çok
etkiliyeci renkler.tebrik ederim.
sevgi ve saygılarımla.
gürkan akçakır.

Ann75 (0) 2006-07-30 23:04

Hello Tan,

This sure is a different kind of view than one would expect from Africa. I love the panoramic view over the valley and the mountains behind it. Great composition with beautiful colours, great details and sharpness. Fantastic shot!

Greetings,
Ann

veronika (6022) 2006-07-31 3:17

Wonderfuuuuul specatcular shot Tan,
just like from some fairy tale, and your viewpoint is again enviable :)
Nice day
Vero

Angshu (34099) 2006-07-31 3:36

Hi Tan
Once again that phenomenal POV..beautiful landscape with such soft colours...the terraces draw our attention of course leading us to the bluish hills in the BG. Excellent!
Regards
Angshu

peter1892 (3201) 2006-07-31 10:54

Hi Tan - another excellent shot - great range of colours & contrast here. The landscape itself in very interesting with the lower, farming terraes which contain little points of interest (dwellings, animals etc.) then leading up to the mountains above them. Well done.

Tue (25608) 2006-08-01 15:19

Hej Tan,
This is an excellent shot. I like the contrasts, lowlands with warm colours in the foreground and mountains with cold colours in the background. The shapes of the clouds as well as the mountains are very nice also. Great work!
Hilsen,
Lars

valdec (7058) 2006-08-02 18:38 [Comment]

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arjun_das (1850) 2006-08-03 2:46

What a scenic beauty of the valley you have captured! The shadows of the clouds gave the image a different look. Colours are very vivid. TFS.

Regards,
Arjun

aralda (1240) 2006-08-05 15:29

Hi Tan,
You've got a great shot here. The mountains in the back look like nothing I've seen before with those pinkish and blue tones.
Makes for great scenery!
Raluca

abulafia (4802) 2006-08-09 16:34

Hi Tan
Im impressed that you can continue to find new countries to photograph.
This one might not be one of your best shots, but the mountains in the background are quite stunning, i like the soft but still very detailed look on these mountains.
Nice work
Harry

sleon (9352) 2006-08-09 16:39

HI Tan
Beautifully lit scene which enables us to see the variety of landscapes and forms as well as giving us an impression of daily life in this country which I know little about. The cloud shadows add depth and nice contrasts to the scene.
Regards, Susanna

balatrek (7419) 2006-08-15 12:49

Saludos Tan,

Fantástico paisaje, parece un cuadro pintado, bellísimos contrastes de luces y colores, me gusta la textura de las montañas, un trabajo perfecto!, Enhorabuena.

José

VeeJayCee (2410) 2006-12-14 15:36

There is so much to see in this image that I shall need to download it and look at it for a long time. I can see well tended farmland typical veldt and those superbly detailed mountains with cloud shadows to empahasise their shape. Excellent.

silycat (607) 2007-01-19 18:09

Hi!
This photo has been chosen by me to represent country in which it was taken in thema "Around the world", it is a very good and sucesful capture and excellent photo!

magiqa (1264) 2007-03-17 17:35

Very good view of the Swaziland landscape. I think I missed those views during my short visit to this country. TFS!

siislam (290) 2008-02-03 15:24