Sonnenuntergang im Damaraland: Im Hintergrund geht im Dunst des nahen Meeres die Sonne unter und taucht die Landschaft in ein sanftes und warmes Gold. Im Vordergrund sind links die Silhouetten von drei Personen, die den Sonnenuntergang bestaunen. In der Mitte und rechts im Bild stehen zwei Köcherbäume im Gegenlicht.

Instructions

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Navigation:
At the computer, keep holding down the arrow down key ↓ and release for pausing. On the tablet or smartphone, keep swiping down.

Journey

through the

Desert

Reise durch die Wüste

Light,

Sound

and Thought

for a

Shared

Planet.

Foreword

Desert. If you have ever experienced a moment of silence in the desert, you know this overwhelming feeling of standing on the ridge between threat and shelter, while being profoundly connected with everything that exists on our planet.

Light. Ever since I held my first camera, photography has been my way of processing my thoughts and expressing myself. The photos on this web page stem from my various trips to Namibia. Their purpose is to bring you as close to the desert as remotely possible.

Sound. Music opens a path into our souls. Brent Moyer wrote and recorded a selection of gentle guitar tunes, especially designed to help you immerse yourself in this adventure.

Thought. The words in this experience are spiritual, yet non-dogmatic quotes from “Laudato si’”, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.

With this carefully curated experience, I invite you to pause and reconnect. Enjoy.

Unterschrift Denise Rankwiler

Foreword

Sound. Music opens a path into our souls. Brent Moyer wrote and recorded a selection of gentle guitar tunes, especially designed to help you immerse yourself in this adventure.

Thought. The words in this experience are spiritual, yet non-dogmatic quotes from “Laudato si’”, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment.

With this carefully curated experience, I invite you to pause and reconnect. Enjoy.

Unterschrift Denise Rankwiler

The Soundtrack

This selection of gentle guitar instrumentals was written, arranged and recorded by Brent Moyer to help you settle and tune in to the rhythm of this journey. Let these melodies accompany you as you move along on the path laid out on this web page:

Contemplation, Insight, Connection, Responsibility, Change and Hope.

For the best experience, listen on high-quality speakers or headphones and take time to fully immerse yourself in the music, words and photos.

Twilight Riffle
Easter Rain
Flower in the Sand
Grandpa's Dream
Desert Stardust

–

brent-moyer.com
© Breny Tunes, SESAC,
used with permission.

Start music now and listen to it in the background while you're looking at this web page.

Contemplation

A vast desert landscape lies in soft light. The horizon stretches uninterrupted, and the sky feels calm and clear. Sand and rock extend quietly, with no visible movement. In the distance, a lonely gravel road winds through isolated rocky hills. In the foreground, a few dry plants are visible, but there are no animals or people.

237.

Rest opens our eyes to the larger picture and gives us renewed sensitivity to the rights of others.

The photograph was taken on a hilltop during a colourful sunrise in Damaraland. Four people are seen from behind in silhouette against the light: one man stands with his arms stretched out to the sides; to his right, a man and a woman are sitting; to his left, a young man sits holding a mobile phone up in the air. The sun has just risen above the horizon, filling the sky with shades of gold, orange, yellow and blue.

225.

Nature is filled with words of love, but how can we listen to them amid constant noise, interminable and nerve-wracking distractions, or the cult of appearances?

Two giraffes — a female on the left and a male on the right — stand in front of a waterhole where springbok are drinking. The giraffes look curiously into the camera with their heads close together. The male is licking his lips with his tongue.

55.

An outsider looking at our world would be amazed at such behaviour, which at times appears self-destructive.

Insight

Two elephants in Etosha National Park gently press their heads together in an affectionate gesture. The elephant on the left stands side-on to the image, while the one on the right faces the camera.

215.

If someone has not learned to stop and admire something beautiful, we should not be surprised if he or she treats everything as an object to be used and abused without scruple.

An idyllic desert landscape with dunes is cut through by railway tracks and power lines. A heavy freight train, consisting of a locomotive and several wagons, is moving along the tracks. Thick black smoke rises from the locomotive’s exhaust. In the foreground, there is a single lonely grave marked by a cross.

Human beings frequently seem to see no other meaning in their natural environment than what serves for immediate use and consumption.

Dead camel thorn trees stand in the foreground, backlit by the setting sun. The sun has already disappeared, colouring the sky in deep violet and pink tones. The scene unfolds in the final light of the evening, just before darkness falls.

106.

Now, by contrast, we are the ones to lay our hands on things, attempting to extract everything possible from them while frequently ignoring or forgetting the reality in front of us. Human beings and material objects no longer extend a friendly hand to one another; the relationship has become confrontational.

Connection

A close-up of a tok-tokkie beetle during the golden hour at sunset. The beetle is positioned side-on and stretches its antennae toward the setting sun. The smooth surface of its shell reflects the colours of the sunset sky. Around the beetle are desert sand and a few small green plants.

42.

Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.

Members of the San people sit around a campfire at night, singing traditional songs. They are looking into the fire. The older people wear traditional clothing of the tribe, while the younger ones wear Western clothing brought by tourists.

52.

There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide, still less is there room for the globalization of indifference.

A black rhinoceros with its horn tip cut off stands among scorched bushes. In the background, the Etosha salt pan is visible. The scene appears colourless and bleak.

92.

Our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affects the treatment we mete out to other human beings.

Responsibility

A pride of five lionesses is stalking prey. The three lionesses on the right side of the image are well hidden behind bushes. The two on the left are closer and more clearly visible. They are focused on a point just beyond the camera. The yellow eyes and pointed ears of the leading lioness stand out clearly.

The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves.

The image is taken from Deadvlei towards Big Daddy, the largest dune in Sesriem. It is early morning, and the sun has just risen. Along the ridge of the Big Daddy dune, the silhouettes of more than two dozen tourists can be seen climbing the dune in a single line, backlit by the rising sun.

56.

Many people will deny doing anything wrong because distractions constantly dull our consciousness of just how limited and finite our world really is.

The foreground is filled with green bushes. The leaves closest to the camera are completely blurred due to shallow depth of field, while the leaves further back are sharp. In the centre, the bushes form a small natural opening through which a black rhinoceros is seen in focus, looking directly into the camera.

92.

Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.

Change

A landscape scene at sunset. The sun has just disappeared below the horizon, leaving a halo of colour ranging from yellow to orange, pink and finally black. In the foreground, silhouetted against the light, stands a dry thorn bush directly in front of where the sun set, making it appear as the centre of the colour display.

Authentic human development has a moral character.

It is early morning in the endless, rocky expanse of Damaraland. The sun has not yet risen but is about to. In the far distance, a fading mountain range is visible. Also far away, but much closer to the camera, ten ostriches stand silhouetted against the still very soft light.

237.

We are called to include in our work a dimension of receptivity and gratuity, which is quite different from mere inactivity.

On loose red rocks of the Erongo Mountains, two rock hyraxes are perched. The mother stands protectively over her young. Both are looking directly into the camera.

159.

Intergenerational solidarity is not optional, but rather a basic question of justice, since the world we have received also belongs to those who will follow us.

Hope

Three ground squirrels are nibbling on a small, dried-up bush. Although the bush appears to offer very little food, they spend a long time feeding on its flowers until they are full.

223.

Happiness means knowing how to limit some needs which only diminish us, and being open to the many different possibilities which life can offer.

The early morning sun bathes the scene in very soft light. Two dead camel thorn trees stand on the left side of the image at the foot of a dune. The dune shows a gentle gradient of sandy colour from light at the bottom to darker at the top. At the base of the dune, animal tracks and fine wind-shaped ripples in the sand are visible.

222.

It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us, to be spiritually detached from what we possess, and not to succumb to sadness for what we lack.

A vividly coloured lilac-breasted roller sits on the branch of a dead camel thorn tree, looking to the right — towards the future. In front of it stretches nothing but sky. The sky is completely covered with clouds, offering hope for precious rain.

71.

All it takes is one good person to restore hope!

Shared Planet. Take this experience as an example. I am Swiss and I took these photographs in Namibia, with a camera made in Japan. The music accompanying this book was created by Brent Moyer, a US American also known as the “Global Cowboy”. Pope Francis was an Argentinian and the son of Italian immigrants. He wrote “Laudato si’” in the world’s smallest country, the Vatican. See, even the smallest matter much, and everything on this Earth is connected. We share one planet.

And only one.

Sources

Quotes

Music

Photography & website

© Denise Rankwiler
denise-rankwiler.ch
Photo of the campfire used with permission of the San people from Tsumkwe, Namibia

Quotes

Music

Photography & website

© Denise Rankwiler
denise-rankwiler.ch
Photo of the campfire used with permission of the San people from Tsumkwe, Namibia

About this mission

Our planet and its diversity have always fascinated me. Over the years, I have repeatedly looked for ways to make a contribution — whether through volunteering in conservation, changing everyday habits, or through my photography. With "Journey through the Desert", I have found another way to help.

This virtual experience is a gift to everyone who found their way to this website. There is also a book planned for the future. All profits from the book sales will go to EHRA — Elephant Human Relations Aid in Namibia.

Of course, there would be much more to say. This website is not at all supposed to be a sales page, though. So I will close here by saying sthank you very much! I hope you enjoyed the "Journey through the Desert"!