Visit Kolmanskuppe
Kolmanskuppe is an abandoned mining town just outside Luderitz. You can book a visit to this beautiful place at Ghost Town Tours in Luderitz. The history of Kolmanskuppe is quite interesting, and well worth a read if you have a little bit of time.
Kolmanskuppe is a favorite destination to the more distinguishing photographic tourist, and the pictures below is meant to whet your appetite for a bit of adventure. You can always include this destination in your Awesome Chapters tour itinerary.
People come here to photograph, and it is a firm favorite for movie crews too. Tom Snelgrove shot an art film here in October 2019, with Awesome Chapters assisting.
The ceilings of the houses were made from wooden slats, and the tin roofs have rusted away. This has the amazing effect of casting these rays across all the interiors. Couple this with the decay and sand in each building and you have an effect that is very difficult to duplicate. Found all over the site of Kolmanskuppe, you have a variety of similar views to enable you to shoot at any time of the day.
On some of the houses the roof has gone entirely, and others are better preserved for a great variety of indoor shots. It is recommended to do one day of proper scouting and another of shooting to maximize your changes of walking away with award-winning material.
The rugged wooden floors provide a lovely texture, and the classic wooden frames heighten the atmosphere. From the window there is a glimpse of other buildings and it almost, almost looks like it could have been fun to stay here.
The floors are littered with interesting machinery from the era. The architecture of the buildings are a little strange, and one has to wonder about the function of some of these rooms.
Gardening must have been a trying thing to attempt, but with very few distractions at that time it was nevertheless attempted. Plants were chosen for their hardy nature, and it shows.
Nearly a hundred years after having been planted, the descendants of the plants are still living here without any care being given to them, and provides some clue to what the garden might have looked like.
This town had all the bare necessities of the time, with a swimming pool and yes, a library. Time for relaxation was very little, as life here was no picnic.
However, the books of the library does provide entertainment for those fortunate enough to be able to read and with enough time to relax with a book.
The importance of keeping the sand at bay. It will find the smallest crevice to enter, and slowly heap up over time. Here the entire room is almost filled with sand, giving some nice texture to the photo. With the high contrast, the entire photo is nearly monochromatic.
Piled high against the wall, the sand is overly dramatic in this shot. In some other areas the floors buckle under it’s immense weight, and this town is truly a study in sand.
This hole in the roof and the window on the side reflecting sunlight off the sand provides the most beautiful soft pastel colors. Yes, that is the top of a door frame on the left, the sand is almost all the way up to the ceiling here.
Sand does change the light it reflects, diffusing and coloring it with earthly tones.
Noticed and captured by the discerning eye of Isolde, these colors and door frames juxtapose the vibrancy with the neglect of this area. Look at it long enough and you are transported into a world of 100 years ago, with vibrancy and life and a homely feel.
One can spend days in this place, finding out more of the history and experiencing it for yourself. From the non-flushing toilets to the unique power delivery to each house, there is a surprise around almost every corner.
