#heliograph

[herprivateswe]

An unidentified signaller using a heliograph to communicate with distant comrades somewhere in the desert by flipping the circular mirror flashes of light reflected from the sun could be sent in morse code.

[winterjourney]

22 April 2024 - Camera Obscura

I am building a mid-1800s camera. A camera obscura, to be accurate. I hope to recreate the methods by which the earliest known photographic images were created by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in the late 1820s. We are approaching the 200th anniversary of his oldest known camera photograph.

The camera is built by hand - no power tools. As I figure out the structure, I temporarily tape the pieces in place. If they work, I'll glue them in place.

Today, I set my focusing window in place. It works! I took it onto my porch, pointed it across my yard, then took photos of what I saw on the focusing window. I flipped the images so you can see them right-side up.

In theory, this contraption will enable me to use other early photographic methods. Stay tuned!

[1mage2]

first ever image

[moraivs]

Experimentación fotográfica: heliografías

Escritura por la luz del sol

Técnica antigua de fotografía. Henry Fox Talbot (1870-1877) experimenta con una solución que consistente en una mezcla de sal y nitrato de plata que oscurece una fina hoja de papel de escribir. Nota que la segunda capa de solución salina oscurece aún más el papel expuesto al sol. Este descubrimiento impulsa a Talbot a experimentar con hojas y ramas prensadas sobre papel fotosensibilizado y exponerlo al sol para el proceso químico.

Replicamos el mismo procedimiento en mi clase de fotografía:

Procedimiento

Resultados

Aprendizajes

El papel es muy sensible a la luz, una vez se expone empieza a tomar una coloración azul/violeta.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: The Sun

Acronycal - occurring at sunset.

Auroral - pertaining to sunrise.

Fulgid - shining, glittering, briefly flashing light.

Heliotropic - plants that turn towards the sun.

Lucific - light-producing.

Lucifugous - light-avoiding; nocturnal.

Soliform - like the sun; sun-shaped.

Solisequious - following the course of the sun.

Sun glitter - sparkling light on water.

The sun...

Rotates around its own axis every 25.38 Earth days.

Accounts for 99.9% of the mass of the solar system.

Can reach 15 million degrees Celsius at its core.

Could fit over a million Earths inside it.

NOTES

Your weight on the Sun would be 28 times that on Earth.

It takes approximately 8 minutes for light to travel from the Sun to the Earth.

Interaction between solar wind & the Earth’s magnetic field create the auroras.

Crepuscular rays are sunbeams or sun rays that appear to radiate from the sun.

A green flash sometimes occurs at the moment before sunset or after sunrise, caused by the bending and scattering of sunlight.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth.

Eclipses occur in pairs, usually with 2 weeks between a lunar and solar eclipse.

The Gregorian Calendar is a solar calendar based on a solar year of 365 days.

A heliograph is a device that uses a mirror to flash reflected, telegraphic messages, usually in Morse code.

A sun dog or parhelion is a phenomenon caused by the refraction of sunlight that creates the illusion of bright spots to the left and right of the sun.

The polar day or midnight sun occurs during the summer in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles, when the sun is still up at midnight.

The polar night is the time when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon at Earth’s polar regions. Although it lasts for 6 months, only 11 weeks are spent in total darkness, the rest in twilight.

The subsolar point is the point on Earth at which the Sun appears directly overhead, and objects seem to cast no shadow. The subsolar points travel between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer.

There are two solstices a year, one around 21 June, and one around 21 December. The solstices mark the longest or shortest day of the year (except at the equator). They are also the point in time when the sun’s declination reaches its highest or lowest limit and appears to stand still before changing direction, leading to the Latin etymology: “sol” meaning, “sun”, and “sistere” meaning, “to stand still”.

IN THE ARTS

Many cultures have a dawn deity in addition to a solar deity.

An aubade is a poem or song about lovers who must part at daybreak.

Dawn is considered a sacred time by many religions and often dedicated to prayer and meditation.

Clytie was a nymph in Greek mythology who, because of her unrequited love for the sun god, Helios, was turned into a sunflower, which was believed to follow the course of the sun.

Sir John Herschel coined the word, “photography” in 1839. He also invented the “actinometer” which measures the heat of direct sunlight.

The Sun is the 19th card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. It is often thought to signify vitality, optimism, and playfulness.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Word List: Sun ⚜ Star ⚜ Glow

[jolys-cane]

victor hugo voice javert had a tiny, small, flat, horrible little forehead. because small foreheads are a sign of being bad. enjolras on the other hand had the biggest forehead u have ever seen. u could send a heliograph with that thang. im talking Humongous. because large foreheads are great and a sign of goodness and beauty.

picture unrelated

[humanoidhistory]

Word of the day: HELIOGRAPH.

[thisfuckingdork]

The Radio/Heliograph Tower

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

If requests are still open can I request moonlight gentleman with ❛ i'll take good care of you, i promise. ❜ and ❛ have a little trust in yourself, i know you can take it. ❜? Thank you ❤️!

It was on this day I learned Photographer moonlight gentleman is not a cat but a wolf... i feel like i lived a lie lolol

Rated Mature | Warning: minor violence mentioned

There were two playful pups in the woods you inhabited, as a fae of these woods you made sure to every and all creatures who lived here. The Oak father’s guardian they called you, you were proud to be of help. The two pups looked up to you, often too playful to help you when creatures had disagreements, but their company was like sunshine after the storm. They were strange to some as they took on human names upon their nameday. The first one took the name Joseph, in honor of a human who gifted him a picture of himself. He is the one most fascinated by human, specifically, their inventions that allow one to capture a moment perfectly. Not like a painting, this is different and mystical to him. The sound one took the name Claude, named after the brother of the man he saw build something to contain the fire and power many working gears. Both of them loved humans, loved everything about them, and they hoped one day to be part of the human world.

Most thought them strange, even offensive when Joseph brought what the humans call a heliograph. The first image he took was of his brother, you smile recalling the joy they both had upon seeing the developed image when the human allowed the first pup to borrow it. The second brother liked drawing plans, many ways for the human he admired to use his device. There was peace but such peace does not last… Humans are always advancing, taking, and soon they took from the woods not only the land but a life.

Claude was killed by a human with a weapon that shot metal. There was no choice but to invoke the rite of thorns and seal the woods off from further interference from humans or any who wished harm upon the land. This included the first pup.

From heliograph to daguerreotype then a camera. You saw no harm, you know he was studying to distract him from his brother's death, but he grew distant. Surrounded himself in time that long since passed, to be forever trapped in one moment of time, to escape to where his brother is alive in those many pictures he took. He stopped using his pure wolf from long ago, he dresses like a human but the traits of his heritage remain. You… Often wished he would come back to the Oak Father's embrace, you wished his grief did not lead him down a dark path.

The rite of thorns sealed away everything for a time, its power strong. Sadly, it did not keep the humans out for long, the Oak Father was dying and thus his power no longer was as strong as the oldest trees in the woods. Greed, the greed of humans drew them back to the woods. You heard from one of the humans that the land was ‘brought’ by someone rich. It makes no sense to you how someone can buy something that no one had claim or ability to offer. You are disgusted. The industries have no respect, they only take. “We can build a new home.” The voice of a man you at first do not recognize appears as you lay beside the oldest tree left in the woods, here your paradise and the spot you choose to become one with nature. He lurked in the shadows before stepping in the light and there you sit up, weak and tired, to see the pup. The pup turned a wolf. 

“I will take good care of you,” A hand over his heart, “I promise.”

A net flies above your head and you are captured.

Your friend, the last of those who were created by the Oak Father, has become someone you do not recognize. He talks down about the humans he once loved, he uses them to create his new paradise. 

The woods are a ‘backyard’ for him as the manor is built on the grounds he bought. It is offensive to see the greed the humans have is embraced by a creature of the woods. Joseph's smile is fake, his laughs are fake, and the way he speaks sweet nothings to those who are charmed by him is fake.

You do not realize how popular Joseph is until he brings you into the human world, he is loved by so many yet he says it is all hollow. He learned to match it, adapt, and control the paradise he created. He indulges in many things and he plans to do the same with you. After all, you are only alive because he ‘saved’ you. 

“Have a little trust in yourself!” The way he smiles feels empty, “I know you can take it.” You nod, you know better than to reject the man he has become. Your wolf is no longer a pup, he frightens you now.

“Kill them.”

Entertainment, the power he lost the connection to upon turning away from Oak Father, but you still have it. You are still strong enough to help remake the world. There is pain but he always kisses it away. 

“I love you.”

“...” You say nothing. He holds you close to him, grinning at the blood that soaks into the ground as a fertilizer for the new world.

[dogsichub]

Zero Sum

June 2024

Location: Purgatory

A zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation that involves two competing entities, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. In other words, player one's gain is equivalent to player two's loss, with the result that the net improvement in benefit of the game is zero.

“Commander,” a voice crackled over the intercom. “The doctor is here to see you?”

“Gryder.”

“Yes. He says he has urgent business.”

Hanael’s finger hesitated over the button. Click. “Let him in.”

-

Outside, Ig took a deep breath and opened the door. An inky well yawned before him, so dark it distorted his sense of direction and scale. At the bottom–in the back, illuminated by a wash of watery light from a desktop monitor, sat the monster he had come to call upon.

Aside from the demon’s face, only a prick of red light from a phone receiver was visible. The black uniform that Ig had grown accustomed to obscured everything below Hanael’s chin. It gave Ig the impression of an anglerfish, or some yet-undocumented terror that haunted subterranean fathoms beneath the sea floor and preyed on creatures foolish enough to seek it out. Nothing could come here by accident.

Ig shouldered his way into the room. The door fell shut behind him as soon as he let go of it, trapping him inside.

“Hi, Han.” Ig said, wringing the strap of his bag. His palms were sweating and his pulse pounded.

“Gryder.” Click. The light from the monitor died, and impenetrable darkness flooded the room.

Panic nearly overtook Ig. He groped frantically for an anchor—a wall, a chair, while he waded towards the pinpoint red light of Hanael's intercom. He thought he could just make out the broad desk and the hulking shape of the demon behind it. “Jesus—ah. Sorry. It’s dark in here. Would you mind turning on a light?”

“It will only be a short visit.” Said the disembodied voice in front of him.

Hanael watched him flounder. The chair honked against the floor as it caught the momentum of Ig’s knee, which drew an aggrieved noise out of him in response. “Hanael, I’m begging you. I can’t see a damn thing.”

The overhead light flicked on. Ig gaped as the demon casually walked back to his desk. With the light came a different kind of sight. Afterimages shimmered across his vision no matter how much he blinked: eyes innumerable, rows of wretched teeth; a black tongue and a gnashing eel's mouth heliographed over Hanael’s face as if burned onto Ig’s retinas.

Hanael sank into his chair and clunked his boots ankle over ankle atop his desk. Something that could only be a human tooth studded the sole of one of them.

Ig shifted his weight between his feet. The demon motioned with his eyes for him to sit and lit a cigarette while the doctor settled uneasily into one of the chairs facing his severe mahogany desk. 

Normally reserved for diplomats and other functionaries of the type Hanael wanted to find no harbor in his office, the chairs were monuments to hostile ergonomics. They were upholstered in slick black vinyl over a hard seat that Hanael had modified to slope downwards at an angle imperceptible to the eye but felt deeply by the body. Such engineering put a subtle but unbearable stress on the legs and tailbone and, unless compelled to, most people could not sit in them for more than an hour. Hanael was pleased to see it working now.

Slowly and by increments, the silence and Ig’s discomfort pressurized the air between them.

Hanael made an impatient little gesture with his hand.

“I have something to ask of you,” Ig blurted out.

“A favor.”

“No. Not a favor. Not…” yet. “Look, you, more than likely, won’t have to do anything at all. This is just…a contingency plan.” Ig teased out an overstuffed envelope from the depths of his bag. Several dry pens, coins, a flattened protein bar, and a sticky note escaped with it and fell unbidden to the floor. Hanael heard a penny roll and come to idle under his desk. 

Ig, frantic with embarrassment, collected the flotsam he could reach without kneeling. “I–I just need you to deliver these letters if I go missing, or give them back when I return.”

Hanael narrowed his eyes. All of them. “Give it to someone else.”

Ig shook his head regretfully. “Everyone else would ask too many questions, or get involved.”

“You take a steep bet, Gryder.”

It took Ig a moment to discern his meaning. He sighed heavily when he did and worried the envelope between his fingers. “I won’t lie to you, Hanael. You might have to clean up my mess. If my plan fails, I’ll die, and so will anyone else who tries to avenge me. The… oh, right. I haven’t even told you. Do you know what a Wight is?”

“You got mixed up with Colin.” He said.

Ig searched the demon's craggy face for surprise or even vague curiosity but only found weary skepticism. “That’s correct. If you know that much, you ought to know he’ll destroy anyone who tries to go after him. Am I making sense? I don’t want anyone else to pay for my foolishness, if that’s what it turns out to be.”

Hanael rolled his eyes and sneered. “Present company excepted.”

“You of all people stand a fair chance,” Ig huffed. “More than fair, I should say. I wouldn’t be here if I thought differently.”

“Has it fed on you.”

The directness of the question startled Ig. He shifted uncomfortably and averted his gaze. “I mean, yes, a few times—”

“Shut up. We keep finding ourselves here. Your sieve head leaks, and I foot the cleanup.” Hanael growled. A nail clacked his desk for emphasis.  “I am not sure how much clearer I need to make myself: you are a liability, and I am at all times looking for an excuse to kill you.”

Ig’s first instinct was to invoke Audrey’s name, but Hanael’s rows of bared teeth made him think twice. He shrank back into his chair, which seemed to push him away with equal force. “I’ve been hiding the important things from him. I had to, so he wouldn’t become suspicious of me while I tried to help him.”

Telling the demon any more would be exposing a bruised rib to someone that Ig knew would elbow it. It was all he could do to force a whisper out through clenched teeth.

Hanael glanced at his watch.

“What the Devil—” Ig's voice caught, and he hated himself for it. “What he did—I never recovered from it. I’ve only learned to cope. I still don’t know where I am when I wake up most days. But I’ll tell you something: it means I can hide things from myself, and other people too. I mean, hell, Hanael, try finding your tax records in the wreckage of your house after a tornado has been through. It’s about that easy.”   

“I do not pay taxes,” Hanael said irreverently, taking a drag.

“You know what I mean!” Ig barked. “The point is, he doesn’t know anything important. He couldn’t, unless he knew exactly what to look for, wanted to look for it, and had hours to do so. I made sure of that. It’s not like—”

“--Like the first time someone ransacked your head.” Hanael waved him off. “You seem collected now.” Even as he said it, though, he knew it was not true. Dr. Gryder had been a self-possessed man before his kidnapping and subsequent torture. Hanael thought him over-organized; loaded down with useless things, but all of them accounted for. He had been the type who always had a spare pen and a breath mint in easy reach. The man sitting before him now with his knees pressed together defied that prior conception, and had for some time. Dirt blackened the crescents of his nails and his wrinkled button-down smelled of stale apocrine sweat. His slacks were wrinkled and smudged, and his hair was long and uneven. Not to mention the state of his bag.

Even so--he had run an ad-hoc field hospital, alone, for the better part of 48 hours. Hanael raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Ig glared at him reproachfully. “Well, it pays to be collected around you. No, it’s a matter of conscious effort. I have to organize my memories with a method Toni taught me, and the upkeep is constant. If I fall behind, my recall suffers and… everything falls apart. It has taken months of meticulous effort to come to this point, and I am so close to succeeding. I don’t want you to think I haven’t been taking Luna’s or… or Purgatory’s safety lightly.”

“You suck at triage, doctor.” Hanael said. When Ig gave him an uncomprehending look, he continued, “Colin Ward was not your friend. The thing wearing his hide cares even less for you. And yet you risk your neck and everything above it for… what.”

Ig’s face burned, but he held eye contact. “He needs help. It’s the right thing to do. It's part of the oath I took. I wouldn’t expect you to know anything about that.”

A black expression moved behind Hanael's eyes, leaving Ig with the impression of a large shadow passing underneath him in deep water. It might have been the truth as far as Ig was concerned, but it had been the wrong thing to say. Cautiously, he nudged the envelope onto Hanael’s desk.

“Inaction is a favor, in this case.” He said.

“I’m sorry. That was harsh. I know you’re only looking out for your family. I’m sorry for making that task more complicated. Again.” Ig said, and he meant it.  “The fact of the matter is, though, I’ll be able to warn Colin before you can get to him. And I will, unless you keep me from leaving your office. So, if you’ll let me try to finish what I’ve started—hey! That’s not for your eyes. Don’t open it!”

The claw poised to gut the envelope lowered. Hanael stared directly into Ig’s eyes and the ensuing silence crushed mercilessly against his temples. Ig wondered if that was demonic compulsion at work or simply Hanael’s oppressive presence playing havoc on his overwrought nerves. In the end, it didn’t matter; Ig gushed. “If you’ll stand by and let me finish what I started, you can go on with your day like nothing ever happened. Isn’t that what you believe in, fighting your own battles—”

“Shut the fuck up. You annoy the shit out of me,” Hanael growled. The neglected cigarette was barely a nub between his fingers and shedding hot ash onto his desk. He swept the cinders aside with the envelope without regard to Ig's disapproving looks. The doctor opened his mouth to say something, but Hanael spoke again before he could.

Ig tilted his head guilelessly. “You’ll only keep Audrey away from Colin as a favor?”

Hanael growled. The pressure in the room equalized, and Ig knew he had won.

“It would be easier to explain than killing me yourself,” Ig offered, “but it’s still only an ‘if.’ I have something for you, too.” he produced a second, thinner, envelope from his bag. Something else tumbled out, but both men ignored it. “I can’t tell you directly what the plan is, because I’ve hid it from myself. But it should be all in here. You might find it interesting.”

Hanael did not move. He only stared, true and false faces both contorted with rage. Ig bolted upright before his knees could fail him and tossed the envelope onto his desk. Time to leave. “Thank you, Hanael. Genuinely. Your help and discretion are appreciated more than you know. I’ll let you know when I come back.” With a nod, Ig showed himself out. No sooner had he stepped past the threshold when the door shut behind him with a brusque clap.

Out of Ig’s sight, Hanael sat back at his desk and dimmed the lights. He lit another cigarette. With a deft slip of his claw, he fileted the fat envelope and inventoried its contents. Nine envelopes total, including the one addressed to him. Each had a name: MJ, Toni, Mara, Audrey, Luna, Lucy, and one addressed jointly to Hannah and Lee. The last was a notarized will.

He ignored the envelope with his name on it and instead chose to tackle each by order of the addressee’s proximity and value to him; first Audrey’s, then Luna’s, then Mara and Toni’s letters and everyone else after. MJ—Brockway’s—was the thickest and proved the most interesting of the lot.

When Hanael slid the bundle into his safe, it went on the top of the pile. 

[mindlessshirleyindulgence]

The OG mindless kids needed to be better at taking photos 😭😭 what the fuck is this

Is this a heliograph from 1825 or something

[sovietpostcards]

Hydrometeorological engineers Zoya and Yuri Sudakov take readings of the heliograph at the polar weather station. The East Siberian Sea, archipelago of the Bear Islands, island Chetyryokhstolbovy [Four Pillars]. Photo by N. Bobrov (March 3, 1979).

[honoura]

disclaimer: this spawned off a twitter thread i made a while back, which itself came from something i’d noticed time and again within the xiv community: the idea that photography isn’t possible there. i’ve seen this a few times, and ultimately what i felt to be the truer statement is that digital photography as we know it in our phones, no. that is not a very accessible thing. most eorzeans aren’t getting a garland ironworks tomephone.

but that doesn’t mean they aren’t taking pictures.

A Case for Eorzean Photography

In the case of our modern world, the art of capturing an image onto paper directly from life dates back to the 1820s. It was called heliography. A wikipedia article on it can be found here. Heliography came about because its inventor wished for an efficient way to reproduce lithographs, engravings, and relief prints, three different illustration styles that had existed by now for varying lengths of time, but all still in use and being the choice method for adding images to text. I’m going to give a short bit of information on each style, because they are also very likely quite prevalent.

Woodcut (Relief)

Woodcut is as its name implies -- you carve your image into a block of wood, coat the raised portions with ink, and then use it in the press. Accessible to learn, accessible to do, if you want rp flavor there’s likely illustrators in every city-state employing this for the newspapers or illustrated editions of books.

Intaglio (Engraving)

Intaglio is my favorite printmaking method for illustrations, and probably also my favorite for FF14 because it involves playing with chemicals! Let’s get the alchemist roleplayers we know something cool to do. Anyway, with intaglio you’re using acid to burn an image into a metal plate, and the deeper the etchings the darker the shadows. Great for values, great for depth, and have I mentioned you’re just being a little scientist and an artist at the same time?

Lithography

Lithography is the one you’ve seen the most, even if you aren’t 100% sure how it works. It became very popular in the late 19th and early 20th century -- if you’ve ever gawked at vintage illustrations by Mucha or Leyendecker, those are lithographs! Some of the big plates used for them are just big rocks! Miners could 100% mine up limestone slabs for this.

Anyway, back to photographs. After heliographs cracked the capture nut suddenly everyone was getting in on it. People were mixing all kinds of chemicals to capture the world as it was at a moment onto a plate of glass (or others! they liked silver too).

Physautotypes used lavender oil as its photosensitive agent. Tree resin was also popular. Both things botanists would routinely be able to harvest and crafters able to distill. I can only imagine how it smelled to make photographs with this, I hope it was nice!

About 20 years after the earliest heliograph came daguerrotypes. Made on silver plates with a copper substrate, daguerrotypes were pricy but popular -- and they had their own special camera made rather than using a camera obscura.

Daguerrotypes were also when spirit photography came into prominence.

Ambrotypes came on the heels of daguerrotypes as a cheaper alternative made with less costly materials, and was followed by their even cheaper brethren the tintypes. Bit by bit, photographs were becoming more accessible -- not always the equipment (or the supplies), but in terms of a person or group of people having a portrait made you were starting to see that become more common.

Ambrotype above, tintype below

Let it be said also that less costly materials does not mean lower quality image -- each method had its own charm. Tintypes were sturdier than ambrotypes, but both developed quicker than daguerrotypes. Ambrotypes could also have spot colors added to them!  

Albumen prints made it to paper, and until we went digital that’s where photographs stayed, on paper! And one of their key binding materials was made from eggs, beautifully common eggs.

So Where Does This Leave Eorzea?

So why did I go into this much detail, with visual examples and links to references that include their materials? Because all these materials exist already within FFXIV. Glass, plates, the types of metals used, the types of chemicals.

They’re part of crafting logs, and gathering leves, and dungeon drops. Alchemists can make these chemical components, goldsmith quests have you making lenses and other more delicate mechanisms, carpenters could easily build boxes for camera obscura (and cameras!).

Different styles of photography and different materials used for them reflect availability of the materials -- where does this character live, what are their cultural beliefs, do they travel much outside of their home region? How much money do they have?

What if using unaspected crystals creates a different effect on the plate? With the right kind of aetherial charge, don’t you think you could photograph ghosts in actuality rather than trickery? There’s a whole quest in 1.0 where an NPC sees the ghost of the city of Sil’dih -- a ghost city!

At any rate, I just think it’s neat to look at what materials exist in this game, and how things from this world may translate to that with the understanding it will not be 21st century. We have a lot of technology that’s existed longer than we sometimes recall or acknowledge -- and it’s good material! Use that stuff! Have fun with it!

[noosphe-re]

Etymology of 'photograph'

"a picture obtained by any process of photography," 1839, coined by English polymath and photography pioneer Sir John Herschel (son of the astronomer) from photo- "light" + -graph "something written." It won out over other suggestions, such as photogene and heliograph. Photogram (1859), based on telegram, did not catch on. Neo-Anglo-Saxonists prefer sunprint; and sun-picture (1846) was an early Englishing of the word. The verb is first found (along with photography and photographic) in a paper Herschel read before the Royal Society on March 14, 1839. Related: Photographed; photographing.

—Etymonline

[logi1974]

Namibia 2023/24 - Tag 30

Herrschaften und Oukies!

Unser letzter Tag in Namibia startet mit einer großen Überraschung: unser treuer Hilux hat einen respektablen Platten hinten links.

Zum Glück hatten wir unsere Zimmer nicht nur bis zum Morgen gebucht, sondern noch zusätzlich als Tageszimmer, da der Abflug erst heute Abend stattfindet.

Micha bespricht während des Frühstücks das Malheure mit Andreas und Rüdiger, die umgehend auf das versierte Team der Farmarbeiter verweisen.

Neben der Bar befindet sich die improvisierte Autowerkstatt (wer einen Defender besitzt, braucht eine eigene Werkstatt). Die Preisliste der Dienstleistungen, die im Angebot stehen, befindet sich am Kühlschrank der Bar.

Am Ende kostet uns die Reparatur des Reifens (ein dickes Loch, dass wir uns auf den letzten Metern der Anfahrt eingefangen haben müssen) sowie die komplette Reinigung des Autos gerade einmal zusammen 280 N$ (umgerechnet keine 15 Euro).

Micha gibt den flotten Jungs noch ein dickes Trinkgeld und strahlend fahren sie den blitzblanken, wie neu aussehen, Hilux vor unseren Zimmerkomplex.

Diese Rechnung brauche ich, trotz abgeschlossener Reifen & Scheibenversicherung, gar nicht einreichen. Der Aufwand dafür lohnt nicht.

Da die Jungs noch mit dem Wagen beschäftigt sind und wir bis zur Abreise am Nachmittag noch ausreichend Zeit haben, holen wir noch die Farmrundfahrt nach, die gestern wegen des Gewitters ausfallen musste.

Leider standen, wegen anderweitiger Verpflichtungen, Andreas und Rüdiger nicht zur Verfügung, so dass die Fahrt von 2 weiteren, sehr jungen Angestellten durchgeführt wurde.

Mit von der Partie war eine junge Familie aus Belgien, Ersttäter für Namibia und total überwältigt von diesem Land.

Das war in sofern sehr unglücklich, da nun die Tour ausschließlich in englischer Sprache stattfand und meine Mutter natürlich kein Wort verstand, weswegen wir immer unterbrechen und übersetzen mussten.

Die Gästefarm Otjisazu liegt mitten in der Natur und ist nach der dort gewesenen Siedlung benannt, deren Geschichte bis ins Jahr 1872 zurückreicht.

Otjisazu heißt in der Hererosprache Platz der roten Ochsen. 1872 wird Otjisazu Missionsstation der Rheinischen Missionare. Sie leisten mühsame Pionier- und Bekehrungsarbeit in der Deutschen Kolonie.

Ziel war es, die Herero und Mbanderu unter Häuptling Kukuri zum christlichen Glauben zu bekehren. Schon die Anreise damals war abenteuerlich, 12 Ochsen zogen den Karren über die Berge, bis der richtige Platz für die Missionarsstation gefunden wurde.

Johann Jakob Irle blieb mit seiner Frau 31 Jahre auf Otjisazu. In dieser Zeit gewann er tiefe Einblicke in das Leben und die Traditionen der Herero, was ihn zum besten Kenner der Herero-Kultur seiner Zeit machte.

Als sich die Herero 1904 gegen die deutsche Kolonialmacht erhoben, war Johann Jakob Irle einer der wenigen Menschen aus Afrika, die die Öffentlichkeit in Deutschland über die Gründe und Ursachen des Aufstandes informierten.

Johann Jakob Irles Nachfolger auf Otjisazu war Missionar Heinrich Brockmann (1873-1951). Er lebte ab 1903 auf der Otjisazu-Farm und erlebte den Herero-Aufstand 1904.

Am 29. Januar 1904 wurde der Missionar Heinrich  Brockmann von den Herero aufgefordert, Otjisazu zu verlassen und nach Okahandja zu gehen.

Wie alle umliegenden Missionsstationen wurde auch Otjisazu geplündert und zerstört, ein Händler und ein Soldat verloren dabei ihr Leben, sie wurden auf dem Gelände der Farm beerdigt.

Ihre Gräber sollen heute noch zu sehen sein, ebenso wie einige Hererogräber sowie Gräber der Missionarsfamilien und von früheren Farm - Besitzern. Leider wollte uns niemand auf Ojtisazu den genauen Standort verraten und man flüchtete in diffuse Erklärungen, so konnten wir diese Gräber leider nicht besuchen.

Die Farm wurde zur Operationsbasis des Deutschen Gouverneurs und Poststation der Deutschen Schutztruppe.

Der Hügel auf dem Farmgelände diente als Signalhügel, auf dem ein Heliograph installiert war. So wurden damals per Morsealphabet Nachrichten weiter geleitet.

Die damalige Kirche wurde mehrfach umgebaut, heute befindet sich in dem Gebäude der Empfangsbereich der Gästefarm.

Im Empfangsbereich ist ein Stück der Mauer der ursprünglichen Kirche zu sehen.

Inmitten von einem 28.000 Hektar großen Gelände liegen die Gebäude der Farm. Der alte beeindruckende Baumbestand ist auch noch auf die ursprüngliche Missionsstation zurückzuführen.

Die Farm bestehen aus dem Hauptgebäude mit Empfang, Küche und Speisezimmer, den Gebäuden mit den Zimmern und der eigentlichen Hofanlage mit Ställen und den Häusern der Angestellten.

Mitten durch das Gelände führt der Rivier Otjisazu. Ein Rivier bezeichnet einen nur zeitweilig wasserführenden Fluss, also einen Trockenfluss.

Der Begriff stammt aus dem Afrikaans. Bei Trockenrivieren sind Wasserläufe mit tage- oder stundenweiser Wasserführung üblich. Im vergangenen Jahr führte der Otjisazu grade einmal für 4 Stunden Wasser.

Im Jahr 2019 übernahm der gebürtige Heidelberger Andreas Tomek die Gästefarm Otjisazu. Dann schlug auch hier Corona zu. Vormals war dies die bekannte Unterkunft Elegant Farmstead.

Die Zimmer wurden renoviert und moderne Bäder eingebaut. Allerdings befinden sich unsere Zimmer in den ehemaligen Pferdestallungen und sind für unseren Geschmack sehr klein und auch sehr spartanisch eingerichtet. Immerhin gibt es eine Klimaanlage!

Gerade ein Tisch passt quer mit 2 Stühlen an die Wand vor das Bad. Eine sehr wackeligen Garderobe mit (Achtung!) 3 Plastikkleiderbügeln. Das findet selbst meine Mutter extrem dürftig, zumal sie auch nur einen ganzen Stuhl zur Verfügung hat.

Der große Außenpool ist optisch sehr gelungen und erinnert uns an den Infinitypool an der Panoramaroute. Allerdings ist der Pool mit durchgehender Tiefe von 2 Metern nicht für Kinder oder schlechte Schwimmer geeignet.

Durch die günstige Lage zum Flughafen eignet sich die Gästefarm Otjisazu eigentlich sehr gut für den Beginn oder den Ausklang einer Namibia-Reise.

Wir würden diese Unterkunft jedoch nicht mehr buchen. Uns sind die Zimmer zu spartanisch und der Gastgeber zu reserviert. Man merkt ihm den ehemaligen Managerjob an, er delegiert statt sich zu engagieren. Mit einer klassischen Gästefarm, wie ich es erwartet habe, hat das hier gar nichts zu tun.

Wer sich für das Profil des neuen Inhabers interessiert wird durchaus bei Google fündig, ebenfalls ist die konkrete Inhabersituation der Farm zu finden.

Die letzten Stunden müssen wir noch genießen und ausnutzen zum Sonne tanken. Schließlich liegen zu Hause noch etliche Wochen an Mistwetter vor uns. Da müssen wir von diesen Sonnenstunden noch sehr lange zehren.

Anschließend packten wir unsere restlichen Sachen, beluden das Auto – und machten uns auf den Weg zum Flughafen.

Mir fällt es immer schwer, nach einer tollen Reise zum Flughafen zu fahren.

Wir beschlossen hintenrum, die M 53 / D 2102, durch die Berge (ca. 1900 m Höhe) zu fahren. Insgesamt sind es über die D2102 knapp 110 km und man muss nicht durch Windhoek und den Berufsverkehr.

Diese Strecke ist ein absoluter Traum – Landschaft, einfach schöne Landschaft. Auf dem kommunalen Gebiet begegneten uns am Straßenrand viele Rinder und auch etliche Pferde.

Die Pad ist eine Wucht! Ein letztes Mal Gravel, eine schöne Strecke, man fährt durch die Berge und plötzlich das Grün im Swakoptal, wirklich wunderschön.

Vorbei an der Midgard Country Lodge und etwas später passieren wie die Leopard Lodge, die wir vor einigen Jahren ebenfalls schon einmal besuchten.

Wir fahren unterhalb des markanten Bergs Frauenstein entlang und zweigen dann links ab, auf die D 1510. Dieser folgen wir dann für 10 Kilometer, bis wir wieder auf den Asphalt des Trans Kalahari Highways, der B 6, treffen.

Uns begegneten während der gesamten Fahrt übrigens gerade einmal 6 Autos! Dafür noch jede Menge Tiere. so auch die Giraffenherde, die wir hier bereits vor einigen Jahren antrafen. Diese sehr abwechslungsreiche Route kann ich wirklich jedem empfehlen.

Nach weiteren 10 Kilometern stehen wir wieder auf dem Parkplatz des Leihwagenvermieters am Flughafen.

Sehr zeitig. Aber drei Stunden vor Abflug bei Fernstrecke ist immer meine Mindestzeit.

Der Flughafen ist nicht sehr groß, nur 4 Flüge an diesem Abend. Unser Flug nach Frankfurt wurde auch schon angezeigt.

Die neue Lounge ist nun auch endlich eröffnet und ist für unser Empfinden sehr gelungen. Als ich nach dem berühmten, rosa Plastiksofa - das unter allen Air Namibia Fliegern inzwischen Kultstatus erlang hat - frage, lacht sich die Dame am Empfang fast schlapp.

In Windhoek führen keine ‘Finger’ (Gangway) zum Flieger. Die Tür öffnet sich fürs Boarding und man läuft über das Rollfeld zum Flieger. Sicherheitspersonal sorgt dafür, dass man direkt zum (richtigen) Flieger geht.

10 Stunden Flug liegen nun vor uns, wie immer ein Nachtflug.

Ich danke meinen Lesern, die bis hierhin tapfer durchgehalten haben, für die Aufmerksamkeit. 

Ich werde später noch ein kleines Resümee zur Reise nachreichen.

Lekker Slaap!

Angie, Micha, Mama und der Hasenbär

[nedison]

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