Rara Avis is a Latin phrase for ‘rare bird’. It is also used to refer to an unusual, or exceptional person or thing. Paul van Schalkwyk was both.

The late Paul van Schalkwyk’s body of work, published by his wife Rieth in his honour, is a phenomenon. The collection of photographs feature familiar Namibian destinations such as the Namib Desert, Etosha National Park, the Messum Crater and the Skeleton Coast of Namibia from an aerial perspective, completely reinventing the way that these popular photographic subjects are generally viewed and perceived.

These images truly reflect the way that the harsh contrasts, the extraordinary colours and rich textures of the landscapes make you feel. Viewing them, you become the bird too.

Paul’s life abruptly ended when his plane crashed in Etosha in 2014. He was highly regarded as a legendary photographer and filmmaker in Namibia. He received more than 50 awards, both locally and internationally, for his work as photographer, cinematographer, director and writer. His wildlife films were broadcasted on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other television channels around the globe and his photographs were published in numerous local and international magazines. His most profound passion though, was to fly and take photographs from the sky.

In seeing how he saw, you instinctively sense the irony, the contrast, the beauty, the melancholy, the weight and the wonder of the world.

“Photography as an art is not about taking pictures”, Paul used to say. “It is not a monologue. To capture true beauty you have to allow enough time for yourself to know your subject and for your subject to know you. It is always a dialogue.

You have to become part of the process and the process must become part of you. It is like a meditation – you have to transcend before you can see.”

Paul’s relentless pursuit of the ultimate photograph is epic and it ultimately cost him his life. But it also was his life. TNN