Summary

A photographer reflects on a week of contrasts in Namibia, marked by the joy of skydiving and the sorrow of a robbery that resulted in the loss of irreplaceable photos and personal items.

Abstract

The week began with the exhilaration of skydiving in Namibia, where the photographer, Anne Bonfert, celebrated the formation of the country's first all-girls 4-way skydiving team. The joy was short-lived, as a subsequent robbery led to the theft of her laptop, hard drives containing seven years of photographs, and other personal belongings. Despite the setback, Bonfert acknowledges the need to learn from her mistake of leaving valuable items in the car and is determined to move forward, seeking solace in the beauty of the Namib desert and the support of her skydiving community. The essay concludes with an invitation for others to join the weekly photo challenge initiated by Dennett in 2020.

Opinions

Bonfert expresses pride in the achievements of the all-girls skydiving team and the inclusive nature of the sport.
She acknowledges the personal responsibility for the theft due to carelessness and reflects on the consequences of her actions.
The author conveys a deep sense of loss over the stolen items, particularly the irreplaceable photographs and videos.
Despite the emotional toll, there is a resilient outlook on creating new memories and the continuation of life and passion for skydiving.
Bonfert values the power of community, both in skydiving and photography, as evidenced by the mention of the photo challenge and the list of participants.

This is Namibia. The land I love. | Credit: Anne Bonfert

PHOTO-A-DAY CHALLENGE

From the Highest Highs to My Lowest Low Within Minutes

Week 123 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

Unfortunately, in some parts of the world and some parts of your life, you do mistakes that make you cry. You can’t undo them nor eliminate any of the consequences that appeared with them.

This week I had a hard lesson to learn and just wished it wasn’t so serious.

But let’s start with the fun part. I’m back in Namibia, the sun is shining and the skies are blue. So is the ocean. Just the dunes are shining orange from the sky.

This is the Namib desert. The oldest desert in the world.

And somewhere where the dunes meet the ocean, the sun will set every evening. Sometimes a thick layer of fog will block our view of the sundown spectacle but on others, the entire sky seems to be on fire.

Such a happy holiday vibe kind of picture.

Saturday was a big day at the airport as we were planning an event with all skydivers who jump for fun to have a great day and progress in their discipline.

I had put down together an all-girls 4-way team, and if I’m not mistaken, it was the first one ever in this country. The day wasn’t about competing against each other, but there is always a competition going on in the skydiving world.

Especially when the girls and the guys team up in different groups. And the one thing I like about skydiving it is one of the only sports where women aren’t having a disadvantage. On contrary, in skydiving, the women are having an advantage point since their point of gravity sits lower.

It's why we beat them!

And this was the picture of the three girls I was jumping with. There were more of them, and we will be building bigger formations in the near future.

After light comes the darkness

Today was one of my darkest days in a very long time. I just felt like everything crumbled. And all of it because of my own mistake. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have been so careless.

But nothing helps.

As much as my mind tries to go back.

I can’t turn back time.

So here’s the result:

Our car got broken into last night. Yes, we were partying after a great day with our friends. The car was parked outside a club where a security guard was supposed to look after it.

My handbag with a powerbank and my wallet (next to other smaller items) are gone. Laptop stolen and if that wasn’t enough — three hard drives filled with photos and videos from 7 years of my life are gone too.

Most of the pictures are backup up at another hard drive in Germany. But not those from 2022.

And yes. I cried. Loud. And for long. About my own mistake, stupidity and carelessness.

If my husband would have known that the laptop was in the car, he wouldn’t have left it where it was. But he didn’t. He didn’t know I had it with. For nothing. Now it’s gone. With all the other stuff too.

Two of the windows in our car are broken. And need a replacement now. The laptop, well, that won’t get replaced so soon. It also wasn’t a cheap one. And yes, we both used it.

Those hard drives, let’s rather not go there...

But it doesn’t help. I can’t undo it. I can’t get the stuff back. All I can do is learn from my mistake and move on.

But not today. Today I’m sulking.

Monday.

Trying to make tiny steps forward and trying to smile again. I managed at least to cook some food for the family.

Still feeling guilty. And horrible.

And yes, my mind is still trying to turn back time.

Tuesday.

Didn’t have a great day today. I’m still struggling. I didn’t even take a picture today. So here is an old monochrome picture of Namibia. The black and white fits my feelings.

Life needs to go on, or as my husband said, "we just need to make new memories to fill new hard drives".

So here we are. Back in the sky, jumping out of planes for fun and for a living. It's what we do.

This is Swakopmund. Where the dunes meet the ocean and the desert hits the sea.

This has been my week in photographs. 7 days. 7 photographs. Anyone can join. Once. Or weekly. It doesn’t matter. We welcome everyone! Dennett started this photography challenge in 2020 and many have participated ever since.

Erika / Eileen / K. Barrett / Juan / David / Mia / Susan / LensAfield / Kim / Barbara / Diana / Barb / Sandra / Shruthi / Ellie / Pene / Olive / Gustavo / Jane / Penny / Jillian / Shell / Ivy / Lisa / Lynne

And these are the previous weekly photo essays:

Yes, This is Home

Week 122 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

medium.com

My Last Days in Germany

Week 121 of the photographic documentary of my daily life

medium.com

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