Create Memories, don't just take pictures

The photos I take on my travels immediately transport me right back in time to those moments when I took that photo I am looking at.

My images allow me to capture a place, or people that is special to me, or one I have visited but may never go back to, or one I visit repeatedly.... and then remember that point in time, just as I experienced it.

Sure, the way I capture it, or process it, may not be the way someone else would have done so. But the image represents the way I saw it and felt in that moment. AND, that is what is important. What kind of emotion does a scene make you feel?

Every scene can be photographed a hundred different ways, an image can be edited a thousand different ways, but the only image that matters is the one you took and edited… its your interpretation of the scene.

Don’t get caught up on comparing your images to someone else’s, it’s not a competition… it’s a personal expression of art and emotion…

Allow me to share three of my favorite images from one of my favorite places to photograph. 

This is one of my very favorite images EVER!

It’s a simple photo, and I am sure you have seen it a hundred times… It really speaks to me. Why? Well, because I have a personal connection to the man. I know him, I have stayed at his home, and I knew what that Golden Eagle meant to him.

Capturing this instant of affection was something that I was looking for when I was taking these images, and it transports me right back to that place, the conversations with him, and makes me remember all the friends I have in Mongolia.

The next photo is also one of my all time favorites... 

I remember vividly standing there with Andy, Kip and Larry before the sun rose over the dunes. The family was riding towards us, smiles on their faces, and we greeted them warmly. This was our first photoshoot with a family of camel herders in the Gobi desert. 

The day before we had the opportunity to go into the families ger tent and get to know them all... together we shared vodka, some good food and a lot of laughs. We became friends, and I knew ten that I would come back to visit them in 2018 and 2019... Which, has been planned, and the anticipation of seeing the family again, makes me smile.

As I took this photo, I remember the warmth of the sun on my face, I remember hearing Andy talk to the camel herder how beautiful the scene was. I remember the hug from Larry because he was having so much fun... and then there was Kip, fling his drone over the whole scene to get a completely different and artistic capture of what we were witnessing... 

And then there is this image of Aisholpan and her father, Nurgaiv Rys.

I have travelled to a lot of places, and met a lot of amazing people. But this day represents a lot of great memories. Not for what you just see in front of the camera, but also for what you can't see behind the camera. 

To start, I am honoured to have the trust of the family on that day. They allowed us to pick up their daughter from school and take her to the family home. That gave us two hours to talk and get to know Aisolphan as a person. She is such an incredible young woman. Grounded, and mindful of what she has accomplished, without letting the success go to her head. 

What you can't see is Zayaa... once my guide on my tours, now my guide and friend, dare I even call her my Mongolian daughter. Seeing her every year, makes me smile and warms my heart... 

She works tirelessly for us, makes our trips special, gets the chefs to bake me a birthday cake on my birthday :-), and reminds me how people of different cultures, half way around the world can share a friendship like ours thats special to me. 

It is because of all these memories that Mongolia has carved out a special place in my heart... I return each year with different groups to create more memories of the friends I have, and capture the locations I visit. 

Why don't you come with me? I would love to share one of my favorite places on earth to create lasting memories. Click here to see when I am headed back next.