A Passion Project - My Time In Mongolia

For me, photography has been a lifelong journey. It’s been about telling stories with the photos I take. It’s about creating memories and focusing on what creates emotion and makes me happy. When you find this in a subject matter, your emotions will come through in those images.

My photographic journey began when I was seven or eight. I remember seeing photos of Ghengis Khan, Mongolian Eagle Hunters, and the Gobi desert. My parents had picture books that my mother would spend hours going through with me, fantasizing about traveling there. After she passed away, I decided to witness this Mongolian nomadic lifestyle for the first time in 2012. The initial experience conjured up memories of my mother going through these books with me. It created a sense of peace and strong emotions, and I immediately felt at home in this strange land. I knew this was to be the subject matter that would be my photographic passion.

I vividly remember my first interaction with eagle hunters and their golden eagles. The bond between the two interested me. How do these two work together to hunt for meat and fur? As I lived with a Kazakh family in Western Mongolia, I sat and watched the two work in tandem.

I couldn’t help but wonder how close the bond had to be between a wild golden eagle—captured after birth—and a hunter. Was it a skill the two mastered together or was it some deep instinct of the eagle to hunt combined with man’s superior mind? Was the hunter using training methods of reward so the eagle would hunt?

I learned over time that the bond between eagle and man is not formed from the bird’s need to hunt, nor does it come from training. It comes from the unique and unfathomable respect between a wild bird and a human being. The person would command, and the eagle would listen, instinctively hunting as it has done for centuries. Then it would wait for the hunter to arrive with prey in its talons.

Since that first trip over ten years ago, I have gotten to know more of the eagle hunters in Mongolia. I’ve met their families and watched the children grow into eagle hunters. Many have become friends I talk to outside of a workshop, and I look forward to seeing them each year I return.

It’s been ten years, 17 workshops, and one scouting trip since I first stepped foot in Mongolia with my camera. It’s like a second home. I’ve explored more of the country and met people from all corners of Mongolia. The entire experience has become a personal and photographic passion for me. Through this self-awareness and passion for showing the world what I loved, the Federal Government of Mongolia awarded me a citation in 2018 for my commitment to embracing the culture, writing articles about the country, and sharing my Mongolian photos with the world to increase awareness and tourism in Mongolia.

My deep appreciation for the Mongolian culture means that my trips there are more about spending time with old friends. Each time I return, I’m excited to capture my annual visit as a visitor and also as a photographer.

Sure, there are epic photo opportunities with eagle hunters in the mountains or camel herders running down the dunes of the Gobi Desert. But now, I strive to add what I have come to love; the people and their culture.

Cultural immersion means meeting the families and children. It’s about connecting with people halfway around the world and sharing stories. Photography is now about capturing photos that tell the story of their culture to share with you.

My most memorable moments in Mongolia are sitting around the campfire and talking before a photo shoot. When I share a photo or make a print for my wall, it isn’t just about the picture. It reminds me of those precious moments around the campfire with my friends from a far-off land. To this day, it still reminds me of my mother, who started me on this journey, and my father, who first opened my eyes to what memories a camera can create with a purposeful click of the shutter.

My advice for any photographer: focus on what subjects make you happy. Do not go into the weeds by following some temporary social convention of what others perceive a photo should be. You’re not taking pictures for the thousands of social media followers you don’t know—you should be taking pictures of subjects that make you happy. If social media followers are what you want, people with like minds will find and follow you because they appreciate your art.

You may not find inspiration in some faraway land like I was. It could be as simple as flowers, your city, or maybe your pet—heck, I even know people inspired by photographing lego figures. Whatever it is, get out there, Shoot! Explore! Learn! Be that person that people will be inspired by.