The 7th to 29th September 2018 saw me in Mongolia. I was invited there to photograph the landscapes and people of this beautiful and vast country.
Rewind back to January 2018 and I meet a lady named Jess. Speaking to and showing Jess my work she looked at me and said “how would you like to go to Mongolia?” Yes, was the short answer and so a period of watching the pennies to buy my airline ticket ensued.
Between January and September I had to choose which tour I was to go on. Jess’ company Eternal Landscapes (www.eternal-landscapes.co.uk) offers many tours of this vast country but two caught my eye. The first was the eagles festival in the Altai region of the country or the more general national parks one. I plumped for the latter and started looking into what I was getting myself in for.
So what can you expect from Mongolia? First of all, let’s dispel some myths. Eagle hunters aren’t here, there and everywhere. A lot of the monasteries were destroyed during the Russian invasion and vegetarians are well catered for! Oh, and just to add this in, you won’t be drinking yak’s milk every day.
When it comes to the countryside of Mongolia you will see a huge variety. Vast open spaces where if the rain is howling then it stops for nothing. Beautiful woodland areas that look like images I’ve seen from Colorado with their silver birches. And amazing mountainous scenes with huge rivers passing through. It’s all there for the taking but surprisingly this vast country receives less than 500,000 a year. Yes, a year! Compare this to Paris which receives an average of 92000 visitors a day over the course of a year.
Over my three weeks in Mongolia, I visited all manner of places. Drunk vodka and fermented horse’s milk. And came away feeling that I want more. Much more.
So in 2019 Eternal Landscapes and I are launching a series of photography tours and workshops in Mongolia. Our first venture will be the eagles festival in March 2019 followed by a more general tour of landscapes in early September 2019. If you’re interested in joining us for what is guaranteed to be an experience and an adventure like you haven’t seen before then sign up for my newsletter to get the news first or get in contact with me through the contact form. Alternatively, you can contact Jess at Eternal Landscapes for more information.
PS The vlog will give you a good idea of what you’re in for!
