The southern part of Mongolia contains the Gobi Desert, a vast high plateau characterized by camels, gers (circular dwellings) and sand dunes. This area is very remote and sparsely populated, and the endless skies are amazing. We visited many nomadic families in this area, including one near some sand dunes. Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens, 1/250 at F8, ISO400.
Gers are the traditional houses for nomadic families, and much of our time was spent living in our own gers. These circular houses are cool during the day, warm at night and surprisingly spacious. Nikon D3, 24-70mm, 1/20 at F14, ISO 400.
In addition to camels on the Gobi, there are lots of other livestock the Mongolians raise including cows, sheep and goats. This skull was near our camp in the Gobi and a great foreground for sunrise. Nikon D3, 14-24mm, !/60 at F16, ISO 400. One SB900 with full CTO gell used to light the skull from above using a SU800 to trigger the flash.
Mongonlia was fantastic! Endless rolling grassy hills, huge sand dunes, pristine lakes and friendly people make this a varied and interesting photography destination. Our guide, Anand, was one of the best and deserves huge credit for arranging a lot of our photo ops. And this trip wouldn’t have happened without the hard work of Mirjam Evers and Photo Quest Adventures. I was lucky enough to have one of the first Elinchrom Quadra flash units to take along on this trip and really give it a tough trial run. This pack endured hours of kidney-jarring four wheel drive roads, rain, sand, inconsistent power and even yak dung! The Quadra performed flawlessly. I really enjoyed the benefits of this pack when photographing portraits and needed to shoot a lot of frames fast. The instant recycle times of the Quadra allowed me to shoot blazingly fast, and controlling flash output via the Skyport system was a huge advantage. This image is of “Zoloo”, a throat singer, on the shore of Lake Hovsgol. Nikon D3, 24-70mm lens, 1/250 at F10, ISO 100. Shot with the Quadra using a 39″ Elinchrom Octabank, triggered using Skyports.
Dancing and throat singing are a big part of Mongolian culture, and I was thrilled to photograph one of our dancers, “Tsegii”. Her mesmerizing dancing along with Zoloo’s throat singing was a powerful experience. Nikon D3, 24-70mm, 1/250 at F16, ISO 100. Quadra and 39″ octabank used, triggered wirelessly by a Skyport. 