Connecting with another era
A somewhat ambiguous title for a very picturesque scene. We met this shepherd somewhere in Kazakhstan where he was attending his herd together with his son(?). He was dressed in his traditional clothing, but the whole scene wasn't set up for tourists, because in miles around they were not to be found, and the place we were standing was not very appealing at all.
Although I normally don't make pictures of people, Central Asia was a place where there was so much beautiful diversity in ways of living, clothing, and sort of people, I couldn't resist sometimes.
If you look superficial you might think this is me connecting to a more 'primitive' culture, but there may me more to it. If you zoom in into the picture you may see the reason for this title. Can you see it?
Almost two months ago I came back from my journey over a part of the Silk Road to and through Central Asia. 4 months of traveling through 14 countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran) before I flew home from Teheran. An impressive journey in countries that are extremely beautiful, with lovely and welcoming people and diverse cultures and history.
Intense traveling with more than 20000 kilometers in our mobile home on sometimes roads that hardly could be called that way. We saw many villages and cities (some wonderful, others very ugly), countries that are transforming from the old Soviet era into something more related to older cultures and the way people live, often funded by oil readily available around the Caspian sea. We saw the amazing mountains south of the Black Sea, the wonderful Caucasus, and the high mountains in the far east close to China with peaks over 7000 meter, and not to forget the (Bulgarian) Alps!
We crossed the great steppe of Kazakhstan. a drive of at least 5000 km, the remnants of lake Aral, once one of the biggest lakes of the world, saw a rocket launch from Baikonur (this little part is Russian owned), we crossed many high mountains passes, and drove the breathtaking canyon that comes from the Pamir, beginning at ca 4500 meter, and going down for ca. 400km to an altitude of 1300 meter, driving for 100's of kilometers along the Afghan border.
And then the numerous lakes with all sorts of different colors from deep cobalt blue to turquoise, and one rare spectacle in Turkmenistan where a gas crater is burning already for more than 40 years. And finally and certainly not the least to mention an enormous amount of wonderful, hospitable and welcoming people. The woman often dressed in wonderful dresses, and bringing a lot of color in the streets of almost of all countries we visited.
This shot was chosen for the dutch 2022 National Geographic calender.
Connecting with another era
A somewhat ambiguous title for a very picturesque scene. We met this shepherd somewhere in Kazakhstan where he was attending his herd together with his son(?). He was dressed in his traditional clothing, but the whole scene wasn't set up for tourists, because in miles around they were not to be found, and the place we were standing was not very appealing at all.
Although I normally don't make pictures of people, Central Asia was a place where there was so much beautiful diversity in ways of living, clothing, and sort of people, I couldn't resist sometimes.
If you look superficial you might think this is me connecting to a more 'primitive' culture, but there may me more to it. If you zoom in into the picture you may see the reason for this title. Can you see it?
Almost two months ago I came back from my journey over a part of the Silk Road to and through Central Asia. 4 months of traveling through 14 countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran) before I flew home from Teheran. An impressive journey in countries that are extremely beautiful, with lovely and welcoming people and diverse cultures and history.
Intense traveling with more than 20000 kilometers in our mobile home on sometimes roads that hardly could be called that way. We saw many villages and cities (some wonderful, others very ugly), countries that are transforming from the old Soviet era into something more related to older cultures and the way people live, often funded by oil readily available around the Caspian sea. We saw the amazing mountains south of the Black Sea, the wonderful Caucasus, and the high mountains in the far east close to China with peaks over 7000 meter, and not to forget the (Bulgarian) Alps!
We crossed the great steppe of Kazakhstan. a drive of at least 5000 km, the remnants of lake Aral, once one of the biggest lakes of the world, saw a rocket launch from Baikonur (this little part is Russian owned), we crossed many high mountains passes, and drove the breathtaking canyon that comes from the Pamir, beginning at ca 4500 meter, and going down for ca. 400km to an altitude of 1300 meter, driving for 100's of kilometers along the Afghan border.
And then the numerous lakes with all sorts of different colors from deep cobalt blue to turquoise, and one rare spectacle in Turkmenistan where a gas crater is burning already for more than 40 years. And finally and certainly not the least to mention an enormous amount of wonderful, hospitable and welcoming people. The woman often dressed in wonderful dresses, and bringing a lot of color in the streets of almost of all countries we visited.
This shot was chosen for the dutch 2022 National Geographic calender.