Visit Karakol

Little loaf baking in the sun 🍞

The timeless UAZ-452, affectionate nicknamed Buhanka (Russian for “bread load”) has been in production since 1965, with very minimal updates, besides a couple of ‘mod-cons’ like seatbelts and headrests. At 60 years old, it’s the oldest vehicle design in production and also one of the most photogenic. Here’s to never retiring 🥖

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Film vibes from the recent workshop in Kyrgyzstan with our wonderful group and 🇰🇬

Shout out to the MJU ii for nailing focus on those 👀

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A few shots with the analogue one 📸
Kyrgyzstan was such a beautiful place that I’m still struggling to get a routine after visiting so many wonderful locations, spend some time with great people and listening to endless playlists on car rides.
Also did an amazing job on the scan development of this film, can’t wait to share more in the next days.

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The otherworldly and alien landscapes of Mars Canyon make for a captivating place to lose yourself in a for a few hours. Walking amounts these alien shapes, textures and rock formations fascinated me, and I found myself happily snapping away (despite the lunchtime light).

As with so much of Kyrgyzstan, there feels like there’s so much unexplored potential. So many mind bending locations waiting to be discovered and explored.

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Breathless moments from Kyrgyzstan in the heart of glacial valleys.



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Rain arriving in the canyons brought a rush for waterproofs and excitement as the changing conditions created unique scenes of beauty.

Wet weather definitely wasn’t high on the list of desired conditions, but in hindsight, if it’s not going to be golden light, then dramatic weather is probably the next best thing. The changing light and downpour created wild layers and depth in the canyons, and I had a frantic time rushing around, getting soaked while shooting in every direction.

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Starring at the Peak 🏔️🇰🇬

Taking in the views at Peak Karakol was as stunning as it gets. We walked around looking for compositions under the rain and stumbled upon the perfect spot to place my subject with the glacier in the background…

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The Colourful Lake

Our 3rd camp night on our Kyrgyzstan photo tour was the toughest day of the trip - ascending to Ala-Kul (the colourful lake) at a height of 3600m.

The group travelled the first 3rd of the ascent by horse and then continued on foot. It’s definitely a tough days hike but the rewards are insane.

We had a team of porters and a chef who we’re allowed to give 3kg of gear to. As we arrive and begin to shoot they set up our campsite and start preparing dinner. If you look closely in this drone image you can see our main kitchen tent and our camp dotted around it.

Last year we didn’t have a lot of snow hugging the surrounding peaks and with the 2024 tour being a bit earlier in the year I’d hoped for more. Cue a full on blizzard and winter conditions all around. Incredible to wake up to.

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Another cracking location in Kyrgyzstan. This day we trekked in by horses, wild adventure through forests and rivers (swipe for some horse snaps 📸). Our local guide Aidar (Never stop climbing) from helping to add scale to this image, silhouetted with the glacier flowing into the valley.

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Beautiful view to the Kel-Suu lake 🤩

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The magic of Kyrgyzstan 🏔️🤍

Being able to be this remote, with zero phone signal and no one in sight for five days was the most detoxing experience I’ve ever had. With the mountains as a constant view, there was that incredible feeling of both exploration and wonderment. Definitely something that I wish I could do more often 🙈

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Getting lost in canyon land.

I’ve found each visit to this unique landscape is incredibly overwhelming. The sheer scale and size of this ancient landscape is bigger than you would imagine and you feel absolutely minuscule in the endless orange. Finding a route to up to some of the higher peaks is challenging, especially with the dirt being so loose and sketchy, but it’s 100% worth it to see it with your own eyes. The drone does it a lot of justice, but not much compares to seeing it for yourself.

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