The Procession
Mongolia 2014
Jim Zuckerman chose our vantage point at the Eagle Festival and to this day, I feel grateful. We faced the mountain; this barren, scrub-covered, brown hill that provided a perfect backdrop to our photos. The shade from the mountain gave us diffused even light…no harsh contrast to create those dense, black shadows or glaring white hot spots. The colors of the procession look like jewels in this light.
The procession, a part of the opening ceremony for the Eagle Festival, made a complete circle around the huge “arena”. I was standing next to Jim. He got a shot of the bridal couple (third couple from right). He showed me and remarked that it was beautiful. I hadn’t singled them out for a photo. I hadn’t realized that the couple would make a beautiful photo. This told me to keep my mind open to all possibilities. I had paid less attention to the procession than I should have because it wasn’t “authentic”. I wasn’t thinking as a photographer. Get the shot! That’s why you’re there! I just hope I can remember that next time.
One thing I did notice was that the Kazakhs resembled people I’d seen in Kyrgyzstan. I noticed the food in Western Mongolia was similar to the food in Kyrgyzstan. Delicious noodles called laghman. I was happy to eat another plateful of those. And I noticed the musical instruments were similar.
The Musician and The Eagle Hunter
Look at the stringed instrument called a Komuz, that the woman rider holds and look at the instrument held by this Kyrgyz woman in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan. Their costumes are similar as well. Click on the photo to see it larger.
Kyrgyz Musician
I recommend: Jim Zuckerman at www.jimzuckerman.com
and Penelope of www.uzbekjourneys.com to see authentic Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan