2016 Mongolia Photo Tour

 

If you want to travel to a unique land, capture people in traditional costumes, visit working horse farms, photograph the 1000 year old tradition of eagle falconry on horseback, walk the halls of 400 year old operating temples and get a front row seat to the Naadam sporting events, this is a photography trip you should consider.

RATES FOR 2016 (IN USD/PER PERSON): $4790USD (minimum four, maximum eight)
Single supplement (limited to maximum 4): $500USD 

Dates: Expect this workshop to be 10 days during the first two weeks of July 2016. Exact dates to be determined.

 

INCLUDED SERVICES: Full-time services of your local English speaking guide. Photography guidance out in the field and optional daily editing sessions at our hotels and Ger camps. Sightseeing and entrance fees according to the program. Private transfers and transports (minivan with A/C with windows that can open) and domestic flights. Twin share accommodation: 3* hotel in Ulaanbaatar, Ger camps at each destination. Meals as listed. Naadam Festival tickets and arrangements. 0.5L x 3 bottled water per day. Visa support invitation letter where applicable.

NOT INCLUDED: International Airfare/train tickets + Tax. Travel insurance. Visa fees. Items of a personal nature such as laundry, drinks, camera or video fees at any sites etc. Tips for your guide and driver (discretionary).

This is the third trip I have done to Mongolia and I would love to have you experience this land before tourism really starts to change a country that is so proud of their heritage.

Day 1. (Suggested date right now is July 5th, 2016 - date to be determined) ARRIVAL IN ULAANBAATAR:  TOUR OF THE CITY, INCLUDING THE GANDAN MONASTERY.

Arrive in Ulaanbaatar, meet at the airport after custom formalities and we will transfer you to the hotel (required to arrive before 12 pm). If you have to fly in a day early, we an arrange a night at our hotel for you.
 

You will have a day to acclimate to the time change and give you a city tour of Ulaanbaatar. This easy tour takes you through some of the principal sights of this unique city. You visit the Gandan Monastery, housing a 26 meter high gilded statue of the Buddha and other temples in the nations capitol.

 

After our short excursion into Mongolian culture and history, we will gather back at the hotel and discuss the weeks activities, find out your expectations and give you the itinerary for the workshop.    

 

At night we will visit a local musical performance including throat singing and Mongolian contortionists.

 

Accommodation at Hotel Nine - Dinner at hotel included

 

Day 2.  ULAANBAATAR – ELSEN TASARKHAI.

 

After breakfast at the hotel, we pack the vehicles and depart to the west toward Karakorum, the ancient capital city of Mongolia.

 

Today we will depart the modern, urban setting of UB and travel through many small villages. and sprawling countryside that is framed by endless skies and distant mountains. Today you will have the opportunity to see farmers working in their fields, cashmere being prepared for transport and numerous horse farms. You will also get your first introduction to many of the eagles and hawks that inhabit the countryside.

 

Transfer to camp near the Mongol Els Sand Dunes. Optional hiking in Khogno Khaan with a visit to the Khamba monastery ruins.  

 

If the skies co-operate later in the day and evening, we will head out under minimal light pollution and photograph the stars and mountains that frame the area where we will be. Your opportunity to learn more long exposure techniques in this unique land.

 

Tourist Ger camp.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

 

Day 3.  ELSEN TASARKHAI – KARAKORUM.

 

We visit legendary monastery Erdene Zuu, the first Buddhist monastery in Central Mongolia founded in 1586, Museum of Karakorum and its surroundings, and after a two hour drive further west, in the afternoon you will get your first taste of a rural Naadam festival in the country. You will witness local athletes try to qualify for the national Naadam Festival in an intimate setting that is much more conducive for photograph in a country setting..

 

You will also be able to see Mongolia's Golden eagles and the many hawks that fly the skies as we wander the ancient town of Karakorum.

 

If the skies co-operate early in the morning and later in the day and evening, we will head out under minimal light pollution and photograph the sunrise, the sunset and the stars and mountains that frame the area where we will be. Your opportunity to learn more long exposure techniques in this unique land.

 

Tourist Ger camp.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

 

Day 4.  NAADAM FESTIVAL IN KARAKORUM.

 

Breakfast at the ger camp in Karakorum. Enjoy photographing the local Naadam festival and events in the morning and afternoon. In the early evening visit the green valley of the Orkhon - the cradle for many nomadic states including the Turks and the Mongols, and a UNESCO world heritage site along with ancient capital Karakorum. Visit nomadic families and enjoying optional hiking or horse riding. Return to Karakorum in the evening.  

 

Tourist Ger camp.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

 

Day 5.  KARAKORUM - ULAANBAATAR.

 

We drive to the east to Ulaanbaatar, arrive and transfer to the hotel. On our way back to Ulaanbaatar we will stop to photograph the Prezawalski horses in Hustai National Park.

 

Accommodation at Hotel Nine. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

 

Day 6-9.  ULAANBAATAR - BAYAN-OGLI - ULAANBAATAR

 

We will travel day to Bayan-Ogli, the western most province of Mongolia and travel to a local family, our hosts the the next two nights. Here, you will immerse yourself in the Kazakh traditions and live and sleep in our own Ger tents with a nomadic family.

 

During our time here we will live in a valley surrounded by mountains, the fields dotted with sheep, yak, horses, and local families that will invite you into their homes, engage in conversation with us and allow us to take photos of them as they live as they did for generations.

 

We will also have four private photo shoots with traditional eagle hunters in mountain settings as they put their eagles and horses through their traditional hunting. You will witness eagles flying from mountains and landing on eagle hunters arms as they ride on horseback. You will photograph eagles hunting prey and be able to photograph these hunters running and riding horses with the eagles on their arms. This truly is a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Included in this section of the trip are your meals, shared accommodation in Ger tents for two days and one night at Eagles Nest Hotel, (**Men in one Ger tent, women in another in Ger tents when we stay with the families)

 

** Please note that these conditions are remote when we stay with the family. We stay in primitive settings with no running water and our tents are heated by a coal stove. We could be anywhere from 4000' to 9300' above sea level and the weather could be anywhere from just above zero with snow to 15C and sun.

 

On the night of Day Nine we will stay at Hotel Nine in Ulaanbaatar (Meals are included on this section of the trip)

 

Day 10. (July 14, 2016) DEPART FROM ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA. 

 

You are transferred to the airport/train station after breakfast.

 

Contact us at http://northof49photography.com/contact-us/

Tips and techniques for photographing the northern lights

The spectacle known as the northern lights is something I promise you will never forget, and if you are prepared to photograph them, you will be able come home and share your photos with friends and family.

The Aurora Borealis occurs in the Northern hemisphere.  It can be experienced in locations further from the Arctic circles, but to improve your chances of seeing them you need to spend some time on or near the activity zones. Iceland, Norway, Yukon and Alaska are just some of the places famous for the Aurora Borealis in the Northern hemisphere, but I find the best places to be are right in my back yard, northern Canada.

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH NORTHERN LIGHTS

A good sturdy tripod. I use the Manfrotto Manfrotto 057C4 Tripod with the 057 Magnesium Ball Head with Q5 Quick Release

A remote trigger so you don't have to touch the camera.

The camera should be a 35mm SLR camera or a DSLR with manual focus (set to just shy of "infinity"), which works well for Northern Lights photography. I use one of two full frame cameras. A Nikon D800e and a Nikon D3.

You should also consider a camera that has BULB mode so you can manually control exposure times. That will allow you to vary the length of the exposure as the lights curl in the night sky.

Digital cameras will need to have to be manually adjustable focus with ISO ranges up to 1600 or 3200.

A wide-angle zoom lens, f2.8 (or lower numbers), will give great results photographing the Northern Lights. I shoot with a Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8, a Sigma 35mm f1.4 and a 24-70mm f2.8.

If you have a prime lens (with fixed focal length) for your camera, bring it. My Sigma 35mm is sharp as a tack and produces great images.

TAKING A PICTURE:
You generally will not be able to take good pictures of the Northern Lights with short exposure times. Good exposure times for this are 20-40 seconds per picture (the tripod will help you eliminate shaking of the camera - you can't hold the camera by hand.) Now, this can be adjusted depending on the brightness of the lights, the aperture you are using and the ISO you set your digital camera to.
I have taken photos of the northern lights with ISO as high as 6400, with apertures as much as 1.4 and shutter speeds that range from 3 seconds to 15 seconds.
A sample exposure time for ISO 800 with an aperture of f/2.8 would be 10 to 20 seconds depending on the brightness of the lights.

LOCATIONS & TIMES:
It can be hard to predict the Northern Lights so you may be in for a few hours of waiting during a cold night.
The best times generally are after midnight and range from October to the end of April each year. In Canada, the two best places I have found are near Yellowknife and near Whitehorse.

But remember, You should head out of the city and get away from light pollution to obtain maximum quality of photos.

TIPS:

1.Batteries don't last as long in cold nights. Bring spare batteries and keep them inside your pockets against the warmth of your body.

2.Try lots of different exposure settings; night photography is challenging. Test your setup first.
3.Include a part of the landscape to make the photos more attractive and as a visual reference for size.
4.Do not use any filters, as they tend to distort the beauty of the Northern Lights and degrade the image.
5.Turn on "noise reduction" and the white balance can be set between 3200K to 5000K or set to auto on digital cameras.

TECHNIQUES

To increase your chance of a successful aurora hunt, you need to be aware of the weather.  If it is cloudy, your chances of seeing the aurora grow weaker.  If you have a clear sky you have a much better chance.

You also need to check the space weather for the northern lights forecast. Please not, even if the space weather forecast is weak, it may still be worth venturing out if you are up north in the areas that I previously mentioned… Iceland, Norway, Alaska, Northwest Territories and the Yukon.

So you are in an active zone and you have a clear sky and the space weather is a bit uncertain. You can increase your chances again by eliminating light pollution.

The moon can also work against you.  If you are planning a trip to an Aurora zone, try to book it as I do when there is a new moon.

Get your camera set up so that it is easy to handle. Using a flash light make sure your cable is connected, your lens is set just short of infinity and the camera is level to the ground. Then turn off the flash light and let your eyes adjust to the darkness.

You can use the waiting time constructively.  You can practice with your bulb and find a good composition.  Set your camera to f/2.8 (or as wide as possible) iso 800 and take some test shots for 15 to 30 seconds.  Do this in all directions but mainly due north (Aurora Borealis).  You may start to see a green hue on your pictures near the horizon. This is a good sign and this is the part of the sky you need to watch.

As the aurora starts to get brighter you need to start adjusting your settings accordingly.  Start by bringing down your iso to get crisper images.

Important note… Always check the brightness of your image on the histogram and never rely on the camera preview screen.  Your eyes have adjusted to the dark so an underexposed image will look fine – until you get it home! Speaking from experience… the back lit LCD screen in the dark makes photos look brighter than they actually are.

If the whole sky explodes and the Aurora casts a shadow, you need to be quick to adjust your exposure times.  The best Aurora shots occur during these brief moments.  A faster shutter of 4 to 10 seconds will preserve some of the details of the display.

The added bonus… Sometimes you cannot avoid star trails if you don't trust high ISO and you lens stops at f/4, you might be exposing for 2 minutes with a weak aurora.  Generally it is preferred to expose for less than 30 seconds to prevent noticeable star trails.  Stars begin to move over 20 seconds… so if you want fixed stars you will have to increase ISO to keep exposure times under 20 seconds… but, sometimes star movement adds an element to the images you take.

Workshops and Tours to see the northern lights in Canada.

Trips to the Yukon neat Whitehorse

March 2015 - http://northof49photography.com/2015-yukon-workshop

August 2015 - http://northof49photography.com/fall-colours-in-the-Yukon

March 2016 - http://northof49photography.com/photo-workshops/

August 2016 - http://northof49photography.com/photo-workshops

Canadian Wildlife Species - Mountain Goats

 

Mountain goats are not true goats—but they are close relatives. They are more properly known as goat-antelopes.

These surefooted beasts inhabit many of North America's most spectacular alpine environments. They often appear at precipitous heights, from Alaska to the U.S. Rocky Mountains, showcasing climbing abilities that leave other animals, including most humans, far below. Mountain goats have cloven hooves with two toes that spread wide to improve balance. Rough pads on the bottom of each toe provide the grip of a natural climbing shoe. Mountain goats are powerful but nimble and can jump nearly 12 feet (3.5 meters) in a single bound.

Mountain goats have distinctive beards and long, warm coats to protect them from cold temperatures and biting mountain winds. Their dazzling white coats provide good camouflage on the snowy heights. During the more moderate summer season goats shed this coat.

Female goats (called nannies) spend much of the year in herds with their young (called kids). These groups may include as many as 20 animals. Males (known as billies) usually live alone or with one or two other male goats. Both sexes boast beautiful pointed horns, and in mating season billies will sometimes use them to battle rivals for prospective mates.

In the spring, a nanny goat gives birth to one kid (sometimes two), which must be on its feet within minutes of arrival into its sparse mountain world. Mountain goats eat plants, grasses, mosses, and other alpine vegetation.

To see our trips to photograph Mountain goats in the Yukon, see this link. http://northof49photography.com/photo-workshops/

Canadian Bird Species - The Bald Eagle

 

The Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder which consists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 meters (13 ft) deep, 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) wide, and one metric ton (1.1 tons) in weight.

Bald Eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are larger than males. The beak is large and hooked.

The Bald Eagle's natural range covers most of North America, including most of Canada, all of the continental United States, and into northern Mexico. It is the only sea eagle endemic to North America. Occupying varied habitats from the bayous of Louisiana to the Sonoran Desert and the eastern deciduous forests of Quebec, to New England, and heavy populations along the Pacific Northwest States of the USA and Provinces of Canada.

The northern birds are migratory, while southern birds are resident, remaining on their breeding territory all year. At minimum population, in the 1950s, it was largely restricted to Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, northern and eastern Canada, and Florida. Today, they are much more common (almost attaining their peak numbers pre-colonization in North America), and nest in every continental state and province in the United States and Canada.

Northern Bald Eagles will also congregate in certain locations in winter. From November until February, one to two thousand birds winter in Squamish, British Columbia, about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler. Another 5,000 to 8,000 winter in the Harrison and Fraser River area of British Columbia. This area is between Chilliwack and Harrison Hot Springs. The birds primarily gather along the BC Rivers as they are attracted by the salmon spawning in these areas.

If you would like to photograph these fantastic birds of prey during one of the most active times in their annual cycle, contact us. We run annual photography workshops during the November to January time frame in the lower mainland of British Columbia. Click here to see details on our workshop page