Photographer of the Week
From December 15, 2025, to December 21, 2025 – Week 51
Behind the Shot: Kazakh Mongolian Eagle Hunter
The image was taken at the beginning of October 2025 on a trip to the Bayan-Olgii area of Western Mongolia.
At the time, I was leading a photography tour of the area and the main purpose was to stay with the eagle hunters as well as to photograph the annual Golden Eagle Festival that takes place every October.
Travel portraiture is something that I love to do. I love to be able to engage with my subjects and get up close rather than be at a distance to them.
The image itself was taken inside the hunter’s ger, or more commonly known to some as a yurt, and with the help of my guide a black cloth was hung as a background so that the hunter would stand out.
Natural light was used to illuminate him and the image itself was captured on a Canon R5 and a Canon 24-105mm RF lens at 63mm, f/5.6 at ISO1600.
I love to capture the varying shadow forms on my subject and where I can to emphasize the so called Rembrandt shadow. I find out of all the portraiture shadow techniques to be my favourite and I think it lends itself particularly well to the subject at hand.
When working so close to someone, I try to make the subject at ease. I find the best way to do this is to learn a little of their language if they don’t speak English. This at least shows your subject you are willing to engage in their own world and not expect them to be a part of yours.
