MONGOLIA - North of one of the world’s largest and busiest cities is a vast open land of deep calm, grass and horses. Inner Mongolia is a place to escape my hectic life — and I keep returning to enjoy the vast flat grasslands that give rise to small rolling hills and skies of pristine blue that drift off into the horizon.
I have come here not just to get away, not just to live with the locals in their yurts, but also to learn about their rich equestrian tradition. No other place offers such photographic opportunities as China’s northern province of Inner Mongolia.
Above: The Mongolian horsemen are a hearty lot who keep a rich tradition alive.
Photo tourism here offers amateurs and professionals the chance to tick an item off their bucket list while also testing their skills behind the lens. Each day presents a new location and lots of new challenges.
I must admit, it does take nerves of steel to concentrate on shooting with 200 horses running towards you at full gallop. The test is to stand your ground and keep shooting — trusting that the horses will veer away – giving you the opportunity to create outstanding still images and video.
Above: The charging horses make a thundering sound.
The ground shakes, the air fills with dust and the soundtrack of raw power is something you will never forget. That’s why I keep coming back for more.
About the Author
Camping in -45 degree temperatures to “get the shot” is nothing new to Spencer. His extreme passion for photography has taken him to dynamic Arctic landscapes, including the west coast of Greenland to film calving glaciers and through the Northwest Passage to shoot the vanishing icecaps, polar bears, walrus, caribou and the living conditions of the Inuit people. Wynn says it’s difficult to narrow his favourite locations. "My favourite destinations would have to be the Canadian Arctic, but also many locations in China including Kashgar in the far northwest, the villagers in the high altitudes of western Sichuan and the plunging rice terraces of southern Yunnan."