I love going on photo tours. This is the kind of travel experience where everyone on the trip is there to take pictures. The tour leader’s job is to get us to cool places at the right time of day. It is a lot of fun having interesting experiences camera in hand.  

So, what you see here is an Eagle Hunter in Central Asia. It’s not a typical DesignDestinations type post. Photographing him was on our itinerary for Silk Road.

The scene is deceptive.   A Kazakh with his eagle.  

He’s charging across the empty and dramatic  landscape. 

Me? I was miserable. I couldn’t get my settings right. Nothing would focus. Shoot. I didn’t have the right lens. Doggone it.  Actually I didn’t know which one to use. Moving subjects are really hard for me. 

I got really frustrated.

The other photographers on this photo tour of the Silk Road countries of Central Asia all seemed so much more comfortable with their gear. They knew what to do. 

And just when I thought I got it figured out, one of them jumped right in front of me. This is rude behavior on a photo trip. A Definite No No. 

But I’m too nice. I don’t say anything. Others yell. I simply try to find a new position while the man on the horse charged towards us. 

But I am frustrated. This is a once in a life time opportunity to capture this magnificent bird and the proud man who handles him and I can’t get it. Tears actually well up in my eyes. 

But then I stopped and thought to myself. “Hey, wait a minute. I’m in Kazakhstan (or is it Kyragyzstan—the two blur together on this trip) and I need to just enjoy the moment.”  

“To hell with the photos.  Savor the experience,” I tell myself. 

I relaxed, enjoyed the moment and it came together.  

I might not have had the right lens or the right settings or the right spot to shoot from but I made memories with these images. I did the best I could and loved the moment. 

Let me tell you about the Eagles.  I did a little research and learned.    

Eagle hunting in Kyrgyzstan is an ancient tradition proudly preserved by the nomadic people who call the high Central Asian valleys home. Eagle hunting in Kyrgyzstan was initiated by benevolent people who didn’t enjoy the idea of using man-made weaponry to kill creatures for food, they felt it was more humane to use their prey’s natural predator, the eagle.

There’s a lot more information about this practice on the Wandersmiles page:   https://www.wandersmiles.com/eagle-hunting-in-kyrgyzstan/and on Kate Dernocoeur’s blog Generally Write.  https://katedernocoeur.com/home/mongolia-sketch-the-eagles.  It’s all pretty fascinating.

And me?  I have my memory of being in the middle of a gorgeous country watching a man and his eagle. And a couple of images to remember it with too.