Mongolia 2026: Eagle Hunters, the Gobi Desert and the Friendships Behind the Photographs

Every time I return for a Mongolia photo workshop, I’m reminded why I have spent more than a decade bringing photographers here. The landscapes first catch your attention, but the people give you a reason to keep coming back.

Our 2026 Eagle Hunters and Gobi Desert photography workshop brought those two things together again. From camel herders on the dunes to five eagle hunters at Tolbo Lake, we photographed people whose connection to the land is central to the story we came to tell. Along the way, private performances, horseback archery and an evening at the Museum of Natural History gave our group a broader experience of Mongolia.

This year, we welcomed eight photographers, with three instructors there to support them. That gave us time to work alongside everyone, answer questions when they mattered, help someone work through a composition, or make a camera adjustment before the next opportunity unfolded.

That balance is an important part of the experience we want to deliver. These workshops are about you, not our photos. Our attention belongs with the people who have trusted us with their time, money and hopes for the trip. Helping someone make a photograph they have been imagining for years is a good reason to leave our own cameras at our sides.

For me, this workshop also marked another step in thinking about its future.

As I get older, succession planning becomes something I need to give real thought to. I still love coming to Mongolia, and handing over more responsibility is a personal decision when you have spent years building something you care about. The leaders taking the reins need to share that affection for the country, have the technical knowledge to help our photographers, and know how to teach with patience and purpose.

James Begeman and Mindy Huston have now joined me on a couple of workshops here. Watching them take on more of the leadership, build their own friendships with people we have known for years, and bring fresh ideas to the experience has been rewarding. There is a great deal of satisfaction in seeing something you have built continue to grow in capable hands.

Our journey began in Ulaanbaatar before we headed south into the Gobi Desert and on to the Khongor sand dunes.

We photographed camel herders on the dunes at both sunrise and sunset. These sessions offer so many ways to approach a photograph: a herder and camel placed against the curve of a dune, a closer composition that brings their relationship forward, or a wider view that gives the landscape room to tell its part of the story.

Returning at both ends of the day gave our photographers opportunities to reconsider their compositions and work with the changing direction of light. On the dunes, a small change in your position can separate a subject from the background or bring order to an image. Part of our job is helping people recognise those choices before they press the shutter.

From the Gobi, our journey took us back through Ulaanbaatar and west to the eagle hunters. At Tolbo Lake, we photographed five hunters in a setting that brought the people, their eagles and the surrounding landscape into the same story.

Getting there required one of those last-minute adjustments that comes with leading workshops in Mongolia. Weather, changing schedules and the availability of the people we meet are always part of the work happening in the background. This time, a group of eagle hunters was held up at a festival, and we needed to call an audible. Mongolia does occasionally have its own opinion about the itinerary.

Having other friends (eagle hunters) we could call, who were willing to rearrange their plans and come spend a few days with us, made all the difference. I don’t take that willingness for granted. Those calls are answered because of friendships built over years of returning, working together and keeping our word.

Our guests see the hunters standing before them with their eagles. Behind that moment are years of shared experiences and trust. It is one of the things I appreciate most about working here, and something I want James and Mindy to carry forward as they develop those relationships themselves.

The workshop also took us into a different photographic setting: a theatre in Ulaanbaatar was rented for a private dance performance. Having the space reserved for our group allowed us to make photography central to the experience. The dancers gave us a different set of challenges, with gesture, expression and timing becoming the focus of our attention. But the photographs are only part of the experience. Understanding what you are photographing, and why, is central to our Mongolian experieince that we deliver.

We also photographed archers on horseback in a rural setting. Following a rider while anticipating the moment of a shot asks a lot of a photographer. Camera settings matter, but so does learning to watch the movement, choose a background and recognize when the elements are coming together. These sessions brought another dimension to the range of photographs our group could make.

And between all those shoots, there was plenty of laughter.

Those moments deserve a place in the trip report too. The conversations on the drives, the jokes between sessions and the time spent together over meals all became part of the experience. People who arrived as strangers grew comfortable with one another, shared their excitement and formed friendships through days that meant something to them.

By the end, guests were exchanging contact information and making sure the connection would continue once everyone returned home. As a leader, that is lovely to watch. You can plan the photography sessions and arrange the logistics, but those friendships develop in their own time. This group shared something special and, at times, moving. The photographs will bring them back to Mongolia, and to the people who were beside them.

For our final evening, we rented the Museum of Natural History for a private tour, a musical performance and a catered dinner. It was a fitting way to close the workshop. After days spent travelling and photographing together, we had an evening set aside to enjoy the place and the company, with time to reflect on everything we had experienced. By then, we were sitting down to dinner with friends.

I’m grateful to our eight photographers, and to the herders, hunters, performers, drivers and local team who helped make this workshop happen. Their generosity and effort are present in the photographs we bring home, even when they are outside the frame.

This year, I also leave with a growing confidence in what comes next. Seeing James and Mindy take the reins, care for our guests and build friendships of their own makes the future of this workshop feel personal in the best possible way.

Mongolia has given me a great deal over the years. It means a lot to see others ready to give this country, its people and our photographers the same care.

Join us in Mongolia. We travel to this country every year to photograph the Eagle Hunters and Camel Herders in the fall.