Lake Khovsgol, Mongolia

As I said in the previous post, I had no real goals for my summer in Asia besides a list of countries to visit. The only real set-in-stone goal that I had set for myself was to spend my golden birthday in Northern Mongolia on Lake Khovsgol.

Looking North from the Southwest shore

Brian and Conrad are fellow Montanans, and I travelled with them from Ulaanbaatar to the lake.

Woke up on the morning of July 23rd to sunshine, blue skies, and tons of wildflowers.

I decided to climb the mountain behind my campsite to get a view of the lake. There were no trails, so most of my time was spent bushwhacking through tall, wet grass. I got above the tree line only to hike up a steep, rocky slope. I finally reached the top and stood in awe at what was in front of me. It was a powerful moment... I felt a great sense of accomplishment from climbing the mountain, and achieving my goal of spending my golden birthday on Lake Khovsgol. In addition, the vast expanse of the lake in front of my was truly incredible. It was one of the greatest moments of my life, and I felt it necessary to take a photo.

From the top

Mongolia

Took a month long hiatus from posting on this thing, I chalk that up to sheer laziness on my part. Anyway, here are some more photos from my time abroad this summer. I didn't have too many goals for my trip, I tried to keep my schedule pretty open. One of the few goals I had before leaving was to spend my golden birthday (23 on July 23) in Northern Mongolia on the shore of Lake Hovsgol near the Russian Border. Everything went according to plan. More photos to come.

From the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, I took a 20 hour bus ride north to the small town of Moron (pronounced moo-ren). I had no ticket until minutes before the bus left, and my seat was a wooden box in the aisle, which I shared with an elderly Mongolian woman. We drove through the night across the landscape, on dirt tracks worn by other vehicles making the same journey. Sometime during the early morning, we crossed a mountain pass, creeping along slowly through trees on a road (more like a path) that seemed unfit for a large bus such as ours. The bus hit an uneven part of the road and almost flipped. Luggage flew off the racks and people screamed. I was standing up when it happened, and was instantly wide awake from the near accident. The bus creeped forward and we were off. I am so thankful for American infrastructure. The top mirror shows how packed this bus was, and the bottom one shows our two bus drivers.

The Mongolian Steppe. This was some of the last paved road we encountered on our way North.

Beautiful sunset in Moron.

Andrew Loaiza

Choon was there, showing support

Andrew, just after the race

My friend and roommate Andrew competed in a bike race last weekend here in Bozeman. I showed up with my camera and was not quite sure what to expect. Andrew placed 3rd, and I walked away with a few photos I was happy with.

Skate Army Bowl

I have been shooting tons of photos out in Belgrade recently. Here are a few from Friday's session.

Dave Biesel and Wisco

Dave Biesel and his pup Wisco at the Big Sky mini ramp. I have been shooting tons of skate stuff since I got back, and hopefully a new issue of Kream Magazine will be out soon.

Busan

While staying with Daniel and Megan, we hopped in a car and drove to Busan, a huge city on the southern coast which seemed to be the vacation destination for the whole country. We happened to visit during a massive beach festival. There was a sandcastle competition during the day, and an international dance contest in the evening.

The smog blended the sea and sky

Photo of a self-portrait in progress

It is pretty amazing what can be built with sand

Waegwan and Daegu

After Seoul, Fiona and I headed south to Daegu, another massive city in the middle of the country. Nearby Daegu is Waegwan where my friend Daniel and his wife Megan live. Waegwan was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

Waegwan

Daniel and Megan's neighbor

Stone pathway across the river in Daegu

Seoul

Seoul was the first stop on the trip and one of my favorites. The idea of seeing the whole city can be somewhat overwhelming, so Fiona and I would start the day by picking a random direction and start walking. Getting lost was never an issue either, due to the frequency at which we would come upon a subway stop.

We named this cat "Mr.Happy". Seemed as if the cardboard box was his home.

The guy on the bike was well aware that I was taking his photo. So much for being sneaky.

These cats lived on the rooftop of the building underneath the window of our room. We encountered lots of street cats in Asia

On our first day exploring the city, we wandered downtown and found a massive temple, Gyeongbokgung. We paid a small entrance fee and wandered around the massive grounds for hours.

Kyoto

We visited this shrine while in Kyoto. The Orange archways were beautiful, until after dark, when the area became somewhat eerie.

Nara, Japan

While staying in Kyoto, Fiona and I took a day trip to Nara with my friend Katie who was in the country for school. Nara is famous for it's tame deer. They are all over the city and can be pretty surly, especially if deer cookies are involved.

Sick Cat Park

Kyoto is full of ancient temples (it used to be the capital of Japan) and rich history. We had been walking around all day sightseeing when we decided to get some ice cream and chill in a park, which happened to be full of sick cats. There were tons of them and each one was lethargic and did not seem too healthy, which made them perfect models for my camera.

Kobe, Japan

Fiona, Kyoto Japan

I recently returned home from a three month journey though Asia (Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, China) and am finally looking at my photos and starting to do some editing.

This is my girlfriend Fiona in Kyoto, Japan.

Ruffians

Local street toughs from Waegwan, South Korea.

Street Cat

Similar to my time in Europe, I have been collecting quite a few photos of street cats. Most of them are timid, and some are quite docile. I spotted this guy near the train station in Busan, South Korea. I can only imagine that his whole life has been on the streets. He was cautious of everyone, and slowly walked ahead of me with a limp. I can't help but wonder what stories this creature would tell.

Rosemary

Diekman!

A few weeks ago, the whole crew took advantage of the nice weather and went street skating. After getting kicked out of US Bank, we headed up the road to a parking lot for some flatground. Zach Diekman disappeared, only to be seen minutes later pushing down the sidewalk toward this tree. Diekman loves skating trees and rocks, and he rode up this one to fakie with ease.

Camera Obscura

Was inspired to turn my room into a camera obscura yesterday. Covered up my windows with some black plastic, cut a small hole, and started photographing. That is me standing on the sidewalk.

Nate

Boris

Catalina

Catalina belongs to Joey, who was our host in Las Vegas. It took her a while to warm up to us, but when she did she was happy to pose for a photograph.

Sam Evans

Great American Road Trip

We are lucky as Americans to live in a country so diverse as ours. From sea to shining sea exists nearly every kind of landscape imaginable. In March 2011, I departed on a road trip with Hunter Graham and Chelsea Reeck. We covered some 7000 miles, met a ton of crazy people, and enjoyed our lives to the fullest. I encourage everyone to get in a car and get going.

Paris

After my time studying abroad in Italy, I had a few weeks before I had to be back in the States. I spent a few good days in Paris, which is famous for it's "street" photography. I was thinking of Robert Doisneau when I shot these.