Mongolia - Moving Camp with the Tsaatan

With no real plan in place as a young burgeoning photojournalist hopeful, I took a one-way flight to Mongolia in an attempt to find a story. After visiting families in the Gobi desert arranged by a local non-profit, I tried my hand at becoming my own 'fixer' and found a ride north into the Taiga to visit the famed reindeer herding community, the Tsaatan (or Dukha). Enroute North, the open steppe magically turns to lush green pastures with wild horses and flowing, rocky creek beds. We spent many days by horseback, camping in open fields, sleeping in military barracks and bathing in rivers. Right where the painterly mountains opened into a valley, we were able to meet and stay with the Tsaatan as they packed up and moved south to their winter camp. Sharing sweet reindeer cheese and learning about their language and customs, I would fall asleep to the sounds of the shaman and wake up to a reindeer right next to my tent door.