better travel photography• COM
Start: 29 June 2024
End: 13 July 2024
Code: IOM24
Variable price structure.
Prices from:
8 pax £3150 pp
9 pax £3095 pp
10 pax £3050 pp
11 pax £2995 pp
12 pax £2950 pp
excl. flights, based on roomshare
Min 8, max 12 people
Places left: 2
Trip is to be confirmed.
Single supplement: £350
Estimated current
flight cost £900
Please note: an approved Covid vaccine is no long mandatory for our trips. However, it may still be required by local authorities. You can see more on this policy here.
impressions of mongolia
photo tours with steve davey
Impressions of Mongolia Itinerary
Day 1: Ulaanbaatar
Day 2: Training camps
Day 3: Training camps
Day 4: Ulaanbaatar
Day 5: Baga Gazriin Chuluu
Day 6: Tsagaan Suvarga
Day 7: Yoliin Am
Day 8: Khongoriin
Day 9: Khongoriin
Day 10: Ongiin Khiid
Day 11: Karakorum
Day 12: Ulaanbaatar
Day 13: Naadam Festival
Day 14: Naadam Festival
Day 15: Tour ends
Website, Images and text © Steve Davey/stevedavey.com 1990 - 2023
Land arrangements are sub-contracted to Intrepid Travel, who have many years experience in running small group adventures.
Bookings are made through the Intrepid Tailor Made Dept. in London not the Intrepid website or Stores. Contact Steve Davey for information
Join us for this unique travel photography tour to Mongolia, with land arrangements and ATOL bonding by Intrepid Travel, and led by professional photographer, Steve Davey. Our adventure has been timed so that we can visit, and photograph the ancient Naadam Festival – a centuries old celebration of the skills Genghis Khan considered vital for the Mongol warrior: wrestling, archery and horse-racing.
The actual festival has developed over the years, and some of it is held in a massive stadium, but there are still events happening on the Mongolian steppes,. We will also visit some of the training camps, which will be much better for photography. We will still attend the opening ceremony in the main stadium though – we would be crazy to miss it, but all of the best photo-opportunities will most likely happen outside of the main event – especially at the training camps when you can photograph competitors in the lead up to the festival.
This trip is about more than the Nadaam Festival though, as we also head out into some of the wilds of this vast and little known country, visiting ruined monasteries, flaming cliffs and the remains of an ancient city in the Gobi Desert..
This tour is officially an exploratory tour. Although Steve has visited Mongolia before, he has not run this trip before. It is based upon an existing Intrepid Travel itinerary, so we are confident everything will run smoothly. Our trip is significantly different though – accompanied by a professional photographer and with photography as a priority, and with far lower maximum numbers.
Our adventure starts in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, which is an entrancing mix of modern buildings, Soviet-era architecture and traditional Buddhist monasteries – surrounded by suburbs of Gers (nomadic tents) and seemingly endless rolling plains.
For the next few days we explore the various camps that are set up around the city – where the competitors of the Nadaam Festival train and get ready for the big event. This is a perfect opportunity to get close to the competitors and take pictures before the actual festival starts. This will also be our first time to experience staying in a Ger - a traditional nomadic tent.
The three sports that we will witness are archery, horse-racing and wrestling - everything that the Mongol warriors from the days of Genghis Khan deemed essential for waging war across the steppes.
After the training camps we head off into the massive Gobi Desert to explore some of the natural wonders of this incredible country.
Our first stop will be the massive eroded granite structures of the Baga Gazriin Chuluu, which are home to ancient rock art and even a spring which is said to cure eye problems. This area has been revered by Mongolian people for generations. We will have a hike here to explore the area and also to try to see some of the local wildlife.
From here we head to Tsagaan Suvarg, a region of strange white cliffs that are said to resemble white Buddhist stupas. Again we will hike in the landscape for photography and wildlife spotting.
Our next location is Yolin Am, a gorge known as Vulture canyon. The nearby cliffs are noted for glowing red in the sunset, and have earned the name of the Flaming Cliffs.
Many different types of terrain make up the Gobi Desert, but the most iconic must be the soaring Khongoriin Sand Dunes. This vast sea of dunes stretches over 100km and some of the dunes are 300 metres high. Their name of 'singing dunes' comes from the strange noise that the sand makes as it blows in thewind - humming like the propellar of a plane. We stay here for two nights, giving us chance to photograph star trails and also enjoy a camel ride.
A long and atmospheric drive takes us to Ongiin Khiid - a pair of monasteries that were ruined during the Communist purges. A small monastery has recently been opened, along with a handful of monks.
Our last stop on this leg of the trip is the runined ancient city of Karakorum - formerly the capital of the Mongol Empire in the 13th Century. Near to the remains of the city lies the Erdene Zuu Monastery - the earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in the country.
After exploring the vast steppes and sprawling Gobi Desert, we head back to Ulaanbaatar for the opening ceremony of the Naadam Festival. This is now held in a vast stadium. We will be in the stadium for the opening ceremony and the archery tournament. The following day we will be back for the wrestling and horse-racing: the latter which happens out on the vast steppes on the outskirts of town.
The following day, the tour finishes, and you have the optionof exploring further or heading for home.
There are few things to be aware on though, if you are considering this trip.
Firstly, the trip is based upon Intrepid's original-style accommodation. Some of the places we stay might be somewhat basic. For many locations we will be staying in Ger camps, which will have shared facilities. Also, the single supplement is not available for days 2-4, when we are staying in family ger camps. On these days, everyone will be expected to share with others of the same gender.
Even when we are in a hotel in the capital, ue to the fact that much of Ulaanbaatar's infrastructure lacks regular maintenance, you may on occasion only have access to cold water at your hotel.
Many people associate Mongolia with the Khazak Eagle hunters. These are based in the far east of the country, and tend to only hunt in the Autumn and Winter months, when their prey animals have their thicker, winter fur. This means that they are not included in this itinerary. You may have guessed this from reading it, but sometimes it is best to spell these things out!
Some Mongolians - especially older people - can be wary of being photographed, and so you will be expected to seek permission and respect the answer. This will sometimes mean not taking pictures. If you are the sort of photographer who will 'steal' pictures of people even though you are fully aware that they are unwilling, then this country, and certainly this tour is not for you.
We have no control over whether certain monuments and locations permit photography. This can change without notice - sometimes on a daily basis. Some sites and monuments may also charge a camera fee. Again, this can change seemingly at the drop of a hat, so we have taken the decision not to include these fees in the trip price. The easiest, and cheapest, way is for these to be payable locally on an individual basis.
Mongolian food is relentlessly meat, with carbs – usually bread, noodles, rices or pasta. Originally a nomadic people, vegetables don't feature that much in Mongolian cuisine either! A quick search of Ulaanbatur might throw up a couple of vegetarian restaurants, but please be aware that we are unable to compel the entire group to head to a Western style vegetarian restaurant, when they would rather have a traditional meaty meal. Once we get out of the capital, then options will be even more limited. Chicken is not considered meat, and is often thought of as suitable for vegetarians – as is a meat dish with the lumps picked out. If you do get a vegetarian option, then it is likely to be fairly dull, unappetising and with no choice. Whilst I might respect you life choices – especially those that arise from religious or moral concerns - the sad fact is that Mongolia as a country is probably not a suitable destination for you, and we will struggle to accommodate you on this trip. Please do contact Steve if you would like to discuss this further.
Highlights of this trip
• Naadam Festival
• Festival training camps
• Khongoriin Sand Dunes
• Ongiin Khiid ruins
• Bayanzag Flaming Cliffs
• Ancient city of Karakorum
• Photography tuition
Land arrangements for this tour
The land arrangements for this tour are sub-contracted to Intrepid Travel who will use their extensive knowledge from over twenty years in the travel industry to make sure that you have the best travel experience, and to work in a way which will be the most beneficial for the countries we travel in.
Our arrangements are now handled by the Intrepid Travel UK Private Groups office, which opens up a range of payment options and also means that your trip can now be protected by the UK travel industry protection. It also means that we can draw on the experience and contacts of other companies in the Intrepid Group. Intrepid in the UK can accept payments by bank transfer, cheque, debit card as well as Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Intrepid are also able to book flights for you, which will mean that your entire trip can be covered by their full ATOL protection (for any flight/trip combination that starts and finishes in the UK). The flight price that they quote you will include their booking fee. More details on their industry protection by clicking here and scrolling to clause 27. As you are booking with the UK office, your booking will be covered by the UK booking conditions.
Intrepid Travel were formed over twenty years ago in Australia, and have been running excellent small group adventures ever since.
Intrepid's Core Purpose - Intrepid's core purpose is to enrich peoples lives by creating unique, interactive travel experiences. They provide fun, affordable and sustainable travel adventures that are beneficial to local communities.
Home From Home - Where you stay is all part of your Intrepid experience. Whether it's a centrally-located city hotel, or a homestay in a tribal village, staying close to a region's people and culture is the guiding principle. Our choices are based on friendliness as well as facilities, character as much as convenience.
Small Groups - Travelling in a small group makes it more like travelling with friends than on an organised tour. It means you get to experience more of the local culture, and we don't dominate; we can actually get to know people and do the things they do.
Experienced leaders - Intrepid have some of the best leaders in the business: well trained locals who act as ambassadors between you and the place you are travelling in. This means that you can get the most from the country and the people you meet.
Please remember though, these tours are based on an Intrepid trip, but are a completely separate product. They don't appear on the Intrepid website, and you should address any questions through Steve on this link and bookings here.
intrepid's responsible travel policy
Intrepid Travel has a comprehensive and well developed Responsible Travel policy, which is one of the main reasons that they were selected to provide the land arrangements for this trip. This doesn't just benefit the locals in the countries they travel to: by sourcing local guides and staying in locally owned properties, our tours manage to get closer to our destination, which helps to give you a more connected and empathetic experience on your holiday.
With the Better Travel Photography tours we wholeheartedly support all of the Intrepid Travel initiatives towards responsible travel. The main features of this policy are as follows:
• We favour grass roots travel using local public transport where possible – which minimises demand for special tourist vehicles and fuel. If we do need to use private transport we ensure that we use local operators and drivers giving employment to locals.
• We choose small-scale locally owned accommodation and homestays where available and local restaurants and markets for dining, retaining revenue in local communities.
• Our group leaders facilitate communication of our values to travellers and local communities, educating them in sustainable tourism practices.
• We employ local guides to aid travellers' understanding of local culture and etiquette.
• Our small groups allow travellers to experience cultures first hand, offering greater opportunity for cross- cultural understanding.
• We are committed to putting back into the communities and regions we visit by supporting development and conservation projects in these areas. We achieve this through supporting The Intrepid Foundation and our travellers are invited to contribute. We also visit a local community project on our trip and encourage our travellers to support local business when buying souvenirs and other items.
At the welcome group meeting, our passengers receive the standard Intrepid Travel introduction, which includes all aspects of the Intrepid Travel Responsible Travel policy. This includes initiatives for minimising the environmental and cultural effect of their trip. These policies are also incorporated into our trip notes, and guests are expected to conform to them when they are travelling.
In addition to conforming to, and endorsing the Intrepid Travel policies, we have our own initiatives, primarily concerning the impact of travel photography and also concerning the environmental impact of our business.
the intrepid foundation
The Intrepid Foundation is a not-for-profit fund that has distributed over AU$3 million to more than 70 non-government organisations since 2002, contributing to health care, education, human rights, child welfare, sustainable development and environmental and wildlife protection.
Contributing to one of the many projects supported by The Intrepid Foundation is your chance to give back to the places you've travelled to and help improve lives around the world. There are two ways you can help:
The Intrepid Community Project Fund supports around 40 grassroots non-government organisations doing great work in Intrepid Travel's operating destinations. Many of these organisations and their projects can be visited during your Intrepid trip.
The Intrepid Perpetual Fund supports a range of Intrepid's 'partner' non-government organisations, such as Amnesty International, Medicins Sans Frontieres and the World Society for the Protection of Animals. All donations made to this fund are equally divided each year, with half retained to conserve and grow capital for funding projects into the future and half distributed to our current partner non-government organisations.
And the best bit? Intrepid Travel matches all donations to the foundation dollar for dollar - up to AU$5,000 per donor and a total of AU$400,000 for all donors in each financial year. We also guarantee that 100% of your donation will reach your nominated project, because Intrepid Travel covers all administration costs.
What is covered on this trip?
As well as enjoying the monuments, landscapes and people of Mongolia, you will learn a massive amount about photography and many of the techniques used by a professional travel photographer.
Our tours generally cover a wide range of technical and practical techniques for improving your travel photography. This is done with a combination of practical group and individual demonstrations, illustrated talks on aspects of travel photography and group reviews and discussions.
I have recently completely revitalised our teaching schedules on our trips: we will be setting a lot more projects for people to work towards, and also holding more image reviews.
I tailor the subjects covered on the tours depending on the level of knowledge of people on the tour, individual requirements and the nature of the itinerary. Always very approachable, we are always willing to give individual help, look at pictures or enter into a spirited discussion about just about everything.
I will also give a short daily briefing as to the sort of things that you might expect to see each day, and the sort of equipment and techniques that you might need the following day.
There are a number of specific skills that we can cover on this trip, including:
• Simple ways to improve the focus and sharpness of your pictures.
• Techniques to achieve great portraits of the people we meet on our travels
• How to see pictures and prepare your camera ready to take them
• Ways to improve your exposures!
• How to use composition to tell a story in your pictures.
• How to use a polarising filter to get more vibrant shots.
• Techniques for better night photography and shooting star trails
• The importance of understanding ISO, shutter speed and depth of field.
• How to use panning for exciting action shots
• How to shoot and process panoramic pictures
• How to plan pictures using a range of apps
• The rules of composition (and when to break them)
• Simple post-production techniques to give your pictures more punch and impact.
• How to back up pictures and clean your camera.
Our schedule is flexible, and will be responsive to the needs and interests of the group. If there is anything else that you would like covered on the trip, then please ask at any time. I am always happy to include anything in the trip tuition. Please note though, to get the
Who is this tour suited to?
Our photo tours cater for a wide spectrum of people at a range of different levels. Steve's skill in explaining things, patience and tireless energy mean that he is able to pitch talks and individual tuition so that they are relevant for a range of different abilities.
These tours are primarily aimed at people who have at least a basic knowledge of their cameras and are keen to develop their skills further.
The people who get the most from a trip like this are those who are aware of the areas that they want to develop. It might sound obvious, but if you know your own shortcomings then you are better able to tackle them!
If you have a greater knowledge, then Steve will be able to fill in a lot of the theories behind things that you might have already thought that you knew, which will help make decisions more instinctive and more confident. He will also be able to help you to take your photography forward to the next stage and can teach you a number of advanced techniques and theories.
If you are an absolute beginner, then these tours will still teach you a vast amount about photography. A large part of photography is artistic and not technical. Selecting viewpoints and angles, composition and especially approaching people to take their picture are as vital as apertures and shutter speeds. Allied to this Steve will explain all of the technical aspects that you need to know as they relate to you and your camera.
You will get more out of these tours if you have a basic familiarity with your camera. If it is new, and out of the box then you might spend a great deal of time thumbing through the manual, and not learning about photography. I should also point out that whilst I has a lot of experience with different cameras, he doesn't know everything about all of them! If you are not familiar with your camera, then you should definitely bring the manual with you! Between us, we should then be able to sort out most things!
Finally, it is important to remember that whilst photography does need patience and sometimes you need to wait for a picture; this is a group tour. There will be a lot of time for you to go off on your own, but there will also be times where we have to meet at a certain time, or during a journey need to maintain our pace. If the group dynamic is not really for you and you have the opinion that everyone else can just wait for you if you are taking a picture, wandering off or shopping then these (or any group tours) probably aren't for you!
Similarly, if you are the sort of person who gets offended or irritated by other people easily, and just "have to speak your mind" about it, no matter who you offend, then maybe any group trip is not for you. These trips work better if everyone is prepared to work together as a team, and help each other. We will all have a better time, and come away with better pictures and better memories.
Travel in Mongolia
This trip will require a good level of fitness. We have included a number of walks to help us explore more, and sometimes the ground could be a little rough, and the conditions could be hot and dusty. There are some long journeys but thse are just a part of the adventure, and the only way to visit some of the stunning places we visit.
Some of the places we stay might be somewhat basic. For many locations we will be staying in Ger camps, which will have shared facilities. Also, the single supplement is not available for days 2-4, when we are staying in family ger camps. On these days, everyone will be expected to share with others of the same gender. Even when we are in a hotel in the capital, ue to the fact that much of Ulaanbaatar's infrastructure lacks regular maintenance, you may on occasion only have access to cold water at your hotel.
Mongolian food is relentlessly meat, with carbs – usually bread, noodles, rices or pasta. Originally a nomadic people, vegetables don't feature that much in Mongolian cuisine either! A quick search of Ulaanbatur might throw up a couple of vegetarian restaurants, but please be aware that we are unable to compel the entire group to head to a Western style vegetarian restaurant, when they would rather have a traditional meaty meal. Once we get out of the capital, then options will be even more limited. Chicken is not considered meat, and is often thought of as suitable for vegetarians – as is a meat dish with the lumps picked out. If you do get a vegetarian option, then it is likely to be fairly dull, unappetising and with no choice. Whilst I might respect you life choices – especially those that arise from religious or moral concerns - the sad fact is that Mongolia as a country is probably not a suitable destination for you, and we will struggle to accommodate you on this trip. Please do contact Steve if you would like to discuss this further.
For more information, please contact us and we will help you to assess if this adventurous trip is for you.
Non-photographing partners
Steve is often asked about non-photographing partners coming on our trips, and he always say that they are more than welcome - as long as they are not photographer-phobic! Steve believes that travel photography is a great way to engage with a place and the people who live there. Because we are photographers we will see more sunrises, talk to more locals, try more foods and visit more markets than ordinary trips. This means that non-photographers can engage with us - and some even go away with a new interest in photography. We are also about having a good time too - Steve is mindful that this is a holiday as well as a photography tour - so we aim to have lively meals, a lot of laughs and the odd drink or two. As someone recently stated abut our tours:
"Your love of photography and travel is infectious and I can honestly say I have never laughed or learnt so much on a holiday before!"
If Steve had to have a mission statement for these tours, then this is it!