tsiklonaut
Well-known
River separating Afghanistan from the Tajikistan.
It's very narrow at some points.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
Fine tracks to ride, most of them over 4000m of altitude makes them even better.
Mountain bliss.
Pamirs are mostly rocky and rugged. On the steep slopes rock avalanches are a norm (the white stripes on the mountain)
valdas
Mentor
Amazing shots...
Paulbe
Well-known
Wow! Utterly amazing! Thank you for posting!
Paul
Paul
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
Amazing pictures in this thread!
Erik van Straten
Mentor
Yes, like another planet.
Erik.
Erik.
WJJ3
Well-known
Amazing photos, and really interesting trip! Thanks for sharing these.
Bingley
Mentor
The Sisters made us a fine fried fish originating from a nearby lake situated at a staggering 4000 meters above sea level in one of the harshest places
in the whole Tajikistan where blizzard winters can easily drop to -50C. I thought fish can't live on those conditions and altitudes. They really know their stuff!
Wow! Just wow! All of your photos are excellent but this one jumped out. Really timeless portraiture. I've ordered the book. Someone mentioned a comparison of your work to Thesiger's and I think that's right on. Please keep posting!!
tsiklonaut
Well-known
Gentlemen, I thank you!
Been away a bit attending a newborn family lately, but I still pop into RF time to to time (if I get time)
Massive thank you for such a kind words!
Hopefully you'll like the book!
Take care,
Margus
tsiklonaut
Well-known
Taking non-existant tracks to pin our way out of the valley. Altitude around 4200 meters above sea level.
Each direction the Great Pamir landscape changes dramatically.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
As the valley got wider it was harder to follow the non-existent tracks. Seasonal river crossing were particularly hard.
Soon a snowstorm was chasing us. Snowing in middle of summer is no news in the high Pamirs.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
This valley is claimed to be the coldest inhabited place in Tajikistan, ferocious winters can hit down to -60C. Summers are nominally windy.
Refueling with dirty fuel. Toilet paper inside the funnel sorted out many iron particles from the rusty canisters they hold the fuel in.
Refuelling is always a bit skechy on remote areas. Thankfully we have oldschool low-compression motorcycles that run well on dirty drinks.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
Donkey power is a preferred transport in GBAO part of Tajikistan, he really wanted to follow us to see the bikes but the donkey couldn't keep up.
He sat on the very back to get more speed out of his bone powered machine, but it still wasn't enough. So we just stopped so the boy could
take a good look on us and the bikes. He was so happy and we got a pic in exchange.
Old mosque in Murghab, the place for a short supply before heading out again deep into the mountains.
A boy with his grandfather who was so keen to show his boy our bikes and have a chat how things go in the ex-Soviet bloc countries and how
different paths they've gone. A man in search of wisdom that the young can learn from.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
Afghani side of the Panj river.
It gets so narrow at times you can almost jump over to Afghanistan if you want to.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
Riding the Great Pamirs.
Getting higher. Afghani village on the right below.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
High altitude desert. It's surprising to find that some people prefer to live here.
Arid and harsh high-altitude desert at 4200 meters above sealevel.
tsiklonaut
Well-known
At 4000 meters in a mountanous desert you really must plan your housing for permanent living. Winters can get down to -50C,
add ferocious winds and snowfalls to super dry summers, and you get a house like this.
There are few toys to play with at 4000 meters above sealevel where only grass grows at best. But they get to play with the non-plastic real-fesh "barbies & kens" while
taking care of their younger siblings.
Skiff
Well-known
Margus,
I love your photography! Such amazing work!
I always imagine to look at your beautiful slides life, on a light table with an excellent slide loupe, or even in projection, where transparency film is absolutely unsurpassed (we are doing slide projection here at home regularly, it is a league of its own).
Viewing on a computer monitor looks crappy compared to lighttable / projection.
Nevertheless, of course please keep on posting here!
I love your photography! Such amazing work!
I always imagine to look at your beautiful slides life, on a light table with an excellent slide loupe, or even in projection, where transparency film is absolutely unsurpassed (we are doing slide projection here at home regularly, it is a league of its own).
Viewing on a computer monitor looks crappy compared to lighttable / projection.
Nevertheless, of course please keep on posting here!
Leica All Day
Mentor
So much goodness in this thread, thanks for the inspiration.
cheers, michael
cheers, michael
Timmyjoe
Mentor
Taking non-existant tracks to pin our way out of the valley. Altitude around 4200 meters above sea level.
Margus,
Just spent a wonderful Sunday morning slowly going thru this thread again, what a delight. Such lovely imagery, such a wonderful adventure. Thanks so much for keeping it going.
One quick question. As a rider, the image above is one of my nightmares. Are you using GPS or how are you navigating when you find yourself with "non-existing tracks" and in the middle of infinite space?
Best,
-Tim