During my 2013 voyage to Mongolia I went to the west. I went there in order to document the Kazakh eagle hunters. These hunters, who preserve an old tradition that’s passed from generation to generation, tame eagles and use them for hunting smaller animals, such as foxes and marmots. The eagle hunter’s families live on this side of Mongolia after having migrated between Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia until the fall of communism and closing of all borders. The tradition’s preservation was what drew me to them. They preserve it without any touristic nature, unlike in Kazakhstan. These Kazakh eagle hunters, who live in Mongolia today, are the last ones on earth who still deserve the title “Eagle Hunter”. It is not merely a title to them, but a way of life.
I've decided to focus myself, stop looking for a portrait of centuries old image of a Kazakh eagle hunter, and search for a portrait representing the future of this ancient Mongolian tradition. I wanted to document the “Future Generation” – boys who take their first steps in learning the hunting skills, boys who hold the tradition’s future in their bare hands.
