The Eagle Hunter Photo

Photographer’s Note

The westernmost three provinces of Mongolia are inhabited mainly by Kazakh nomads. The Kazakhs have a tradition of hunting with eagles, much the way other people hunt with falcons.

While we were on a trek in outermost Mongolia, we were introduced to Bayatolla, a champion eagle hunter, here with his eagle. He had captured her as a fledgling, raised and trained her, and now flies her in competition (I don't remember if he really hunts with her any more). He dressed himself in his competition costume for this pose. A year or two after our visit, he was planning to release her back into the wild so that she could produce more eagles. (Female eagles are normally used for hunting; they also weigh half again as much as males, so that is about 6 ot 7 kilos he's balancing on the back of his hand.)

Bayatolla is over 80, and none of his descendants are interested in learning the tradition. It is likely it will die with his generation.

Technical: I shot this with a film camera. For this submission, I scanned the print (4x6) into Photoshop, then used Noiseware to sharpen the image, and a bit of levels to get more color. Not perfect, but not bad for a scan, hmmm?

There was no cropping to speak of, and no telephoto; this is really how close he let me get to his eagle.

rigoletto, isabela_sor, Traczewska, Dyerco, noborders, riclopes, happypoppeye, gunbud, MLINES, zmey has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

rigoletto (25934) 2007-09-14 9:30

Hi Daniel,
Regarding the scanning activity, there is no need to say any words for the technical quality. But the moment, your close-up view without any zoom, your tight cadrage, the elements of the compo: hat, face, eagle, coat, glove...they are just wonderful. I envy your visit to the depths of those vast lands of Central Asia. Thank you for sharing this anthroplogic scene.
Regards,
Deniz

leonorkuhn (13435) 2007-09-14 14:08

Hi Daniel,

Very interesting portrait of the hunter and his eagle. It isn't a usual subject in TE. I think that is a good scanned image.

Have a nice weekend
Leonor

Traczewska (6878) 2007-09-14 14:41

I like the scene, for me, egzotic and unique, but in contrast to you triumphal description of successul scan :-) I am silghtely bothered by technical value so propose the WS.
Hope you'll like it?
with regards, Agnieszka

[workshop] [compare] +

fotohadi (2967) 2007-09-14 15:00

Hi Daniel,Very interesting portrait,good scanned image,Well done Hadi

Dyerco (8850) 2007-09-14 20:42

A very interesting portrait of this man and his eagle. Well done.
Phil

isabela_sor (41903) 2007-09-15 1:25

In a strange way they two resemble :)Something is very similar and i can't find what!perfectly good for George's(polonaise) theme ....how close can you get :)
And yes,pretty good for a scan picture
A very nice weekend

noborders (14215) 2007-09-15 2:53

Really an inspiring photo, that invites to travel in those areas... So interesting, (and I understand so well the problems of scanning images...)
Thank you for posting this here, and for adding the great note,
Best regards,
Cath.

riclopes (32845) 2007-09-15 3:06

Olá David, fascinating image of an atractive remote place on earth, with a good story. You are really close and it's a great portrait. In these situations, the image quality is not that important but the scan seems quite good.
Have a nice weekend,
ricardo

livinitout (938) 2007-09-17 22:07

Wow that's a big bird. Well taken shot here. There is a lot of noise in the picture but that could be helped with a number of programs I am sure. Well done.

happypoppeye (4060) 2007-09-25 13:47

This is a great shot Dan. It really makes me think of your name here on TE, and how it looks like you had to wander to a very far off and exotic land to get this one. Color and sharpness isn't great, but alot of that is probably due to the scan, and honestly, this one doesn't need those to be considered great. Composition is excellent and this shot is just a once in a lifetime view that is really spectacular. That eagle is huge...

Nice work
John

gunbud (27523) 2007-10-01 18:20

Hi Dan,
Wonderful capture of this traditional Mongolian sportsman with his noble bird cast a lovely shadow over his coat with the botton for an eye. Nice clear colors and details with an excellent note.
Regards, Tom

MLINES (10840) 2008-03-02 11:51

Hi Daniel, A most interesting photo with facinating notes about what we are looking at. It is amazing this still goes on away from the commercialised areas. It is grainy which makes it more like a historical photo. I like it a lot. TFS. Murray.

zmey (7242) 2008-04-21 7:39

hello daniel

i came back to your treasure trove... :)) wow... this is a pure classic. the old man and his eagle (a fearsome specimen, indeed)... i even feel the graininess is just right here: symbolic of the ruggedness of the place.

thanks for sharing
kristaps