The Last Nomad

My Photo scholarship 2011 entry

Worldwide | Tuesday, November 8, 2011 | 5 photos

The soft thud of hooves thundering upon the earth. Mongolia, with its vast and lonely landscapes, syrup eyed people and proud, wild maned steeds.
As one of the world's last nomadic cultures, this place has always quietly called to me. The deep connection with horses, a partnership lived out in undoubtedly some of the wildest and spectacular environments on the planet, makes Mongolia so irresistible to me. But, it is also the quiet way in which the people live their lives, treading lightly, never owning the land, a deep appreciation for the earth, for their animals. A country that is shared and protected, a nomadic lifestyle which moves with the seasons, horses at the epicenter of life. It is a culture that is changing, slowly moving way to a more modern world.
My images from Mongolia are but small vignettes of life, stories of a culture that sits poised on the edge of a knife, the last nomads.

My name is Hannah and I am an emerging photographer based in Newcastle, NSW. Photography is my way of interacting with the world around me, it allows me to share my different way of seeing. I am interested in recording the stories of people, the land, the culture and creatures that inhabit our planet.

When I was 8 I began taping every single animal documentary that was played on the television, I also saved my pocket money for subscriptions for both National and Australian Geographic magazines, something I still subscribe to today at 27. A photographer for National Geographic has always been my unwavering answer to the old question 'What do you want to be when you grow up"?

It has always felt like such a big dream to chase, but when I saw this scholarship, the gap between dream and reality dissolved. I would love to show you what I could do with an opportunity like this.