Wild Yak Man

I met a really interesting character today. He made sure I knew that his moniker was to be pronounced as 'wild yak' then 'man' -- as opposed to 'wild' then 'yak man' ;)

The gent, an employee of the US' Agency for International Development, had invited me to a presentation he was making of his photographic documentary work on Tibetan nomads. He's not a photographer by trade (could've fooled me - just look at the beautiful portraits on the blip) but rather one of the few rangeland ecologists in the world. The camera is just one of his tools of the trade. I'm always fascinated by people who use photography for purposes other than competitions and self-centered pursuits.

In addition to being a Peace Corps worker for 3 years early on in Nepal, he also worked as a range cowboy for five years - "just to get some experience beyond book stuff." He then spent the remainder of his career within the international aid arena, always centered around Tibet, with various organizations. His stories are amazing and his b&w portraits (done with film cameras) simply exquisite.

I'll meet up with him again to get some intel on Nepal and Bhutan before our trip there.