Mongolian Cairn

snagglefish · 10-23-2002, 02:45 AM

ahoy hoy.
just thought i would throw this shot up.
from Chinese National Holidays when i was in Inner Mongolia (the Chinese province, not the country)

this is a cairn that i shot at sunrise. i had spent the night in a Yurt, where the temperature had dipped to minus 16 C (3 F) and had set my alarm for what i thought would be the time of sunrise.

this is what i was rewarded with.

Griff · 10-23-2002, 06:17 AM

I shat some corn at sunrise myself.

Seriously though, thats a nice payoff.

ndetroit · 10-23-2002, 02:35 PM

what is a yurt?

perth · 10-23-2002, 02:38 PM

yurt.

~james

snagglefish · 10-23-2002, 08:57 PM

(yûrt)
A circular, domed, portable tent used by nomadic peoples of central Asia

yurt is the russian word
menggubao is the chinese word
ger is the mongolian word

this is a photo of two of them that same morning

Undertoad · 10-23-2002, 09:30 PM

These are excellent shots to see how many colors your monitor can display. That sky contains 'em all.

snagglefish · 10-23-2002, 09:38 PM

indeed.
it was one of those spectacular mornings.
my alarm had gone off at 5am or something equally unpleasant.
generally i grumble, curse, or hope for it to be cloudy so i can go back to bed.

however on this particular occasion i crawled out of my sleeping bag on the hard floor of the yurt, past the sputtering coal-fired stove that had died sometime during the night, and made my way to the door of the yurt.

the night before i hadn't bothered to look on my compass exactly which way we were facing. but as i looked out the window of the yurt - clad in my thermal underwear to ward of the freezing temperatures - i knew immediately. the sky was ablaze. the cairn was visible as a silhouette against this firey dawn.

i went from wanting to crawl back into my bag to dashing across this frozen landscape with tripod in hand.

it was a good morning.

10-23-2002, 09:58 PM

Let me just say two things.

One, it's awesome that you're having a good time out there. I'm envious, because my career hasn't taken me to Asia yet - but glad for you, since yours has.

And secondly, many deep thanks for sharing it with us. I truly appreciate it.

snagglefish · 10-23-2002, 10:03 PM

my pleasure dave.

one of the most satisfying (gratifying?) parts of photography for me is the ability to share some of my work with others.

and yes - i am having a tremendous time misadventuring in mandarin here in shanghai.

i am hoping to write up a proper missive about my mongolian experience in the next little bit. when that happens i will post another pic, with a link to the .pdf story.

stay tuned.

Griff · 10-24-2002, 06:34 AM

Very cool Snag. Keep on posting.

Yurts aren't just for Mongols anymore. Woops you can get this link from Perths. If you live somewhere with flexible building codes its a great option. Unfortunately word on the street is unusual construction and owner building are dead in Pennsylvania, due to legislative action. Makes me wish I had taken a few more chances...maybe I can use something different in an addition.

10-23-2002, 02:45 AM	#1
snagglefish Cantankerous Incantonator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: vancouver, canada Posts: 54	Mongolian Cairn ahoy hoy. just thought i would throw this shot up. from Chinese National Holidays when i was in Inner Mongolia (the Chinese province, not the country) this is a cairn that i shot at sunrise. i had spent the night in a Yurt, where the temperature had dipped to minus 16 C (3 F) and had set my alarm for what i thought would be the time of sunrise. this is what i was rewarded with. Attached Images

10-23-2002, 06:17 AM	#2
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	I shat some corn at sunrise myself. Seriously though, thats a nice payoff. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-23-2002, 08:57 PM	#5
snagglefish Cantankerous Incantonator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: vancouver, canada Posts: 54	(yûrt) A circular, domed, portable tent used by nomadic peoples of central Asia yurt is the russian word menggubao is the chinese word ger is the mongolian word this is a photo of two of them that same morning Attached Images

10-24-2002, 06:34 AM	#10
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Very cool Snag. Keep on posting. Yurts aren't just for Mongols anymore. Woops you can get this link from Perths. If you live somewhere with flexible building codes its a great option. Unfortunately word on the street is unusual construction and owner building are dead in Pennsylvania, due to legislative action. Makes me wish I had taken a few more chances...maybe I can use something different in an addition. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

10-23-2002, 02:35 PM	#3
ndetroit Master Locutor Join Date: May 2001 Location: vancouver Posts: 158	what is a yurt?

10-23-2002, 02:38 PM	#4
perth Strong Silent Type Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Fort Collins, CO Posts: 1,949	yurt. ~james

10-23-2002, 09:30 PM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	These are excellent shots to see how many colors your monitor can display. That sky contains 'em all.

10-23-2002, 09:38 PM	#7
snagglefish Cantankerous Incantonator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: vancouver, canada Posts: 54	indeed. it was one of those spectacular mornings. my alarm had gone off at 5am or something equally unpleasant. generally i grumble, curse, or hope for it to be cloudy so i can go back to bed. however on this particular occasion i crawled out of my sleeping bag on the hard floor of the yurt, past the sputtering coal-fired stove that had died sometime during the night, and made my way to the door of the yurt. the night before i hadn't bothered to look on my compass exactly which way we were facing. but as i looked out the window of the yurt - clad in my thermal underwear to ward of the freezing temperatures - i knew immediately. the sky was ablaze. the cairn was visible as a silhouette against this firey dawn. i went from wanting to crawl back into my bag to dashing across this frozen landscape with tripod in hand. it was a good morning.

10-23-2002, 09:58 PM	#8
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Let me just say two things. One, it's awesome that you're having a good time out there. I'm envious, because my career hasn't taken me to Asia yet - but glad for you, since yours has. And secondly, many deep thanks for sharing it with us. I truly appreciate it.

10-23-2002, 10:03 PM	#9
snagglefish Cantankerous Incantonator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: vancouver, canada Posts: 54	my pleasure dave. one of the most satisfying (gratifying?) parts of photography for me is the ability to share some of my work with others. and yes - i am having a tremendous time misadventuring in mandarin here in shanghai. i am hoping to write up a proper missive about my mongolian experience in the next little bit. when that happens i will post another pic, with a link to the .pdf story. stay tuned.

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