Out on the tundra
The herd. Grunt, click, whoosh, clack . The herders have brought them together, past the river valley, headed towards camp. Out on the tundra, Eastern Chukotka, Russia. Photo by Eric Guth.
Shorts
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Soaring with the drums
We’ve only been in town an hour when someone knocks on the door. It’s the local English teacher, who is the last messenger in a long line of connections that began back in Canada. “The dancing will begin in an hour,” she says. When we arrive, women and girls are pulling on their tunics while…
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Arriving in darkness
Arriving at night. Silhouettes of the camp that will be our new temporary home, but the camps are always temporary out here. These reindeer herders move every season. In each new place, the yuranga’s roof poles, the outline of their shed, and smoke from the fire stand out against the sky. I love arriving to…
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Living with unanswerable questions
Here in Chukotka, I have so many unanswerable questions each day. Stories–sometimes disguised as wreckage, litter, or a closed door–play hard to get. How many questions from this one extraordinary scene? A torn up fuselage perched beside the road, its story lost to local memory. Maybe the ravens know what happened here. Maybe they can…
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Sneak peak from the tundra
A sneak peak from our time on the tundra with Chukchi reindeer herders. We just got back ‘home’ to our Chukotka apartment, and we are sifting through the photographs, interviews, and stories … which become memories all too quickly. Picture a stream of thousands of animals pouring out across the tundra. Now moving apart, then…
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We are National Geographic Explorers
We meet up in the darnedest places, and we’re celebrating! We are National Geographic Explorers!! Meet the North is now supported by the National Geographic Society through the Committee for Research and Exploration. And we were on the National Geographic Explorer when we found out. How cool is that!? Here, Eric Guth and I are…
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Reunion in Chukotka
Provideniya, Chukotka. A town that immediately captured my heart. Perhaps you know this feeling, when you arrive somewhere new and foreign, but something about it fits your spirit. Like it has something you’ve been looking for. Here, our theme is layers. Layers of colour, texture, history, and emotion. The layers you go through when you…
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Arriving over the Bering Strait
We made it!! We had a spectacular flight across the Bering Strait and we are now through our first week in Chukotka. Thank you all for the well wishes. The weather was perfect for our crossing, and our pilot made some extra loops over Alaska just for us. Twenty minutes into our one hour flight…
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Real life unicorn
They seemed to be coming my way, so I turned my zodiac engine off. I hoped they would come closer, but I wasn’t prepared for the energy they brought as they surged forward. Waves, smooth skin, tusks, and the sound of mystery. Narwhal are real life unicorns. They are quiet yet powerful. They are a…
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We’re going to Russia
On the subject of friends and mentors, whom I’ve been thinking about all day, how does this photo represent what’s next for us? . This is my Russian teacher, Yuriy. Look at that smile! That’s right, we’re going to Russia! Tomorrow! Well, that’s the plan anyway. We’ll be in Russia’s Far East for six weeks,…
