In August I returned to Mongolia , a country I hadn’t visited in six years. My previous trip was to photograph dinosaur fossils as part of a lager story for the National Geographic Magazine. This time I led a group of twenty five photo enthusiasts on a National Geographic Expedition throughout the country. Mongolia is a great place to shoot pictures. The landscape is diverse: green and wet in the north and brown and dry desert in the south. Include the friendly, nomadic people and their Gers (Yurts) and you are in photographic heaven. In the short time I spent on this trip, I was still able to get enough interesting images to put up a gallery on my website.

The Milky Way rises over a Mongolian Ger in South Gobi Desert, Mongolia.

Of course everyone brought their favorite gear and coincidently, two of my students were carrying my backpack of choice, the Tenba, Discovery Photo/Laptop Daypack Large. In the summer of 2012, I shot a project in southern Utah which involved a lot of climbing and hiking. I needed a light, daypack that could hold equipment, water and food. My friend Peter Waisnor from Tenba suggested the Discovery Photo/Laptop Daypack in a tan color. Normally I carry black bags and packs but in the searing desert sun, the light color really made a difference. The pack worked great in Utah and also did the job in Mongolia. I had to shoot this photo to send to Peter.

Two of my students at the Framing Cliffs with their Tenba packs.