Photography

I have 16 photo collections featuring 800+ adventure travel photographs, captured on journeys across mountains, deserts, and remote rivers. Highlights include ski mountaineering in Iran, solo ski tours through the Balkans, documenting a hunter-herder in Tajikistan, paddling Siberian waterways, and exploring Central Asia’s vast landscapes.

All images are available for editorial and commercial licensing. For inquiries, email info@matthewtraver.com.

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Kyzyl Kum Desert, Uzbekistan

A portrait of a young boy curiously gazing into the camera.
A woman and child pose outside their stone-built hut in the Kyzyl Kum.
A boy wearing a hooded jacket poses with a white saluki dog in the desert.
A desert run in the Kyzyl Kum stands on a dirt track.

The Kyzyl Kum — meaning “red sands” in Turkic — is the 15th largest desert in the world, stretching across central Uzbekistan, northern Turkmenistan, and southern Kazakhstan. Set within an Italy-sized depression and framed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, its vast dunes and scrublands create a striking, elemental landscape.
[Explore the Kyzyl Kum photo gallery]

Mt. Damavand, Iran

Two Afghan porters sat outside a Damavand mountain hut, smiling for the camera.
Photo of Mount Damavand in background and five ski mountaineers on a nearby peak in foreground. In the middle is a very wide valley with a few dozen houses.
George Cave on the side of a snow covered mountain in the sunshine. A few hundred metres below is a dry and sunny valley.
Shirin gives a smile and thumbs up during her ascent. A photo of Mount Damavand's summit is in the background, covered in mist.

Mt. Damavand, rising to 5,610m, is the highest peak in the Middle East and Asia’s tallest volcano. Located just a few hours’ drive from Tehran, it offers more than a dozen routes to the summit and draws skiers, trekkers, and mountaineers from around the world — many aiming to tick off the Volcanic Seven Summits.
[Explore the Mt. Damavand photo gallery]

The Dinaric Alps, Balkans

Black and white image of Montenegro man posing with his shotgun.
Skier with heavy bag on his back coming towards camera.
Close up photo of jagged limestone mountains dusted in powder snow.
Landscape Peaks of the Balkans Trail photo near Kosovo.

Stretching for 650 km along the Adriatic coast, the Dinaric Alps form one of southeastern Europe’s most striking mountain ranges. Some of its most dramatic — and lesser-visited — landscapes lie in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, and Kosovo.
[Explore the Dinaric Alps photo gallery]

Grense Jakobselv, Norway

Black and white photo of the front of an abandoned house with four windows.
A red house stands alone on the sun-drenched tundra in northern Norway.
Wide angle view of Jakobselv River's tidal bay, with Russia on the leftside.
A survey point atop of a rock overlooking the Barents Sea.

Grense Jakobselv, a deserted settlement on Norway’s border with Russia, holds the little-known distinction of being the north-easternmost point of mainland Europe.
[Explore the Grense Jakobselv photo gallery]

East Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan

A horse rider tows his pack animal across verdant Kazakhstan grasslands.
A closeup photograph of a dragon fly in Kazakhstan sat on a twig.
A Muslim Kazakhstan man and boy wave for the camera.
Black and white photo in Kazakhstan of man lassoing an oil drum for fun.

Bordering Russia to the north and China to the south, East Kazakhstan Province is a land of steppe, alpine mountains, and rivers. Slightly smaller than Italy and home to fewer than 1.5 million people, this far-eastern region offers vast, quiet landscapes for those seeking solitude.
[Explore the East Kazakhstan photo gallery]

Bayan-Ölgii, Mongolia

A Kazakh boy wearing a wool hat and traditional clothing holds a dombra musical instrument.
Alpamys wearing a face scarf riding on his horse and towing the pack horse behind.
A close up photo of a Kazakh boy smiling with his cheek next to his horse.
A Kazakh man with one leg crossed holds his eagle.

Bayan-Ölgii, Mongolia’s westernmost province, is famous for its eagle hunters, who use trained golden eagles to catch prey. Around 80% of the world’s eagle hunters live here, with the remainder in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and western China.
[Explore the Bayan-Ölgii photo gallery]

Tuva Republic, Russia

Portrait of Tuvan teenager with short hair and red shirt, inside of his colourful yurt.
Close up photo of a white Russian man drunkenly pointing at the camera lens.
A Tuvan musician with handlebar moustache coolly leaning against his accordion.
A Tuvan musician wearing a blue traditional outfit sat next to a pine tree.

Tuva, a semi-autonomous republic in southern Siberia bordering Mongolia, is home to the geographical centre of Asia and the source of the Yenisei, Russia’s longest river. Its landscape of wild forests and steppe is dotted with villages, semi-nomadic settlements, and a rich tradition of throat singing and artisanal crafts.
[View the Tuva Republic photo gallery]

Altai Republic, Russia

A group of walkers ascend over grassy hills and beneath blue skies.
A Tatar man and woman wearing traditional hates.
The alpine bowl and glacier beneath Belukha's pyramid-like face.
Altai horsemen riding on horseback ascending up a mountainside.

Practitioners of Tengrism, Burkhanism, and Pagan Slavic religions regard the Altai Republic as Siberia’s spiritual heart. This landlocked region shares borders with Kazakhstan and Mongolia and is home to Mt. Belukha (4,506m) — Siberia’s highest peak.
[Explore the Altai Republic photo gallery, including pictures of the Republic of Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Krai]

Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan

A Tajik-Kyrgyz man wearing camouflage carries a big bundle of teresken shrub on his back.
Portrait of two men fishing on a sun-kissed Pamir mountain plateau.
Black and white landscape photo of three yurts in front of moody, shadowy mountains.
A view of a remote peak with a giant snow-covered face, with a sandy desert in the foreground.

Tajikistan, the smallest country in Central Asia, is defined by its rugged, mountainous terrain. This gallery explores the Pamir Mountains in eastern Tajikistan and the life of Orozbek, a Kyrgyz–Tajik hunter-herder living near the border of Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor.
[View the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan photo gallery]

Saryesik-Atyrau, Kazakhstan

Jamie Maddison on an ultra-run across the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert and passing by the remains of an abandoned Soviet-era construction project.
A Kazakh herder with a baby goat in the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert.
Black and white photo of Jamie Maddison stopping for a rest break near to an abandoned farmstead in Kazakhstan.
Desert runner Jamie pauses for a much needed rest break from running in the late summer's searing temperatures in Kazakhstan. Leaning against the car and exhausted.

The Saryesik-Atyrau Desert, between the Ili and Karatal Rivers on the southern shores of Lake Balkhash, was formed from an ancient river delta. Despite its harsh landscape, it’s home to goitered gazelle, wild boar, saiga antelope, and Asian wild ass. This gallery follows Jamie Maddison’s 70-mile run through the region.
[Explore the Saryesik-Atyrau Desert photo gallery]

Ust-Yurt, Kazakhstan

A flat plateau of orange and white shattered rock stretches out in front of rocky towers in the Ustyurt.
A circular shaped hunting pen formed from slab rock sits on the edge of a cliff.
A black and white photo of a desert tower half cast in a sunset, with the other side in shadow.
A rocky cliff overlooks an angled slope which leads down towards a Kazakh plateau.

The Ustyurt — meaning “plateau” in Kazakh — is a coastal desert on the edge of the Caspian Sea, covering an area roughly the size of Kyrgyzstan. Spanning Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, it’s characterised by vast salt pans, sedimentary rock towers, escarpments, and pinnacles.
[View the Ustyurt photo gallery]

Danakil Depression, Ethiopia

A mother and baby camel walking through the sahel with a volcano in the background.
An Afar Ethiopian guide looking tough with his AK-47 slung over his shoulder.
An Afar girl with dreadlocks sat on a wooden bed in the open air.
A young Afar policeman with his AK-47 slung over his shoulder.

Over 100m below sea level, northeast Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression is an otherworldly landscape of sulphur springs, smoking volcanoes, and salt pans. Despite its extreme environment, it’s home to the Afar, an ethnic Cushitic group spanning northern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Eritrea.
[Explore the Danakil Depression photo gallery]

Caucasus Mountains, Georgia

Three men approach a cross to pray, near the shores of misty lake in southern Georgia.
The multicoloured balconies of an apartment block in Batumi on Georgia's Black Sea coast.
A storm front mixed with mist rolls over a lake and towards a farmstead.
Night time photo of Tbilisi, Georgia housing estate blocks with dozens of apartment lights turned on.

Georgia, bordering Russia to the north and lying on the Black Sea, bridges a cultural and continental divide between Europe and Asia. Similar in size to Ireland, it encompasses diverse landscapes — from 5,000m alpine peaks to the grasslands of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli, and the Mediterranean climate of Kakheti’s wine region near Azerbaijan’s border.
[View the Georgia photo gallery]

Wakhan Corridor, Afghanistan

A family of Wakhi nomadic herders with yaks and donkeys travel across a plateau.
Three yaks laden with sacks descend down a mountain trail in the Wakhan.
Black and white Wakhan Corridor photo of a wide valley with rocks.
Older Wakhan man with hard scarf wrapped around his head and a white beard.

Northeast Afghanistan’s Wakhan region, which also includes parts of eastern Tajikistan, is one of the country’s most remote areas. Unlike other provinces, the Wakhan has remained untouched by conflict. Its quiet valleys, picturesque villages, and rarely visited networks of trails make it one of Central and South Asia’s outstanding travel destinations.
[Explore the Wakhan Corridor photo gallery]

People

An skier with ski goggles on his head smiles for the camera.
An Afghan porter wearing a blue scarf smiles for the camera.
Two Kazakhstan men with arms over each other's shoulder. One has a big swollen eye!
A young scarf selling man wearing a white scarf and red hat.

This gallery brings together portraits and candid scenes from across Central Asia, the Caucasus, Siberia, and beyond — capturing everyday life and encounters with the people who inhabit (and travel to) these landscapes.
[Explore the travel portrait photo gallery]

Landscapes

A fin-like tower of rock looms over a large, sloping cliff line.
Black and white photo of Belukha's white snow covered mountain face surrounded by dark and ominous clouds.
Wide angle view of a crystal clear alpine lake with white, wispy cirrus clouds in the sky.
Orange and brown rock mountains covered in snow.

From deserts and alpine ranges to river valleys and remote plateaus, this gallery gathers a selection of landscape photographs taken across Eurasia. It’s a panoramic view of the diverse terrains featured throughout the wider collection.
[View the landscape photo gallery]