Almaty is the first post-pandemic trip that I took in 2023, and the Central Asian city had my eyes wide open – vast expanse that covers canyons, lakes and snow-capped mountains, a cultural tapestry of nomadic roots, silk road legacy, and soviet influences, contemporary cities, and cuisine that tells the bounty of steppe. A journey overdue for sure, as I'd been looking for a new exploration and escapade from the daily life, just like anyone else. And looking retrospectively, it was an important part of my photography journey.
Technical-wise, I learnt to be adaptive to unfamiliar environments and limitations, one of the essential elements of street photography. When travelling in Almaty and the surrounding regions, I didn't get many chances to really walk in the urban areas, and some of the countryside roads weren’t as accessible as I thought. I mainly travelled by car driven by our local guide, so sometimes I would need to take photos from a moving car and work more with the camera setting, which is a challenge, but still I managed to get some shots on the road. Some of them have become my all-time favourites.
On the road
In addition, I learn the obvious lesson the hard way – take whatever photos you want instead of social media / content creation, even if it seems cliché, because it may be the only chance you visit the destination, so capture whatever you want to avoid future regrets. Nothing is cliché if the image means something to you in terms of documenting your own life. Also, don’t shoot in only portrait format for social media. Some compositions and scenes are best shown in landscape format. On the storytelling side, this is also crucial as it can help tell the story in a more comprehensive manner and let your audience understand the place better; not everyone has been to the destination before. One of my biggest regrets of the trip to Almaty is not taking the ‘cliche’ photos, for example I didn’t take the images of the whole Ascension Cathedral, and only took photos in portrait as I was only thinking about ‘creating content’ for Instagram. This is definitely a big mistake.
Panfilov Park and Ascension Cathedral
Almaty Central Mosque
And the trip did make me be more open-minded in terms of embracing different genres in photography. In Kazakhstan, at first I wasn’t quite interested in the natural scenery, but I couldn’t be more wrong – Big Almaty Lake is like a smooth turquoise gem surrounded by the beautiful forest, The Charyn Canyon leaves me in awe with the sharp rugged relief, and Lake Kaindy displays its mysterious allure with the trees submerged in water. Nature shows its true power and tenderness in Kazakhstan. Overall, a destination is definitely more than the streets. You may come across great food, lively public events, breathtaking scenery, the precious wildlife, or unique people. See something that’s unfamiliar? Photograph it. See something that will appear once in your lifetime? Document it even if it's not about the streets.
Big Almaty Lake
Charyn Canyon
Lake Kaindy
And finally, the most important lesson – don't be limited by expectation when it comes to travel and photography. Part of the joy of these two activities come from surprise. You can know every single detail about your destination and still have cultural shock or be surprised by the environment, because that's what travel is supposed to be. If you limit yourself with expectations, it’s likely you will lose the opportunity to fully immerse in another culture and place, get trapped in your echo chamber, and be frustrated when you can’t take photos of certain subjects. When taking photos in Almaty, I thought I could capture the hustle and bustle of the city, and get to photograph lots of crowds in the markets. But with the low population density there, this is kind of out of the question. Therefore, my mindset needs to shift. Instead of capturing the lively ambience that I want or expect, I will need to focus on the tranquillity and peace of the place it exudes, bringing out the best of the city’s character.
Architecture and the streets
Green Bazaar
Kok Tobe and Independence Monument
First President Park
The trip will always live rent free in my mind, not only because of the experience and the landscape, but also it’s one of the stops that make me get out of comfort zone, both in a technical sense and the way I see and experience an unfamiliar culture. Maybe that’s why they say ‘the journey is the destination’, and I guess sometimes the destination opens another chapter of a journey.