My ongoing series Dagestan Diaries is something different. In 2023, I traveled solo to Dagestan, a republic in the Russian Caucasus that few outsiders ever visit, with no crew, no media backing, and no contacts beyond a phone number.

I lived at Russia’s oldest Wushu Sanda boarding school, trained with the founder of the school, and spent weeks earning the trust of world-class fighters, coaches, and families before ever raising my camera.

The series follows that journey: the fighters, the culture, the ancient mountain traditions, and the process behind the images themselves, from earning access to shaping light in places most photographers will never reach.

That process is what I teach in every workshop and expedition.