Herds of goats, sheep and camels in the mountains of Badakhshan, Afghan Turkestan, summer of 1967. (All Photos: © Roland and Sabrina Michaud)
For more than 50 years, Roland and Sabrina Michaud have traveled to and photographed some of the most isolated regions in the world, from the plains of Mongolia to the borders of Iran and the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia.
Their journey began in 1958 in Sabrina's native Morocco, where Roland, who is from France, was completing his military service. The first question Roland asked Sabrina upon meeting her in a library was: “Do you like traveling?” In 1961, the couple left France with their trusty Citroen 2CV on a ship bound for Djibouti. A trip to East Africa that was supposed to last six months instead lasted nearly a year and a half.
Subsequent photography trips would see the couple spending years at a time traversing Asia and the Middle East. In the decades since, the Michauds have written more than 20 books and amassed a vast collection of photographs showing the day-to-day lives of people living in some of the most remote places in the world.
Now in their eighties, the couple recently released Enchanted Lands, an account of a lifetime of remarkable travel. Gaze wide-eyed at this selection of images from their adventures.
Turkmen family eating in a yurt, Afghan Turkestan, 1973.
Little girl with a hoop on the beach at Calicut, Kerala, India, July 2011.
Dromedaries crossing the river Yamuna, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, in December 1981.
Caravaneer Shakir's eye reflect the colors of the mountain.
Rice fields in winter, province of Yunnan, China, in February 2001.
Brothers Viraj and Siddhart Mohan celebrating their birthday in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Shepherd in Samangan province, Afghan Turkestan, August 1967.
Naga Sadhu at Talati, at the foot of Mount Girnar, Gujarat, India, in February 1988.