“To be able to be amazed on a regular basis – it’s not easy, but you can work on this, you can work on that garden in your mind.”

Matthieu Paley is a National Geographic photographer living between the remote and a small village on the Aegean coast in Turkey.

For the past 15 years Matthieu has embarked on assignments for various magazines all over the world, from the base camp of the highest unclimbed mountain in the world in Bhutan to Nauru, the world’s smallest republic in the middle of the Pacific ocean. He has published numerous books including a book on Siberia, a monograph on Mongolia and a commissioned book about Nomadic America. His last and longest book project, “Pamir, Forgotten on the roof of the World”, began unexpectedly in 1999, on a high mountain pass on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

After a 3-year stint in New York, where he studied photography, Matthieu moved to Northern Pakistan in 1999. He remained in the area for over four years, trekking extensively throughout the mountainous regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan while working with his wife Mareile for various NGO’s and actively participating in the development of this little known region.

Matthieu’s images have been exhibited in private galleries in Hong Kong, Paris and Istanbul. Matthieu is a member of The Photo Society, a group of contributing photographers for National Geographic magazine, and is represented by National Geographic Creative.