“Some things never change”: See Nat Geo photographer revisit family in Georgia’s highland Svaneti province after 13 years [VIDEO]
A photograph of members of the family that sheltered Aaron Huey in Svaneti. Photo: Aaron Huey.
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A relationship between an American traveller and a Svan family from Georgia’s remote mountainous province, rekindled after 13 years, has been introduced in a National Geographic feature for readers and viewers of the world-renown magazine.
Photographer Aaron Huey, who first entered the picturesque province of medieval towers and revered customs as a backpacker in 1998, went back to a family he got to know during his maiden trip for a report for the travel magazine.
In a video by the National Geographic, Huey talks about how he first heard about Svaneti from a German linguist, who told him about “a place where people spoke a language that had never been written”.
Armed with a hand-drawn map of the province from his acquaintance, the yet-to-become photographer set off for the high-lying region immersed in natural surroundings and boasting a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Encountering a local woman on a bus, the young traveller found himself at a local wedding, his first introduction to locals and their traditions.
He eventually ended up staying with the bride’s family, forging close friendship, learning songs of the Svan folklore and starting a journal of local recipes.
This story made me fall in love with the whole community [in Svaneti]” — Aaron Huey.
The explorer and photographer credits the family that sheltered him with being “central” in his impressions of the early travels throughout the province, particularly in introducing him to folk songs of the place.
The whole family still sings in the kitchen. There are just some of those things that never change, and I found a lot of those again.” — Aaron Huey.
Photographer @aaronhuey tells of falling in love with photos, folk music, and some very special Georgian villagers. http://t.co/PwQoD6Euit
— Nat Geo Photography (@NatGeoPhotos) 7 October 2014
Going back 13 years after leaving his Svan friends, he also found and photographed scenes similar to his early memories, from dancers and singers performing to customs and ceremonies held by locals.
In the National Geographic feature Huey says his photographs of the place and its people are aimed to “preserve the poetry” of what he saw and experienced for people who might never get to visit Georgia’s province themselves.
Author of series for National Geographic magazines, Huey has also worked as contributing editor for Harper’s magazine.
He was only the second photo reporter to appear on the 160-year-old masthead of the magazine, while working on commissions for Time, the Smithsonian magazine, the New York Times,Newsweek and The New Yorker.
The avid traveller is also known for his 2002, 154-day-long solo walk across the United States with his dog.