China's Wild West Matthieu Paley

Photo Credit: Matthieu Paley

Matthieu Paley is a National Geographic photographer living between the remote and a small village on the Aegean coast in Turkey. He recently completed a global story for National Geographic Magazine on the Evolution of Diet.

Over the last 15 years, Matthieu was sent on assignments by 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.

After a 3-year stint in New York, where he studied photography, Matthieu moved to Northern Pakistan in 1999. To this day, he remained in the area for over four years, trekking extensively throughout the mountainous regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Matthieu is a member of The Photo Society, a group of contributing photographers for National Geographic magazine. He regularly leads National Geographic workshops, more recently in Paris, Turkey and Mongolia.