Eleanor Moseman is a photographer, visual conservationist, and storyteller that focuses on social and cultural narratives involving women and ethnic minorities. She has a BFA in Photography and Film from Virginia Commonwealth university.
From 2008-2020, Eleanor was based in China and focused her efforts on drawing international awareness to the humanitarian issues of persecuted Buddhists in Tibet and the Muslim Uighurs (or Uighur community) of Xinjiang. As these cultures’ traditions are eradicated by political regimes and the landscapes change, she is working on creating photographic historical records of an era soon to be gone.
Eleanor uses her photography and storytelling skills to contribute to the research of anthropologists, historians, conservationists, and activists. Eleanor is deeply committed to women’s issues that range from persecuted Buddhist and Muslim women to female competitors in the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan.
Eleanor’s photography has been published in The Guardian, PBS NewsHour, The Atlantic, Nikon: Learn & Explore, The LA Times and many other international publications. In 2020 her work was exhibited at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., the Rose-Hulman Institute, and the British Museum in London.
Eleanor began exploring Asia on an epic two year 15,000-mile solo bicycling tour around China, Tibet, and Central Asia that ended in 2012. Being fluent in Mandarin, Eleanor stood out from the hundreds of cyclists flooding Asia with their starry-eyed stereotypes of Eastern exoticism. She went slow, avoided well-known routes, and interacted with everyone she could.This life-changing journey was the catalyst for her career in photojournalism and the launchpad for what became many more intrepid solo adventures.
These journeys into remote regions of Asia bring her closer to the people, culture, and pressing social issues that need to be documented and shared with the rest of the world through photography and knowledgeable reports. Eleanor embodies the adventurous spirit of explorers from a bygone era. She prefers to use paper maps printed in the local language and speaks English, Mandarin Chinese, and Tibetan. In her work, she strives to improve the lives of those she meets and takes great interest in world affairs and geopolitics.
Moseman’s unique experiences included building a mud house in Yunnan with the Yi minority, praying with Kham Tibetans, receiving a sponge bath from Tajik women, spending days picking cotton with Uyghurs, riding a horse during a Buzkashi match in Kyrgyzstan, helping prepare naan in Uzbekistan and witnessing a Shaman ritual in U-Tsang Tibet. This is what bicycle exploration should be like, and Eleanor Moseman is the woman to live and lead by example.
In addition to her documentary-style work, Eleanor is also a noted architecture and interior photographer with assignments that has taken throughout Asia and the United States. She also manages a photography studio and gallery, “The Lone Huntress Photography Studio” in Dayton, Ohio where she creates portraits and displays her work from around the world.
Eleanor recently completed a Wilderness Medicine First Responder course to serve Dayton and under-served communities in Asia. This summer, she plans to spend time in northern India to volunteer in a Tibetan nunnery, help build a cycling community, improve her Tibetan language, and train for The Silk Road Mountain Race, an ultra-endurance, 1,177 mile bike race with roughly 113,189 feet of elevation gain in Kyrgyzstan.
After completing the bike race and returning to Dayton, Eleanor plans to use her professional and personal resources to establish programs in underprivileged areas. Whether this is through workshops and lectures, Eleanor’s desire is to engage youth in outdoor activities, world affairs, and cycling.
Eleanor’s professional photography portfolio can be viewed by visiting www.eleanormoseman.com.
View the 2010-2012 route by clicking here: Wander Cyclist Tour Route