Janis Miglavs (Born 1948) was born in a camp for displaced persons in Germany after his parents fled Latvia. During the Second World War the Communists invaded Latvia and arrested his father. They wanted to kill him because he owned land. However, some friends helped him to escape. He hid in the forest for months, and finally gathered his wife – Miglavs’ mother – and a few belongings into a wooden cart drawn by horse and marched toward freedom. Miglavs is a photographer and writer who is most noted for his work with typical myths and dreams of the wineries/vineyards of the world and most remote African tribes, and most recently those in China. Miglavs learned the significance of culture and the tearing pain of its loss. After hiding in the forest for some months his family eventually immigrated to the United States, where he studied at the University of California at Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, he later on received a master's degree in Fine Arts from California State University.
It was in 1976 when his first calling to adventure travel photography came. It was during a 4-month trip through northern India, Japan, Sikkim and Nepal. While in Nepal, he was among the first to be allowed into the Mustang/Muktinath area on the border with Tibet. The people there are affectionate, and he fell in love with the mountainous landscapes and the monks who taught him about Tibetan Buddhism and Yoga. This expanded his inner vision of the world. He embarked on photographing and writing for publications, including Travel & Leisure, National Geographic, National Wildlife and Sunset, traveling through over 30 countries in 25 years.
