Moldavian photographer Sasha Leahovenco captured photos of people from an indigenous tribe in the Chukotka region of Russia. (Sasha Leahovenco)

What is it like to live at the end of the earth? Photographer Sasha Leahovenco battled sub-zero temperatures to photograph isolated reindeer herders, who are located so far from civilization they had never had their pictures taken before.

Leahovenco, who grew up in Moldova, traveled to remote Chukotka, Russia to photograph the indigenous people and share his photos with the herders.

“Four years ago I met a guy who was a missionary in Pevek, Chukotka, and he invited me to come and just photograph the life of people who live there,” Leahovenco told weather.com. “He was my guide in Chukota and since he visited reindeer herders before, we were able to visit them too.”

Before he started shooting the herders, Leahovenco tried to get to know them and make them comfortable.

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“I always try to spend some time and get to know people before I photograph them,” he said. “I had a chance to spend a whole day with these people – working, eating and doing everything they do on a daily basis. They got comfortable with me and the next day I explained to them that I wanted to photograph them and they were very open to that.”

After he shot their portraits, he was able to print out the photos using a digital printer, so they could see their own photos.

“The whole idea of making someone’s life better even with such a small thing as a photograph drives me to do a project like this,” explained Leahovenco. “I truly believe that every single person is beautiful and special in their own unique way, and that’s what I’m trying to show the people that I photograph.”

Shooting in the freezing tundra conditions was very difficult according to Leahovenco, but he caught a little break from the weather while he was shooting.

“My camera could handle only up to minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit, and I was very lucky when the morning I was supposed to photograph the reindeer herders it was quite warm outside — minus 25 degrees — which allowed me to photograph these people.”

To see more of Leahovenco’s work visit his website.