The images for Wild Pigeon where taken between 2007 and 2013 in the autonomous region of Uyghur. Each time she visited the region Carolyn noticed the change in the villages. Uyghur cities had to make way for Chinese cities and Han Chinese where taking over the place. The Uyghurs protested against the changes in 2009 and hundreds of Uyghurs died but they where not allowed to talk about it.
Taking pictures was a difficult task, some Uyghurs believed that only Allah was allowed to make life so Carolyn tried to find a way where the project became a collaboration between her and the people while respecting their believes. The book was named after the work of an Uyghur artist named Nurmuhemmet Yasin. One of his pieces was called Wild Pigeon, which circulated widely but was met with dissaproval by the Chinese government. He was sentenced to 10 years prison.