With no formal education, Ashley studied photojournalism in Melbourne under Emmanuel Santos, and later from Masao Endo, Emmanuel's mentor, in the Japanese highlands. Ashley's tasks there -- or lessons, he is still unsure -- consisted of mixing cement and dragging logs uphill to where he helped assemble them into cabin amidst the mountains.

His work has taken him throughout Asia, Afghanistan, the Balkans, and the Middle East, where he has specialized over the past three years in Iraq. Ashley was recently included in the "30 under 30" photographers featured in PDN magazine, was nominated for the World Press Master Class and an I.C.P. Infinity award. His clients include The Far Eastern Economic Review, The New York Times, Newsweek, and Time.