Saturday, April 29, 2006

Doggy


Well you know about people and their pets and how they never get tired of showing pictures of them. Well, I'm one of those people. Here testing my brilliant new 18-200mm AF-S Nikkor. Nikon D70, AF-S DX VR Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6IF ED Posted by Picasa

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Cambodia!

Just came back from a major personal photography trip in Siem Reap, Cambodia with friends and housemates! Tooks hundreds of photos -- if you want to see all the Cambodia shots, click on the Cambodia link on the right of the Web page.

Under the roots


This is one of the roots which appears in the Tomb Raider movie. Seen here is Woon, my housemate, modelling for the shot. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Painting the ruins



A number of street artists hang out at Ta Prohm doing watercolours and sketches of the buildings here. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Reconstruction


It's amazing how well Nikon's 3D Matrix meter coped with this shot. I actually took another safety shot because the image looked a little under-exposed in the camera's LCD, but it turned out the camera was correct, so I used the first, Matrix-metered shot. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Ta Prohm


This is the entrance to Ta Prohm, one of the places that Tomb Raider was filmed at. Ta Prohm is notable for having trees taking root right on the temple walls. The place is still being reconstructed and there're a lot of stones everywhere being slowly catalogued. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Funky wideangle


Yet again, a funky distorted shot of one of the buildings at Angkor Thom, taken with my friend's 10.5mm fisheye lens. The lens is loads of fun. Unfortunately, this lens suffers from quite major chromatic aberration at the edges, which mostly clears up when you stop down the aperture, which I forgot to do in this shot. The design of this structure reminds me of an Aztec temple. Nikon D70, AF Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 Posted by Picasa

Hidden wall


SC peeks out from the corner of the partially reconstructed hidden wall. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Wall Detail 2


More closeups of the major wall. Thanks to SC who drew my attention to the fact that the "wall" is actually two walls built one in front of the other, and that there was hidden detail in the small space between the two walls. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Shooting the wall


My friend Pete preparing to take a shot of the wall. Again, notice the different coloured rocks used in the various sections. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Wall Detail 1


Just an interesting shot of the detail in this wall. What struck me was that this particular wall was made up of several different types of rock, making some sections stand out more than others. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Red rocket



Well it does look like a red rocket. A closer look at the buildings of the longest panoramic below. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Longest Panoramic ever


This is the longest succesful panoramic I've ever done -- a joined image of 6 images, taken handheld. The joins are nearly invisible here, and required very minimal work on my part. Too bad it appears very small on Blogspot, because if you could see it in a much larger size, you'd be able to pick out all kinds of interesting activity going on, such as people selling ice-cream and families having a picnic. The shot is of a number of little buildings near the Angkor Thom complex. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Colour in the ruins


Another Buddha statue in the Angkor Thom ruins. The splash of colour always makes an otherwise dull grey shot more interesting. Foreground interest to help lead the eye into the picture is also important when it comes to wideangle shots. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Candlelit


This shot of one of the Buddha statues in Angkor Thom required an exposure of several seconds, with the camera locked down on a tripod of course. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Off-duty Monks


Another closer shot of the Buddhist monks. I like the contrast between old and new here. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Monks taking a break


A couple of young monks taking a break at Angkor Thom. Before I get asked the inevitable, the answer is no, I did not boost the colour of the shot beyond the Colour Mode IIIa that was already set in my camera. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Angkor Thom 2


Another view of Angkor Thom. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Through the Bayon


Monks coming down the stairs of the Bayon at Angkor Thom. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Angkor Thom


Angkor Wat may be the most well-known temple in the Angkor area, but the most interesting one has to be the Bayon at Angkor Thom, which is an even bigger temple topped by these huge four-headed statues. The Bayon was built during the reign of Jayavaraman VII, Kher's greatest builder, and is a Buddhist complex with the giant faces of Avalaokiteswara adorning the temple towers to scare away would-be intruders. If you ever visit Siem Reap, Angkor Thom should be at the top of your list. Nikon D70, AF-S Nikkor 12-24mm f/4 Posted by Picasa

Doing the gape


Having a tankful of crocodiles is another way of attracting visitors to their houseboats so they can fleece more money off tourists. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4,5 Posted by Picasa

Beggar children 2


This is the aquatic version of the beggar children from hell -- the mother puts them into plastic tubs and sends them pedalling after our boat, and once they get near, they latch on and hold out their hands for money. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Boathouse


A typical bouthouse on Tonle Sap lake. Nikon D70 AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Boat people


A portrait of the boat people living on Tonle Sap. Notice the beggar-child-from-hell being trained to put out his hand for money. I'm not joking. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Coloured boathouses


The boathouses on Tonle Sap are very brightly coloured, especially official buildings and schools. I'm not sure which of the two this is. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 Posted by Picasa

Tonle Sap Guide


Taking a break from visiting temples, we chartered a small boat to putter around lake Tonle Sap, one of the biggest lakes in Asia. The lake has a thriving ecosystem of animals, birds and, er...boat people. Nikon D70, AF-Nikkor 28-105mm f/4 Posted by Picasa