Behind bars

The thing about photography (especially street photography) is that you always need to have your eyes open for opportunities. Looking at this photo taken in Siem Reap in Cambodia, you'd think that nobody would be able to miss such a prime photo opportunity, but you'd be surprised -- I was hurrying to a bus together with a bunch of journalists when I noticed this kid looking through the bars of an extremely colourful school window, but most of the journalists that were with me didn't notice it at all and walked right by. I only had time to snap about 5 photos but this last one was the best. The thing about a shot like this is that you need to make sure the framing is exactly square on to the windows otherwise it just won't work. AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm VR f/3.5-4.5

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

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

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

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

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

Hidden wall

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Angkor Thom 2

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

Through the Bayon

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

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