Advice on Angkor Wat, Cambodia

I am planning a business/leisure trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Taking my usual outfit of M6TTL and extra body with 35, 50 & 90 lens.Any general advice on travelling and photo taking in that country??

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Thanks

Sounds like a great trip, Tim. I think you might want a wider-angle

lens to supplement your usual array of lenses - a 24mm perhaps, to

minimize the potential for excessive WA distortion. I think you should

also hire an older photo coach to go along with you on this trip. ;-)

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Some of the other participants may have more helpful info about film

availability there, and other travel tips for the region. Have fun.

Great idea to visit Angkor. Unbelievably beautiful: the Khmer

civilisation has build one of the most extraordinary temple compounds

in the world. Take 21/28/35 mm high speed wideangle glass for the

bulk of your pictures and maybe a 90mm Elmarit for portraits. Would

suggest to take a tripod as many images will be made in shadow

area's. Don't use too contrasty negative or slide film (I would take

Kodachrome 64)as the contrasts between area's in the sun and in the

shadows is very high. Get up once early once to see and photograph

the sun rise over Angkor. Photograph when the light is best, e.g.

avoid making pictures between 10:30 and 15:30. Pictures made during

30 minutes after sundown may come out beautiful as well. Have a great

trip.

Tim,

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I went in late '96 and enjoyed every minute. I got to Siem Reap by

boat from PP (Phnom Penh). BTW, there are things to see in PP. Use

motor bike taxis. Cheaper, and easier to jump off from if you get

nervous (I didn't). Good chinese food in PP.

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Some advice:

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Don't buy any fake Rolex's or any thing else fake; their pretty good

at it. They will say it was from the murdered elite.

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All I took was the Hasselblad SWC and an M6 with 35, 2.0, and plenty

of film.

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Rent a motor bike to have more freedom ($5/day, then). Stay off the

tours. It's also much cooler with the wind in your face.

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I didn't get to Bantay Srai, though (least looted/best preserved/most

intricate carvings). The road guard wouldn't let me pass. I tried a

backway using trails, came upon, and photographed a military

encampment overlooking the river; didn't find Bantai.

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Food is fine if the restaurant is clean.

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Discos are OK, if your in to THAT kind of thing.

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See the thread "daily bed" that I started for don't miss photo

locations.

See if you can get more time than less in Siem Riep. There is far too

much to see and photograph in 1 or 2 days.

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Do take the motorcycle rides to get from place to place. Avoid the

car and guide routine-it greatly decreases your mobility. Mine was

part of a package, inadvertantly and I switched as soon as I could.

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It is quite possible to become snap happy and miss out on the

experience of just being there and taking it all in...

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If you are there on a Sunday or Saturday, be sure to be in front of

Angkor Wat itself in the evening. The townspeople gather around it

and take the evening air-makes the whole place come alive.

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Lastly, do help out the mine victims you see begging especially the

little ones. No faking there.

Tim,

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These two websites have a range of pictures that might give you an

idea of the type of lenses you would like to take on your journey:

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http://www.angkorwat.org/

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http://www.leidenuniv.nl/pun/ubhtm/mjk/angkorwa.htm

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Please be sure to tell us of your experience, both photographic and

otherwise. My parents went there in 1955 and they remembered it

forever. It is a very serene place in spite of the element of

tourism.

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Bon voyage!

There are many terrific photo books on Angkor to give you some ideas.

My favorite is the one by Marc Riboud--all shot on B&W with Leica. His

photos run from the late 60's into the 90's and the book is

extraordinarily well printed. It's an out-of-print item now, I think,

but your library might have it.

If you have your own moped you can stay away from the few busses

you'll see. When I was there in the high season (dec., '96) it was

not difficult. Sometimes you'll find yourself alone; except for the

guide-for-hire at every temple entrance ($1). I did hire sometimes;

they generally speak english, but don't give much information.

I "used" them in my photo's for scale because I was often alone.

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Mani, definitely go early, stay late.

Tim, We're leaving Monday for three weeks in Vietnam. I'm taking an

M6 with Tri-Elmar and a 90mm APO Summicron. Also, I'll have a

polarizer for the Tri-Elmar. Slides will be the media...E100VS,Fuji

200 and Provia400F for low light situations. I'm trying to travel

lightly, so no tripod...maybe a mistake. This is essentially the same

equipment I took to the Perigord area of France this past October and

it worked quite well. Good shooting!

S.E. Asia--all of it pretty much--is a spectacular travel destination

and photographers' paradise. I applaud the moxie of those who

venture out into traffic on mopeds or motorcycles, I've seen the

traffic and I'm chicken s*** to join in the fray. (The last time I

dismounted a motorcycle--in the early 70's--it was an unplanned event

and the bike and I parted company quickly, in opposite directions).

Speaking of equipment, on one venture to S.E. Asia in the 90's I

carried an M4+35 and a Nikon F+105, with a 50 for each body stashed

in my pack. I wanted to see the land through similar equipment

carried by many of the PJ's during the war years. The last time I

was over there I carried an F5 and n90s with a 20, 28-105 and 70-210,

all AF, and got much better results with candid people shots,

although I'll admit that most of it was shot with the 70-210 at the

long end, from waistlevel with the F5 minus the prism. I'm not much

of a street shooter, obviously. If I were to choose an M outfit for

a trip to Cambodia now, it would be 1 M6/1.25 magnifier+90, Hexar

RF+Tri-Elmar, and the 35/1.4ASPH and 21mm in the bag. I would carry

my ubiquitous table tripod as well. In your case, if you don't have

a second M body, I would seriously consider picking up a used Minilux

or Contax T2/T3 or perhaps even a Yashica T4 or Olympus Stylus, and

stash it away. It would be a terrible thing to come home empty-

handed if something were to go sproing on your only camera.

Thanks for all your input, they are all useful information. It's

great to have a forum like this where you can get so much information.

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Will try to post some photos after the trip.

Tim.

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Sounds like a great trip (phographically speaking). The lenses you

have selected are excellently suited toward travel photography. But

in my view, perhaps the single best lens for the anticipated photo

situations would be a lens wider than 35 mm: preferably 21 or 24 mm.

(If you have the C/V 15/4.5 I would also include that one.) A very

wide lens is extremely useful for photgraphing interesting

buildings,sweeping vistas, indoor shots, and any situation in which

you are crowded and cannot move back. A 21 or 24 mm lens is

generally the best for these types of photos.