film for Angkor Wat

Wondering about film to use for Angkor Wat. Came to SE Asia with

bags of Velvia 50, 400UC, a handful of Reala, using a tripod as much

as possible. Have used up most of the Velvia in Laos, Thailand, and

Vietnam. I'm in Vietnam now, last chance to stock up on good stuff

(velvia, provia $9US/roll) before Cambodia. Most of the pictures

I've seen of Angkor are very grey and low/medium contrast, with bits

of color here and there (the good ones at least). I presume that

this time of year (the dry hot season) will have the same grey

skylight haze as the rest of SE Asia?

 

anyway if anyone has some hints of what worked for them, that would

be great.

Most all of the temples are made of the same uniform grey stone. The exception being Banteay Srei which is made of some sort of red sandstone. Its a bit out of the way though.

 

The light is very bright at Angkor itself and the surrounding temples so you may not need a tripod. The skies are sort of washed out rather than vivid blue.

 

I easily got around 1/250 @ F11 with Delta 400 if I recall correctly. Thats easily handholdable, but having said that I used a tripod all the time with Ilford Delta 100.

 

If (when) you go to the temple called Ta Prohm, (Its the one being reclaimed by the jungle), try to go early in the morning and do take a tripod. The light comes through the trees in a dappled sort of way. Once the sun gets too high though it becomes diffcult to take interesting photos.

 

Although I am primarily a black and white user, I would recommend against Velvia. The contrast is high enough without raising it even further with Velvia. I would think Provia would be a better bet.

 

Regards...

Andy: I was at Angkor las december. I used Provia 100F, worked

great, but still, Angkor is a grey place. I found it difficult to

photograph, but I would suggest to think in terms of light and

shadow like shooting black & white, rather than the typical style

of shooting color slides. I used most of the time a 28mm wide

angle and at some extent 100 ASA was quite limiting in certain

situations. You can use your tripod on the ground but not on the

stone pavement of the temples, some people did, but the guards

would politely ask not to do so. I even saw a guy, that probably

was a pro, and he was asked not to use his tripod over the

stones of the temple ( at Angkor Wat ) and he refused to do so. I

thought that was very rude from him, because i bet he would like

foreigners to respect the landmarks at his homeland! I bet he

would even shout at anyone attempting to do something like that

in his country. I am a pro also, and I got nice shots without a

tripod at the very same place and at the very same time this guy

was having and argument with the very nice and polite guard.

Enjoy your visit, and be prepared for the $40 US. entrance fee for

a three day pass. But it is really worth the money and much

more.

I've visited Angkor probably 20 times during my 6 years living in Cambodia. It can go from burnt and dusty (March-May), to lush and green (monsoon). Yes, it will be very hazy. This is the peak of the hot season, so plan on getting up and out very early in the a.m., as this will be the best time to get decent light. (Make sure your driver agrees to this beforehand.) If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me off-line.

thanks for the responses. I'm definitely going to ta prohm, because of some steve mccurry shots I saw taken there. thanks for the tip about the tripod, that will drive me towards faster film. any opinions about the big bag of 400UC I have?

Hi Andy,

 

I just came back from Angkor 2 days ago. It's very hot there but if you're in SE Asia, you're probably used to the heat. I shot mostly Velvia 50, Provia 100, and TMax 100 with good result, though tried to avoid the horrid blown out sky as much as possible. While the temples are mostly grey, there are bright bits of color (monks, robes on the decapitated statues, surrounding jungle, etc.) that can add impact to the scene, so I would recommend having some color film/slide available. Provia was fine, though I thought Velvia helped to bring out the slightly muted summer colors a bit more, for that noticeably Velvia effect =) There is considerable contrast, even indoors, so be prepared to make some difficult exposure decisions. My girlfriend and I were using Gitzo 1325s at Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Bayon & Angkor Thom, Preah Khan(?) and others without problems. I did draw considerable attention, mostly curiosity, with my Hasselblad, and was told at Bayon that a permit was needed for using MF/LF gear. However, shooting 35mm on tripods was fine. We didn't have any trouble elsewhere. Even then, the "police", who were basically low-paying ($30/year) security guards, were extremely nice and somewhat apologetic when they asked me to not use my MF gear. Anyhow, I'm jealous. You'll have a wonderful time there. Even though this is probably not the best time to go (lack of verdant greens as during the wet season, horrible featureless sky, blue haze, and almost unbearable heat) Angkor does wonderful things with light.

 

Tuan

Andy - I always have the same problem until the film is actually loaded into the camera...WHICH ONE ? In the end I always find that the best tip is to just buy as much as you can afford/carry, and get as many different types as you can. If only one though I always recommend Provia 400, because I love it.

This is simply the most stunning place on earth, and you are going at the hottest time of year! Its an extremely high contrast place and if I were going back, (when!!) I'll take an ND grad filter set for those wide angles where a lot of sky is included. You can't photographically do it justice in 3 days - 5 as a minimum, probably 7. Velvia with ND grads would be best - metering is a nightmare with contrasty light and very dark temple stone. I'd shoot B&W too, and actually would be tempted to take some Reala if you've not got an ND grad set as it copes far better with the latitude than Velvia and even Provia 100F. There is no need for 400F there. Get yourself out to Banteay Kdei - the miniature temple. Advice is get in to the grounds of the temples for 4am - that way you'll have people free views for 4-5 hours, then come back fro sunset. Good luck. Email me at neillupin74@yahoo.com if you wnat more info - no time to type and tons I could tell you. Neil

I've got 2 ND grads and a handful of reala. alright, looks like I'll stock up on whatever good 100 speed I can find. thanks a bunch for the help folks!

If you are in Phnom Penh, there are 2 excellent Angkorian temples south of the city that get very few western tourists - Tonle Bati and Phnom Chisor. Nice day trip on a dirt bike.

I don't think Velvia would be a good choice for Angkor Wat. You'll find yourself fighting with too wide a range of light. There are deep shadows next to bright sun in most areas. I haven't tried it there, but I'm tempted to use Fuji NPS print film the next time I go. I think the color and exposure lattitude would work well at Angkor.

 

I think most of the time when the guards tell you that you can't use a tripod or medium format cameras, they're not actually enforcing any rules, they're hoping you'll part with a buck or two to make them go away. Not that I endorse that sort of thing, but sometimes it's worth it. Two bucks got me an escorted tour by a guard at Bantey Srey who showed me some places that were off limits to the public and he held people out of my shots a few times.

 

You'll also want to bring your widest lenses. I was shooting with a 28mm and still found myself backed against walls and fighting to frame everything I wanted. Some of the interiors have very close quarters.

I've got a 20mm prime I plan on using. starting to see what you folks mean about velvia, looking at others' photos of there. alright, thanks again for all the help! looking forward to it greatly as I head south through vietnam. beautiful day yesterday in Tam Coc - limestone karsts in green rice paddies, stone huts made of the local stone at the base of the karsts. gorgeous.

<p><a href="http://www.slrobertson.com/cambodia.htm">I visited Angkor in December 2001</a> and shot mostly Provia 100F and Velvia 50. The skies weren't as hazy then, I think, as you will probably encounter this time of year. There are lots of details to focus on around the ruins and for wide landscapes including sky, aim for pre-dawn and the hour or so after sunrise to experience some glorious light. If were to return, I'd try shooting either B&W infrared film or using an IR filter on a digital camera. If you're going to be staying in an air-conditioned room at night, be sure to take your camera and lenses out of their cases during the ride to Angkor so they warm up to the ambient temperature (you probably know why since you've been traveling around SE Asia for some time already). I made the mistake of keeping my chilled equiptment in their insulated bags until I arrived only to have the lenses repeatedly fog over for 20 minutes in the hot, humid air during sunrise the first morning.</p>

Scott Robertson<br>

<a href="http://www.slrobertson.com">Scott L. Robertson Photography - slrobertson.com</a>

I used a large format (4x5) camera in Angkor Wat in December, 2002.

 

I had to go to the Apsara Authority in Siem Reap (the town near Angkor) to get a permit to use the camera. It cost $50 per day, and took a couple of days to process. You can arrange for your permit in advance. You must specify the dates on which you want to shoot.

 

The permit was always checked at The Bayon and Ta Prohm. (Although sometimes it took a while for someone to come by and check it.)

 

However, the permit was not checked at any other place (including the main Angkor Wat temple!). I ended up buying the permit for three of the ten days I was there. On the non-permitted days, I shot at the more relaxed locations. On the permitted days, I concentrated on the two stricter locations.

 

I found that early mornings in December have nice deep blue skies with puffy white clouds. Later, the sky gets washed out. Also, if you start before daybreak, you get some time with few people around.

In my humble opinion, shooting Angkor Wat in black and white works better. There is not much color to speak of (especially when you venture inside the complex), except for the surrounding vegetation, and the timeless feeling of the place is much better captured in monochrome. Also, contrast will be even more annoying after 9-10 am, when the sun starts blazing (I was there in April, hottest month of the year), so be careful if you shoot color transparencies. Best time is early morning at sunrise. Fantastic place.

 

Cheers.<div></div>

Loved Angkor when I was there a few years ago. Although I shot mostly colour I would focus on B&W if I were to return. Make sure and go to the lake and get a boat to take you around.