ardenpress Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Is there any special wisdom about travel and lenses anyone might share about a impending trip to these places, especially Cambodia and its famous temple complex? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbier Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I wish I'd had a tripod for sunrise at Angkor Wat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I used WIDE at Angkor Wat (Hassy SWC, 21 Equiv.), and Leica w/21, 35, 50, 90, and a table-top tripod. I rented a motor scooter for more freedom, got out early and stayed out late. I wasn't permitted to go past the road block to Bantei Srei. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbier Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 On the subject of lenses, I was in Cambodia and Thailand with a 24-85 Canon consumer zoom and a low-end film EOS body. I felt very constrained by the lens speed. In addition, after coming back from a trip to India and Nepal with the 17-40 and 70-200 f4 zooms, I've now decided to stick primarily to primes for travel. I analysed my focal length usage and will build my prime collection accordingly...so a travel kit for me would probably be based around the 20D with 24/28, 50 and 100 lengths. Pretty portable, and nothing slower than f2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 David, that's exactly the same conclusion I have ended up realizing, although, I haven't had/traveled with a zoom since a mid-seventies Nikon 80-200. Fast primes is the way to go, but my 21/3.4 Leitz is good during the day. It's difficult to find a fast 21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_b Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Ed, I live in Thailand and have travelled extensively around the regions you mention. If you have any specific questions you should raise them, otherwise 'wisdom' could run to pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studor13 Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 If you plan to catch a "taxi" from the Thai Northern border, DO NOT try and save a few dollars by paying for the air-through-the-hair seats. Get inside the car. If it a good 4-5 hours to Angkor Wat, and you and your gear/rucksack will be coated an inch thick of red dust. Wisdom? Never use your left hand to accept things. This is the one Golden rule that Westerners just can't seem to get. Ok, even the locals do it here and there, but it is an extremely rude gesture. Anyway, have fun. Amazing countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_w. Posted February 2, 2007 Share Posted February 2, 2007 And be careful what you do with your feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Taylor Posted February 3, 2007 Share Posted February 3, 2007 I'm working in Cambodia for the winter. Email me if you have any specific questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andres_soler Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Take a tripod and a wide angle lense. Definitely wake-up early. Enjoy the market and local dances as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angkordave Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 SE Asia is hot and humid and condensation can be a problem if your camera is kept in a cool room or aircon car and taken into extremely hot conditions. The sudden change of humidity and temperature causes condensation to form inside lenses. This can cause mould to form. A padded camera bag and silica gel can help to reduce the effect. I never store my camera in an aircon environment; in 4 years of living in the region have not and any mould or major condensation problems. Dust is a hazard especially if you are using a digital camera with interchangeable lenses. Always switch the camera off when changing lenses as the static charge on the chip attracts dust! Only buy film from photo shops; the kids selling film around the temples do not store the film correctly. Film shops sell stock quickly so it will be in good condition . Exposure can be tricky especially with digital. Bright areas can easily become overexposed; under expose by 1 stop and use slower speed 100 to 200 ISO Some digitals can burn out horribly in bright sun at 800ASA this also applied if you are taking interior shots with natural light from a door or window. A lot of people new to digital end up with washed out skies and white highlights even on what appear to be ideal days in tropical areas. Most people (and that includes me as well) underestimate the intensity of the sun here. If you use print film, exposure is a lot less critical; but if you use slide film or digital; both media are not very forgiving or tolerant of over exposure. The most effective method of controlling exposure is to underexpose by at around 1 F-stop in bright sunny conditions. This is even more important under trees; where the dark shadows and bright highlights are difficult to control. Underexposure saturates colours and increases detail in clouds. Watch your histogram if you are not sure and try to get the widest spread of tones without clipping. A polarizing or graduated grey filter can make skies dramatic and cut down on glare form bright areas. No Photoshop filter can ever bring back lost detail. You can lighten the shadow areas in Photoshop before image noise sets in. Photographing people If you want to take a photo of a person please ask first a smile and a point to the camera will usually give you a good response even if they do not speak English Khmers; especially older ones, tend to stiffen up when having their photos taken. Make them Laugh try to build up some kind of rapport. A local guide and driver can often break the ice and make some wonderful opportunities. A useful tip is to take a shot or two then take begin to move the camera away the subject will begin to relax and take that last shot. I have an example here of the 74 year old Head Monk at a local Pagoda I found a perfect spot for him; but as soon as started to shoot; he became tense; stiffened up and his serene expression was lost. Just as I was taking the camera away from my eye he relaxed and was able to take that shot below before breaking into a broad grin of relief . If someone does not look happy about having a camera pointed at them; please respect them and don?t shoot; there will many other opportunities. Do not intrude on peoples personal space; I?ve seen many people pointing long lenses at people washing etc on the floating villages. How would you feel about having a camera pointed at you by a total stranger while brushing your teeth? Do not give money for photos; You may think you are being generous; but giving cash to kids for photos just results in demands for payment for others in the future. People in rural areas do not have many photos of their families. If you can; try and get a photo to them by way of your tour guide. We at Peace of Angkor do this regularly for our guests and will print from email. Monks and nuns collecting offerings are often very happy to be photographed; I always give a small donation to the Buddha and or Monastery but not directly to the Monks. There have been incidences of Buddhist monks not being what they appear; so be warned. <div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Taylor Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I think that every photographer works differently so it's hard to speak in absolutes. For me the elderly are the easiest to photograph, and I don't find them tense at all. My method is to avoid areas with tourists and chat for a while before pulling out the Brownie. Speaking some of the local language obviously helps a lot as well. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angkordave Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 In the case of the image of the head monk I had met him well before I photographed him. He and several monks from the Pagoda came to our guest house to bless our home a few weeks before hand. It was not the case of a camera toting tourist invading privacy; the photo was part of a personal photo project photographing monks in their environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusionfoto uk Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Early morning and late afternoon/evening are the best time for light, as always, but the light during the main part of the day can be extremely harsh and its also bl__dy hot.<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusionfoto uk Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 I am travelling to Cambodia on Wednesday for a month. Usual set of lenses, Sigma 10-20 EX, Sigma 15-30 DG EX, Nikkor 28-105 AF and Canon 28-105 USM plus a lightweight tripod. </div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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