What to take to Anghor ?

[mark skalinski]

I am planning to make a short photographic trip to Cambodia , Anghor - to take pictures of famous temples and buddist

monks.

I am shooting with Canon 5D and using 40-70 mm as base lense. Question is: what should I take as additiobnal lenses ?

Is tripod necessary ? Is there any restrictions in taking photos in Cambodia ?

Any practical advice ?

I appreciate any information and recommendation.

[ci_p]

You might find something a bit wider to be useful.

 

Tripod is handy as some temples are surrounded by trees and it can be quite dark in the shade. Tripods can be invaluable as it starts to get dark in the evening. But make sure it is a light one.

 

Try sitting down and waiting for the kids to stop asking you to buy their stuff.

 

Watch out fo the bunch of monkeys between Ankor Watt and Bayon.

 

Consider renting a bike.

 

Take lots of 1usd bills, as everything costs a dollar (more or less)

 

You need three days, minimum.

[mark skalinski]

Thanks ci p for useful tips. I will try to make use of all of them.

[bruce_stenman1]

Flash is very helpful - both off camera triggered by a ST-ET or on camera and bounced off a wall or ceiling. There are many areas where a HDR approach using a tripod would be very useful as there are great scenes that include very dark areas with also bright sunlight - back lighting helps, but if I go again, HDR will be on the list as well as a small tripod.

 

Also mosquito spray and long sleeve shirts pre-treated with permethin are also worth considering as this is a malaria region and there are a lot of mosquitos around many of the temples.

 

As usual I hired a car with a driver/guide/interpreter/watchman. The drivers are licensed by a government agency and can be trusted completely - unlike anywhere else I have traveled in the world. They can take you places off the beaten path and watch over extra gear so it is safe to leave it in the trunk of the car. They can also drop you off at one end of a temple complex and pick you up on the other side so you get more time for taking pictures. The tour groups hit the same temples so if it is during the tourist season they can take you to temples further from town which you will have largely to yourself.

 

I would also recommend spending time in Phnom Pinh, the capital to get a more complete picture of the country, and also to rent a power boat to take you to the delta villages and boat communities. Very inexpensive and with your own boat and driver you can take your time when you spot something of interest.

 

Wonderful country and amazing people. They have little recollection of the damage the USA did when we dropped more bombs on them than were dropped on Japan during WW II. Important to avoid going cross country as there are still millions of mines throughout the country, again courtesy of US taxpayers.

 

For the children gifts of ball point pens and balloons are especially well received and appreciated as are t-shirts with English text.

 

Cambodia is also one of the easiest countries to book via the Internet and there are very nice air conditioned hotel rooms with sat TV and Internet access and breakfast for $US 35-40. The best reference sites I found for information were run by British ex-pats. Forget the hotels.com and Expedia type of sites. Lonely Planet is not bad but not as useful or as current as the Brit sites.

[allenahale]

I was there a year ago. Based upon that experience, I would recommend

 

Car and Guide - I hired a driver and a separate guide. It was a great experience as well as an opportunity to learn more of the culture not to mention getting a customized tour for the type of shots that you prefer.

 

For photography - definitely a flash. I would evaluate bringing a tripod based upon your prefered style of touring. There are many, many steps. Many of the staircases are steep. If you prefer to climb and access the higher points of the temples, a tripod could become very burdensome. Crowds also impact the ability to use a tripod. I would also recommend a 80-200mm F2.8 lens. I had one and used it more than I had expected to.

 

For yourself - a hat to shade your head and face, an umbrella, plastic bags for your gear in case of rain, and a "Packtowl Personal" by MSR or similiar product to wipe your brow, face, and hands to periodically remove moisture. ATM Card to withdraw US dollars if you run short of funds while in Siem Reap.

 

Enjoy

[david_shaffer]

>>using 40-70 mm as base lens<< Is there such a thing? (I mean, a zoom with that range?) If you mean the 17-40, sounds like that would meet the advice you're getting to take something wide.

[mark skalinski]

Sorry , it was a typo. I use 24-70 mm not 40- 70.

Do you think I would need 16-35 mm to get wider ?

[scott_ferris]

Hi Mark,

Lots of good advice but some I wouldn't take, it really depends on your interests and style though. Full frame

24-70 would work very well for me, I use a 16-35 on a 1D (1.3 crop) and don't often want wider or longer (with a

couple of exceptions). I don't use cars now, they try to go where they want and try to push you to places they

get commissions. Use one of the motorbikes with a trailer, you get a much better feel for the place and it is

easier to say stop. There are many good guide books available locally that give you as much info as you want to

take in so I don't get a guide, but I am quite independent. I don't use a tripod but many do and probably get

better temple shots than me as a result :-) I like people shots better though. I have, however, never felt the

need for a flash!

Crowds are still very easy to work around, the vast majority of them are in big organised groups, they all

arrive early go for lunch at the same time and normally leave early to get back to Siam Reap. Even the most

famous shots of the root covered doorways can be taken without too much waiting.

The trick to the tickets is this, if you buy a three day pass (far and away the best one to get) when the ticket

office is closing you can go in that evening for free, I think it is from 5 on. This means you get an extra

sunset and a few hours to get your bearings.

Cambodia is a beautiful country with many many photo ops, I love the place. It really depends on how long you

are staying there and what you like to shoot as to what else would be good to advise to to do and take though.

Have fun, Scott.<div></div>

[glenn_holden]

Mark:

 

I was there last year. You can no longer hire a motor cycle and driver like you used to be able to. A private dirver/guide is a good idea, but last year they had started renting electric bikes (at the main gate where you get your photo id) and were placing charging outlets at the more common temples. This would be a very good way of getting around, but I don't know if the pilot program was extended or not. They are trying to reduce motor exhaust in the park.

 

The only restrictions I was told about were no pictures of police or military. I took a lot of pictures, but always asked first, and unlike Vietnam, not a single person refused or asked for money!

 

Lots of good advice given above. I took a monopod instead of a tripod, you can get double use out of it as a walking stick as well as a camera support, and it's easier to carry. I would not worry about having an ultra wide lens, I did lots of stitched panos, which I am sure you will end up doing too.

 

As far as lens are concerned, you might want something a bit longer if you are going to take pictures of some of the temple details, and as others have said, a small flash works well. I also took a graduated neutral density filter, good for when the light starts to go and you are into a high contrast light/shadow situation.

 

Have a safe trip.

 

LGH

[mark skalinski]

Thanks Scott,

It is great to hear alternative solution with motorbike etc.

I am looking for both: temples and people (monks) which are for me extremely photogenic.

Where is the best place to get monks in more or less natural environment ?

I am planning this time to spend only 4 days , so will not have time for "exploring".

That's why advise I am getting here is invaluable.

Thanks !!

[Ian Taylor]

Make sure you get up and out very very early to catch the temples before the crush of tour groups. They are in the process of completely destroying what's left of the place.

[tana_d.]

I was there a year and a half ago and we had no problem hiring a car and guide. I definitely recommend hiring a

guide (for the reasons listed above), but make sure he can speak English. Ours spoke little English and was hard

to understand, luckily he could speak Thai which is what my parents speak, so we were covered.

 

I took a 28-70 on a crop camera, I wished that I had taken a wider lens. However, since yours is a full frame

that should be fine. If you have a wider lens I'd go ahead and take that as well. I second taking a tripod. A

flash is good idea too. Understand though that the place is crawling with tourists, every single temple we went to.

 

Monks were here and there, you'll be able to find and take some photos of them.

 

Be prepared to be accosted by child hawkers, they are EVERYWHERE. Forget taking them pens, t-shirts, or balloons.

They were selling t-shirts (with English on them), cards, jewelry, books, pens, etc. In the nearby markets there

all sorts of goods available. We all bought straw hats to shield is from the sun at one of the temples. Pack

light - it is very hot and you'll work up a sweat climbing the temples, and you can generally buy anything you

need there, dirt cheap. The hats were $1, t-shirts $2.<div></div>

[tana_d.]

We traveled with our 3 young children.<div></div>

[d_g16]

A 24-70mm lens on a full-frame camera sounds just about right. When I was at Angkor I had a 17-50mm (Tamron) lens on an APS-C sensor camera, which works out to about the same zoom range (28-80mm). It was the only lens that I'd brought on the trip, and I thought that it was the perfect range for a place like Angkor. The wide end was invaluable for architecture and landscape shots. Occasionally I wished that I'd brought along a telephoto lens as well, but I was able to make do without it; the 50mm end of my lens (equiv. to 80mm on full-frame) generally sufficed.

 

It's a good idea to travel as lightly as possible. The weather is extremely hot and humid at Angkor, and you'll walk up a lot of steps. I was glad that I didn't bring a lot of gear with me. The only time I really regretted not having a tripod was for my sunrise photos of Angkor Wat, so a travel tripod (as light as you can get away with) would probably be good to bring for that particular situation.