Bonus Shot: Wet Blessings

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Cambodia, Photography

The nice thing about digital cameras is there is no longer a need to conserve film, so you can shoot off dozens of shots of one scene. The downside is you may end up with several perfect photos. This shot is from one of my visits to Angkor Thom, just outside of Siem Reap in Cambodia. I posted a similar one in my article about that trip, but with Songkran as an excuse I’m getting to post another now. I took this photo at the beginning of the year and assume the basic idea of the bowl of water being dumped on this guy’s head served the same purpose as it does during Songkran. Even if it was more similar to one of the major water fights than the traditional sprinkling of water over an elder’s head. One of the reasons I managed to take so many shots was that the monk kept dumping bowlful after bowlful, totally drenching this man. He must have had lots of bad luck needing to be washed away.

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Bonus Shot: Cambodian Shutters

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Cambodia, Photography

Shutters on windows and doors are important in Cambodian architecture. Clean buildings, not so much. The monsoon waters of the rainy season coupled with year round high humidity encourage lush growth in local vegetation, even when it is the lesser flora growing on buildings and walls. I suspect some of that coloring is thanks to the exhaust from cars and trucks too. The heat of the tropical sun does it share of damage too, so buildings painted in vivid colors soon fade to grungy pastels. I don’t know if the wood shutters over doors and windows get an extra coat of paint sooner than the rest of the building, but they often are the only bright splash of color left once the elements have had their way.

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Cambodia, Photography

When snapping shots of complete strangers, generally I prefer old folk as subjects. Their faces often tell a story, the history of their life. Kid’s faces not so much. Theirs are usually more about waiting for you to tell them a story. They’re greedy little bastards and expect the world to entertain them. On the plus side, a snarl is much more effective when used on kids than on the elderly. Kids assume you may do them harm and quickly run away. Old folk just figure you have gas.

Not that any of that has a thing to do with this photo other than as an explanation of why I don’t post many pictures of little kids. I too am a greedy bastard, and unless they entertain me they ain’t worth wasting a shot on. This kid made the grade, though he was totally oblivious to my presence. But then if I had a scooter of my own at his age, I’d ignore much of the rest of the world too. I took this shot in Siem Reap, where like in a lot of SE Asian countries it’s common to see entire families mounted on a motorcycle. Just the smallest family member, not so much.

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Bonus Shot: Been There, Done That, Got The Yarn Blessing Bracelet

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Cambodia, Photography, Wats

The first time I ran across an old Khmer woman tending a shrine deep within an ancient crumbling temple in Cambodia I was jazzed. Despite not being able to speak English, she had no problem communicating to me that I was supposed to make a monetary donation – a donation box reads the same in any language – and say a prayer. I don’t remember how much I contributed, a handful of riel that added up to little no doubt, or whether I actually prayed or just faked it. I was there for the shot, not for merit making anyway. But a deal is a deal and along with the photo I took I got a vividly dyed yarn bracelet tied around my wrist, proof that I’d tended to my soul.

By the fifth time I ran across an old Khmer woman tending a shrine deep within an ancient crumbling temple in Cambodia in one afternoon, I figured out that bracelet filled with blessings really was intended as a mark to alert all the other old shrine tenders that a live one had just stumbled upon their little corner of the wat. No problemo. I got several cool photographs, a wrist highly decorated with neon pieces of yarn, and it all cost me less than ten bucks. And when I went out that night to get plastered on Pub Street – which may have negated the effect of all of the Buddhist blessings I’d racked up that day – my wrist looked pretty cool. It looked even cooler after another day of touring wats and adding another handful of bracelets to my arm.

In Thailand you might be lucky enough to be blessed my a real monk and get a thin string bracelet tied around your wrist too. But in Thailand that means something. Other than that you are good for a donation of a wad of the local currency. I still was sporting my Buddhist bracelets when I got back to Bangkok and my friend Noom was mighty impressed, if not in a bit of awe. Preparing to go hit the bars that night I started cutting the bracelets off my wrist and I thought he was going to have a heart attack. And I ended up wearing them for three more days until I took off for Chiang Mai sans Noom. And sans bracelets as soon as I got to the airport.

The old Khmer woman tending a shrine deep within an ancient crumbling temple in Cambodia photo became a staple of my visits to Cambodia. I’m not sure why, but those bracelets all ended up packed in my suitcase at the end of the trip. I look at the photos more, but there’s a nice little collection of colorful yarn tucked away in one of my drawers still today.

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Getting Riel In Siem Reap

Bonus Shot: Pub Street BBQ

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Cambodia, Photography

Siem Reap is not a large town by anyone’s definition. It’s an even smaller burg for touri whose in-town activities center around their hotel and Pub Street. Though certainly not up to the famous level of Rush Street in Chicago or Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Pub Street does have its fair share of bars. But restaurants are really the main feature, as they are on the few smaller streets that run alongside or cross the main drag.

Even with all of the established dining spots to choose from crowded along Pub Street, at the Red Piano end of the soi temporary stalls set up at night offering the Cambodian version of street food, slightly geared toward Westeners’ tastes. And ya can never go wrong with barbecue. I elected to take this shot rather than try out the food at this stall; in spite of the heat and humidity you can tell the cool job is working with the flames.

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Photography

I don’t know why I’m attracted by doors and windows, but the older or more vividly painted they are the greater chance I’ll be shooting several shots of them. Sometimes that can be a good thing. If you are in a popular wat filled with touri it can take hours for the scene to clear enough for a shot of the Buddha statue. If a set of shuttered windows draws your eye instead, you are free to take your shot; no one ever seems to obstruct that view. There’s never a problem in stopping on the street to shoot an interesting doorway either. Though that does tend to make your fellow touri stop to try to figure out what it was that peaked your interest.

Maybe its nothing more than that years later when you are stuck on what to write about you have a ready-made post all set to go. That works for me.

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Bonus Shot: Siem Reap Nights

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Cambodia, Photography

Even at night when things liven up Siem Reap is still a sleepy little burg. Things get a bit more raucous on Pub Street, but it never turns into a scene from Girls Gone Wild; there’s not a big draw for the spring break crowd in Cambodia. And it’s dark. Buildings in the tourist area are more spot lit than illuminated. Maybe that’s why one of my night shots finally turned out the way I’d wanted.

Shooting at night and getting the right exposure when you have both neon and incandescent lighting involved is tricky. Brighter lights all too often wash out in a glare. Or the colors of the neon are not vivid enough to compete. And if you aren’t using a tripod, hitting the right exposure by lowering your shutter speed isn’t an option.

So I like this shot for two reasons. It captures the feel of Siem Reap at night, and it gives me hope that maybe I’ll manage a successful night shot again sometime.

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Bonus Shot: Bagging It

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Markets & Shopping, Photography

Bags of flower petals in Bali.

I love strolling through local markets in SE Asia. I mean those that the locals frequent. Vendors’ stalls are often nothing more than a space on the ground, even those with a roof over their head are still open to the elements – and the crowds – enticing shoppers with all the easily reached goods on display. Large bags filled with whatevers seem to be a favorite way to show off what’s for sale and they always catch my attention – and my camera’s too.

Bags of incense in Bangkok.

Originally these bags were made of burlap, and for awhile cotton. More recently they are constructed out of fiber made from recycled plastic, so these days they have a slight sheen to them. And are undoubtedly stronger too. At the Old Market in Siem Reap early one morning, a vendor’s massive display of rice – with more types than I ever knew existed – stretched along the sidewalk for what seemed like blocks. (Note: the bloody carcasses of freshly butchered livestock do not make for as pleasant of a photo.)

Bags of rice in Cambodia.

Later that evening I ran across a slightly different use of these bags at the Night Market, fish feed bags that had been recycled yet again and made into purses, duffle bags, messenger bags, and luggage of all types and sizes. Always in need of something to tote my purchases home from my holiday, I picked up a carry-on sized bag for under ten bucks. Lime green in color, it was unique enough I never had to worry about it being confused with someone else’s luggage. I’m thinking of getting a laptop version next time around, though probably not in pink.

Bags for your stuff in Siem Reap.

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Bonus Shot: Cambodian Meat Market

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Cambodia, Markets & Shopping, Photography

It’s unusual to even find a butcher in the U.S. these days, so ‘meat market’ conjures up a different picture, one of . . . well, never mind y’all just filled that one in on your own. Sometimes known as a wet market – which did little to change that picture you have in your head – meat markets are standard fare in many Asian and SE Asian countries. They are not for the squeamish (aka Americans who are used to seeing their meat homogenized and wrapped in plastic) but can be fascinating – where else can you see a cow’s head stuffed in a basket?

This is a shot from the market in Siem Reap. Though there are vendors selling tacky souvenirs for the touri trade too, this market is still an integral part of the locals’ daily lives. As with most meat markets, if you are planning a visit it’s best to go early in the morning, the selection is better, the hustle and bustle of the crowd adds to the ambiance, and the smell won’t make you gag. Much.

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Photography, Wats

Evening Prayers

Framing shots with a window is a photographic cliche. But then since I’m not a professional photographer, who cares? Besides the views windows provide at wats in SE Asia are often too choice to let pass, so this type of picture is a standard for me.

Sometimes the best view is looking in, sometimes it’s looking out. The shot above is the former, a view of the temple’s monks gathered for evening chants at Wat Hosian Voravihane in Luang Prabang. I took several photos of the gathering – the bald heads really caught my eye – some without the window frame, but ended up liking this one the best. Peeking in on the proceedings adds an element to the shot that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

The photo below is from the Baan Ping Temple just inside the ancient city walls of Chiang Mai. It’s a small wat, with rather ornate exteriors but quite plain and unspectacular inside the wiharn. The shutters, like at many temples in Thailand, are gilded scenes of Buddhist imagery; it was the monk robes hanging to dry outside though that really set this shot apart.

Wat Baan Ping

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