The Andy Aupperlee Explosion 5000 » International http://www.explosion5000.com Seattle based Editorial & Portrait Photographer Wed, 26 May 2010 05:48:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Monks in Cambodia http://www.explosion5000.com/2008/04/monks-in-cambodia.html http://www.explosion5000.com/2008/04/monks-in-cambodia.html#comments Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:50:00 +0000 Andy http://174.132.165.188/~aupperle/explosion5000.com/?p=11

Nikon D40. Nikon 18-200mm VR @ 95mm.
1/50 sec. @ f/5.3. ISO 200. -0.33 exp. comp.
This image comes from a temple outside of Siem Reap. Ryan and I spent the sunrise at Angkor Wat and then wandered around the surrounding temples during the day. Ryan noticed this monk taking some notes in a window and suggested I make a picture. I took several shots over the course of a few seconds and kept walking. Even though I only spent a few moments to take this picture, it turned out to be one of my favorites from the trip.

Royal Palace. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. March 2, 2008.
Nikon D40. Nikon 18-200mm VR @ 18mm.
1/200 sec. @ f/7.1. ISO-200. -0.33 exp. comp.
This picture comes from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Like the photo above, I used a circular polarizing filter.

The journey to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap was about as interesting as the destination. Ryan and I departed Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by bus enroute to Phnom Penh. At the Cambodian border we encountered a very bizarre process. A guide collected our passports and instructed us to get off the bus. Without any explicit direction, we were ushered into a large building with security guards, metal detectors, and bag scanners. I literally walked through the building and out a door on the other side, bypassing Vietnamese and Cambodians waiting in line for who knows what. Once out the door a man herded our tour group back on the bus. No one had their passports and everyone looked at each other with puzzled faces. The bus proceeded down the road (now in Cambodia) for about a mile. We pulled over at some kind of immigration station and our passports were finally returned to us with the appropriate stamps and Cambodian visas. Welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Road conditions in Cambodia were noticeably different than Vietnam. Half the time we traveled on a dirt road, and we were always driving right down the center. Scooters, bicylces, and mule-drawn carts dodged us as we plunged into the heart of Cambodia. It was not uncommon for the bus to swerve because cattle and other livestock were standing in the center of the road. The Cambodian countryside is substantially more rural and underdeveloped than neighboring Vietnam. The contrast in living conditions is very stark.

After a ferry crossing and a few more hours of Cambodian traffic, we reached Phnom Penh. Several days later we embarked on a similar bus trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. Although traveling by bus to these cities was fascinating, I was glad to board a plane in Siem Reap to get back into Vietnam. While it does take longer, it is definitely worth the time to take ground transportation at least one way when moving through Southeast Asia.

Update 3/18/2009: More photos from my Vietnam/Cambodia trip can be seen on Flickr (slideshow).

]]> http://www.explosion5000.com/2008/04/monks-in-cambodia.html/feed 0 Phnom Kulen http://www.explosion5000.com/2008/04/phnom-kulen.html http://www.explosion5000.com/2008/04/phnom-kulen.html#comments Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:43:00 +0000 Andy http://174.132.165.188/~aupperle/explosion5000.com/?p=4
This photo comes from Phnom Kulen, Cambodia. Phnom Kulen is a sacred mountain about 50 kilometers outside of Siem Reap. Ryan (my travel companion) and I hired moto drivers to take us here on March 5, 2008. Compared to nearby Angkor Wat (which we toured the previous day), Phnom Kulen is largely overlooked by tourists. Only a few locals happened to be visiting that day making Ryan and I the only barangs on the whole mountain.

The best light for outdoor photography happens at dawn and dusk. The challenge of any trip where one is constantly on the move is making great photographs all day long in the harshest of light. While traveling through Vietnam and Cambodia, I did not have the luxury of waiting for sunset at every spot that might make a compelling image. For photos in the middle of the day I used a circular polarizing filter. The polarizer works like a pair of sunglasses and allows the camera to see blue skies and clouds at high noon. Usually these mid-day conditions blow the sky out to white blah on my Nikon D40. Rotating the circular polarizer also helped me tweak the way the surrounding foliage and water looked.

To get the water to move I set the camera to shutter priority. The trick is to use a long shutter speed without overexposing the photo. This particular shot used a 1.3 second exposure at f/25. To keep the camera still I fired the shutter using an IR remote with the D40 mounted on a little flexible tripod my brother gave me for Christmas. I wrapped the legs of the tripod around a jagged rock. Over the course of 30 minutes or so I experimented with different settings and angles. I took several dozen pictures while locals splashed around in the waterfall. Right when I finally nailed the settings to get the look I wanted, the locals dispersed and this beautiful little Khmer girl wandered into the frame. It is unlikely that she knew I was taking her picture as I was about 100 feet away under a tree and obscured by branches. She sat perfectly still for a moment or two and I grabbed a handful of shots. I felt a surge of adrenaline after reviewing the first few images on the LCD; I knew I stumbled onto something good. As quickly as this lucky photograph framed itself, it was over. The girl started walking around and a few more locals waded into the water.

Here are the details… Nikon D40 and Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor D 18-200 mm f/3.5 – 5.6G DX ED IF VR at 35mm. 1.3 sec. @ f/25. ISO 200.

Update 3/18/2009: More photos from my Vietnam/Cambodia trip can be seen on Flickr (slideshow).

]]> http://www.explosion5000.com/2008/04/phnom-kulen.html/feed 0