Published article in Asian Geographic - A Walk Through Time - Phnom Kulen, Cambodia
A Walk Through Time…
Kulen's past and present.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Below is a very short excerpt from a seven (7) page article in the latest Asian Geographic magazine on Phnom Kulen and its hidden treasures in Cambodia.
| Asian Geo 1/2012 (WHEN MOMENTS MATTER) |
I am grateful to the publisher/editor/graphic designer for publishing this article from my beloved Cambodia and of-course my gratitude to Jamie Irena Rayer - Keet who wrote the excellent text for this story. Love you Sis!
But I like to thank also Didier Faraud from the Heritage Adventures and Heritage Suites Hotel without his help and input this article could not have been possible.
GD
It may only be forty-six kilometers away from the august Angkor Wat but this is one Cambodian paradise where you won’t be seeing busloads of Teva-sandaled, video-cam toting tourists anytime soon. An hour’s drive northeast of Siem Reap, past the hordes of out-of-towners traipsing all over the remnants of the 10th century temple Bantey Srei, lies the serene lushness of Phnom Kulen. A hilly terrain famed for its extensive history and natural resource of red sandstone, Phnom Kulen also boasts a national park, refreshing waterfalls, peculiar rivers and a massive 8m long Buddha reclining at its summit.
With more than two-dozen ancient brick temples scattered around the mountain, Phnom Kulen holds more mysteries than the average Mount Meru. Over the centuries she has played host to hermits, communist revolutionaries and even royalty. Lately however, she has been seducing archaeologists and leaving intrigued historians trailing in her wake, gambling life and limb as they tread through her dense jungle in their quest to unearth more of the secrets embedded within her elusive rupestrian treasure…
READ MORE and other amazing stories in the latest ASIAN Geographic Magazine ○ no. 86 issue 1/2012 | 97
Adventure Travel Photography: Tourists to the rescue…& another Deja Vu at Tham Theung Caves, Laos
The endless Journey Continues…
Working with what you've got…even Tourists come in
handy sometimes, the story behind the photos.
During our recent GD Photo Workshop in Laos we visited the Pak Ou caves overlooking the Mekong River some 25 km from Luang Prabang in Laos; it is here where the mouth of the River Ou meets the mighty Mekong.
A group of caves on the left side of the Mekong river, about two hours boat ride upstream from Luang Prabang.
I had visited the lower cave called Tham Ting (lower cave) some 20 years ago and with the exception of more tourists swarming around and more Buddha statues were deposited, little had changed over the years.
Hundreds of Buddha statues and relics in all shape and sizes have been brought here over many years by loyal Buddhist devotees.
Mind you 20 years ago I was the only visitor to this cave and actually could crawl around more easily, but that is not possible anymore.
20 years ago Pak Ou Caves Tham Ting (lower cave)
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It is a difficult task to shoot or create interesting Images when so many Tourist get in the way…
but I guess they also have the right to be there.
Oh my… I am so glad I visited this place 20 years ago…
hmmm sounds a bit selfish.
Pak Ou Caves Tham Ting (lower cave) Sept. 2011
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
After about 45 minutes our Group decided to move on to the upper cave Tham Theung in the hope for better shooting conditions. I had never been to this cave before and someone told us it is some 150 steps up…ha, ha, it felt more like 300 steps.
After some puffing and sweating we made it… only to find out, there is zero light insight. Oh boy…did I sweat and puff for nothing?
With no Tripod and only the little pop up flash on my Nikon D300s (left my D700 in the boat and was in no mood to climb the stairs again) I thought this is going to be a tough one, besides this cave was big.
Upper Cave Tham Theung - Sept. 2011
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
But luck was on our side, at the entrance of the cave a local woman selling flashlights for hire to Tourists. Upon entering the cave I realized that even with these flashlights there is no way of getting any decent images…
I almost gave up, when all of a sudden a large group of Italian Tourist appeared, all equipped with the for hire flashlights; and for sure a good business day for the local lady at the entrance, ha, ha.
Upper Cave Tham Theung - Sept. 2011
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The only thing left for me to do… finding a suitable “Tripod” a crack, a ledge, anything on the cave wall facing the right direction.
I got it… jammed the camera into a crack, pushed hard and holding on (you might end up with a few scratches on your Camera but other then that, it works, besides holding your breath) now I instructed my assistant Arj to shine his torch towards the temple area.
There was also Mojan left behind from our Group, who at the time of the exposure was still wondering around and exploring the cave; of course this added a bit of extra light too.
Upper Cave Tham Theung - Sept. 2011
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But I still did not get enough light for a good and usable shot… then the Italian Tourists entered the cave and came to my rescue… shining their flashlights in all direction…wow and thank you.
I left the shutter open for about 4 seconds and let the Tourists paint the cave for me with their flashlights.
I might mention that my ISO setting was not very high either, I try to avoid using super high ISO setting whenever possible.
My setting for most of these shots: Focal Lengths 18mm, 640 ISO f/5.6 and varying the exposure between 4 and 6 sec. bracketing my exposure as much as possible and NO flash.
So there you have it, sometimes Tourist’s do come in very handy and in this case they added also scale to the image.
On the other hand how could I have done these shots 20 years ago? There were no Tourists and the upper cave was off limits...
GD
Travel Photography: India Part 3 - Kailasa the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora & the story behind the photos continuous.
“Discover the undiscovered.” – Kailasa Temple; awesome
architecture and the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora.
My first impression was nothing less except...WOW!
It took almost a century to build and is considered as the world’s
largest monolithic structure. Kailasa the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora, India.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
You’re speechless once you stand in front of this awesome architecture know as the Kailasa that is certainly the unrivaled centerpiece of Ellora, and it was only a few days ago when I stumbled up on an article on the web from the
“PopPhoto” Magazine with the Headline “The 25 Best Places to Photograph on Planet Earth”.
Sure enough, under the subtitle ”Ancient Worlds” the very first image was that of the Carpenter Cave in Ellora that I described recently in part 2 of my Blog.
Amazing I thought…I have just been there a couple of month ago. The other place mention under “Ancient Worlds” of course was no other than Angkor Wat in Cambodia a place that I have been visiting since 1992 and do so again this coming September.(GD Photo Workshops Asia: Laos-Cambodia-Myanmar)
View from above the Kailasa Temple Ellora - India.
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Kailasa Temple covering an area about double the size of Parthenon in Athens,
and was covered initially with white plaster trying to portray the similarity to
the snow covered Mount Kailash in Tibet.
So, let me introduce you to this amazing temple (Cave 16), also known as the Kailasa or the Kailasanatha, yet another place I can return to over and over again!
Designed to recall Mount Kailash, the abode of Lord Shiva and looks like a freestanding, multi-storied temple complex… but this one was carved out of one single rock!
The Kailash temple like all other caves in Ellora are covered in astonishing frescoes that are masterpieces of Buddhist art.
The construction of this cave was a feat of human genius — it entailed removal of 200,000 tones of rock, and took some 100 years to complete.
Kailasa carved out of a single rock, Ellora - India.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Its builders modeled it on the lines of the Virupaksha Temple
in Pattadakal. Being a south Indian style temple, it does not have
a shikhara common to north Indian temples.
Just so awesome and impressive...
Kailasa carved out of a single rock, Ellora - India.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Photography was extreme difficult again due to mixed light sources inside the temples and not been able to use a Tripod or Flash added another difficulty.
A real challenge, however with experience, a lot of patience and a steady hand I managed quiet well. Of course picking the right time of the day is very important too when taken photographs outside, there are plenty subjects to choose from with in the outside temple area.
Like with all the other caves, Ajanta and Ellora all photos been processed with Aperture 3 only, using in most cases only the basic RAW file adjustments, however in some of the cave images additional adjustments were required, mainly adjusting the White Balance using also Aperture 3 this was required due to the extreme mix light conditions in these caves.
No other software or other manipulations has been applied.
Awesome sculptures, detailed frescos or just playing with shadows and light and occasionally adding the ever so colorful Indian women into the frame.
Movement, visitors to the Kailasa temple Ellora - India.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
The spectacular carvings are done in more than one level
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
The temple is a splendid achievement of Dravidian art. This project was started by
Krishna I (757–773) of the Rashtrakuta dynasty that ruled from Manyakheta in present
day Karnataka state. His rule had also spread to southern India, hence this temple was
excavated in the prevailing style. Ellora - India.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Now, if you ever get the feeling or the urge to go back in time discovering the undiscovered, then a visit to this amazing place should be on you next travel Itinerary.
Or join our next GD Photo Workshops Asia 2012 to Central India for an amazing journey into the past, visiting Ellora, Ajanta and other amazing places. At least for a few days you can be “Indiana Jones”, or simply sit back and imagining what it was like hundreds of years ago.
The courtyard is edged by columned galleries three story high with huge
sculpted panels, and alcoves containing enormous sculptures of a variety of
deities that punctuate the galleries.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
These Indian women adding scale and
color to the Kailasa Temple
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Please stay tuned for my next travel adventure blog when I take you to Aurangabad, my base from where I visited Ellora and Ajanta. I keep you a bit in suspense now… but Aurangabad is another awesome place seldom mention, mysterious and very rewarding as I discovered the undiscovered.
But now I have to run... I am long over due for a glass of good red wine at my favorite Cave Werdenberg Wine Bar, yet another Cave but this one is a bit different... until soon,
Cheers GD
