Photography: Two minutes interval and a split second, the beauty about natural light.
“I love the simplicity in Nature” - GD
One afternoon during my recent trip to Cambodia (March 2013) I spotted this old, almost forgotten boat at the outer moat at Angkor Wat.
It was getting late and it didn’t look like to be a great sunset at this amazing historical site, but then I caught a glimpse of this old boat resting at the edge of the outer moat that surrounds Angkor Wat.
Subtle clouds and sky reflecting in the water, surrounding the boat in an ever fast changing light.
It didn’t take very long before the afternoon beauty had disappeared completely, but I got my images in an ever changing natural light.
I guess visitors to Angkor Wat that afternoon left disappointed since there was no real magic sunset over the main Khmer Temple, everybody walked right past the real beauty, except for me.
"I am blessed since birth with the very best and most technologically
advanced camera on earth... my Eyes." - GD
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Time: 5:48:27
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Time: 5:50:39
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Time: 5:52:09
Split second…
“Be ready when the Light is right…you have only seconds,
but this is the moment that counts.”
- GD
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
The image above was taken on the way to Battambang, Cambodia about a year ago when I spotted these children playing in the rice fields.
It was very late already and the sun was just about to disappear, we stopped the car and I managed to get a few frames catching this boy playing with a ball in the last light of the day.
A split second…and one frame only.
"Light is Photography… photography is light." - GD
Fine art and signed limited edition high photographic quality prints are available upon request or via my Photo Shelter Gallery (see the LINK below) perfect for office or home decor.
View more images here taken in natural light and amazing reflections on water or land.
Travel Photography Cambodia: The story behind the photos, a remarkable woman called Chea Samy
The story behind the photos… a remarkable woman called Chea Samy, the survival of traditional Khmer Dance in Cambodia.
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
Traditional Khmer dancer outside at the Royal Performing Hall
at the Phnom Penh Grand Palace, Cambodia.
This post is about a remarkable woman whom I meet in Cambodia exactly 20 years ago, it is also my last post for 2012. Still busy with all the arrangements for our upcoming tour to Myanmar and Cambodia in February and March.
1992… the Mekong River… on assignment for Animan Magazine; traveling through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia for some 3 month following the Mekong River where ever possible.
…I arrived on a hot humid day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia; it was the same day the United Nations Peace keeping forces swarmed in from all over the world, trying to stabilize the war ravaged but ever so beautiful Country.
I was still on my Mekong trip but now found myself right in the middle of all this chaos and UN berets, I had completed Thailand and Laos, now it was Cambodia where the mighty Mekong River is part of everyday life. The next stop was Vietnam by road from Phnom Penh but that is another story. BTW…the Mekong story got published a few month later and became a 24-page article in Animan Magazine.
Hanging around those days was a very different story, it was almost like “Wild West” in the streets of Phnom Penh with Pol Pot still hiding deep in the Cambodian Jungle. Besides the country was littered with land mines and venturing out in the countryside was a high risk factor.
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Traditional Khmer carvings APSARA can be found at Angkor Wat
and many other Khmer Temple Ruins in Cambodia.
Part of my Mekong River story was to capture also the traditional and culture aspect; places the Mekong touched on his long Journey and this is how I found this truly remarkable women in Phnom Penh.
Her name was Chea Samy… dedicating her time to the traditional form of Khmer dances, unfortunately Chea passed away some years ago but she will be long remembered for her passion and dedication to Khmer Art.
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Chea Samy, preparing one of the traditional Khmer dancers at
the Royal Performing Hall at the Phnom Penh Grand Palace, Cambodia.
Chea Samy was a teacher before Pol Pot arrived, but went into hiding as a vegetable vendor during the horrific times of the Pol Pot regime that had no tolerance for Intellectuals or for the art in Cambodia.
Having survived the horrific years of Pol Pot, Chea was instrumental in reviving the traditional Khmer dancers.
I meet her in an old damaged school house where she was teaching the Khmer Dances, at the time Chea was the only surviving person who could teach these traditional dances.
I took some photos but thought it would be nice to see them also perform again at the Grand Palace adding the grace to their almost forgotten art.
So I went to work… after three days of red tape and countless discussions I finally got permission from the Ministry to photograph this group of dancers with Chea Samy at the Royal Palace.
When I told Chea the news a few days later a big smile crossed her face and she beamed with joy.
Though Chea Samy has since passed away the APSARA Arts Association is still very active in preserving traditional arts in Cambodia, an important part of Cambodia's Culture and rich History.
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I felt extremely privileged been treated to more then
just one exceptional performance that day
at the Grand Palace Royal performance Hall…
a day I always will remember.
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One of the dancers at the Grand Palace in 1992.
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It was the very first time after the fall of the Pol Pot Regime that these girls performed
in the Royal Dancing Hall at the Grand Palace in Phnom Penh.
Traditional Khmer Dances – it takes 6 years to learn and 9 years to perfect for these amazing and beautiful dancing skills.
It was the very first time that these girls performed in the Royal Dancing Hall of the Grand Palace in Phnom Penh after the notories Pol Pot Regime. …a first for them and me.
GD
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It takes 6 years to learn and 9 years to perfect these dancing skills. Not only for their movement but also in understanding the meaning of all the different dances that date back to the ancient Khmer Empire.
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The very first time these girls performed in the Royal
Dancing Hall of the Grand Palace in Phnom Penh
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© Gunther Deichmann - www.deichmann-photo.com
At dusk in 1992,
the Royal Dancing Hall of the Grand Palace in Phnom Penh
NOTE: All photos taken with Kodachrome Film.
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If you interested and like to discover the undiscovered with me in Cambodia, Myanmar/Burma or some other Asian destinations please check our Adventure Travel Photo Tours on our Calendar for 2013.
Note: Cambodia special Photo Tour for 8 participants only in late 2013.
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Combining 55 years of experience… 35 years of Photography and 20 years traveling through out Cambodia and other Asian Countries. Gunther has not only produced numerous articles for international Magazines but he knows also the right locations at the right time of the day.
We guarantee that you get the quality time you need on each and every destination with Gunther and his team.
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To my family, my friends, Photo workshop participants, supporters & readers
thanks for all your support over all these years.
Cheers Gunther
Wishing YOU all Merry Christmas
& a colorful HAPPY 2013.
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
