Published article in Asian Geographic - A Walk Through Time - Phnom Kulen, Cambodia
A Walk Through Time…
Kulen's past and present.
Copyright all Rights reserved. Mandatory credit with image use:
© 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
Photography: A nice letter in response to my recent post RIP Photoshop in 2012 & beyond.
RIP Photoshop in 2012 continues…the response.
My last post was suppose to be my last entry for 2011 but then I received this nice letter (unedited) in response to my last post RIP Photoshop in 2012, thank you Dermot for letting me share this with others. Happy New Year!
Hi GD
Loved your blog posting re: Photoshop RIP. Well said.
I’m not a photographer at all, as you well know… not even with a point and shoot..but I am amazed and in awe of beautiful images, especially yours. If I didn’t know you and or had not been with you when you took some of the images I know of…I would have a hard time not assuming that somehow Photoshop played a role. You’re right….there is a time and place for Photoshop….but in order to protect the integrity of and respect for accomplished photographers and their images, the viewer does indeed need to know / deserve to be informed if and when images are manipulated.
I recall the image you took one day with your point and shoot camera while we were sitting having a beer at Riptide overlooking Malakal Harbor, Palau…..the one with the tiki torch by the railing just before sunset. I was there. I saw the sky, I saw the tiki torch, and I saw you shoot the images. But I didn’t see what you saw until you showed me the image moments later…..no Photoshop! Just a trained and sensitive eye by the photographer. I also recall the image you shot ..with the same camera I think..in Singapore when we were sitting outside having dinner by the waterfront..with all the buildings lit up in the background. Same thing..I was there….I saw all that you saw…but not the way you saw it..until I saw your image! There are many more like that….some of the images I watched you take when we were in Siem Reap with Dirk. No flash; No Photoshop; just stunning images that were right before me but that my eyes just could not see……until I was GD’ed!
This has been an odd year for us…we’ve hardly been in touch ….not like before..but it’s also been a year in which I’ve seen the real Gunther ..the passionate photographer Gunther, re-emerge from the demands of the digital clutter that somehow seems to want to over take us and extinguish who we really are. Wish I could have been as successful in making change in 2011 as you were, and for 2012, I will look not just to your amazing images for inspiration but to how successfully you’ve managed to reshape your future by renewing your first passion…..your photography. No Photoshop needed!
Love you my friend and admire your deeply. Here’s wishing you a super successful 2012 and very Happy New Year and hope that we can cross paths and be in touch more often.
Hope to see you in Manila early Jan enroute to BOOT.
Best!
Dermot Keane
Laos-Cambodia-Myanmar, the first post after a long Journey with the Travel Adventure GD Photo Workshops.
For todays post only a collage but soon I upload all the separate photos from "Behind The Scene" & also the "Students Work."
Ouch…it has been more then 6 weeks since my last Blog post but the last Journey was a long one, traveling in areas with non-or poor Internet connection.
Then I got home and had to shake of a bad cold for a week. But to be honest, I survived without the net nicely and had more time on the road creating images and looking after my Photo Workshop participants in Laos-Cambodia and Myanmar.
Before I go into more details let me first thank all of the participants who joined my last Journey Through Color and Time.
Thanks to: Ladies first… Christina and Vi. Now the Boys: Bob, Tony, David, Bebet, Mojan, Rod, Mojan, Loy and Richard and Arj my trusted assistant. (Thanks for your tireless help in Laos and Cambodia unfortunately you could not make it with us to Myanmar)
It was a wonderful group and most of them joined all three destinations covering Laos-Cambodia and Myanmar by road and air. It was an adventure for sure, with very rough roads in Laos and Myanmar, monsoon rain drenched us or the scorching sun hit us in Myanmar.
All in search for the ultimate image, but everybody hang in there. Well, I might add we had some veteran amongst us who travelled and participated in previous workshops with me, e.g..
Like the never tiring Tony, David or the energetic Loy…but even the new comers did extremely well, in particular Mojan who constantly was on the move even during our stop over in Bangkok prior departure for Yangon.
But I also like to thank all the great people, we photographed (without them no images) and of course my gratitude to our Guides and Drivers through out the Journey who made our travel so much easier and pleasant.
My special thanks also to Alexia and all the staff from Exotissimo who have done a superb job, the staff and management from the Satri House in Luang Prabang, Laos (what an amazing place) and of course to the Heritage Suites Hotel and Heritage Adventures in Siem Reap Cambodia.
Left: The cool Telephones in our rooms at the Satri House, Luang Prabang, Laos, they still work real good believe me.
Right: The super tasty Cake at the Heritage Suites Hotel, thanks again and to Rod who took that shot, somehow Arj was missing in action at that very moment.
I might mention, this year was very special in many ways; for 20 years I have been traveling to Cambodia and 5 Years of the GD Photo Workshops with the Heritage Suites Hotel in Siem Reap (they surprised me with a super cool “Birthday Cake” on our last night) yummy… I can still taste it…and Mojan could not help himself and had three slices, mind you it was a real big Cake.
Buddhist blessing ceremony for our Group at the Heritage Suites Hotel poolside.Thanks Arj for taken these shots.
Then there was the fantastic and real Buddhist blessing Ceremony at the Poolside at the Heritage that really made our last day, thank you so much for everything.
2011 was also my return to Laos after 20 years and Myanmar after 12 years, a very special meaning for me, detailed articles will follow with impressions and changes after so many years.
Well, almost an UN gathering with participants from Spain, Germany, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA. This was particular evident in the evenings during our critic and assessment of the daily assignments.
I am preparing now the photos from “Behind the Scene” (some very funny ones again) and of course “The Students Work”, a selection from each and everyone’s favorite take.
You might take also note that we have moved the “Behind the Scene” and “The Students Work” now to the GD Photo Workshop pages and removed it from my Blog.
Everything is under one roof now and we leave also the previous workshop pages active, which would not have been possible on my Blog.
Check the LINKS above; the latest ones will be up soon as mention above.
We also managed to update my Home Page on my main website with new photos and the SE Asia 4 Gallery has now been completed with some of the latest images.
A complete selection of recent images from all three destinations are also available on PhotoShelter within the next week or so, I keep you posted.
Of course it goes without saying Aperture 3 performed fantastic and non of my images have been processed using PS…all the way Aperture.
Plus stay tuned for some interesting articles on my Blog, which I try to post soon, starting with Laos. Ha, ha I am connected again running a good speed Internet connection…
As a reminder we’re finalizing right now our next Workshops for Sri Lanka – Central India and Bhutan and have only few more spots available.
We have scheduled also an additional very special Workshop for Myanmar for the end of June 2012; full details will be announced shortly.
Until very soon…and no more six week breaks for a while.
GD
Travel Photography: packing the bags and getting ready...the next Blog update is from Bali Indonesia
Hopefully I get a good connection and can report from Bali, but now I am very busy with packing all the camera gear and other equipment, the last minute Gear check.
The image below is from my last trip to Cambodia and I thought I share this one with you it is also a reminder of the...
4th Angkor Photography Festival in Cambodia
November 23 - 28, 2008 Siem Reap 
© Gunther Deichmann - Siem Reap Angkor Wat, Cambodia 2007
For some of the latest images on Cambodia click the image above or this
LINK http://www.deichmann-photo.com/new-camboadia.html
