Another Day at Liger

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Some of the many shots from an events photography shoot at Liger Leadership Academy outside of Phnom Penh. The photo shoot coincided with a group of visiting American journalists who had flown in for a special tour of the school, with the students pretty much being the guides. A combination of capturing the kids in the act for the Liger website, as well as loosely staged portraits for inclusion in the journalist's stories (The Sydney Morning Herald among others).

The last time I was shooting at Liger was around 2 to 3 years ago, the young kids I remember have turned into confident young adults. A unique school in an excellent study and living environment, perhaps the only one like it in Cambodia.

True Money

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A recent composite billboard shoot for Champagne agency. The different image elements were shot between setups of a TVC shoot on Diamond Island in Phnom Penh. My assistant Manuth But and I set up a large white backdrop on a parking space on Diamond Island close to the TVC set. We shot the car, tuk tuk and cyclist against the backdrop using the natural sunlight and reflectors as fill. We moved the backdrop around to follow the suns direction to try to match the light on each of the vehicles for the composite. We shot the main talents using studio strobes against a blank wall in the shade. The blurry background buildings were shot on a separate day.

Art direction Aurelien Soula from Champagne and Bunsak But compositor and retoucher.

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Cambodia Train

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Recently shot a travel photography feature for Silkwinds, Silk Air's inflight magazine covering the newly reopened Cambodian train service from Phnom Penh to the south coast.

Long gone are the romantic days of train surfing on the roof of a dilapidated Cambodian train. After 14 years the passenger service from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville via Takeo and Kampot has been up and running for less than a year. Clean air conditioned carriages and soft seats make for a smooth ride, top speed is 60kmh. The passenger service currently runs only at the weekends. But is expected to run every other day soon. The windows in the carriages were sealed shut for the AC, But from between the carriages it is possible to open the doors and get a mix of fresh air with the odd diesel waft. A great scenic ride plus safer than bus or taxi. It is definitely worth the marginal extra time. Desapeeup la'or!

The magazine article by Jonathan Evans along with some of my photography can be found in the March issue of Silkwinds here.

Photographs from the journey can be found in the "Cambotrain" gallery.

Chhlong Jaunt

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Finally was able to properly use the Sony Alpha 7Rii for a personal travel photography project in Chhlong Cambodia. An amazing high image quality 42mp full frame camera, the small size is perfect for use in travel and documentary photography, but also high end enough for commercial and studio use. Soon HDR processing will be history as new sensors' dynamic range will become greater. I felt liberated with this small and robust camera after being used to carting a hefty Canon DSLR around. Less obtrusive for both portrait and general travel photography. The Sony menu system will take some getting used to, none intuitive and disorganized. Minimal weather sealing could also be an issue, the camera is now covered in Cambodian countryside dust and may need a professional clean.

In 2003 I took my first ever motorbike road trip adventure from Phnom Penh to Sen Monorom in Mundullkiri province over 10 days or so, with a 35mm analogue film SLR and a few rolls of Kodak Portra. On arrival in Snool I was covered in thick orange dust, few roads were sealed at the time. On the return journey we stumbled upon Chhlong village on the river road from Kratie to Kompong Cham. A small town on the banks of the Mekong in Kratie province, dilapidated French colonial buildings, a bustling market and the simple quiet life along the river was a real draw that had a lasting impression. We ended up staying for 2 nights in the town's only guest house.

Returning in 2017 with a Bangkok photographer friend was an attempt to get away from the expats and tourists of Phnom Penh, and even Kampot my usual go to place when in need of a break. To feel once again the only foreigners around in a sedate land. Kratie city is just 4 hours from Phnom penh by share taxi and Chhlong 1.5 hours from Kratie on a motobike. For our 2 day jaunt we rented Honda Wave's in Kratie city early morning. We skipped Kratie town altogether, the town's folk were miserable in 2003 and not much seemed to have changed 14 years later, something I haven't really experienced in other Cambodian towns. Once out of Kratie town, things changed rapidly into the old dreamscape I remember and still try to hold onto after 14 years in Cambodia.

Conclusion. The real Cambodia still exists out there in all directions, it's further from Phnom Penh than it used to be. Take it while you can.

More images from Chhlong can be seen in the Chhlong gallery here.