Angkor Monochrome Series: Part 1

This travelogue is the first in a series describing my approach and background to Angkor monochrome photography.  Photographing Angkor is an ongoing project to produce a unique collection of fine art prints. Photoshop post-production is an essential component in my image workflow, using digital dodging and burning techniques and luminosity masks. However, nothing is added…

Angkor Temples: Romance vs Reality

ADVICE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS PLANNING A VISIT TO ANGKOR, CAMBODIA Many travellers’ aspire to photograph the temples of Angkor in Cambodia with its awe-inspiring Khmer architecture. A once in a lifetime trip, perhaps? And why not? The place is special. However, like many popular global destinations, Angkor has not been immune to mass tourism pressures. Visual…

An unusual Buddhist ritual in Mandalay

Buddha face washing & teeth brushing at the Mahamuni Pagoda The Mahamuni Pagoda in Mandalay, Central Myanmar, offers an unusual cultural experience within the Buddhist World. The daily event is not a tourist attraction, but a solemn ceremony attended by local devotees and pilgrims. Feeling disoriented, waking in the night, my wife, Took and I…

Rangoon (Yangon) Streets

ELEGANT COLONIAL DECAY “The sun never sets on the British Empire.” – John Wilson (amongst others) “All things that have form eventually decay.” – Masashi Kishimoto Most visitors stay in Yangon only for a day or two. Usually, to visit the spectacular and glittering Shwedagon Paya (pagoda) before moving elsewhere. Such a fleeting visit to…

Yangon

Hand of the Buddha, Shwedagon Paya. Moonlight over Shwedagon Paya Novice buddhist nuns, Shwedagon Paya Chaukhtatgyi Buddha face, Yangon. Chaukhtatgyi Reclining Buddha Buddhist monk, Shwedagon Paya Burmese ladies praying, Shwedagon Paya Shwedagon Paya at dawn Devout buddhist lady, Shwedagon Paya Buddhist nun, Shwedagon Paya Sule Pagoda Road, Yangon Former Accountant-General’s Office, Strand Road Sofaer’s Emporium…

New Zealand Landscapes

Stars & Milky Way, Mt Cook-Aoraki National Park Icebergs ,Tasman Lake, Aoraki-Mount Cook. Aoraki-Mount Cook, and Hooker Lake Speargrass on glacial moraine boulders, Tasman Valley Tasman River Flats Glacial blue rapids, Tasman River Approach to Aoraki-Mt Cook National Park Winter skies over Lake Pukaki Clearing rainclouds over Mitre Peak, Milford Sound, Fiordland Bowen Falls, Milford…

Burma Railways

Train locomotive and crew, Irrawady River iron bridge – Saigang Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo) station, Train driver and his locomotive, Pyin Oo Lwin railway station Monks on the circle train line, Yangon. Vendor lady – Circle Train Line, Yangon. Buddhist monk, Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo) A passenger and a dog, Pyin Oo Lwin station Food…

Angkor Temples

Overgrown courtyard, Beng Mealea Strangler fig tree roots at Prasat Ta Promh Victory Gate, Angkor Thom Rural village , Banteay Chmar Village Khmer farmer and boys on oxen and carts, Roulos, Siem Reap Prasat Preah Vihear Collapsed ruins of Banteay Chmar Khmer boys, Banteay Chmar Kampong Kdei Bridge Hidden Sanctuary – Prasat Pram Towers of…

Bhutan Road Trip

Mask of the dancer, Bhumthang festival Demon dancer, Bhumthang festival Demon dancers, Bhumthang festival Demon dancer, Bhumthang festival Demon dancers, Bhumthang festival Farm-lady gathering wheat near Paro Dzong Traditional gathering, National Memorial Choeten – Thimpu Tango Goemba (Cheri Goemba) Monastery Courtyard and living quarters of Buddhist monks at Tango Goemba Water prayer wheel choetens –…

Burma (Myanmar)

Stupas in the mist, Mrauk-U Tattooed Chin tribes-ladies Monks gather at Mahagandhayon Kyaung, Amarapura Young Kayan lady weaving taxtiles, Inle Lake Artisan stone sculptor and buddha statues, Mandalay Intha people and floating gardens, Inle Lake Intha people on canoe – Inle Lake, Boys whitewashing the terraces of Hsinbyume Paya Young novice monks near Inle Lake…