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Thanks Simon. I've only done split grade when I really had no choice, because it takes so much time and paper to get it right, and it seems in this case I'll have to do it again.
As for my kit:
If I were shooting the temples again, I would bring my Hassy, prob a 50, 80 and 180 kit + 3 backs! I left mine at home as I'd read reports the temple staff would charge extra for MF cameras. But there were people shooting on tripods when I was and they weren't harrassed. I brought my Leica kit only because I wanted to something I could use for street and village photography as well.
If I were to bring my 35 mm kit, I would still bring two bodies and four lenses, but that's only because I want to shoot in both colour and B&W. I woud however bring a 135 instead of the 90.
The Leica stuff is a little heavy, but is really not that big-- it all fits into a Hadley Pro. You know, actually a bag isn't even necessary if I had two ever-ready cases. It would be simple to carry one body + lens on each shoulder, keep a third lens in a pants pocket, keep filters in a filter pouch on the belt, keep five rolls of film in a shirt pocket, and I'd be set. I could leave the 135 mm lens with my driver since it's so rarely used, or carry it in another pocket.
I'm thinking of returning to Cambodia, but frankly, I'm not sure I would go back to the temples. Cost is one reason, esp. if one has to try again and again to get the light and (sometimes) rain if one wants to shoot those moody/broody pictures I've seen in those coffee table books.
I'm thinking of going back to do shooting in the villages. Their farm life is nothing like what you have in US or UK. They are very poor. Apart from farming, rearing of poultry and other livestock, the men and boys supplement their food by fishing in muddy ponds. I even saw them catching small grass snakes for food!
These people have no running water, no sanitation, they depend on wells & rainwater, they live in rickety thatched huts and cook using firewood which causes a lot of smoke and haze.
They have no running electricity in the villages. Those who can afford it watch TV powered by lead acid accummulators, which they recharge once a week.
It's a very hard life. And yet, for such a poor people, politics is everywhere. Every village has one or more political party branches, with banners of "Funcinpec", "Sam Rainsy", etc. Democracy is well-established and I think the people are very politically aware.
I've some pictures of village life, but I've not printed them yet. Not enough for a real good photo story though.
If I could afford it-- time and money-- I'd rather do a photojournalism assignment where I could embed myself in the country for a month, do a story on the lives of the Cambodian people.
Compared with their glorious past (evidenced by the building of monuments like Angkor Wat), it's just so sad to see the state of Cambodia today.
But I've been unemployed for 5 months now, the job market window is opening again and I just can't go away right now.
Simon Larbalestier said:
Ta Som is always hard place to photograph no matter what time the day! it's hard to exactly say how i'd make it better but if it was me i would burn in a lot of the background to simplify the huge amount of detail and make it more dramatic. Might be my monitor but the screen image seems a little grey i'm sure the actual print has more depth to it. If you're printing it yourself have you tried split grade printing with a 00 and a 5, you can then pump up the tonality again in CS after you've scanned it?
btw Waileong now that you have had chance to make some prints and evaluate your results - if you were to return to the Temples would you take a simpler shooting kit?
I ask because i always ask myself the same questions and seeing the actual results often provokes more questions.
It's good to have a thread like this - keep posting your results! 🙂
