Behind The Scenes Wrap up || Workshop Cambodia

It was an absolute pleasure to co-host a photography workshop with my good friend Colby Brown in Cambodia. We spent 7 days leading the group through unbelievable ancient temples and unique little villages. I would personally like to thank everyone that was involved for making this one of the most memorable experiences of 2012.

In addition, as part of The Giving Lens, we had the opportunity to work with the children from Anjali House. Anjali house is a great organization that provides the children of Cambodia with healthcare, food, clean water, and education. Learn more about the work they do at Anjali House.

As the adventure unfolded, we posted many of these photos to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and Instagram, using the hashtag #TGLCambodia. The following images are a collection of my favorite Behind the Scenes moments from this extraordinary trip.

If you would like more information on this workshop, future workshops, or The Giving Lens, visit www.thegivinglens.com.

Pchum Ben – Festival of the Dead

Early on our first morning, we led the group to the Wat Bo temple in Siem Reap to witness and photograph the Pchum Ben Festival, known to us as the festival of the dead. It’s a time when the spirits of the dead ancestors walk the Earth and the living can ease their suffering by offering them food to eat. Shortly after the main ceremony I managed to make some new friends. 🙂

 

Cambodian Street Food

To be completely honest, I’m a pretty odd foodie, and if you needed any proof, I think “snake on a stick” says it all. Not that snake isn’t a culinary delight—quite the contrary. In fact, it perfectly complemented the bag of fried grasshoppers that we enjoyed shortly after. 😉

 

 

iPhone Fun by Michael Bonocore

What do three photographers with DSLRs do when they get to the top of Ba Phaun temple in Cambodia? Take iPhone pics, of course.

 

On Location At Angkor Wat

On the second morning, we led the group on a sunrise shoot of the ancient and beautiful world heritage site, Angkor Wat. To say that I’ve been excited about this visit to Cambodia and joining The Giving Lens in support of Anjali House is a bit of an understatement. There’s no other place in the world quite like it and it was a truly inspirational sight… Oh, and we don’t look too bad either. 🙂

Ta Som Temple

Another day, another ancient temple, and the most beautiful banyan tree I’ve ever seen.

It’s no wonder why the banyan tree is the national symbol of Cambodia. They seem to be everywhere here, clutching one ancient ruin after the next with their tangled and beautiful roots.

This was one of many destinations we explored during day 4 of our Cambodia Workshop.

Along The Tonle Sap

Every year during the rainy season in Cambodia, the Mekong river swells, spilling over to fill the Tonle Sap, forming an enormous lake that fills an area of 16k square kilometers and a depth of up to 9 meters. The land that was once dry and fertile, is transformed into water as far as the eye can see, and the nearby villages that were also dry, are transformed into water towns.

We led the team on a one day adventure along the Tonle Sap before arriving in the water village of Kompong Phluk. From there we chartered a hand full of 2 person canoes to explore and photograph this water wonderland.

About this photo:

– Single frame grab from video
– HD 1080p Nikon D800

Our Final Day

This was shot on the last day of our Cambodian Workshop and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it was an incredible experience. We spent the afternoon with the children from Anjali House, taking them on a photowalk and giving them some collaborative instruction on photography and post-processing techniques. Personally, I was able to read the genuine excitement not only on the faces of the children, but on the workshop participants as well.

Anjali House supports street children through education, healthcare and the arts. They aim to provide each child with free healthcare, food, clean drinking water and education, in order to help them develop into healthy, well-adjusted young adults, equipped with the skills and support they need to enter the workforce and be successful in their future endeavours.

 

Cambodian Airport Shuttle

What’s my favorite mode of transportation in Cambodia? Well, Tuk Tuk of course. 😉

Leaving Cambodia, this was an awesome way to start my 11k mile journey back to the USA. Thanks for the great memories Cambodia. I’ll be seeing you soon!

 

 

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