…because sometimes you just gotta.

Our current billet is in Kep, facing West across the Gulf of Thailand. It’s very difficult to ignore the amazing lightshow which happens every evening (tropical storm permitting). We’d adopted a small restaurant near the hotel called the Sailing Club, which — if you get there early enough — has seats at tables facing out to sea. Last night I took the 75-300 along on the off-chance, and didn’t regret it. Here’s one of a sequence I took of a German woman swimming off the end of a jetty. I think she was posing for her friends but I was in a better position — it looks like this is the best of it:

West from Kep

Thank you, German schwimmy show-off Frau. Splashtastic. As I’ve said, I’m using a measly notebook PC so I can’t process more than Picasa will allow, so I daresay I’ll work this one when I get back home. The technical challenge with these is greater than is obvious; a sunset is actually a Very Dark Thing. My ISO was up around 2000 for these, with the shutter speed hovering at the 100th mark, lens at full aperture. What did we do when we only had Kodachrome, and no image stabilization? A tripod I guess, but swimwoman was moving pretty sharpish. Here’s another,  a (different) woman contemplating the now-set sun from the pier, right at the long end of the zoom, the lens steadied against a post in the restaurant.

West from Kep -- later that evening

A couple of days ago we tuk-tuked (motorbike-powered cab) into Kampot in order to visit the market. I made some stuff which Tash might be able to use for one thing or another, particularly a travel piece which will shake out of this trip. The market’s under cover and light is scarce. However,  the 5D made the best of it.

Kampot market

Incidentally, if anyone knows what these shells/fish/things are please let us know. Lens wide open (hence the fetching blur).

Shell/fish/things

Having lugged four lenses half-way across the planet I though I’d better find a use for the very-wide (10mm) Sigma. Not the highest-quality optic in the kit but it goes where no other glass will. Here’s our hotel, Knai Bang Chatt, from the sea. Looked better in mono. Just for the record, really.

Knai Bang Chatt

As we’re setting off for home in a couple of days this will likely be the last dispatch from the field, but I will probably show more when I get to the frosty snarl of south-east London.

I haven’t photoblogged for a while — it’s not that I’ve done nothing, it’s that I’ve done nothing worth bothering anyone with, ’til now.

I find myself in Cambodia, on holiday but with an urge to sell some stuff, at least to accompany a Travel story Tash will place. It’s a way of flexing my travel photography muscles, which could do with exercise.

So here’s some new work. It’s all processed only as much as this tiny, aged notebook PC will allow, so there’s more to do back in Blighty.

In common with our usual MO, we’ve spent the first half of the trip quite actively — temples, trips, hikes and so on — so our first day in Siem Reap took us on a cruise down to the so-called floating forest, and through a village-on-stilts. A longish lens helps with this stuff — it’s all people and detail. My 75-300 EF-series Canon lens sufficed for the most part, although circumstances revealed its shortcomings, particularly at a wide aperture. Here’s something that worked:

The lighting was very vertical which meant that faces were in shadow, but I think a little burning-in will lift this one. By the way, the residents were very happy to be photographed — many get some kind of rake-off from these outings.

Siem Reap itself is the big tourist town, as it’s close to Angkor Wat, which is the massively famous (and massively touristed) temple complex. We rose very early one morning (4.30) to take in sunrise at the temple. Very difficult compositionally; this late in the year the sun emerged too far north-west to light the building properly. However, some cirrus appeared, affording this:

Angkor Wat

I have much else from this and other temples. Too much to assess just now.

Of course, food plays a major part in all of our trips. We take pains to research the best restaurants but, when the mood’s right, we join the locals wherever the action is. In this case, in the night market. I slipped a 50mm f1.4 prime on and prowled.

Night Market, Siem Reap

I think I was using ISO 4000 — which the 5D mk 2 handles extraordinarily well — and the simple prime keeps everything sharp and contrasty, even wide open. I really recommend this Canon lens, which gains in simplicity and lightness what it lacks in zoominess (ie it doesn’t have any). The barbecue was great, too — like the lens, quick and unfussy.

We’ve slowing down at the moment, preparing for the more relaxing phase of the trip. We’re currently staying in a hyper-luxurious tent at a floating eco-lodge. Yesterday took us on a trip to the Cardomons, a jungle trek which was anything but lazy (leeches! Heat! Rock-climbing!) I was in two minds about carrying a bunch of kit, so I settled on the 24-105 zoom, a lightweight tripod and a neutral density filter. All of which I needed for this:

Shutter speed around a second and a half. I have a sequence of these which may well become a panorama at some point. One of the great things about the 5D is its wide range of ISOs — this was taken at ISO 50, to which few cameras will stoop. Worth the schlep.

Unusually for a holiday I packed my little infra-red compact, which has been sitting almost unused for a couple of years. It’s a Finepix which has had the low-pass filter removed from the sensor and a deep red one added in front of the lens. Strictly speaking it’s not true i/r but it’s as close as makes no difference. Anyway, here’s a view across the river from our tent:

So, the trip’s half-way over — there may be more later, should holiday ennui not grip me entirely.

For this, Ayda moved very slowly and gracefully, preceded by a tiny pop of flash. Most of the exposure was illuminated by the much-warmer tungsten modelling lights so I had to do more furtling on the PC than usual to deal with an orange cast. I like the way the backdrop has taken on a distressed texture; totally unplanned. More here.

As I’ve said before, I’m not over-keen on topless or nude sessions, but Ayda and her dance partner Sam made it work.

In an unprecedented outbreak of love for my fellow man, I’ve decided to ride for charity, so I’ve entered the London Bikeathon. There is, of course, a JustGiving page where you can sponsor me (no pressure). It requires a mugshot so I did a job — here’s what I posted.

Yes, that’s a DJ and a dickie-bow — the only time I’ve worn it for a couple of years (posh dinner in Porto, if memory serves). The very minor idea was to get away from the London MAMIL — Middle-Aged Man In Lycra –  look which so infects my commuter tribe.  The somewhat illogical ‘reflections’ in the glasses are photoshopped, of course. It’s like my eyes are leaking me.

Anyway, the bunce I raise goes towards researching blood cancers.  My father died of cancer (not blood, but that doesn’t really matter much) three years ago –  a very grim end to a very good man. This is kind-of in his memory, although to be honest I’d probably do the thing for the sheer joy of rolling through London with no traffic to slow me up.  However, medical research is a worthy (most worthy?) cause — truly humanistic and it promotes science, which is something else I like to do when I can.

Thing is — should I do any special training? I’ve plumped for the 26-mile route, from Battersea Power Station (which is just down the road from home) to the Thames Barrier and back. Every day I commute to work I cover around 20 miles, but in two lumps. Most days, I feel I could carry on with no issues — I’m not really in bad shape, all things considered. And the second trip is at the tired end of the day. But I’d appreciate advice: it’ll be two lots of around 13 miles with a short break. The thing about cycling is that you can slow right down and tootle along without really trying, and still cover the ground. But the point is not just to swan around the World’s greatest capital city one summer Sunday, but also do a decent run.

I will blog further….

I used to do slide sandwiches when I … er … used slide film. Here’s the digital equivalent.

Two exposures, one for dancer-in-flight and one for the subtly-illuminated backdrop. This is an attempt to make something interesting out of a leap. I’ve avoided doing them after one of my non-photographer colleagues described one as ‘a Gap ad’, which was fair.

The performer is Kirsty Bruce, a first-year at the Laban Conservatoire. Great hair. Music by Mumford and Sons, which I’d forgotten I had but now I can’t get it off the ‘pod. Kirsty was on-set with her friend Edouardo Dalfolco Neviani, and you can see more of the session here. If you don’t want to go that far here’s another odd success:

Annual group show at Acquire Arts in Battersea (more or less opposite the Dogs’ Home). I’m showing two pieces — Beth and Elenie (see posts passim) and this one:

According to Jains UK “…the ceremony is a poojan of Bhagwan Parshawanath … an ‘Ashtprakari Pooja’. Basically, there are a number of steps that are involved in the ceremony with recital of scriptures … during each stage, [and] different offerings [including flowers and fruit] are made to the Bhagwan.” Google any of this and it’s clear that it only “means” something in its own context. Pretty much the case with all theology. However, the Jains are a peacable and colourful  bunch (they don’t even kill veg) so we’ll give ‘em a pass.

This was made on our first afternoon in Mumbai last year. I got lucky because the ceremony was being filmed so I nicked some light from the crew — they pulled it a minute or so later.  It looks pretty good as a print. More from India here.

The show’s open all this week, all day ’til 8pm. I’m on duty tonight.

So most of my dancers are shot against a dark background. However, for my most recent session, complexions and costumes suggested a high-key experiment.  Here’s an example:

This is particularly extreme; the main lights were set aa little brighter than f11, the single light+beauty dish on the background something like f16. A huge dynamic range — too much, in fact. I turned the wick down on the background to calm it all down, but I thought this had a kind of energy. Here’s the setup (using a new online widget I found at lightingdiagrams.com)

Later in the session the bike-lights came out … again.

The rest of the session is here.

Kind-of an anti-climax, but worth marking. Last Summer Tash and I went to Piedmont in Italy for a short break; Tash picked up a commission for Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine to write a regional wine-and-food piece; yours truly to supply the pics. Well, here it is in pdf form…..

… it’s particularly encouraging that they used this as the main spread. Never thought of myself as a landscapeist.

I have yet to see any evidence of last year’s Indian commission. Can’t complain — we were paid in hotels and taxis for that one…

I have three pieces in a show over Christmas. Here’s one…

It’s called Joy — the name of the model, not an abstract noun.

… dancers Katy and Lilja playing with bike-lights,

 which you can see — if you are so disposed — at The Camera Club in Kennington for the next couple of weeks. There are a few other decent efforts, too — not least from m’colleague Dan Bachmann, who once contributed to a mag I edited, back in the day. Incidentally, the show has the worst-produced catalogue I’ve ever seen; so bad it’s hilarious. The picture above isn’t even listed. Ah well.

I use this show as a dry-run for others I may enter in the near future — to see what work looks like on the wall. The temple piece may have an extended life (it really does ‘pop’ as a print) and I may post more about it, later, once I’ve tracked down what it all means. Sorry, “means”.

Now I’ve another decent-ish connection, time for another quick post from India. Beginning with a sunset, from the point of view of our veranda, on Saturday evening. I shot a large number of these — the guy on the beach was there by pure chance, but I think he adds something. I used the long end of a 300mm zoom for this; a highish ISO, too, as sunsets cover a high dynamic range and I wanted to give myself as much post-processing capability as possible (these are more or less straight from the camera.

Here’s something I didn’t think would work but actually became an image I rather like. It’s across a lake at a spice plantation; lots of water in the air, which I feared would ruin it. Didn’t; peaceful, no?

As this is essentially a holiday (combined with shooting stuff for the India Tourist Board and tash’s travel feature) here’s a holiday snap. I’ve never been a sun-worshipper but I may convert.

The Tourist Board hope to get 50 usable pictures out of this trip, which has been hard, sometimes, but I reckon I’ve probably done it. Tash blagged all sorts of freebies and concessions during the trip so I don’t mind a bit of graft. By the way, ‘to blag’ means ‘get a good deal’. In this case, where ‘good deal’ is an almost-synonym for ‘theft’. She is my love in so many ways…

Penultimately, something from this morning’s dawn dolphin-spotting trip…

(saw several dolphin pods but nothing photographable — I ended up with a cardful of sea. If it’s possible, I am even more in awe of the Natural History Unit guys, having failed to make Flipper’s picture so badly). The guy at the prow is called Elvis — like everyone else at this resort, full of good cheer, even at this time of the morning. And I’ll sign off with last night’s veranda lightshow. Notice how I booked a schooner to pose prettily.