Both of us would really like to learn to take better photos.  So, while in Siem Reap, we booked a photography tour with Darren at Cambodia Images.  Darren is a great teacher, he took us to cool places, and his tuk-tuk driver is one of the best.  (Note, if you don’t like the photos in this post, blame us, not Darren.  You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink….).

We were torn between temples and countryside, and so we did two half day tours.

Day 1 started back at Terrace of the Leper King in Angkor Thom.  Darren introduced us to a portion of the terrace we had never seen before with some fantastic carvings.  And, he convinced Robert that sometimes symmetry is better than the rule of thirds!  (I’ve been trying to do that for years…..).

Symmetry at Terrace of the Leper King.

Our next stop on Day 1 was Preah Khan.  This is a beautiful temple built in the 12th century.  Darren focused quite a bit on seeing light and seeing lines and angles and colors.

Playing with the light at Preah Khan.

A close up of Preah Khan showing color.

Darren showed us how, due to the light, this root looked completely different depending on which side you looked at.

Headless statues at Preah Khan.  I doubt Darren would like this photo, not the least because it is overexposed, but I do.

A fun root at Preah Khan.

I even got blessed at Preah Khan.  I felt like a giant next to this tiny lady.

After that, it was off to another temple and Buddhist monastery about an hour from town.  We were hoping to get some pictures of monks, but it turns out they were somewhere else that day.  We did, however, see a small but fast snake.  And, I ripped my pants wide open trying to kill an ant biting my foot.  So, there aren’t many photos….

Aren’t these the most adorable monastery cats?  I think this kind of counts as symmetry.

Day 2 took us out into the countryside to visit a floating village on the Tonle Sap Lake.  On the way, we saw water buffaloes, kids harvesting and eating water lily stems, and fishermen.

Then, it was off to Mechrey, one of the floating villages on Tonle Sap Lake.  We took a motorboat out into the lake for about 20 minutes and then arrived at the village.  Our tuk-tuk driver even turned into a boat rower so we could get into a smaller boat and get closer to the people.  There were almost no other tourists there.  Darren tried to teach us about how to make people “pop” against the right background and to separate people from the horizon, but things were moving quickly and the boat was a bit wobbly so our photos do not always reflect his teachings.  That said, we are pretty happy with some of the shots we got.

Tonle Sap transportation.

A girl in a bucket.

Having a smoke.  This lady was so friendly.  I had a tough time deciding whether to post this photo or one where she has the biggest grin on her face.

Getting around the neighborhood.

A mom and her kids.

Kicking back.

Houses on the Tonle Sap.  The neighborhood moves depending on water levels.

Rowing.

Selling her wares.

We were hoping for a good sunset at Mechrey, but the clouds rolled in.  That is twice now we have tried to see sunset here in Siem Reap and been foiled by clouds.  Oh well, that is the price you pay for visiting during rainy season, right?

Our photo tour was amazing, and we would highly recommend it if you want to learn to take better photos.