Chhlong Jaunt

Finally was able to properly use the Sony Alpha 7Rii for a personal travel photography project in Chhlong Cambodia. An amazing high image quality 42mp full frame camera, the small size is perfect for use in travel and documentary photography, but also high end enough for commercial and studio use. Soon HDR processing will be history as new sensors' dynamic range will become greater. I felt liberated with this small and robust camera after being used to carting a hefty Canon DSLR around. Less obtrusive for both portrait and general travel photography. The Sony menu system will take some getting used to, none intuitive and disorganized. Minimal weather sealing could also be an issue, the camera is now covered in Cambodian countryside dust and may need a professional clean.

In 2003 I took my first ever motorbike road trip adventure from Phnom Penh to Sen Monorom in Mundullkiri province over 10 days or so, with a 35mm analogue film SLR and a few rolls of Kodak Portra. On arrival in Snool I was covered in thick orange dust, few roads were sealed at the time. On the return journey we stumbled upon Chhlong village on the river road from Kratie to Kompong Cham. A small town on the banks of the Mekong in Kratie province, dilapidated French colonial buildings, a bustling market and the simple quiet life along the river was a real draw that had a lasting impression. We ended up staying for 2 nights in the town's only guest house.

Returning in 2017 with a Bangkok photographer friend was an attempt to get away from the expats and tourists of Phnom Penh, and even Kampot my usual go to place when in need of a break. To feel once again the only foreigners around in a sedate land. Kratie city is just 4 hours from Phnom penh by share taxi and Chhlong 1.5 hours from Kratie on a motobike. For our 2 day jaunt we rented Honda Wave's in Kratie city early morning. We skipped Kratie town altogether, the town's folk were miserable in 2003 and not much seemed to have changed 14 years later, something I haven't really experienced in other Cambodian towns. Once out of Kratie town, things changed rapidly into the old dreamscape I remember and still try to hold onto after 14 years in Cambodia.

Conclusion. The real Cambodia still exists out there in all directions, it's further from Phnom Penh than it used to be. Take it while you can.

More images from Chhlong can be seen in the Chhlong gallery here.

Toyota Fortuner & Pianist

This commercial Fortuner car shoot a few months back was shot somewhere out at one of the many new (ish) concrete jungle extensions of Phnom Penh. No idea where I was! Perhaps towards the airport somewhere to the right. Phnom Penh is spreading by the day it seems, construction, dust, grime, garbage, nowhere to walk, no trees, heavy traffic. I'm happy to reside up north near the river even if it is tourist central.

Though Dream Studio was on a quiet side street and once inside a really good space large enough to shoot a car, but no huge overhead soft box and was painted black. The studio had been used to film the Fortuner TVC. But we took it outside to be shot on a flattened construction area cleared for a future condo project. Outdoors created many unwanted reflections but it was the better option.

Good to be working with art director/designer Mr Zacky from MSA. I used a polariser to rid reflections in different parts of the car over several shots at the same angle with camera on a tripod. Zacky will have used several layered shots in post. And lots of retouch, I don't envy him. As the pianist and piano was somewhat smaller, the black studio worked well and I got around it with some large white sheets, reflectors and four studio strobes.

Portrait Photography in Cambodia

Still a work in progress, additional Cambodian portraits and refinements of existing portraits can be seen in the Dreamyland gallery. I plan to expand the number of images and diversity of subjects, also to refine the technique.

Big shout out to Bunsak But on the retouching and post production end. We hope to exhibit the series one day.

Tiger Street Football ads

Another commercial photography ad shoot we did at Slek Rith Films studio in Phnom Penh. Print ads for the Tiger Street Football event held in Siem Reap and around the country last month.

For this I used the rim lighting technique similar to my Dreamyland series. But instead of a beauty dish I used a small/medium soft box for the front fill. We shot several angles of each player for the composite.

Featuring French Khmer football star and fashion model Thierry Chantha Bin who plays for Phnom Penh Crown and the national Cambodian football team. Designer Bunsak But did the post production work on the players. As he did for my Dreamyland work.

Studio Portrait of Tauch Lon's dad

As with the "Dreamyland" environmental portrait photographs, this one was shot with what is known as a Joel Grimes edgy lighting style.

The Dreamyland series utilises studio portraiture, landscape photography and composite techniques usually associated with commercial advertising photography, aiming to blur the aesthetic boundaries between fine art photography, social realism and the advertising world. The photographic techniques deployed were inspired by commercial advertising photography, particularly by the portrait photographs of sportsmen and women created by LA based commercial advertising photographer Joel Grimes.

I decided to keep this one simple without a background place or landscape. The portrait is of the late Tauch Leng who sadly died July 2015 at the age of 75, my assistant Tauch Lon's father, from puhm Chrey Toiche in Kandal province. Leng was a typical Cambodian rice farmer and often trendy wedding musician back in the day, who like all Cambodians of his age lived through and survived the atrocious Khmer Rouge era.