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Archives: January 2013Muriwai Gannet Colony, North Island – New Zealand
About an hours drive from Aukland, in Muriwai, there is a spectacular Gannat Colony. It was beautifully sunny until a sudden downpour of drenching rain hit the coast line (and us!). We soon dried out with the heavy winds as the sun reappeared! It was an amazing sight to see hundreds of gannets swooping through the sky on the air currents, ducking and weaving. In situations like this where there are lots of fast moving subjects, the focusing ability and fast lenses make getting the shot much easier, but it was certainly a challenge to capture their grace and agility. At this spot, each year around 1,200 pairs of gannets nest here between August and March. Each pair lays just one egg and the parents take turns watching over their precious nest. As the chicks mature, they begin to exercise their wings in preparation for a single shot jump off the cliff. Once airborne, the young gannets leave the colony and cross the Tasman Sea all the way to Australia. Years later they return to the same place to nest again. (source: http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/muriwai-gannet-colony/).
Melbourne Car Park – Melbourne Photography
Went for a short stroll around Melbourne one evening after work with my camera. Here are a couple of shots with the same building, a multi-storey car park, but from a few different perspectives. According to Wikipedia the earliest multi-storey car park was built at 215 West Washington Street, Chicago in 1918.
On the way home on the train, the man sitting opposite me was reading the newspaper …
Xitang Water Town, China Travel Photography
Xitang is one of a few ancient water towns located East of Shanghai. It’s approximately 1.5 hours drive away or 30 minutes by train. Imagine old stone cobbled streets, wooden boats floating on the small canals, stone bridges, tiled corridors and ancient buildings. It’s a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of modern Shanghai. It’s probably not as well known as some of the other water towns, but it is just as beautiful, if not more, as it retains a lot of the original architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties. I believe the town itself is over 1,000 years old. Ancient lanes intersect with canals and bridges as old men drink tea early in the morning and women wash clothes in the canals. At night, hundreds of red lanterns light up the town as people eat dinner. You could easily think you’ve stepped back in time a few hundred years. Apparently the town had a bit of a reputation for wine drinking or making wine. Here are a few images of our brief time here – possibly more to follow.
Weekly Photo – Kelly Anthony Photography
A Cambodian man checking fishing traps in the morning on the river. On this particular day, the river was very still and smooth during, making for great reflections in the water. Location: Kampot. We spent the weekend relaxing by the river, eating, reading and enjoying the views – a very productive weekend! This particular image is composed of 3 photos stitched together.
One (1) photo a day Cambodia, Kelly Anthony Rae Photography, Day 28
Day 28 photo (final image): The final image for this series. Captured the other night, it shows people dumping rubbish in a pile on the street for it to be sorted, collected and then taken away by rubbish collectors. Anything useful or that can be resold such as cardboard or recyclable material is separated to be sold. Photo info: D700, 50mm, f2, 1/40, ISO720
The rest of the one photo a day series can be found here: http://www.kellyanthony.com/blog/category/a-photo-a-day/ One (1) photo a day Cambodia, Kelly Anthony Rae Photography, Day 27
Day 27 photo: Eating dinner at the market. Took a stroll around the market at 6.30pm, when most of the sellers had packed up shop for the day and people are heading home or going out for dinner. This mother was eating dinner with her young son. Photo info: D700, 50mm, f2, 1/40, ISO640
The rest of the one photo a day series can be found here: http://www.kellyanthony.com/blog/category/a-photo-a-day/ One (1) photo a day Cambodia, Kelly Anthony Rae Photography, Day 14
Day 14: A bunch of clothes and mats hanging on a clothes line.
The rest of the one photo a day series can be found here: http://www.kellyanthony.com/blog/category/a-photo-a-day/ One (1) photo a day Cambodia, Kelly Anthony Rae Photography, Day 11
Day 11: Apartment building near Phsar Thmey (Central Market). Taken in the late afternoon. Many apartment buildings in Phnom Penh were built in the 1960′s and look similar to this. They have a similar layout with a living area, kitchen at the back and bathroom with one or two bedrooms in the middle. There is one long walkway along the side of the apartment to access the rooms and there are generally only windows at the front and back. Often, three, four or five stories tall with a balcony, these apartments with variation on exterior style are very common around central Phnom Penh.
The rest of the one photo a day series can be found here: http://www.kellyanthony.com/blog/category/a-photo-a-day/ One (1) photo a day, Cambodia, Kelly and Anthony Rae Photography, Day 3
Day 3 photo: A khmer man texting on his phone. Here are some interesting bits of information on the mobile phone market in Cambodia. Between 2009 and 2010, the number of mobile-phone connections in Cambodia more than doubled, leaping from 4.2 million telephone numbers to 8.5 million, according to the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications. Six years ago, when far fewer network providers did business, there were only 690,000. In 2006, Cambodia was host to three mobile-phone service providers, but by the end of 2010, there were nine. (source)
The rest of the one photo a day series can be found here: http://www.kellyanthony.com/blog/category/a-photo-a-day/ Angkor Wat – Series of 5
Finally after about seven months of living in Cambodia, we took a long weekend trip up to Siem Reap to visit the Angkor Wat temple complex. I’ve edited down the many hundreds of photos to what I think are the top 5 images from the trip. There are many, many more images that I would have loved to include, but then I would have too many images! Angkor Wat is a place for photographers as there are opportunities for amazing photos everywhere. There is one image from Angkor Wat, three images from Ta Prohm and one from Bayon. These are the main three temples to visit at Angkor Wat. I did visit a few smaller temples and they were just as impressive in their structure and with the trees and undergrowth intertwined with the stone. The set of 5 images are available as framed prints, canvas art from our redbubble store. They would make a great feature on your wall at home.
Cambodia and Vietnam Calendars
We have put together one calendar with photos capturing the colour and life of Cambodia and another of Vietnam, which can be purchased here at these two links: 50% of profits from each calendar will be donated to work by TEAR Australia and Task in the area of Community and Sanitation Development, in the Mean Chey District: http://tiny.cc/1f2ei They make the perfect Christmas presents for family and friends.
Monks, Motos and Meat
Since I have returned back to Cambodia with a my new camera I’ve been mainly using the 50mm and it’s great. The ability to shoot at high ISO’s (3200 – 6400) for situations where there is not much light has opened up a whole new area. The image quality is also a step up using a different sensor from my previous camera. The dynamic range is also very impressive, being able to to recover images that are over exposed or bring up shadow detail in areas which are dark. It’s one other big difference I have noticed and makes a huge difference, in particular the high contrast images. On the whole, I’m very please with the new camera and the quality of images it has been producing. Here are some photos from in and around Phnom Penh as it’s been a while since the last update. Image 1 – Monks looking at an aerial photograph at the National Museum in Phnom Penh
The Market (Part 2)
I posted part 1 here http://www.kellyanthony.com/blog/2010/08/the-market-part-1/ and this is a follow up post. The following images were taken at the Russian Market. Two additional food images plus some other common items that you can find in the Russian Market, mainly in the souvenir section. Interesting Fact – The Russian Market was featured on Amazing Race (Season 15) when they had to find a person in a stall with a matching scarf.
Phnom Penh Portrait
This is a portrait of a construction worker, working on building a new bathroom for the NGO I’m volunteering with.
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum / Security Prison S21
Residing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. This museum is located on a former high school which the Khmer Rouge transformed into “Security Prison 21″ (S-21) from 1975 to 1979. Tuol Sleng means “Hill of the Poisonous Trees” or “Strychnine Hill”. It’s estimated that 17,000 people were imprisoned at Tuol Sleng and at any one time, the prison held between 1,000-1,500 prisoners. Of the 17,000 people imprisoned at Toul Sleng, there were only twelve known survivors. It was a place of imprisonment, torture and death. Today it’s a museum with prison cells, barbed wire, bars and chains. The buildings have been left as they were when the Khmer Rouge fled and some prison cells contain photographs depicting dead prisoners, showing the room as it was found. There are rooms with hundreds of photographs of the faces of prisoners. It is all quite somber and depressing. Other rooms contain exhibitions, stories and photographs about genocide, the prison guards and the survivors. It is a quiet place as each person wanders from cell to cell and looks into the terrified faces of the men, women and children who died at S21. Whilst it is a place that is hard to visit, I recommend that you go if you get the chance. The museum provides some insight into the atrocities and horrors that the Cambodian people experienced only 40 years ago at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. More images can be view in our Landscape and Travel Portfolio. For more information, visit wikipedia: Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.
What’s in my boot ?
Just for fun…
Aerobics at Phnom Penh Olympic Stadium
This is basically part 2 of the previous post titled “Phnom Penh National Olympic Stadium“. I mentioned how it’s quite popular for Cambodians to do aerobics in the mornings (5am – 7am) and evenings (5pm – 8pm) so here are two photos of the energetic Cambodians at the stadium taken at sunrise. Sorry for waking you up early Kelly !
Raining and flooding in Phnom Penh
So the rainy season has been a bit late this year, but last Friday Phnom Penh experienced several hours of heavy rain which caused many parts of the city to be flooded. In some spots, the depth of the water on the roads was between 30cm and 60cm. The rainy season in Cambodia is generally from May to October and they remainder of the year is the dry season. Generally the rain hits between 2pm and 3pm and lasts for an hour or so but it can rain for up to a week at a time. The rains flood the streets of Phnom Penh mainly due to the drainage system in Phnom Penh not being able to cope with such large amounts of water. Although in recent years, there has been much speculation that the filling in of Beoung Kak Lake with sand to make way for new developments, has added to the cause of flooding as the water has no where to drain. (see article in Phnom Penh Post) Travelling out in the provinces can be a bit of a struggle during the rainy season as dirt roads are often flooded and inaccessible but the main highways should not be a problem. It can be a great time to see Cambodia is it is the low season for tourists and the rains create a lush, green and beautiful countryside. Some tips for when it’s raining and the streets flood.
Here are a couple of photo’s from the other day near the Royal Palace and Street 178.
Eating / Restaurants in Phnom Penh
This is an update to the first post relating to eating out in Phnom Penh which can be found here. Brown Coffee and Bakery – 5/5 Fantastic modern coffee shop with excellent coffee and pastries at reasonable prices. Set in a very elegant and stylish setting, you’ll be able to relax with freshly baked pastries, cakes and great coffee. http://thebrowncoffee.com/ Khmer Kitchen – 3.5/5 Popular Khmer restaurant with very reasonable prices. Wide selection of dishes and set in a nice cool garden setting. There is also an upstairs eating area where you dine by sitting on the floor at low tables. The food we have experience has been a bit hit and miss, but on the whole a great restaurant. Magnolia – 5/5 Vietnamese restaurant with a huge variety (Fish, squid, eel, frog, chicken, beef, and pork) of delicious dishes and drinks. Set in an old school building where you can dine in a spacious outdoor garden setting or on the balcony, it’s tastefully (pun intended) decorated and the food is great value for money. Magnolia has top class service and food at Khmer prices. Our favourite are the Vietnamese pancakes for $3. Le Rit’s – 4.5/5 Run by an NGO called Nyemo, this is a great shop/guesthouse/restaurant all in one. Offers Asian and European dishes set in a beautiful old colonial house with a peaceful garden. A great dining experience and supporting the work of the NGO. http://www.business.nyemo.com/ Trip to Kampot
Recently I had the opportunity to travel down to Kampot which is in the south of Cambodia, near the sea. Kampot is set on the Kampong Bay River at the base of the Elephant Mountains. It’s a laid back, small & sleepy town with classic French colonial architecture.
I stayed at two places. The hip and happening Bodhi Villa guest house located right on the river which is a great spot for backpackers. It’s very chilled and has a range of watersport activities and floating bungalows. The other place was in town at the Blissful guesthouse. Good food and friendly staff. The image above is the sunrise from Bodhi Villa. Hello 5.00 am ! A had a visit to Epic Arts which is a great organisation “that organise and run visual art, drama, dance and music projects for people with disabilities in the UK, Cambodia and other international locations. Our projects celebrate the creative potential of those with whom we work, by offering new skills and giving each participant an outlet for their creative expression. Epic Arts works with the philosophy that Every Person Counts (EPiC).” (Source: Epic Arts website) Cycling around the countryside I was able to meet the friendly locals. There are a variety of farms – rice (still the hot season so no rice growing), salt and pepper. The area is really flat aside from the Elephant mountains and at the moment quite dry, although that will change in 1 month or so with the wet season. The salt farms produce salt from the irrigated sea water and the workers carry the salt back and forth from the farm to great tin store buildings. Working under the intense sun and heat for 10 or more hours a day, they earn as much as $2 a day. I took a range of other photo’s on a trip to visit some caves and a pepper farm. All in all, a very enjoyable weekend trip. For a collection of more images, please view the Landscape and Travel portfolio.
Above: Old lady siting outside her house, enjoying the cooler evening and watching what’s going on. Below: Old abandoned building in Kampot.
Ablove: Salt farmer gathering salt in Kampot. Below: Phnom Chhnork – Cave #1 Pre-Angkorian ruin set in a limestone cave amongst stalagmites and stalactites that are slowly growing back into the ruin. Small, 4th-5th century AD brick structure associated with the ancient state of Funan.
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