Ta Phrom
Ta Phrom is one of the most famous temples in Siem Riep because of the spectacular tree roots gripping the entire building and here I was right in front it of clutching my new Nikon D200.
I was with Dennis Cox, leader and owner of PhotoExplorer tours. We arrived at the temple before dawn. Despite the fact that there was no light, we all began shooting. Something happens when one photographer in a group of amateurs shoots…it becomes a contagion and a panic not to be left out. I had my tripod so I was confident all my shots would be sharp. There were a lot of us and once we chose a spot we were pretty much stuck with it. I must have taken 20 shots from my one position, zooming in and zooming out. I wanted the tree and the sky so my shot was really too contrasty once dawn arrived. Did that occur to me? NO. I felt I’d ‘done’ Ta Phrom and was ready to move out.
We had a guide who wanted to show us the best vantage points in all the temples. Angkor Wat is just one temple and the most famous; there are about 800 temples in the complex, most hidden in the surrounding jungle. Our group, now in a total stampede, didn’t have tme to listen to the guide, though. We were off and running, after the best angle, the unique POV, the best light, etc. I was torn between trying to stay with the pack and wanting to listen to the guide, who after all was an expert and we’d never set foot in the place before.
We had three hours to shoot. Soon I was alone. I wandered through the temples, my head swiveling, looking for THE PICTURE. I hated the idea of resorting to photographing minutiae, upclose details of stones, lichen or carvings. They are ok, and some love them, “so arty” but I wanted light streaming through the temple and highlighting a gilded Buddha. I wanted a photo that Grandpa would look at.
Sorry. The Buddhas, and there weren’t all that many of them, were hidden, well shaded, in niches.
Where were the colorful monks that I’d seen in so many photos?
Sorry. No Monks to speak of. Whenever one was spotted flitting through the hallways or jungle paths, a member of our group would scream out, “Monk Alert!” You’d then see the monk take flight, orange robes billowing behind him.
I did find one monk and maybe he would have posed for me but I didn’t ask him. I remember at that point I was busy trying to get reflections of large temples in small puddles of muddy water. This is not a technique I’d recommend.
Dawn arrived. Soon the sun was high in the sky. It didn’t really matter in the labyrinth of temples. It was dark in those hidden courtyards. Desperate now, I began to shoot the bas relief of dancing girls, the peeling painted ceilings, empty hallways, a gardener with a towel wrapped around his head, for gosh sake. It had only been 2 hours and I had another hour to go. I hadn’t seen any of our group for ages. I was approaching panic state. What should I photograph? Am I totally in the wrong area? I’m no good at this. I’m the worst photograher in the world. I shouldn’t be allowed to have a camera. The others are getting wonderful photos and I’ve got nothing.
Almost minutiae but not quite
Luckily, I’m fit and could keep walking and carrying my gear. I did find some good reflections near the front of Angkor Wat. There is a small pond, that I was sure none of the ‘gang’ had found. Ahh. Vindicated. I found a temple where a white pony was cruelly tethered so that he could not move. (See Rosemary’s Blog ‘pictures to break your heart’)
You just have to wait!
Finally, my three hours were up and I headed to the bus. I was the last person to return. The others had been sitting in the bus for an hour or more. They’d given up long ago. No one complained that they’d had to wait. I’m sure they thought I had a memory card full of winners. “Brer Rabbit, he say nuthn.”
The Sultan's playhouse
P.S. Most of my photos of Ta Phrom were unsharp. A good idea for future situations would be to have a remote shutter release or use the timer as camera shake results when you push the shutter manually for long exposures.