Cambodia wasn't the first humid climate where I'd forgotten about the prospect of condensation on the lens. Although condensation itself can be very beautiful, it's not something you ordinarily wish for when capturing that once-in-a-lifetime photo. It can happen when your camera is initially cooler (e.g inside a case that has been kept in an air-conditioned room/ bus) than the warm and humid outside air, such that water condenses out of the air to "fog" your lens. It typically dissipates quickly once the camera has had some time in the outside air, and the only way to counter it is to acclimatize the lens before you intend to use it. That said, condensation need not be a complete disaster. In this shot it gives the temple a surreal look, replicating the "soft focus" appearance you might tease out of a Photoshop filter (or with Vaseline on the lens if you're old-school).
Continue reading 'IOTW: Angkor Wat condensed'
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Following our visit to Bangkok in February 2006 we carried on to Cambodia, primarily to visit the 12th century temple of Angkor Wat. I kept a journal on my lean, mean, messaging machine but unfortunately accidentally deleted it. Bugger! At least we still have the photos and some video, three minutes of which I'll share with you here.
Continue reading 'Angkor Wat in three minutes'
In stark contrast to last week's landscape, this IOTW (Image of the Week-ish) encompasses a different kind of reflection: how cruel we can be to each other. I present two images, one a work of art and the other a randomly piled natural material, but both strong in symbolism. They record a recurrent theme in human history, on this occasion events approximately 30 years apart.
Continue reading 'IOTW: Photographing man's inhumanity'
