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Case
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 07:32
A while back i started the folowing thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=21540&start=30) before going on a cycling trip of Cambodia. I thought i'd give an update now i'm back home with recovering legs!

For a start, the pics are at:
http://chrisidle5118.fotopic.net/c138972.html

The gear: 10D, 28-135 IS, 1gig of CF's, about 4 batteries, filters, X-Drive Pro (30G).

Taking one lense only was probably the best decision I made, Cambodia is a very dusty place! The thought of changing a lense on the 10D anywhere outside a hotel room in Cambodia gives me shudders. Having said that, i missed having a wider angle, especially when at the Angkor temples (there would be some awesome opportunities for a fisheye lense at many temples). But the 28-135 was a relatively happy compromise. The X-Drive worked a charm, although its battery life is pretty poor. Generally 1gig of CF cards was enough to keep me going for a day, particularly if I spent some time filtering out the more obviously bad shots during the day. I chose not to take my BigEd to keep the weight and size down. This was also a real learning experience for me, as i'd only got the camera a few weeks before leaving and really didn't get much time to practice (so if some of my shots are a bit "hit-n-miss", that's my excuse!).

The cycling itself was bloody hard work (no suprises there!), so many days i found it difficult to motivate myself to take photo's....but this was only really a problem on days when i was travelling between towns (as opposed to days around towns/temples). The other problem is there is no easy way to carry a camera and ride a bike at the same time, so anytime i wanted to take a photo whilst riding i would have to take off my backpack, remove my camera bag, get the camera out etc etc.... For this reason i often walked the shorter distances or occasionally hired a motorbike and rider for the longer ones (this also made it easier to get out to temples before sunrise!). Unfortunatly for me there was very few days with blue skies. I never saw a true sunrise, as the sun was usually obscured by hazy clouds for about 1/2 hour.

Cambodia itself was fantastic, the people were lovely, the weather extraordinarily hot and dry, the roads appalling, and Angkor spectacular. What more can I say?

Thanks to all who helped with advice, this place (despite the occasional mini-flame war) is a great resource.

Cheers

Chris

karusel
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 08:03
Very impressive. I liked the skull shot a lot.

Perhaps you should have used a full suspension bike...

Also, how good were you prepared? I mean, how was your stamina? Were you regularly cycling long tours as a training?

CoolToolGuy
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 08:58
Chris,

You have some very cool shots. You can keep the cycling part (age takes its toll), but it looks like the sights were terrific!

Have Fun
Rick 8)

CyberDyneSystems
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 13:20
Chris,. I remeber your posts/questions leading up to this trip.

So glad you came back to give us the link to the gallery..

These photos are phenomenal! 8)
What a fantastic adventure it must have been!

The shots of the ruins are among the best I have seen at conveying how majestic these structures are..
but even better are the photos you took that illustrate hw long they were abandoned,.. and thus overtaken by nature,..

If you'll allow me,.
..this photo in particular tells an amazing story of time, man's attempt to conquer it,.. and nature's assertion of eventual victory...

http://images.fotopic.net/?id=3386233&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1


I LOVE this shot! :D

JerseyRich
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 13:44
Great photos Chris! The Orient is an enticing photo trip. It's good to know people are still traveling there and supporting the tourism industry.

How many miles was the the trip by bike?

new girl on the bloc
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 16:41
these photos are spectacular!

Case
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 16:58
Thankyou all for your comments! To answer a few questions:

karusel: this holiday was done on the cheap so i just took my cheapo mountain bike but put narrow tyres on it. Training? not enough!

CDS: I've actaully just had that shot printed at quite a large size, and it looks fantastic! Your comments pretty much some-up the feeling at the temple of Ta Prohm (near Angkor Wat). I got there quite early in the morning (just me and a few other photographers!) and tried to get the feeling of what it was like prior to the tourist boom of the last couple of years. Imagine being with the explorers who stumbled accross these places! Now i'm rambling....... :)

Jersey: about 750km all up (about 470 miles??) I didn't end up cycling the whole way :(

I forgot to mention i kept a blog while i was gone (if you're intereested):

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~cidle

Others: if you get the chance, go to Cambodia! (the people there could certainly do with the support).

Cheers

Chris

Case
26th of March 2004 (Fri), 17:00
Thankyou all for your comments! To answer a few questions:

karusel: this holiday was done on the cheap so i just took my cheapo mountain bike but put narrow tyres on it. Training? not enough!

CDS: I've actaully just had that shot printed at quite a large size, and it looks fantastic! Your comments pretty much some-up the feeling at the temple of Ta Prohm (near Angkor Wat). I got there quite early in the morning (just me and a few other photographers!) and tried to get the feeling of what it was like prior to the tourist boom of the last couple of years. Imagine being with the explorers who stumbled accross these places! Now i'm rambling....... :)

Jersey: about 750km all up (about 470 miles??) I didn't end up cycling the whole way :(

I forgot to mention i kept a blog while i was gone (if you're intereested):

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~cidle

Others: if you get the chance, go to Cambodia! (the people there could certainly do with the support).

Cheers

Chris