Cambodia pictures

PEOPLE BUILDINGS Click here to view Click here to view LANDSCAPES MISC Click here to view Click here to view

Taking photos around Cambodia:

The following are tips on sites, places, areas of interest that make great opportunities for photography around Cambodia (in order of the towns I visited). Of course in the end you should not force a photograph, let it find you.

Quick links:

Phnom Penh
Battambang
Siem Reap
Kampong Chang
Kampot (Bokor)
Sihanoukville



Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and was my first experience of Cambodia. Like a lot of Asian cities there’s a lot of hustle and bustle with a variety of people going about their daily tasks. I would recommend wondering round the various streets and photographing people at their various jobs. A couple of sites I would recommend visiting would be the Royal Palace and Wat Phnom which sits overlooking Phonm Penh. Other than that there’s not too much to photograph although you can get a few good shots around the river side.

Just off Phnom Penh are the killing fields which are a sombre reminder and monument to what happened only a few decades ago. It really does bring home the tragedy that Cambodia suffered under the Khmer Rouge. The tower featuring all the human skulls is a grim memorial to those who died under this regime.


Battambang

Following on from Phnom Penh I went to the town of Battambang. Battambang has some great French styled houses which make for great photographic backdrops. Thankfully my arrival coincided with a festival featuring river racing. The place was literally filled with thousands of people which made for some interesting crowd shots. Other points of interest in Battambang include a couple of wat’s Wat Damrey Sar and Wat Phiphetaram which are both worth a visit. Whilst at Battambang I hired a moto driver for a day and he took me to more remote villages where I took photos of Cambodians living by the river; I certainly recommend doing this. I also took a tour to a fishing village which was literally made up of floating huts; an interesting experience indeed. Check some photos of river life here.



Siem Reap

After experiencing my first taste of temples in Battambang Siem Reap (or Phumi Siem Reab) was a massive explosion of these spectacular temples. I was really in my element taking shots of the atmospheric temples found throughout Siem Reap. Try to get their early as it really does get particularly busy with tourists from about 10.00.

Of course everyone is familiar with Angkor Wat (and yes it is impressive). I recommend trying to capture it as sunrise or alternatively try to get some reflections of Angkor Wat from the surrounding lake. If you are lucky you can try and photograph some Cambodian monks; who in the most part do not mind having their photo taken.

My favourite temple to photograph however was Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm was great for getting shots of trees growing through the crumbling remains of the temples. There is the famous shot of the immense tree and I glad to have photographed this with out any tourists in the shot. I can recommend having an assertive guide who will hold back the train of tourists allowing you to take a clear photo of the temples. The Bayon temple was also great for photos and features hundreds of carved heads (whose expressions represent different emotions). I can also recommend taking your camera to the central market where you can take some real life photos of Cambodian life.


Kampong Chang

From Siem Reap I headed South to Kampong Chang. Kampong Chong was interesting stop off and was most notable for its island. Hundreds of people live on this island and they were all excited to see tourists on their bikes (which we hired). Take a look as some of the portraiture photography I took there.

Kampot

Kampot is situated in South Cambodia and was where I took some of my favourite river shots, especially sunsets. I can recommend taking a boat trip (there are many to chose from). The next day we went to Bokor Hill Station. Although the trip up there was painfully long … and painful (pot holes the size of craters) at the top it was really worth it.

Bokor Hill has to be one of the most atmospheric and creepy places I have ever photographed. Abandoned in the 30’s by the French there is literally a village up there (including a church, observatory, hospital etc) that has been left to corrode under the elements. The Bokor hill hotel is particularly eerie, check some of the photos I took up there.


Sihanoukville

Following the spooky Bokor area I was in need of some relaxed beach action and headed to the developed vacation area of Sihanoukville. Its worth taking a trip out to some of the more isolated islands as they can literally be magical especially if you want that idyllic shot of a pristine beach.

Useful resource links on Cambodia:


Useful for all things Cambodia

Cambodia tourist information

Lonely Planet guide to Cambodia

Siem Reap guide

Things to do in Angkor Wat

--

Photography links on Cambodia:

Fotosearch - a range of great photography taken around Cambodia.

TrekEarth - a great resource for Cambodia photography

Remember to check here for more photography links.

All photographs appearing on this site are the exclusive property of James Cooper and are protected under International Copyright laws. The photographs may not be reproduced, copied, stored or manipulated in any way without the written permission of James Cooper.