Cambodia, Angkor Wat, Photography Hotspot

After recently spending some more time in Siem Reap, which is home to the hundreds of temples that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Angkor Wat complex, I was on the lookout for more of those hidden corners.

After visiting the temples on and off for the last 14 years one thing I have learnt is that all those hidden corners would take a lifetime to discover.

I am fascinated by the power of nature over humankind of which Angkor Wat displays this perfectly, whether it be the iconic roots of trees slowly ripping apart the temples

Or the Earth devouring fallen down temples returning them back to where they once came.

Angkor Wat never fails to surprise as you wander around feeling like a true Indiana Jones.

There is always a smile caught in time watching over you.

Siem reap and its surrounds are also ripe pickings for the travel photographer.

Money launderer?

Near to Angkor Wat lies the largest lake in South East Asia, Tonle Sap home to floating villages.

Brightly coloured floating houses

In the past I have supported land mine clearance charities from sales of prints and cards at exhibitions of my Angkor Wat photography, as Cambodia was at one time one of the most landmined countries on Earth.

After befriending a resident of the floating villages on my latest trip, I will be donating rice to the floating school on Tonle Sap lake when we visit with my travel photography holiday guests, as there are many orphans there whose parents were killed by bad storms on the lake.

Cambodia is a place that truly touches the heart and the myriad temples of Angkor Wat never fail to leave you in wonder and awe at their sheer beauty.

Join me for a travel photography adventure to Cambodia; Angkor Wat, and its surrounds in November 2013 or November 2014 http://www.digitalphotographyholidays.com/388262/cambodia-angkor-wat/

How many can ride on a Honda 125?

In Cambodia as many as you can fit on, though the law does require the driver to wear a crash helmet.

How many boxes can you fit on the roof of a collective pick up truck bus in Myanmar – the skies the limit

How many Buddhist monks and Buddha statues can you fit in the back of a pick up truck in Bangkok? Just one of each.

I will be travelling in Myanmar, Cambodia and Bangkok by many modes of transport including Shanks`s pony, later in the year with my photographer guests on travel photography holidays. If you want to be the first to find out the latest news from my company Digital Photography Holidays why not sign up to the free newsletter, which includes pretty, un-watermarked photos too and you will also find out how many people I`ve seen on a Honda125 http://www.digitalphotographyholidays.com/466457/newsletter/

Follow my travelogue through amazing Myanmar with Manfrotto tripods every Tuesday in May; http://www.manfrottoimaginemore.com/category/experiences/

I look forward to welcoming you on one of my Digital Photography Holidays.

Burma (Myanmar) travel photography holiday – journey through the golden land

Myanmar (Burma) is the pot at the end of the rainbow – photographers gold.

Myanmar (Burma) Lake Inle fisherman

After spending 28 days in the country I can honestly say that I haven`t had such an awe inspiring photo shoot in quite some time, there is such a wealth of subject matter to photograph, from street photography through to luscious landscapes.

Myanmar (Burma) Bagan temples

There is an abundance of fresh tasty street food.

and many modes of transport

Join me for a journey through the golden land on a Digital Photography Holiday.    Dates, itinerary and pricing for this holiday can be found on my website http://www.digitalphotographyholidays.com/516995/myanmar-burma/

Myanmar, Mandalay, U Bein bridge woman watching sunrise

I have teamed up with my friends from Manfrotto tripods and every Tuesday in May they will be publishing a travelogue on their website following my journey around Burma http://www.manfrottoimaginemore.com/ starting on May 7th.

I also host Digital Photography Holidays to Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Bangkok www.digitalphotographyholidays.com Join me for the trip of a lifetime.

Photographing Spring Flowers

Allium ursinum, Wild Garlic, Ramsons in woodland, Sroud, Gloucestershire dawn

Spring is a fantastic time of year to get outdoors with your camera as nature is bursting with so much energy and colour. A walk in the woods in springtime will reveal a myriad of wild flowers such as wild garlic and bluebells. Our gardens and parks will have plenty of subjects to photograph too.

With the advent of digital photography we are all photographers, but what makes one photograph really stand out from the others? The answer to that is there is no single correct way to photograph flowers, however, certain elements do have to be taken into consideration to make a great shot.

Firstly before you start, in your cameras settings, select the highest possible resolution. This will give you clearer detail in your photographs, enabling the image to be used larger without signs of bluriness or noise.

Time of day is an important consideration when taking your photographs, the early bird really does catch the worm! Harsh midday sun makes most subjects look unflattering. Early morning or late afternoon are the best times of day as the light is warmer, less harsh and the colours of the plants look richer. Mornings also tend to be more still, flowers are hard to photograph when they are moving around too much. Windy days are the toughest to photograph flowers on ,unless you wish to use the blur creatively with a slower shutter speed.

Bluebells, (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

Weather. Many people are surprised to hear that overcast days can be very beneficial for garden and flower photography. This is because clouds act as a perfect light diffuser creating even lighting and saturation without the worry of harsh highlights or shadows. If its a sunny day with clouds and you want some sunshine in your shot, wait until the sun first starts to appear as the light is again less harsh.

Consider your subject before rushing to photograph it. Walk around and see what you are drawn to, see how the light plays on the flowers. Think about your composition, how is the subject going to fill the frame? Backlit flowers will always look good if the petals are transluscent as it accentuates the colours of the petals, giving off a luminesence and showing off the patterns. Don`t be afraid to try out different angles, getting down to the same height as a flower is very effective, or look up to flowers from below them.

The background of your photograph is very important as untidy, busy, cluttered backgrounds kill a shot as the viewers eye gets distracted away from the subject. If there are shadows use them to make the flower stand out, or move in closer to the subject.

For close ups I would always recommend the use of a tripod, they allow you to frame the flower perfectly and keep the image sharp. Also look at the flower to see it is free of blemishes or missing petals. If you are going to hand hold a camera, as a very general rule of thumb with a standard lens 1/60^th of a second is the minimum shutter speed to use, with longer lenses such as a 200mm look around 1/250^th of a second to avoid camera shake. For checking correct exposure always check your histogram not the LCD preview.

Finally break the rules, experiment, have fun, especially as we now have digital photography. Try out those new angles and backgrounds, you might be surprised with the results you obtain.

When photographing wildflowers be careful not to tread on other flowers. Leave them just as you found them for insects and others to enjoy.

Wild Garlic (Ramsons) in wood Stroud Gloucestershire;

Image; Wild Garlic (Ramsons) © Stephen Studd Photography for BBC Gardeners World      http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/allium-ursinum/1421.html

This article was first published in Cotswold Style Magazine © Stephen Studd Photography

Travel Gardens Plants www.stephenstuddphotography.com

First light; Bagan, Myanmar (Burma)

First light; Bagan, Myanmar (Burma)

Nothing can prepare you for the wonder and beauty of the mist enshrouded, stupa studded plains of Bagan being revealed to you at the first light of day. It is truly an awe inspiring experience, like seeing the temples of the Angkor Wat complex in Cambodia for the first time at dawn. There is a saying in this part of the world, `same same but different.`

Myanmar is an amazing place to travel and a travel photographers dream with so much to photograph and the people are so friendly. My next stop is Mandalay, but not `The Road to Mandalay` as Kipling wrote the poem about, I shall be taking the train. This should be a great journey full of local colour as most tourists fly from A to B, I will let you know when I get there!

Save the Nature

Spotted on the side of a Buddhist temple in Myanmar (Burma). A new meaning to the phrase.

Travelling light in Myanmar (Burma) – On the road again

At present I am in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) on a 28 day photoshoot and fact finding mission for the photography holidays I will be hosting later in the year. After arriving here from Angkor Wat in Cambodia, there are certainly some striking similarities.

Old colonial building in Yangon, Myanmar, (Burma), still in use

This old colonial building in Yangon is still in use. Nature really does want to spring into life everywhere it can if it is given the chance, these trees have certainly taken hold to the building.

It is always good to be on the road travelling and Myanmar is an amazing place to be, despite the 40C heat (in April). In these kind of conditions it pays to travel light, if only!

camera kit photography kit in Myanmar (Burma) on photoshoot

My trusty Karimoor back pack that has travelled the world with me for over 20 years and still going strong has a clothes allowance of 5 T Shirts, 1 shirt, 2  pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of shorts, 5 pairs boxers (better in the heat), 2 pairs of socks (not needed in the heat), 1 jacket (incase it gets cold!), all packed into a small compression bag so it doesn`t take up too much room. Footwear; 1 pair of flip flops and 1 pair of shoes for when I get home to the cold! The shoes are always a pain to find a place for.

There was a  miscalculation on the T Shirts, need 2 or 3 a day in the heat of April in Yangon, evening spent washing them in the sink, dry time less than half an hour. Now I truly know the meaning of `It ain`t half hot Mum`

You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/StephensPhotos and www.twitter.com/PhotographyHols and Like on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DigitalPhotographyHolidays

Best of all you can join me on photography holidays that I host, more info can be found at www.digitalphotographyholidays.com (these are held in cooler times of the year for the tropics).

As I am on the move again tomorrow, thought I would post the equipment list as I am ticking off the tick-list to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Equipment list comprises of;

2 x Lowepro camera bags including 1 which has a pouch for my computer and is on board baggage allowance size and has wheels.

1 x Manfrotto tripod and Manfrotto head (would be lost without it, my oldest piece of equipment been with me since my old Mamiya RZ days) Plus Mamiya riser for long lenses and spare camera mounts.

Canon 1Ds Mark II, a dear old friend.

Canon lenses, 17-40mm; 100mm macro; 24-70mm; 70-200mm; 100-400mm and Tilt and Shift lens and lens hoods for each.

Mirror lock release (plus spare as v important piece of kit.2 spare Canon batteries and charger.)

Various Lexar CF Cards and Lexar pro card reader.

Sandisk memory sticks for essential back up and DVD`s to be on the safe side.

Various Lee filters and mounts, including ND grads (hard & soft), ND`s, polariser and Big Stopper.

Toshiba computer (fits in me Lowepro camera bag pouch for flying.

The essentials; Multi socket extension plug, plug adaptors, phone, plugs, more plugs and cables, screwdrivers, Swiss army knife, torch, hotshoe spirit level – got to keep those spirits level, elastic bands, safety pins (for a bit of punk rock nostalgia amongst loads of practical uses), yet more plugs and cables, pens, pocket book for writing info about locations and my very oldest piece of kit the trusty compass, oh yeah and a guide book.

Finally the most important thing as a photographer which is the lightest bit of kit; bags and bags of patience.