I first travelled to Cambodia in 1999 and it was the first place after visiting countless countries as a travel photographer to truly capture my heart. I have been returning to Cambodia ever since this first visit and I am still truly in love with the country.
The reason I originally travelled to Cambodia was of course to visit the vast and sublime Angkor Wat complex.
However it was the friendly and charming nature of the Cambodian people that so quickly stole my heart.
During my early visits travel around the country was incredibly slow going. Quite often I would find myself clinging on to the back of a motorbike for hours on end as the bike balanced on the banks between paddy fields, slowly picking its way to a far destination promising unique treasures such as deities carved in river beds on sacred mountains.
Nowadays the roads and transport have greatly improved, opening up more of this rustic and unspoilt country.
Despite the improvements to roads, it is still very rare to see other tourists anywhere but the hot spots around Angkor. The bulk of the country remains undeveloped with red dust tracks
and rice paddies peppered with the tall spikes of sugar palms.
Combined with the traditional wooden Khmer houses that rest on stilts and the occasional passing ox-cart
this landscape is rich with photographic gems offering a literal plethora of amazing locations for photography.
The coast of Cambodia boasts amazing sunrises and sunsets
and small towns like Kep, famous for the crab market, are places to head for at sunset to see the days fresh catch hauled back to shore.
I have been taking photographic groups to Cambodia since 2012 and one thing that I hear being said again and again is “I can’t believe we are the only ones here”.
Cambodia still feels fresh and vibrant in comparison to its tourist weary neighbours and moves at a gentle slower pace.
For the discerning travel and landscape photographer Cambodia has it all and in my opinion is Asia’s best kept photographic secret.
I run travel and landscape photography holidays and tours in Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam, Marrakech the USA & UK.
Please visit the website for full itineraries and dates of tours: www.digitalphotographyholidays.com
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With the advent of digital photography and phones with cameras 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.
It can get pretty hot here too, but the warm hued landscapes are worth the heat, especially near to sunset when the place comes on fire.
as the hoodoos glow in the morning sunlight.
As Utah is +1 hour ahead in time from Nevada and Arizona, sunrises are at a very comfortable 7.00am in September, no excuses for getting up for these views.
The skies here can be outrageously moody.
In a very synchronistic way that always seem to happen on Navajo Land, I have teamed up with a Navajo friend who has taken me way off road to a place only accessible with a Navajo guide, this has been the highlight on the photo tour I run here. The drive is totally amazing going over terrain that only a local would be confident doing, but once at the top of one of the mesa’s the panoramic views of the sandstone formations from a distance bathed in warm evening light are breath taking.
As for the desert night skies high up from this vantage point, you can see the Milky Way and a billion stars as there is no light pollution here. The sunrises from up here too are a landscape photographers dream.
The Grand Canyon is world famous for the light, which photographs well whatever the weather conditions are. I personally prefer real moody scenes as they really add drama to photographs,
the same scene can change within a very short space of time, making it worthwhile to stop and photograph the ever changing views that appear in front of your lens.
There are so many great turn outs to stop at along the south rim meaning that you don’t have to walk far for stunning photographs.
Americana and old-school kitsch.
Hackberry stores literally in the middle of nowhere is sure worth a stop on the way back,
as is the strange little town of Chloride, those that have been there will know what I mean!
The one thing you will need for a two week road trip is plenty of storage space to back up all the photographs you will take. 
Instead of heading back to the madness of Vegas after this nature immersion I like to stay in Boulder City, Nevada. On the way you pass the Hoover Dam, worthy of a quick visit. Boulder is a small compact city that you can walk around and has some fantastic places to eat and craft beer micro breweries. From here it’s only a short drive to Las Vegas airport to fly home.
There’s great value to be taken from photography road-tripping as they are not only full 
Taking my first peek at the show last year on the Sunday before press day, Manoj Malde’s ‘Beneath a Mexican Sky’ garden stopped me in my tracks with it’s in your face bold use of colour. Having spent some time in Mexico myself I know that Mexicans are not shy of using colour.
The Viking Cruises ‘Garden of Inspiration’ by Sarah Eberle had bright vivid mosaics and of course the orange tree to take you straight to the Med.
The Breast Cancer Now Garden: Through the Microscope designed by Ruth Willmott
used the colour palette of oranges, reds and yellows to great effect.
with the occasional splash from deep bass sound, a novel idea well executed.
The Anneka Rice ‘Colour Cutting’ garden designed by Sarah Raven was a colourful garden which had a lovely retro, nostalgic feel to it.
The vegetable garden also reflected the warm colours of reds and bronzes.
Matt’s sumptuous planting truly showcased beautiful flower, grass and conifer plant combinations alike.
The very contemporary urban garden showcased the principles of sustainable rainwater management, with naturalistic informal planting set against the strong shapes and forms of the paths and hard surfaces. 
The RHS ‘
