Central Market :: Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh’s Central Market is a delight to behold when the sunshine warms the art deco dome of this beautifully classic 1930′s engineering accomplishment. Inside all that glitters is not gold but a vast array of almost too colourful gems under the central dome.

Surrounding are steaming khmer soups, lotus packed flower stalls, angry bird t-shirt sellers, a great family who run a kitchen equipment stall who scoured the entire market to get me the matching set of cutlery with a four leaf clover on. A rather rude old khmer woman who I bought nail polish from. Always an inspiration to visit photographically as well as a way to meet the locals I look forward to exploring it and getting to know the people who work there further.

The laughing girl

“Laughter is the closest distance between two people.”

Victor Borge

Pause

Back in the UK for the summer I shall be catching up with all of the blog posts I could of written over the last few months. I have made twenty six thousand images over my last eight months in Cambodia, it’s going to take some time to know where to start! From wildlife to reportage anti-corruption & human rights filming it has been a month of thrills, spills, truths, tears, love, laughter and goodbyes. Cambodia and I will meet again in October & November 2012 for some solo exhibitions but for today I leave you with a portrait I made of a very brave Khmer lady. She gives me inspiration.

Giant Puppet Parade

The Giant Puppet Show of Siem Reap is a sight to behold. Huge internally lit puppets made by experts and locals alike fill the streets drawing crowds from across the local villages. My utterly favourite point of the evening was at the very beginning, as the 80 strong team of scouts, girls and boys, gathered. Tuning their instruments, straightening their uniforms and bringing the heart beat of their drums for the very first time to a public organised event, not a government organised event. And it was beautiful.

The Monk of Phnom Kulen

“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.”
― Elbert Hubbard

Broken Wings ~ S21

At S21 today, the infamous Cambodian torture prison hidden behind the facade of a school, I found a broken sparrows wing…

At The Killing Fields, where the torture victims were taken to be killed, I cried at the grave of the women and children, as I photographed the friendship bracelets spontaneously left on the fence posts…

I’ll write more about these things and show more photographs another day, thank you to Kitty, Mr T and Remi for keeping it real x

Faces ~ A trio

“I have looked into your eyes with my eyes. I have put my heart near your heart.”
John Crescenzio

One of the characters that always makes me smile at a Khmer market we visit on tour near Kompong Phluk.

The white patch on his head is we think a paste of crushed water snail, it makes a good glue for cuts!

This gentle nun of sorts with vitiligo lives and chants with the monks at Wat Bo, Siem Reap

Poetry & Painting on Tour

Inside stillness

I climb inside the trunks of giants trees to find you,

cool in the shade,

your gentle smile.

A relief,

encased by nature’s ancient timber,

I am.

Still.

© TG

 

Increasingly my guests are not photographers but artists of other disciplines, this week I was joined by a sculptor from England, a painter from Scotland and a poet from China.

I love how we inspire each other, the painters slowing the photographers down, the poets finding their words shaping future sculptures. Green Tours are really happy to open their arms to travelers who want to take their time to study and be inspired by the arts, carvings and ancient histories of this country.

An independent traveler finds a peace filled corner for a water colour of Ta Prohm's great tree temple.

 

Whistle stop tours are just not our thing and getting to the green heart of creative Cambodia is. Giving you time to create your own work in these amazing locations is a joy for us too!

If you would like to join a Green Tours Cambodia Tour or book Tori for a private tour please email your travel dates, locations and wishes to :: greenbynamephotography@gmail.com

Green Tours Cambodia Tour Dates!

A few spaces available! Book now!

The Children of Banta Srei

Last Sunday on a hazy afternoon a keen photographer friend Daniel and I took a tour out to 10th century Banteay Srei Temple. As well as marvelling at the ‘red’ sandstones intricate carvings, which I believe were renovated by the french in the 1920′s, we particularly enjoyed hanging out with the local children in the glowing sunset light. The temple dedicated to Shiva has a cordoned off central shrine that is protected for heritage and conservation reasons but I was lucky enough to be able to go inside and burn a little incense for a friend. The light sadly was too dark and with a temple guard hovering over my shoulder I didn’t get a great image this time but I know I will be returning.

The kids at Banteay Srei, citadel of the women, or citadel of beauty, do what they can to earn a few dollars by jumping over the walls (when the guards aren’t looking) to try and sell us postcards. Hawking photographers postcards can be a bit tricky but the little girl in the orange t-shirt fell and cried holding a bloody knee, with a hug and a handy anti bacterial wipe we got her smiling again for some photographs. I look forward to returning with some copies for the kids to keep.

As much as I am enjoying exploring the more unusual temples it is the people of the temples, the sacred mountains and the wild water villages that are really starting to captivate me and I look forward to making some deeper photo essays in the near future for exhibition.