Here you will find all our blog posts from 2010 up to April 2015, imported from our previous website.
Just a quick intro to say that on Sunday 12th April 2015 I went to see the Thai Water festival known as 'Songkran' in Kowloon City, Hong Kong. I am testing some Sony cameras shooting in SLOG2 modes for grading purposes, so here is the short clip i produced from spending an hour at that event.
https://vimeo.com/125030474
The Hong Kong Rugby 7s 2015 is now well underway on day 2, it's Saturday afternoon and the fans are buzzing too and from the stadium in various states of dress and undress... This year for something different we decided to shoot only the fans on their way to the matches, using our profoto B1 TTL lights with a Profoto 3ft RFi Octabox to turn a little corner of the street into a little studio environment.
All the colour portraits in this post are shot by Gary Tyson of F8 Photography.
All black and white 'Behind the Scenes' (BTS) shots are provided with special thanks to Grahame Collins.
On the Saturday afternoon of the Hong Kong Rugby 7s 2015 I decided that I would take a small crew (4 people in total) to setup a small portrait stand in the street on the way to the stadium. I wanted to have one person dedicated to 'catching' potential subjects as they came past our location and convincing them it was a great idea to get a free portrait. I think if you are trying to organise a small shoot like this, even when its a non-paying gig, it's important to have a few friends help out, it takes away all the stress of organising and makes everything run smoothly and more fun.
I wanted another person dedicated to getting the models to sign model releases in case we publish anything (to do this we use an ipad app called 'easy release' which allows us too quickly get the subjects details and email address (as we also want to send them a copy of their photos of course), and allows us freedom for publication usage. We have never really had an issue with using images of people we shoot, but I think its good practice to get a model release signed when you may have intention to use in a magazine feature, etc, and we explained our intentions very clearly to everyone that approached us, and had no problem with volunteers. Transparency is imporant, trying to undo problems is much more difficult.
We had a good range of people coming by our portrait stand, couples, ladies and gents, it was great to see that everyone was up for having some fun along the way, of course the Hong Kong Rugby 7s always pulls in a massive crowd and everyone lets their hair down (or up as can be seen in some of the images) for the weekend!
We loved these 3 French ladies above and we were stunned at how cool their hair looked and quizzed them as to how they had managed to get their hair to stand up on end, we eventually figured out that they had used only water....(water bottles under their hair...pure genius).
The two guys in red shirts below had flown in from Canada for the weekend. It never fails to amaze me how many people come to town for Hong Kong's premiere sporting event of the year.
Below are more selections from the portraits we shot. We spent about 3 hours hanging out in the street, meeting some great people, taking some cool portraits that they all loved and will receive copies of and most of all HAVING FUN!
Our fantastic little team at the end of the shoot only had to walk 50 yards for a well earned 'Ice Kirin' beer at the end of the shoot. As I mentioned earlier, the main objectives of this shoot for me were to get some fun portraits of the fans and most importantly, HAVE FUN. If you can't do that, then your in the wrong job ;-)
F8 Photography is a commercial photography and video company based in Hong Kong, we shoot photo and video for many clients such as Ducati Motorbikes, Coca Cola, Swire, UBS amongst many others. We also run photography workshops around the world for budding photographers in countries such as Japan, India, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, with upcoming workshops in Istanbul in late Summer.
To check out our website, please see us at www.f8photography.com.hk
If you use Facebook, Gary has a public page where he shares his personal and travel photography, please check it out here.
We are pleased to announce that due to recent demand for more workshops in Cambodia, we are going to run 4 workshops almost back to back, two in Phnom Penh area, followed by two in the South around Kampot, Kep coastal region. We will alternate them so participants can have the opportunity to choose 2 workshops if they wish and combine their learning experience, doing 1 off camera lighting workshop and a visual storytelling workshop.
Further discounts will apply for participants who choose to do 2 workshops and there is an opportunity to take 2 days off in between the workshops to recover.
The dates for each workshop and links to their respective event pages are as follows:
Workshop 1 - Visual Storytelling (Phnom Penh) - 16 - 19 May 2015
Workshop 2 - '1 Light' Portrait Workshop (Phnom Penh) - 21 - 24 May 2015
Workshop 3 - Visual Storytelling (Southern Cambodia) - 28 - 31 May 2015
Workshop 4 - '1 Light' Portrait Workshop (Southern Cambodia) - 4 - 7 June 2015
Whether you want to learn how to use off camera lighting or develop your skills in visual storytelling, we are confident one or two of these workshops will be very useful for you.
Please check out the links and contact us if any of these dates work for you and you fancy exploring a wonderful corner of South East Asia with us and learning something new along the way.
These workshops are very limited in numbers and we expect them to sell out fast.
Look forward to seeing you there!
To contact us directly please email us at info@f8photography.com.hk
Recently Eric Kim and I ran a street projects workshop in Hong Kong (my blog review of that workshop can be found here). After the workshop finished we had a few days before Eric departed for his next workshops in Australia so I took the time to get him in the studio and my aim was to produce a short but slightly more serious interview with him to help him out and let people see a bit more depth.
In this piece, Eric talks about his fears when shooting street, some highly recommended books and reminds all photographers to ask yourself why do you shoot? Something I ask everyone I teach the moment I meet them...
Gary Tyson is a former British Army Photographer/videographer now based in Asia, shooting a variety of projects ranging from commercial to sports photography, corporate, travel an event videos, as well as being an avid street shooter wherever he goes.
His company F8 Photography also runs travel and street photography workshops all over Asia, specialising in Cambodia, India and now expanding in Japan and hopefully soon in Mongolia, Burma and Vietnam also.
For more information about Gary or F8 Photography please see our links below to public facebook page and website.
Last weekend myself and Eric Kim ran a workshop here in Hong Kong. We had a nice group of mixed abilities from all over Asia and Europe, clients from Macau, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam and even as far away as Budapest in Hungary came to Hong Kong to spend the weekend shooting with our group and sharing ideas and learning some new tips and tricks.
The focus of this workshop was 'working on projects', so it was slightly more advanced that some of the basic street shooting style workshops, requiring a different approach to shooting on the streets. Some may find it easier being given a project to focus on, some find it harder to focus on 'telling a story' with a short sequence and tighter edit of images. Whichever way you approach it, for sure it will help develop visualisation skills for all photographers looking for a slightly different approach to their work.
The first evening of the workshop was spent reviewing clients existing portfolios that they were asked to bring along for critique. This is always a very valuable part of the workshop as it enables everyone to get to know each other, let down their barriers and showcase their current work. It also helps us to figure out which direction we think they may like to try next and after the workshop finishes to see how they have moved their benchmark up a level or two.
The 2nd day is spent with various presentations in the morning (after lots of coffee and snacks), sharing some examples of our own projects and talking thoroughly as a group about everything that has been showcased that morning. After lunch we discuss potential ideas for projects with the group, share them all and let the clients pick 2 projects to work on over the rest of the weekend before their final presentations. This method proved to work very well, and the discussions brought out some great ideas for people to try.
Then, the group departed off, either alone, in pairs or under guidance from us where requested, to explore deep into Kowloon and Hong Kong Island for the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning, exploring their ideas, sharing feedback over dinner and fine tuning their visions before meeting back at the workshop base for Sunday lunch and to start the process of selection, editing and presentation.
People always underestimate the importance of being a strong self-editor, something that some people struggle with, so we used some techniques that are really useful in Lightroom to help the visual process, helping the group break down their portfolios to a very tight edit by the end of the day.
Final presentations were made individually, allowing each client to showcase their work and get up in front of a group and practice their presentation skills.
We had group discussions over the presentations, and gave our final thoughts to the clients.
To finalise the workshop we have an excellent presentation from our good friend Jonathan Van Smit (flickr link), an acclaimed street shooter based in Hong Kong, well known amongst our community for his black and white close up street shooting in Kowloon. Jonathan has been a guest speaker at many of our workshops and always inspires others with his dedication, drive and passion for what he is doing. He has recently departed on a personal project in Israel, and we wish him the best of luck with that project and stay safe!!! More of Jonathan's work can be seen here.
All said and done, the workshop was a great success, all client feedback has been positive, and I for one have seen some large improvements in portfolios of many of the clients as I have spent a lot of time with most of them before and am quite familiar with their work.
Below I would like to share some more images from the workshop, bearing in mind the clients only had less than 24 hours to produce their sets of images, these are some of the individual images, tagged with the name of their project to give context.
Great work everyone, looking forward to the next workshops already.
F8 Photography runs workshops all over Asia, including travel photography in Cambodia, Japan and India all coming up in late 2014, please check out our website for more details on how to sign up for those, or check our blog for loads of reviews, slideshows and feedback from clients who have attended previous F8 Photography workshops around Asia.
F8 Photography also provides commercial photography and videography services, please see our main website for that or check out Gary's public page on Facebook to stay up to date with our latest images and what we are up to.
Thanks for all the support and keep shooting.
We have been working secretly over the last few weeks on our new brand 'hongkongslomo' with which we promise to deliver premium service slow motion booths for all types of events in Hong Kong and around Asia Pacific.
If you or any of your friends have an event that you feel this would work at, please get in touch, its perfect for weddings, private events, corporate functions or any kind of event where people are having FUN!
Here is the link to our website for this service: www.hongkongslomo.com
Here is the link to the public facebook page: www.facebook.com/hongkongslomo (please check it out and like us and share it with the hashtag #hongkongslomo
And here is the latest video that we shoot with 9dragonsfitness last weekend at their event in Tung Chung.
https://vimeo.com/98335386
One month ago we led a small workshop (8 people) to Rajasthan in India and had an epic experience as a group of photographers. This blog post is just a short look at some behind the scenes images showing our little gang shooting around Pushkar, Jaipur and Delhi over the week, and most of all a reflection of how much FUN we all had together in such an amazing place.
We will be heading back to India in just a few months time in February 2014, this time deeper into Rajasthan to Jodhpur, details of that workshop can be seen here:
http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/jodhpur2014/
That aside, here is a look behind the scenes at our last Rajasthan workshop, which was held in November 2013.
Justine having a great time with the locals
Jon was thankful he had his rabies jabs after a dog attempted to lick him to death...lol
Patrick (left) and myself doing some 'selfies' in Delhi
Myriam shares her image with a lovely lady in the streets of Delhi 
On route to Pushkar by train...the best way to travel in India 
Katherine getting to grips with the awesome light inside the train
Our group waiting to board a train to Pushkar 
Katherine and Justine taking an elephant up the hill to the Amber Fort 
Chai Masala Tea Break....this picture was taken at tea break number 135 of 567 during the week...;-) 
Monica showing her subjects how great they look on camera 
Gary teaches a local guy how to shoot the Ricoh GR 
Gary getting some composition tips off the local dog (all dogs we met were super friendly!) 
Tasha taking a poignant moment during the train journey to Pushkar 
Tasha and Jon doing some strange 'pigeon-dash'! 
Tasha can even charm elephants into smiling 
Ruth and Katherine with their lovely smiles out enjoying the shooting 
Justine out doing some 'training' (excuse the pun). 
Gary failing to impress the locals with his cricket skills... 
Asking a local to shoot our group photo, he did very well for his first time on a rangefinder 
Jon posing in an alleyway of Old Delhi 
Tasha and Sakshi checking eachothers work 
A couple of our local guides in Delhi 
Gary checking the Rajasthan scenery on route to Pushkar 
Myriam scouting for subjects on the train 
Ruth and Patrick loving Pushkar
Jon and Patrick trying scarves as reflectors and diffusers...worked perfectly! 
Ruth on the last day in Jaipur 
Justine at the mosque in Delhi early morning 
Becky at the riverside in Delhi on our last day in India 
Jon shooting portraits on his trusty Rolleiflex 
Patrick gets up close and personal with his subjects 
Jon and Monica taking a taxi
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
I have known Jag for a few years now, we started off with Jag doing a one day outdoor lighting workshop a few years back which he then took what he learned and practiced when time allowed. Late last year Jag contacted me to help produce a video for ABN AMRO for some charity work his team was conducting in the Southern Philippines, the results of that starring Jag can be seen here for the teaser trailer and here for the main video. Next up was this workshop, Jag contacted me and discussed how he wanted to train more with the off camera lighting outdoors, but in a visually stronger location than Hong Kong for this style of photography.
Below you can see the results that Jag attained after just 5 days coaching and discussion in Cambodia, as well as some behind the scenes shots shown on this blog post below the video.
I can honestly say that Jag's photography has gone from strength to strength, he achieved outstanding results and was very happy with the workshop. Great stuff Jag, well done.
F8 Photography workshop client slideshow - Jag Hirani - Kampot, Cambodia from F8 Photography Ltd on Vimeo.
(Jag posing whilst we were balancing the light with the ambient in Kampot).
(The 3 musketeers, Gary, Jag and Sammy)
(Jag strikes another pose on his chicken chaser moped)
(Jag checks out the light and landscape before our epic storm approached a few minutes later to give us some 'god' light)
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the ‘LIKE’ box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post OR by clicking this link.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
Patrick recently attended one of F8 Photography workshops in Cambodia for 5 days, this portfolio video shows his final selection of images and below this there are some fun behind the scenes shots in action during the rainy season.
Cambodia from Patrick Ansari on Vimeo.
Patrick took some great images during the week and from our feedback he seemed to find the training extrememly useful, completely overcoming any worries about approaching strangers and learning to 'see light' in a much better way than before the workshop.
(Patrick looking far too fresh on day one...the rain soon changed that...:-))
(Patrick and Jon lapping up the wet season photography...lol)
(Gary demonstrates some off camera lighting whilst Patrick watches on with his Leica M240 balancing on the edge of the boat...)
(Then Patrick balances on the small boat with his Leica whilst Gary tries to qualify for the Cambodia gymnastics team by pulling the splits whilst holding the boats together with his flip flops!)
(Patrick trying a bit of 'off road' moped skills whilst trying to find a route to an out of town photoshoot location in Kampot.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the ‘LIKE’ box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post OR by clicking this link.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
Click here to check out Gary's new facebook page, please 'like' it... Under advice from several of my photographer buddies (in particular Ian Taylor who I have been shooting with in Cambodia the last few days, who's work can be seen here), I have been encouraged to launch a facebook fan page to show some of my work to a wider audience.
Although I am not entirely comfortable with the term 'fan page', I do understand that it can bring business as well as a much bigger audience to my work, in particular the recent theme in Cambodia with the medium format digital camera has attracted a lot of interest and requests for prints....so I guess I must be doing something right.
This recent series is kind of a return to form for me in some ways, ironically when I switched to Leica a few years ago for travel photography I stopped shooting this style of work (I used to shoot it extensively with Canon digital, using variable ND filters and lights in the field), then stopped altogether to minimise my kit and go 'rangefinder', and now having recently acquired a Pentax 645D medium format digital camera, it really suits that style of photography, rather than the quick, street style shooting I have become accustomed to.
So for me its 2 things, a chance to slow myself down and take my time over each image, as well as explore a new format that I haven't tried digitally, and for sure the camera is big, but the results and detail are worth the effort for me, I've been shooting it less than 2 weeks, and I'm already deeply attached to this system.
Please take a look at the facebook page and share with your friends if you think they may be interested in my style of photography.
Click here to check out Gary's new facebook page, please 'like' it...
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
The aim of our photography workshops in Cambodia is to take beginner or intermediate photographers to another level with an immersive course that exposes them to nothing but photography for several days….It’s intense, it’s hard work, it’s loooong days, the learning curve is steep, but the two key things we wish for all our clients to leave with are the feeling that they improved dramatically in the way they see what they photograph and to have had great fun with a bunch of like minded photographers. Below you will see a slideshow of their final images. They shot in the south of Cambodia (Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep) for less than 5 days, some of them arrived with their first camera and little knowledge, but after some careful direction and coaching they have produced nothing short of an outstanding set of images, each and every one of them.
Please enjoy the slideshow and we look forward to seeing some of you on a future workshop here in Cambodia, back in Hong Kong or somewhere else in the region. You can find more details about our workshops at our homepage under ‘workshops‘ or drop us an email via our contact form.
vimeosouthslides from F8 Photography Ltd on Vimeo.
If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
The aim of our photography workshops in Cambodia is to take beginner or intermediate photographers to another level with an immersive course that exposes them to nothing but photography for several days....It's intense, it's hard work, it's loooong days, the learning curve is steep, but the two key things we wish for all our clients to leave with are the feeling that they improved dramatically in the way they see what they photograph and to have had great fun with a bunch of like minded photographers. Below you will see a slideshow of their final images. They shot in and around Phnom Penh for less than 3 days, some of them arrived with their first camera and little knowledge, but after some careful direction and coaching they have produced nothing short of an outstanding set of images, each and every one of them.
Please enjoy the slideshow and we look forward to seeing some of you on a future workshop here in Cambodia, back in Hong Kong or somewhere else in the region. You can find more details about our workshops at our homepage under 'workshops' or drop us an email via our contact form.
Phnom Penh Photography workshop - Clients Images slideshow from F8 Photography Ltd on Vimeo.
If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
We have just finished the Phnom Penh workshop yesterday afternoon which was a great success. One team member left, and two more arrived this morning to head south with us for the next workshop so we are now a merry band of 8 photographers heading down to the seaside.
Today was supposed to be a day off or 'admin' day....but of course none of us could resist the chance to do more shooting, so we had some prints made from the previous days shoots and took them to the temple and the Muslim village to hand them out and make use of our time shooting again.
As it was supposed to be a day off, i didn't do much teaching and guidance and opted to just go for a walk and take only my X100s and leave the Leicas behind for a few hours.
I have had the X100s a while now, but never use it, I always bring it with the Leicas and it ends up staying in the bag...In hindsight this is a silly mistake, its one or the other, no point carrying double the gear...I teach the others to bring smaller cameras and not to be overloaded with kit...then bring 3 cameras myself...kind of defeating the object....lol.
So, refreshingly, i headed out for a walk with just the X100s slung over my shoulder and nothing else.
These images are the first time i have used this camera properly in 2 months....I can honestly say I'm so far very very happy....I was considering selling it a few weeks ago due to non-usage and now I realise that would be a mistake, it has excellent image quality and when i need a low light colour camera (the Leica M9 is useless for that), then this will be the one I turn too.
I'm not into talking about all the technical features and details of cameras, I don't believe in that, any camera you give me is just a tool....im only interested in the 'feeling' that comes across in the image once developed...I have zero interest in the size of the camera/lens/etc, as too many times i've seen the most expensive cameras in the hands of fools and the cheapest cameras in the hands of geniuses...Usually the quote rings true 'all the gear...means no idea'..... So next time you think to carry 3 cameras or the biggest most expensive cameras you can afford...think twice....remember....the most important thing in photography is your minds eye....the camera is just a box that captures that vision, without that vision, any camera is useless to you.
Here's a few images I shot this afternoon. Tomorrow we head South, I will try and use it more each day and see how I get along.
A baby sleeps calmly in the afternoon light
Lady in doorway allows me to shoot her as she relaxes away from the outdoor heat
Hiding from the cows that charged down the street towards the kids
Fine tuning his fishing nets for the next time he's out on the Mekong river
Children at a local school inside a monastery
If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
We have just finished our Phnom Penh workshop (4 days) with our team and as Romina heads back to Hong Kong this evening, the remainder of the team will be joined tomorrow by 2 new members and we will all head south for the next workshop together. I will post a video slideshow of the entire teams final images in the coming few days, but in the meantime we would like to share some behind the scenes images of everyone at work and having a great time here in Cambodia.
Steve, Andrew, Monica, Winnie, Lydia, Romina and Gary
Steve hanging out with some Monks getting to know them before asking for photographs
3 of the team in the shade at the Muslim village
Gary does a bit of lighting training with some willing models
The team learning how to use off camera lighting
Romina exploring the alleyways looking for the best light
Early morning shoots every day before 6am
Lydia gets some new fanclub members at the monastery
Andrew modelling the Cambodia scarf on the Mekong river
Romina makes new friends at the beach
Romina with the Mother Superior at the rural monastery
Winnie and Mother Superior having a memento shot by Andrew
The team receiving a blessing on arrival at the monastery after we gifted some rice
Lydia and a lovely elderly lady at Silk Island
Winnie practicing her off camera lighting techniques
Monica all excited on route to the next location in the tuk tuk
The kids love to play around when we are shooting
Monica with her models at the monastery
Lydia, Winnie, Mother Superior and Romina at the rural monastery
Monica shows the kids how cool they look on camera
Gary couldn't resist getting the helicopter and gopro3 out for a flight when time allowed
Lydia gets a washdown after the first shoot in the mud
Winnie relaxes with the kids at the first village across the river
Winnie and her fans at the beach
Steve helps Lydia with some Lightroom processing
Andrew impresses the kids with his Leica M9
Giving back prints is a great experience for the team
The locals love to receive their prints after we shoot
The team with some local kids at the Muslim village
If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
We are now into our second day of the Phnom Penh photography workshop and we started the day bright and early before 6am shooting the views over the Mekong river for sunrise and the workers and monks coming over off the boats from silk island.
Sunrise over the Mekong, Leica M9P, VL 21mm F4
Monks arrive by boat from Silk Island, Leica M9P, 90mm Summarit
After that it was a quick breakfast and heading out to the local monastery...it still wasn't yet even 7am...a few yawns of tiredness could be seen, but everyone was highly motivated to get some shots before the harsh sunlight started...which wouldn't to far away...this is one of the main problems this time of year in Cambodia, the heat is unforgiving and the light can be extremely harsh...so its early rises and late finishes to capture the best light.
Lydia at one of the temples in the monastery, trying to catch a bit of shade from the heat.
We spent a good hour at the monastery chatting to monks and helping those that wanted to practice their english language skills, as well as playing with the kids and fascinating them with showing them their images on the back of the cameras.
Leica M9P, 90mm summarit
Today is the 25th of May, the day on which the Cambodians celebrate Buddha's birthday, ascencion and enlightenment. We were lucky enough to be invited back in the afternoon by some of the monks to witness the parade and take part as we wished. Of course this would offer us a great photo opporunity so we all graciously accepted the invitation and headed back in the early afternoon to see what unfolded.
Leica M9P, 90mm summarit
Similar shot to above, but this time trying the Leica M Monochrom and 28mm.
Several of the monks we had met earlier were conducting preparations in the main temple so we hung out there anxiously waiting as more and more monks and children gathered below. Andrew was kind enough to offer me the lend of his Noctilux lens as he wanted to try my 75mm lens. This worked well as as I knew with so many people around, if i wanted to single out someone i would need to be using either a Noctilux or a 75/90mm focal length.
Excited kids await the start of the celebrations, Leica M9P, 50mm Noctilux
The kids were all carrying flowers as offerings for inside the temple after the precession which was about to get underway for the next 30 minutes or so.
Monks prepare for their celebration march around the monastery, Leica M9P, Noctilux
Leica M9P, Noctilux
As the parade came to its end back at the temple I crossed the street to try and get some shot of the Monks coming past with a bit of symmetry, as i focussed on this monk he didn't notice me, but just looked up to the heavens....i thought...."jackpot" as that was for me the shot of the day....so we had spent a good few hours around this area and I think it was well worthwhile and a great experience to be able to be part of their day. We will be sure to return on Monday with prints for them all to return our gratitude to them for allowing us to photograph them. Tomorrow its off to silk island bright and early at 6am. Looking forward to more great photo opportunities in a rural setting.
My shot of the day for me personally, Leica M9P, Noctilux
If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
Well the day started slow as the flight from Hong Kong with the group of keen photographers was delayed by 2 hours but that didn't change anything other than a faster lunch once they arrived. We went through our composition presentations and were out crossing the river by 4pm heading to a small village on the other side for a baptism of mud and photography.
Fuji X100s in panoramic JPEG mode (12 images stitched in camera, works fine)
For myself I just took the Fuji X100s out and this is actually the first time I've tried to use it properly, its very different from my Leicas but nevertheless it did everything I asked it to without any issues, so all images you see in this post are from the Fuji.
Even though the first shoot was just a taster of whats to come, it was still great fun and everyone was fascinated by how energetic and happy the local kids are around here.
Winnie taking a break and trying not to slide downhill into the river as I almost did a few times!
I noticed Winnie taking some photos with the kids then as she took a break she had that look on her face of elation that happens to everyone when they are around Cambodian people, their zest for life rubs off on you very quickly and they really put our own lives in perspective. Just being around them, with or without camera is a positive life experience I believe.
These kids swim freely in the Mekong river, hanging on to passing boats and playing wildly in the mud.
Everyone had quick refresher on how to use their metering systems on the cameras and then it was some free shooting time to seek out some willing subjects, of which there is never a shortage in Phnom Penh.
No tyre swings here, but the bumper tyres on boats work well as a makeshift chair until the boat leaves.
We were lucky enough to have our own personal acrobatics display team at the village.
Who needs a diving board? Just climb up the nearest ferry and use that as your diving platform.
Lydia has her first mud spa shortly after arriving in Cambodia and Sammy our driver helps wash up.
Lydia joined Gary barefoot to try and get some extra grip in the mud, but it wasn't helping, luckily the rain had now stopped but left the ground soggy and slippy....photography can be a hazardous sport you know...but getting a good mudpack on your feet is good for you (so i'm told) :-)
Steve (right) and Andrew (back left) taking a break from the heat at a roadside cafe.
After an hour shooting it was time for a quick refreshment before hopping back on the boat to the other side and clean up for our first dinner at the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club), an apt location for dinner on the first night as its perhaps the most heritage building for photographers and journalists in this town with its rich history associated to the Vietnam war era.
A curious girl watches us with nervous curiosity..."who's this gang of photographers in my village"?
Tomorrow morning its an early start, up before dawn to get the beautiful Cambodia sunrise and then off around Phnom Penh to some great locations and hours of photography....will update in a few days with the gang's progress here, watch this space...
Here we are again in Cambodia about to start today with 2 back to back photography workshops, one here in the city of Phnom Penh, then a 2nd one next week down in the south around Sihanoukville, Kampot and Kep.
Leica MM, VL 35mm 2.5
Myself and Steve have been in country 2 days and have checked out a few different locations to take the clients that should offer them some photo rich opportunities to hone their skills.
The heat is unforgiving so it will be early starts to get the best use of light and late afternoon shoots again for the same reasons, so long days ahead for the crew but the people of Cambodia always welcome us with open arms and I'm positive everyone will leave with a healthy portfolio and probably a healthy suntan also!
Leica M9P, 75mm summarit
One of the locations we will visit in Phnom Penh is a vibrant muslim village that is so full of life you can hardly move in the streets and alleyways. The only difficult thing here is isolating a subject as there are so many around. Here are a few images from spending just an hour or so walking around this district armed with the Leica M9P and M Monochrom.
Leica MM, 90mm summarit
Leica M9P, 90mm summarit
Leica MM, 28mm 2.8 ASPH
Leica M9P, 90mm summarit
Leica MM, 28mm 2.8 ASPH
The flight with our clients is delayed hence me writing this blog so soon....all the rest of the preparations are done and I am now heading out to meet them at the airport. Very much looking forward to 10 days of photography with a keen bunch of likeminded individuals....as well as indulging in some of Kep's finest seafood along the way.....and who knows...maybe even a bit of volleyball with the locals!
Leica MM, Canon 50mm 1.4 LTM
Leica MM, VL 35mm 2.5
Leica MM, VL 35mm 2.5
It was an early start today, 5.30am, out to the ferry port to shoot the workers arriving to Phnom Penh from across the Mekong river. The great thing about shooting this location is that I could see it easily from my hotel room window...so could do a quick check to make sure the light was developing well before getting ready...(I'm so lazy...this is why you see very few landscape photographs from me).
After shooting the workers and boat people arriving there for the 15 mins of good light, the sun was up and it was back for breakfast before we headed out to scout another new location just outside the city which used to be a lake but has mostly dried up with just a few water channels remaining.
The thing that struck me about this district was 'colour'....the light was great, the buildings were painted in pastels and the kids were dressed in vibrant colours, it just all 'popped'....the other thing that popped was my shoe, which 'popped off' when i got my leg stuck in some swamp when i was trying to shoot some kids sitting in old boats...lol...a small price to pay for the rewards of the images today.
Yet again we were met by all smiling happy faces, the kids were playing all sorts of games and keen to show off to us at every opportunity. Another successful day in this wonderful country, looking forward to a 5am start again tomorrow morning (you don't hear me say that very often...:-))
Here's a few more images from todays shooting, all shot with Leica M9P and lenses from 35-75mm.
If you wish to see other images and blog posts from this trip and other Cambodia trips you can see a selection by clicking here.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page and share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below. You can also subscribe to our blog here.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
Our next Cambodia workshop will be concentrated in the southern part of the country for 5 days around Sihanoukville, Kep and the surrounding islands. This promises to be another successful experience for a small group of photographers (maximum 6) to fully immerse themselves in a photo rich environment with 2 instructors for personalised hands on training. For more information on the workshop and to register your interest, please follow the link below or click on any of the images:
http://www.f8photography.com.hk/event/southcambodiafeb2013/
Here are a few images of this wonderful part of the world from one of our previous trips there that we will enjoying exploring with you again soon.
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the ‘LIKE’ box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post OR by clicking this link.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
As some of you may know, we are hosting a photography workshop on the streets of Manila in the Phillipines with acclaimed photographer Kurt Kamka from 16-18 November 2012. We are offering an early bird discount price for clients who signup and pay for the workshop before 20th October, so thats just a few days left to go. Save HK$500 by signing up now.
We have capped the workshop at 8 participants, so far we have ONLY 3 SPACES LEFT...act fast if you wish to have a great photography trip with some like minded people.
If you wish to escape the hustle of Hong Kong for a few days and shoot in a subject rich environment in a small group, improve your composition, learn some new techniques, this could be the workshop for you.
Heres the link to the workshop events page:
F8 PHOTOGRAPHY MANILA WORKSHOP - EVENTS PAGE
Heres some blog posts we have done about some of the areas in which we will shoot in Manila:
PEMBO - PHOTOGRAPHERS PARADISE
LIFE BEYOND THE GRAVES IN MANILA
And heres some very recent blog posts from clients that attended our last workshop held in Cambodia, see their images and read their thoughts.
CAMBODIA WORKSHOP REVIEW BY F8 PHOTOGRAPHY
Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog, if you like our blog and website, please ‘like’ us on our public Facebook page or on the ‘LIKE’ box to the right side of this blog. You can share this story with your friends with the Facebook and twitter links below or on the left side of this blog. You can also subscribe to our blog via the RSS link below or on the right of this post OR by clicking this link.
F8 Photography provides commercial photography and photography and video training workshops, more details can be found via the ‘courses and workshops’ link and upcoming events via the front page of our website.
F8 Photography, commercial website of Gary Tyson: Photographer. F8 Photography provides photography and film services to clients all over Asia ranging from small business to international brands. Contact us for more information.
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH F8
