While in China, one of the small towns I visited had several little low walking-bridges across the river. It was the sort of river that was too shallow for boats, but good for fishing and washing clothes.
This one was in a residential and commercial area. Many of the women wore colorful dresses and walked back and forth across... it all seemed very nice and peaceful so I grabbed an image.
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: China feng Feng huang Phoenix City stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff east asia people’s republic of china republic prc hunan Húnán 湖南 province 省 shěng division 湘 Xiāng 湘西土家族苗族自治州 Xiāngxī Tǔjiāzú Miáozú Zìzhìzhōu Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Fenghuang County 凤凰县 Fènghuáng Xiàn Xiangxi ancient history historic historical culture harbor town village unesco shoes sandals traditional heritage walking bridge footbridge water river confluence bright colorful October 2010 Nikon d3s
One morning when I was walking around Angkor Wat, I saw this monk there, chatting away on his mobile phone. I thought it was just all so unusual -- I had to take a shot! Many monks from all over Asia come here on pilgrimage. I suppose he could have been talking to someone in his home precinct. Are they called precincts? I don't know.
Also, if any of you have read the new Neal Stephenson book, you will get the "Jeejah" reference. It's a very interesting book about, well... I am not ruining anything here, but it starts out with the tale of a monk. They are not familiar with all the technologies used by the outside (extramuros) world, and they call mobile phones "jeejahs". There is a whole array of new words in there for the new world he has created... his books are thought provoking as always.
from the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: cambodia jeejah nealstephenson ananthem angkorwat angkor wat siemreap temple lotus cellphone monk mobilephone HDR High Dynamic range photography stuck customs stuckincustoms trey ratcliff Nikon d2xs june 2007 color outdoor candid travel southeast south east asia vat talking neal Stephenson pilgrimage water reflection hindu Vishnu Buddhist Buddhism khmer architecture jagati city nokor nagara preah pisnulok unusual confluence technology
If you want to see how I made this (and how you can too!), visit my HDR Tutorial. I hope it gives you some new tricks!
I made it to the heart of Ta Prohm, an undisturbed Bayon ruin out the outskirts of Angkor Wat. It was late in the day and there was a break in the afternoon summer showers.
To me, the best thing about these temples and ruins is that you can go anywhere, high or low, safe or not. There are hundreds of tiny nooks, old broken stone doors, lost hallways, and mysterious carvings peeking out of the overgrowth. There are no tort-related legal signs barring you from going anywhere... explorer beware. Besides, if you got injured, the jungle and insects would eat you alive before the night was over.
As soon as I walked into Ta Prohm, the thunder started rumbling around and dappled clouds rolled in. The thunder was extra eerie and chest-thumping inside all the mossy and vegetated old tombs. The rain started and stopped several times, so I would take refuge in crumbling crypts and hallways until the rain let up. I took some wrong turns, but I eventually ended up here with a break in the storm. I popped out with the 10 mm get this shot.
The temple was built in 1181 AD and was the home to 18 high priests, 615 dancers, and 12,500 people. I don't know why the dancer stats are so important, but there you go.
from my daily photo blog at www.stuckincustoms.com
Tags: hdrtutorial hdrphoto hdrphotos AngkorWat angkor wat temple taprohm taprom takao tree roots bayan buddist ruin monk buddha religion hdr tomb crypt tombraider lara croft laracroft abandoned eerie scary dark angkor vat buddhism theravada cambodia siemreap suryavarman hindu buddhist vishnu khmer architecture d2x nikon stuckincustoms quincunx Theravada Buddhist imagekind treyratcliff d2xs focuspocus2 portfolio portfoliodotcom portfoliosdotcom portfolios trey ratcliff beautiful pretty colorful fresh dream photo photograph photography professional technique dynamic world fabulous gorgeous art top100 ruins ancient confluence juxtapose
We headed out on an evening walk with our wonderful hosts in Montpellier, France. They've done a few nice things to the city to minimize car traffic. There is a lot of public transport on light rails, and that tended to keep congestion down. You don't really realize it until you compare it to someplace like Milan or Daegu, but there just aren't a lot of cars driving around all the most interesting places.
Taking the "back way" to dinner, we stopped at this perfect little intersection so I could take a quick photo. It was a highly recommended spot by my friend Jacques. This is the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Montpellier an elegant and unique cathedral that has a castle-like feel to the facade. Since I always get excited when I see a castle, this got a big thumbs up!
- Trey Ratcliff
Read more here at the Stuck in Customs blog.
Tags: stuck customs stuckincustoms stuckincustoms.com travel blog travelblog photography photoblog photographyblog hdr high dynamic range imaging digital processing software tutorial hdrtutorial trey ratcliff treyratcliff world Europe western france republic French République française state Montpellier Montpelhièr city capital Languedoc Roussillon region department herault southern France southern south le midi Lengadòc-Rosselhon Llenguadoc-Rosselló Hérault Erau medieval history historical historic Saint-Benoît Roman Catholic Cathedral Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Montpellier Montpellier Cathedral Latin Rite diocese ecclesiastical dusk walk cars traffic exterior castle architecture stone confluence September 2010 Nikon d3x