In Saigon he trained and mentored young Vietnamese photographers who captured many of the war’s defining images. Faas was injured in 1967 and later used a wheelchair for many years. He died after suffering years of health problems, including paralysis from the waist down.

“Horst Faas was a giant in the world of photojournalism whose extraordinary commitment to telling difficult stories was unique and remarkable,” said Santiago Lyon, AP’s global head of photography. “He was an exceptional talent both behind the camera and editing the work of others and even in the grimmest circumstances he always made sure to live life to the fullest,” Lyon said. “He will be sorely missed by scores of colleagues, especially that reduced group with whom he covered conflict, particularly the Vietnam generation.”

Speaking to the BBC in 2007, Faas described his job in simple terms.

“I tried to be in the newspapers every day, to beat the opposition with better photos. I didn’t try to do anything grandiose. The photos were used and published and asked for, becuase Vietnam was on the front pages year after year after. I lived from day to day, from event to event. It was a perfect story for an agency photographer.”

He began his career covering conflicts in 1960, four years after joining the Associated Press (AP). He also worked in what was then Zaire, and in Algeria, before relocating to Vietnam, where he won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1965.

Accepting the award, he said he aimed to “record the suffering, the emotions and the sacrifices of both Americans and Vietnamese in… this little bloodstained country so far away,” AP said.

He had a front row view of much of that suffering.

When not in the midst of the conflict, Faas worked at AP’s Saigon base, viewing and selecting images from his photographers to transmit on the wire to the rest of the world.

Under his direction, AP photographers captured images that quickly became synonymous with the long war: among the most notable were Eddie Adams’ image of the execution of a Viet Cong suspect and Nick Ut’s picture of a naked Vietnamese girl fleeing a napalm attack.

Despite being injured in 1967, he stayed in the country until 1970.

“I don’t think anyone stayed longer, took more risks or showed greater devotion to his work and his colleagues,” said New York Times journalist David Halberstam, who once lived with Haas. “I think of him as nothing less than a genius.”

Personally, I think Horst’s most important images of war, were those which showed civilians, and how they were impacted by the fighting. The images that I have selected to show here, are just a few examples of how he captured the fear, suffering and anxiety of ordinary people, caught in the crossfire. For me, this window into the lives of non-combatants is every bit as important, or perhaps more important, than images of death, destruction and carnage. Today, anti-war photographers like James Nachtwey, have taken up the torch. Fass has left his mark. He will be missed, but his images live on. RIP.

The Philippines, known as Pearl of the Orient is one of the great treasures of Southeast Asia. Often overlooked by travellers, the Philippines rewards those who go the extra distance to reach and explore it. Because it’s off the beaten path, the Philippines is a great place to escape the multitudes who descend upon other parts of Southeast Asia. The country is the second-largest archipelago in the world, being composed of more than 7,000 islands. The Philippines offers up fantastic landscapes and natural wonders to stagger even the most jaded traveler: Boasting several UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Banaue, with its stunning rice terraces and Vigan, with its fascinating reminders of the islands’ rich Spanish colonial history, the Philippines has so much to offer.  And, if you enjoy palm-fringed, white-sand beaches, the Philippines offers that too, on a scale and beauty that one might have expected to find in Hawaii decades ago. Oh, just so you know, we’ll be ending our Philippines tour on just such a beach; with a few nights at my secret hide-away, the Amarela Beach Resort, on the island of Panglao.

This trip is limited to just 10 participants and as I write this, there are still a few spots left to sign up! The 14 night trip includes luxurious accommodation for 14 hotel nights, all airport transfers, ground transportation, in-country flights, all breakfasts, all dinners, entrances to tourist sites, boat rides, English-speaking guides, and drinking water. This is the second year I’m running this trip and in this blog post, I would like to share with you some images of last year’s tour.

The Philippine culture, has affinities with the Spain due to three centuries of colonial rule, and has an American influence, largely the result of a major military presence during World War II, but which actually started as early as 1898. The Philippines rich culture and tradition reflects the diverse indigenous groups from its many islands. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, being the only Catholic country in Southeast Asia. Tagalog is the official language while English is widely spoken.

Travelers who have been to the Philippines will universally comment that it’s the Filipinos themselves who make the country such a joy to visit. Photo friendly and full of smiles, the people open themselves and their lives to visitors on a scale only matched by places like India and Myanmar. The Philippines truly qualifies as one of the last great frontiers in Southeast Asia. This is your chance to be among the few to explore and photograph this amazing destination.

The favorite part for me was discovering the beauty of a country that I knew very little about. I was also very taken by the friendliness and openness of almost all of the Filippinos we met and we photographed. Not only were they very friendly and polite (even in the poorest areas-e.g railroad bridge in Manila) but there seemed to be a real sense of community – i.e. of caring for their neighbors and family –  Herb Horowitz–

The Ubiquitous “sari-sari stores”, like the one pictured above, are the “convenience stores” of the Philippines. The word sari-sari is Tagalog meaning “variety”. Such stores form an important economic and social location in a Filipino community. Most sari-sari stores are privately owned shops and are operated inside the shopkeeper’s house. Sari-sari stores are a place were Filipino’s meet and hang out, and the small shops are always a great backdrop for our photography.

Throughout the Philippines, Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating. They have become a ubiquitous symbol of Philippine culture. The word jeepney is a combination of “jeep” and “Jitney”.  To make our Manila city tour completely “authentic”, my friend, photojournalist, Red Santos, makes arrangements for us to rent his uncle’s Jeepney. The locals always get a kick out of seeing a group of foreigners using the traditional means of transport. Our day in the Jeepney is an experience that you won’t soon forget!

On the island of Bohol we visit the Tarsier Research and Development Center to photograph the Tarsier, a strange, tiny monkey with large eyes which is only about 3 to 6 inches in height, making it one of the smallest primates. The Tarsier’s eyes are fixed in its skull; they cannot turn in their sockets. Instead, a special adaptation in the neck allows its round head to be rotated 180 degrees. As you can see, the eyes are disproportionately large, having the largest eye-to-body size ratio of all mammals. These huge eyes provide this nocturnal animal with excellent night vision. The tarsier is said to be the inspiration for Steven Speilberg’s famous E.T. creature. You’ll realize that when you see the tarsier’s fingers!

After photographing Tarsiers, we take a boat ride through the local jungle, and on the way back to the hotel make a short stop to photograph the Chocolate Hills. The Chocolate Hills is a rolling terrain of haycock hills – mounds of general shape which are conical and almost symmetrical. The mounds are made of grass-covered limestone. The domes vary in sizes from 98 to 160 ft high with the largest being 390 ft in height. During the dry season, the grass-covered hills dry up and turn chocolate brown. This transforms the area into seemingly endless rows of “chocolate kisses”.

We visit northern Luzon, the Philippine’s Cordillera region, where the weather is downright cold in the morning.  From our comfortable lodge accommodations, located at almost 5,000 ft of elevation, we rise early to take sunrise photos of some of the most amazing rice terraces you’ll ever see. Later we make a short hike through a pine forest to visit Sagada’s famous “hanging coffins”.

Hanging coffins are an ancient funeral custom in northern Luzon. In several areas, coffins of various shapes can be seen hanging either on beams projecting outward from vertical faces of the mountain, in caves in the face of cliffs, or on natural rock projections. The coffins are quite small due to the fact that the deceased are placed in the fetal position, believing that people should leave the world in the same position as they entered it.

In the UNESCO World Heritage city of Vigan, the use of the handlooms and other weaving accessories can be traced from early Spanish occupation. This equipment was used in homes to weave cloth for blankets, pillow cases and clothes. These crafts were said to be a major export during the period of the Spanish galleon trade. Today weavers are still active using age-old methods of creating this traditional craft.

Pottery making in Vigan was introduced by early Chinese immigrants. The west side of Vigan is abundant in grade A clay used in jar and pottery- making in nearby barangays/villages. The jar-making trade was passed on from generation to generation and is still very active in Vigan.

In pre-colonial times, Vigan was an important trading post for Chinese junks, trading gold beeswax and other products from the central Cordilleras for exotic Asian goods. Many Chinese traders settled in the mestizo district, marrying locals and starting new bloodlines. Vigan was captured and settled by the Spanish in 1572, and grew to become a center of Spanish political and religious power in the north of Luzon.

The cobblestone streets of Vigan’s historic district, where horse-drawn carriages are still a popular form of transportation, provide a wonderful setting for our photographs. The horse drawn carriage or “calesa” was one of the modes of transportation introduced in the Philippines in the 18th century by the Spaniards that only nobles and high ranked officials could afford. Although the calesa has become a rarity, some century-old examples are still preserved in areas of the Philippines, such as the city of Vigan and Laoag. We will not only photograph these wonderful carriages, but we’ll also use them for a city tour of this fascinating and photogenic UNESCO World Heritage city.

The Philippines truly is an off-the-beaten-path destination, it’s an undiscovered gem with so much to explore, photograph and enjoy. This is your chance to be a pioneer, to visit a place that others overlook; to be among the first to discover this wonderful country.

To register for the Philippines Photo Tour, which runs from June 16-30, sign up by clicking here , then navigate to the “registration tab”.

If you’ve read this far, then your probably interested in finding out more about the Philippines Photo tour, why not have a look at what last year’s participants posted. To visit Anietra Hampers blog posts, click on the following links: There is such a thing as the Philippines Happiness Index (PHI). , The Road to Sagada: ,Preparation for the Philippines trip and “Do I want what in my coffee?”

And, don’t miss paging through an on-line Blurb photo book entitled,  “Wonderful Philippines”, made up of a gallery of each participant’s images from last year’s inaugural tour.

I hope to see you in Manila on June 16th!

Mabuhay,

Karl

Here’s a bit of information about Friends Without a Border…

Based in New York, with chapters in Canada, Japan, and France, Friends is a 501(c)(3) organization which raises awareness and funds to support Angkor Hospital for Children, a leading pediatric hospital in post-genocide Cambodia. Founded in 1996 by photographer Kenro Izu, Friends raised the funds to construct AHC in February 1999 and continues to raise millions each year for pediatric healthcare in Cambodia. AHC is internationally respected for quality, compassionate care provided to more than 125,000 sick, malnourished, and impoverished children annually. Since 1999, AHC has treated more than 1,000,000 children.

As 1 of only 5 teaching hospitals in Cambodia, AHC has trained thousands of Khmer nurses and doctors as part of its mission to help rebuild the nation’s healthcare infrastructure. Outreach programs instill preventive health, nutrition, and hygiene practices among rural residents and upgrade health centers. Its Homecare program is the largest hospital-based pediatric HIV antiretroviral therapy program outside the nation’s capital, Phnom Penh.

For a close-up look at Angkor Hospital for Children, you might enjoy a video entitled “Come Along For The Ride”, which chronicles my most recent photo shoot for them. See below.

ComeAlongFullVersion from Karl Grobl on Vimeo.

At this point, the Vietnam portion of the tour has ended and our group reduced to only 6 guests who elected to continue on with the Angkor Wat extension, which I will be blogging soon.

Anyway, everything is going well and I’m finally happy to share some images from the past days, in an attempt to bring you all up to speed on what we’ve been up to.

So, now, please re-read the title to this blog post and try and say that as fast as you can, 5 times…Cat Ba, Bac Ha, Cat Ba, Bac Ha……

The two locations differ only by one letter, but they might as well be “worlds apart”, one a small port city on the Gulf of Tonkin, the other, a mountainous village near the Chinese border. Both Cat Ba and Bac Ha have tons to offer in terms of photographic opportunities.

We boarded our private boat in Halong City and toured Halong Bay. En route to Cat Ba Island, the crew served up a delicious lunch of fresh seafood and a selection of fine wines.

In Cat Ba, we rented small 2-person boats to tour the harbor, where fishermen live.

After a night on Cat Ba Island, we returned to Hanoi in time to catch the over-night train to Lao Cai. From there, we grabbed a quick breakfast and headed up into the mountains to photograph several markets including the colorful Bac Ha Sunday market.

The area surrounding Bac Ha is a treasure-trove of photographic opportunities. Rice paddies and agricultural fields abound, and locals are happy to allow us to photograph them.

The early morning soup kitchens are a great place to photograph, and since our group stays over-night in Bac Ha, we are able to experience the market before the other tourists arrive from Sapa (another popular hill tribe market).

Marco Ryan, one of the instructors at my annual Angkor Photo Workshop, joined us for a few days in Vietnam, in order to shoot some stills and video for a promotional piece that Jim and I are putting together. Marco, who has shot extensively in Vietnam was “in his element”, enjoying the photo opportunities, when not assisting our tour participants.

Above, Marco Ryan along with Hung, our local tour guide, walk to a remote village between Bac Ha and Lao Cai. Be sure to check out Marco’s blog for more images and information about his experiences.

Marco let me use his Canon 85mm f 1.2 lens….I almost didn’t give it back! The shallow depth of field makes for some unique portraits (as seen above).

Along on this trip was Lew’s wife, Jan, who was our only “non-photographer”. Jan wasn’t shootin’ but that didn’t stop her from having a great time wherever we went. When Jan wasn’t helping carry tripods and extra lenses, she was handing out stickers to the little kids, smiling, laughing, meeting the locals and genrally having a blast. Her infectious spirit and unbounded energy (she’s an avid walker…in Hanoi she walked around Hoan Kim Lake 6 times!) made our trip even more enjoyable. Thanks Jan!

So that’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed the images….more to come from the Angkor Wat extension in Cambodia.

Happy shooting, Karl

As I write this post we are in Bac Ha, having just finished an epic morning shoot at this amazing  market. About all I’ll have time to do is slap up some images from last week and perhaps tonight on the train back to Hanoi, I’ll get a moment or two to start on another batch of photos which will ultimately make it up to the blog. For now, enjoy a few images. We’re off for an indigenous village shoot, followed by a boat ride down the river; then back to Lao Cai.

Wish you were here,
Karl

Henry posing in some nice light

Lew working all the angles to get the best shot

Frank walking the back alleys of historic Hoi An

Our fast boat from Saigon to Can Tho

Ruti chats with a street vendor in Can Tho

And so I’ll begin blogging the 2012 Vietnam Explorer Photo Tour. Our 1st stop today was in the Chinese section of town known as Cho Lon. It is here, that one of my most favorite Ho Chi Minh City markets bustles with activity triggered 365 days a year.

Our group spent an hour and a half in a 1 block square area for graphing the activity and energy of this amazing, commercial center.

Our 2nd stop of the day was at a Cantonese pagoda, the popular and very atmospheric location where locals come to pray and light incense sticks. In case you’re wondering about the gentleman in the photo below, that’s Bob Shaw, the guy who discovered the spot where we could all shoot the reflection of the opera house. On behalf of everyone, I want to take this opportunity to thank Bob, for sharing his unique and amazing find.

Bob “Roberto” Newman, shoots a bit of video at the Cantonsese Pagoda

During a coffee break, our waitress got a chance to check out Henry Greene’s Nikon 70-200 2.8

Lunch at Saigon’s Pho 2000, the best noodle soup in town

At the post office we encountered, retired postal worker Doung Van Ngo. Van Ngo spends his days translating and writing letters for folks who are unable to do so. He’s famous here at the post office and known lovingly as “the little corporal”.  Van Ngo has been performing this service for over 20 years. You can read more about him here.

I’m sharing a few series of photographs to emphasize that “sticking with a subject” for more than just a shot or two, is a technique that helps improve the possibility of creating memorable images. On the last morning in Nuang Shwe a small group of us left the hotel and headed out into the all but empty streets of the town. At the central market, things were just beginning to get set up and the mood was quiet. We searched for exceptional lighting conditions, chose our position and waited….and waited. Eventually all the elements necessary to make a good photo came together….a strong subject, with a secondary element to add visual interest. All the tour guests hear me say, “give me a nice portrait or environmental shot, but be sure to give me some eye candy” too.

While walking around the market, I came across this gentleman listening to a small transistor radio. I smiled and then spoke a few words in Burmese (hello, may I take your picture?). He nodded in agreement, so I spent about 3 or 4 minutes making some shots, using different angles and vantage points.

The kitchens of small shops in the market places of Myanmar always get me excited. The lighting is dim and dramatic. I’ll bet we spent almost an hour “working” this kitchen, laughing with the staff, sharing photos and just playing around.

Well, that about wraps it up! I hope you’ve enjoyed the posts from this year’s Myanmar tour. Tomorrow the Vietnam Photo Tour begins, and I’ll be blogging it along the way as much as possible. Meanwhile, wherever you are, grab your camera, find some great light, watch for the catch-lights, smile a lot, share the fun and make some great images. All the best, Karl

As you probably know, in 2011, I started Angkor Photo Workshop, a 2 week long, intensive immersion into digital multimedia story telling  led by myself and three other instructors, Matt Brandon, Gavin Gough and Marco Ryan.  Cambodia is also the final stop in my Southeast Asia tour, additionally, I offer a “Cambodia extension” both the Vietnam Explorer Photo tour and the Amazing Myanmar Photo Tour.

Many of my tour participants fall in love with Cambodia and express an interest  to explore the country more extensively, and so, for several years I have been thinking of offering an “Off-The-Beaten-Track Cambodia Tour”.

With all of this in mind, I took the opportunity to visit Mondulkiri , Kratie and Ratanikiri this week.  Since I had limited time, and needed to have the flexibility of stopping where I wanted, bus travel was not an option, so I contacted my friend Samreth, who is a police officer as well as a part time taxi driver. I met Samreth years ago at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Phnom Penh.  Samreth owns a very reliable late model, Toyota Camry and having never visited the east of his own country, he was keen to make the trip. We made plans to meet in Kompong Cham and headed into Camobodia’s “wild east”, in search of interesting, photogenic people and places.

I had two maps, one made in Cambodia, the other, made in USA. There were a few discrepancies between the two maps. I believe that the Cambodian map made a few “assumptions” about roads that were “to-be-completed” in the near future, but as of yet had not been finished.  The made in the US map was a bit more accurate. Anyway, we would be asking locals along the way to determine actual, up to date information. Since Samreth is a police officer, he was the perfect person to help expedite the occasional police road-blocks where cars are often stopped for bogus “minor infractions” and charged small fees (payable on the spot, without any paperwork). Of course, these collections probably never make it beyond the pockets of those who collect them….ahhh, Cambodia.

Traffic circle with statue at Krek, Cambodia, where a secondary road leads to the Vietnam border just a few kilometers away

Throughout this blog post, I’ll be describing the trip with some text and images. The first leg or the journey, from Kompong Cham to Sen Monorom was better than expected, with mostly new black top, and only several unfinished sections consisting of dirt or gravel. We encountered only sparse traffic along the way after passing Snoul, a small town at an intersection between Kompong Cham and Sen Monorom.

Market at Memot, along National Highway #7 en route to Snoul

Passing Snoul, we continued toward Mondulkiri. Mondulkiri means ‘Meeting of the Hills, and at an average elevation of 800m, it’s an appropriate name based on the surrounding geography and unlike much of Cambodia, it can actually get quite chilly at night.

Mondulkiri is the most sparsely populated province in the country, with just two people per sq km. Almost half the inhabitants come from the Pnong minority group, with other minorities making up much of the rest of the population. There has been an influx of migrants in recent years, drawn to the abundant land and benign climate. Fruit and vegetable plantations are popping up, but hunting remains the profession of choice for many minorities. Conservationists have grand plans for the province, creating wildlife sanctuaries and initiating sustainable tourism activities, but are facing off against speculators and industrialists queuing up for natural resources.

Roadside gas station (don’t drink the Pepsi) at Snoul

The entire journey from Kompong Cham to Sen Monorom took only 9 hours total and the road, which skirts the Vietnam border, passed through areas of rice paddies, rubber plantations, slash and burn plots, small road side villages and some rolling hills.  As we drove deeper into Mandalkiri province, we gained elevation from the lowlands to the relatively high altitude of Sen Monorom.

National Highway #7, moto-driver transporting a pig to the local market

Along the road, rural Cambodia unfolded, with typical sights, like the occasional motor bike, transporting a pig to the market. Kilometer after kilometer passed and before long we were getting close to Sen Monorom and it looked like I would have the opportunity to get to Bou Sraa waterfall before sunset, so we found a hotel, dumped the luggage, grabbed my cameras, and headed to Bou Sraa.

The double-drop waterfall of Bou Sraa is one of the largest in Cambodia and famous throughout the Country. It’s an unforgiving 35 km jour­ney east of Sen Monorom, but the reward is worth the effort. The upper tier of Bou Sraa drops some 10m and the lower tier drops 25m

The graded dirt road was in good condition and it took only about 40 minutes to cover the distance. On arrival, things at Bou Sraa looked very peaceful, with only 4 other foreigners and 3 Cambodian families picnicking under the falls.

Entrance gate, Bou Sraa waterfall, Mondulkiri

Below the largest drop

Cambodian and Vietnamese tourists making photographs at the statue of two bulls at the main intersection (traffic circle) in San Monorom

It seems that every Cambodian town has there own “middle of the road statue” which differentiates it from all other towns. Here In San Momnorom, the statue is of two large water buffalos.

After exploring the sights in and around Sen Monorom, it was time to head north to Ratanikiri. From the looks of the maps, there appeared to be a road from Sen Monorom to Ban Loung, Ratanakiri (a distance of about 160 km,) but according to the locals, some internet exploration and from Sateth’s friend, the road was not passable by car, and much of the area was still being cleared of land mines, left over from years of conflict in this border area, a long time strong hold of the Khmer Rouge .  Given the information at hand, Samreth and I decided to take the “sure thing” route, which meant back tracking from Sen Monorom to Snoul, then heading north through Kratie towards Stung Treng and then east to Ban Lung in Ratanikiri.

Be careful when stopping along the road for necessary “bathroom breaks”, as many land mines still remain along the way.

With Samreth sporting his police uniform, occasional road-blocks like this were a breeze, as we were waved through like a VIP.

Slash and burn farming techniques seem to be common practice here.

The trip from Sen Monrorom to Ban Lung took about 9 hours total, with a quick stop for lunch at a fork in the road which splits travelers heading north to Steung Treng or east to Ratanikiri.

Again, the road was for the most part in nice condition, much of it new, smooth, blacktop. The terrain along the way was varied, including green areas along the Mekong north of Kratie, to some very dry areas with choking red dust and little or no vegetation.

Ratankiki’s famous “red dust”

Arriving in Ban Lung was much like the arrival in Sen Monorom, with cooler, higher elevations and rolling hills all around.

Downtown Ban Lung, Ratankiki

Roadside gas station, Ratanikiri Provence.

The Ratanikiri province is know for “tribal people”  and for several “crater lakes” and waterfalls and the Virachey National Park. Many of the most interesting sites here in Ratanikiri are found in areas that are largely accessible only by several days trekking. Virachey National Park was established in 2004 by MoE (Ministry of Environment). With its 3.325 square kilometers, Virachey is the largest National Park among seven other National Parks in Cambodia.

Yak Lom Crater Lake A round, crystal clear lake in a community of hill tribes surrounded by jungle, Yak Lom Lake is Ratanakiri’s can’t miss destination. It’s a popular place for Cambodians on vacation who take a swim or picnic on the shore.

relaxing in a hammock, Yak Lom Lake

From Ratanikiri, Samreth and I headed to Kratie, Kampi and Chhalong to explore the riverside communities that occupy the eastern bank of the Mekong river. The biggest attraction in this area is a species of fresh water dolphin, known as the Irrawaddy dolphin, which is an endangered species throughout Asia, with shrinking numbers inhabiting stretches of the Mekong in Cambodia and Laos, and isolated pockets in Bangladesh and Myanmar.

In Cambodia, in the tiny village of Kampi, 15km north of Kratie town, the Irrawaddy dolphin has become a symbol of the town’s rejuvenation after years of war and neglect. The dolphins here, live up to 30 years and grow up to 2.75m in length, with weight as large as 150kg.

The dolfins are easy to find, lolling about on the surface, or breaking water with a distinctive puff of spray while chasing fish. I hired a boat for an hour ($7) and less than 100 meters from the shore we spotted our first dolphins!

The boat men are trained to turn off their motors to approach the dolphins and maneuver with wooden oar. In just over an hour on the boat, I encountered dolphins about 50 times, at a ranges as close as 25 meters.

Boat captain stops the engine and begins paddling, while he checks the horizon for signs of dolphin activity.

Two Irrawaddy dolphins break the surface.

After viewing the dolphins, Sartheth and I headed for Kompong Cham, about 3 hours south. Along the way I was thumbing through some of my Cambodia information and read about a small temple complex called Bantea Chhmar north of Sisaphon. Here’s what caught my attention…

“A complex of eight temples deep in the Cambodian jungle, Banteay Chhmar was commissioned by the twelfth-century Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII. Built over nine square kilometers and surrounded by a moat, the site echoes the architectural layout of the Khmer temple complexes of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. The site is renowned for its beautifully rendered bas-reliefs, which depict the war between the Khmer and Champa kingdoms Despite its remote location, the site was affected by the chaos of Cambodia’s civil war in the 1970s. During the reign of the Khmer Rouge, Bantea Chhmar was unattended, and many of the temples were engulfed by tropical foliage. In the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge period, the site fell victim to significant looting of bas-reliefs and statuary.

Hmmmm….I think another road trip might be in order as I still have a few days before heading to Vietnam for the start of this year’s photo tour.

Inle lake is the final stop on the Amazing Myanmar tour, and I subscribe to the idea of “keeping the best for last”. Myanmar’s Inle lake is our crowning touch on an amazing tour of a fascinating and friendly country. We arrive in the lakeside town of Nuang Shwe and immediately board our 3 private boats, for the 45 minute journey to our comfortable, convenient and charmingly scenic, over-water accommodations, just minutes from all the best  photo ops on the lake.

Reflection at sunrise on the hotel boardwalk on the way to breakfast.

Since our accommodations are quite nearby, we were the first to arrive at the indigenous at the Inn Dein market. The markets around Inle Lake are on a 5-day rotation, and the start date of our annual photo tour is based completely upon our visit to this market, and the Napan Market which I consider to be the two best photo opportunities in this region. Located on the southwestern shore of the main lake, Inn Dein village area can be said the most scenic part of Inle Lake. The creek leading to the village is beautiful at all seasons, animating with different activities on its banks. Inn-Dein village serves as the main western portal to the lake for nearby Pa Oh villages on the hills.

I noticed several of our tour participants photographing two Pa Oh women. The Pa Oh, also known as the “black Karen” are the second largest ethnic group in Myanmar’s Shan State. On market day in Inn Dein, the Pa Oh women are beautiful photo subjects because they dress in colorful head covering and beautiful blouses. Our tour participants asked these two Pa Oh women, who were selling vegetables, if if they objected to having their photos made. The women agreed, but at a price of a few thousand Kyats. I kept moving through the market, occasionally returning to the “impromptu photo shoot”.  To my surprise and delight, the group stayed for more than 30 minutes, photographing the two women. One of the techniques that we talk about on this tour is to find a good subject, in good lighting conditions, and rather than take a few snaps, to stay and “work it”. The group tried all different angles and positions during the encounter. The women kept moving…laughing, giggling, and having fun, making it quite a challenge to capture the perfect shot. That evening, to my delight, I saw some stunning images of the Pa Oh women!

Catch-lights in the eyes of a child, Inn Dein Market.

Figurines for sale at a shop at Inn Dein Market, Inle Lake

More catch-lights in a restaurant at Nampan market, Inle Lake, Myanmar

The two above and the one image below were made in a tiny local restaurant at NamPan Market. After discovering some incredible lighting conditions with back-lit smoke in the kitchen, tour participant Catherine Wisner and I spend about 30 minutes photographing the activities of the staff and customers. Including the owner and her daughter, as well as a monk who was enjoying a morning meal. By smiling a lot and sharing the photos on the backs of our cameras, we built rapport, and thus access to some very “personal” images, which we shot with 17-35mm (Nikon)  and 16-35mm (Canon) lenses, “wide open” at  f2.8. During the photo tour, I spend a fair amount of time teaching the technique of  getting up close and personal and using an ultra-wide lens to create  story telling, evocative, “environmental portraits”.

Another stop we make during our visit to Inle Lake, is to view and photograph a Cheroot Factory. The word cheroot is derived from the French word cheroute, which comes from a Tamil word meaning “roll of tobacco.” Cheroots are smoked all across Myanmar and some of the finest are produced here at Inle Lake, for distribution across the country. Cheroot production is done almost exclusively by women, who roll them by hand. A skilled worker can produce several hundred per day.

Tobacco and other combustibles ready to be rolled into “smokes”  at the cheroot factory

The outer skin of a cheroot is made not of paper but of the Tha-nut hpet leaves of the Sebesten tree. The filling is made of shredded tobacco leaf, and about an equal amount of chopped tobacco stalks so that the taste is not strong. According to the secret formulas of the different companies, additives of such diverse ingredients as tamarind pulp or sweet jaggery make the cheroots differ in taste. The ratio of the mild and strong leaves is also a secret of each company. There was a woman sorting Tha-nut hpet leaves in the corner of the room, on each side of her was an open window. We worked the situation, trying to find a vantage point from which to shoot, that didn’t include “hot spots”. The situation was not easy, but with a little work, the window light ultimately provided a wonderful illumination of the scene.

Sorting Tha-nut hpet leaves, which make up the outer shell of a typical cheroot.