I make mistakes of course, I forget that I have set my aperture to f/22 and happily tried to take photos of children (bad move, since the pictures all turn out blurry), or that I am in Manual mode and need to set my aperture and shutter speed separately instead of just aperture (or shutter speed) alone. And one thing I just cannot get used to with the Nikon camera - the exposure dial. Somehow, it doesn't seem to be intuitive - spinning the dial to the left results in an increase in the exposure, and spinning the dial to the right results in a decrease in the exposure. I keep getting it wrong, damnit.

The other fun part is learning when to use what lens. Having two lens (the Tokina 11-16 mm and the Nikkor 18-105 mm kit lens) really forces me to think about what type of pictures I am shooting, and where I am likely to find the composition that I want to shoot. For example, the Tokina is brilliant at some of the temples where I can go real close to the relief carvings on the wall, or to the sculptures, but completely useless where I need the reach of a telephoto. It means that I have to do my research on the places where I am going, and then decide which lens to use. The alternative is to keep switching lens. In a smaller temple such as the Banteay Srei, I can make two rounds of the buildings, one round with the Tokina, and the other with the Nikkor, but if I am in a bigger site like Bayon or Angkor Wat, I'll just end up exhausting myself if I try that. If I am shooting the sunrise, I don't really want to be changing lens either, since the light changes so rapidly. So thinking and planning in advance is important.

Speaking (or rather, writing) of sunrises, those of you who know me should know that I am definitely not a morning person, so you can imagine just how mad an idea it seems for me to get out of my warm cosy bed at 4 am in the morning, to wander about in the pitch-darkness, feeling my way and scampering up steep and uneven stairs all in the hopes of a good sunrise shot, and for three days in a row. I amaze myself, truly, that I managed to survive those two days without biting anyone's head off. I have to say though, that the weather was rather variable and the first morning at Phnom Bakheng, in particular, was rather forgettable except for the steep and narrow stairs. In response to the explanation that the stairs were narrow and steep because going to heaven should not be an easy task, one of the guys clambering down the stairs exclaimed, "but I am trying to come down!".

The second and third sunrises were more fruitful. I particularly loved the second sunrise at Sra Sang, where the peaceful waters of the reservoir act as a mirror for the beautiful sky above.

 

The third sunrise, at Bakong, is beautiful, but not that spectacular, though there are still a couple of shots that I quite like.
 

     

There were many shots of children, who are marvellous subjects for photography. Nonetheless, I was intensely uncomfortable with the idea that we can just visit a school and take pictures of the school children there. I launched into a rather intense monologue about how I thought the whole idea is wrong, but that will be the subject of another post I am intending to make soon. Here are some pictures of children that I really like:
 

         

And one that nearly broke my heart:

There are other photos of course, and you can see the slide show here.