Global Post: Ali Sanderson's Mekong River

Photo © Ali Sanderson- Courtesy Global Post-All Rights Reserved

Global Post periodically publishes a photo feature called Full Frame, which showcases some interesting work by emerging photographers. This one is on the Mekong River and is by Ali Sanderson, an Australian photographer from Australia who was based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She worked on productions with leading broadcasters such as National Geographic TV and Radio Free Asia.

In Phnom Penh, Ali, with three other Australian filmmakers, formed a film production company focusing on documentary films dealing with environmental and human rights issues. This led to projects commissioned by Radio Free Asia.

The Mekong is the 10th-longest river in the world, and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is 4,909 km (3,050 mi) and runs from the Tibetan Plateau through China's Yunnan province, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Book: 'To Cambodia With Love' Is Now Available

Finally! To Cambodia With Love,  the book with my photographs of Siem Reap and its environs has been published. It's available from a long list of booksellers all over the world.

It's described on Amazon as "From a tarantula brunch in the remote Cambodian countryside to a leisurely cyclo ride through the streets of Phnom Penh, To Cambodia With Love is a true collaboration, containing personal essays by more than fifty writers. Among them you will find Angkor Wat expert Dawn Rooney, acclaimed memoirist Loung Ung (First They Killed My Father), and Lonely Planet’s in-the-know Nick Ray. Each essay is paired with a practical fact file so that travelers can follow in the writer’s footsteps. In addition, the book is illustrated with vibrant, full-color photographs."

I am hugely chuffed that a book with my vibrant, full-color photographs is on major booksellers' websites, even if my name is misspelled. It's correctly spelled on the book's cover, which is all I care about. What's a Twefic from Tewfic? Just a W that doesn't know where it ought to be.

I hope readers of The Travel Photographer blog interested in Cambodia will buy this book. If I get free copies, I will come up with a contest of some sort and give away copies to winners.

Eric de Vries: Cham Muslims of Cambodia

Khmer Islam is an audio slideshow produced by photographer Eric de Vries of the Khmer Islam, known as the Cham Muslims. These are members of an ethnic group in villages near the Mekong and Tonle Sap river in Cambodia. Most Chams in Cambodia are involved in fishing and agriculture.

Eric photographed the series at the Islam Spiritual Center, Russei Chrouy village, Masjid-Alrahmani mosque north of Phnom Penh, at the Masjid Thom Dubai mosque on the borders of Boeung Kak lake and at the Nurunnaim Mosque and Chrang Chamreh village on National Road 5.

Eric de Vries lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where he's been traveling since 2000, and TTP has featured his work on a previous post.

Cambodia: Royal Apsaras

Photograph © Christophe Loviny-All Rights Reserved
Christophe Loviny is a photojournalist and editor. He's been a specialist of Southeast Asia for over 25 years, and was based in Angkor from 1989 to 1994. His work on Cambodia has been published in The Sunday Times Magazine, Asiaweek, Geo, L'Express, Paris-Match, Stern, Le Figaro-Magazine, and others. He is the author of several illustrated books, one of which is “Les Danseuses Sacrées d'Angkor”, a collection of texts and photographs on the identity of Cambodia.

Here's a sampling of his photographs of the sacred dancers of Angkor, or The Royal Ballet of Cambodia in a Issuu flash booklet via Lightmediation Photo Agency.

For an early multimedia (QuickTime) gallery of my own, and overdue for a Soundslides makeover, here's Celestial Apsaras.

Angkor Wat: Don't Go!

Photograph © Tewfic El-Sawy-All Rights Reserved
I've ranted quite a few times about the mindless uber-development which I witnessed in Siem Reap in 2005 and 2006, and how it seemed every time I blinked, a new hotel appeared on the scene....and how I had to make sure that our photographers woke up before dawn to be able to photograph at the temples before waves of tour groups swamped us. I predicted at the time that Siem Reap would turn into a hideous oleo of motels, hotels, inns and fleabags within a few years. Charitably, it's been described as a town of Club Meds.

It turns out I wasn't exaggerating...in fact, perhaps quite the opposite. The National Geographic's Intelligent Travel blog advises people not to go to Siem Reap and to the Angkor complex, and recommends postponing their visits. It seems the sheer volume of tourists has taken a toll on the Angkor monuments and temples, and that several of the important temples are being restored. Some have unsightly scaffolding with areas just cordoned off. The central section of Angkor Wat is closed to visitors until 2010 at the earliest.

Angkor Photo Festival: 23-28 Nov 2008

For the fourth time, the Angkor Photography Festival will take place in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from the 23rd to the 28th of November 2008.

The program for 2008 includes six evenings of audiovisual presentations from around the world curated by the festival, the workshop tutors, as well as by two internationally renowned photography editors, Sujong Song and Christian Caujolle.

The 2008 festival will also host a series of free photography workshops, present its outreach programs and hold a fund raising photography auction for the Anjali children’s project.

Press Release with PDF of the Press Photos 2008