Dawn Waters
A young lady fetching water from a large lake in Cambodia at dawn, to carry back to her father's orchard.
A young lady fetching water from a large lake in Cambodia at dawn, to carry back to her father's orchard.
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Apr, 2016Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This shot was taken from the banks of a beautiful lake in the Cambodian countryside, outside of Siem Reap.Time
It was around 6 am, I remember waking up very early to travel to this location, still suffering from the pangs of jet lag but I knew the shot going to be worth it. Thankfully being so early it was still nice and cool, the days usually being filled with syrup thick humidity and scorching heat.Lighting
I wanted the lighting in this image to be soft, giving the impression of a new day slowly waking up with the subject. So I chose to shoot this just as the sun started to pour its first light into the sky. This would also serve to be in contrast to the sharp edges of the silhouettes in the foreground depth. The subject was also kept in full silhouette, to add some mystery that drew your eye. However, this was also to anonymize her, to become a representation of the larger working people of Cambodia.Equipment
This was shot handheld, using Canon 5d mk iii with a 24-105 mm Canon L lens.Inspiration
The person I was traveling with talked about a young woman. and how she now had to spend the cool mornings wading out into a lake to gather water, taking the heavy load back to her father's orchard, over and over, to keep the trees healthy and alive. This was as the country had suffered from a very dry monsoon season. Peoples' food and livelihoods heavily depended on the rain that just hadn't come. We decided that photographing this just as the sun rose, would create an image that captured the beauty of the landscape, the people in it, and behind all of that the struggle that they were currently going through to survive.Editing
I didn't have to do much processing on this image, as the light, that morning was just so beautiful and gave me mainly gave me the effect I was looking for. I did however play with the shadows to make details like the water ripples clear and pushed up the vibrance to make the sunrise and sky colors pop.In my camera bag
The first thing I pack in my bag is my trusty 5d mk iii body, it's a superb and versatile full-frame camera that can do anything I need. Next is my workhorse of a lens the Canon 24-105 mm L, it's never let me down and allows me to select a versatile range of distance and framing with just a twist. Then my trusty plastic fantastic Cannon 50 mil f 1.2, for that classic framing, creamy background, and sharp up-close work. Then comes the essential spare battery and sd card, there's nothing worse than having to stop shooting, or not shoot at all because of one of these. I also like to keep a light meter, for those tricky situations where you want a good baseline for your settings, or nail that portrait just right. Lastly a must, the lens pen with a retractable brush on one end, and a carbon pad on the other; nobody wants to get images and then discover smudges and lens dirt throughout when you get home.Feedback
Number 1: GO! if you have always dreamed of travelling somewhere that really inspires you, don't listen to those voices in your head that tell you all the reasons you can't, Whether it's the next country over or thousands of miles away, no matter what it takes, to find a way, you won't regret it. Cambodia was the other side of the world, and it took me a long time to get the money together to get there, and many times it seemed like I wouldn't. The images that I created there made me a better photographer, the people I met there and the experiences I had enriched me as a person. Number 2: GET UP ! waking up at an ungodly hour doesn't seem very attractive, but doing this will let you capture some incredible images that you just could have got at any other time of day. It will all be worth it, trust me. Number 3: PEOPLE! Photography a lot of the time can be an individual pursuit, chasing your personal vision, photo ideas and style. However don't be afraid to work with others, discuss image ideas, locations and learn from them to improve your photography. No matter your level of experience or theirs, seeing someone else's working process could help to think differently and let you travel outside your own eyes, to a new and wider perspective. Finally, planning and working together with someone for an image, whether it is waking up at a crazy time, difficult logistics or making the effort to just see if an image could work, will give you added motivation, and it will for them too.
