Most Memorable Photos from 2016

2016 in pictures angkor photography tours

The year 2016 ended in a wink. Nevertheless, it was a year full of sweet recollections and splendid adventures, as I travelled here and there, meet new people, and experience new cultures.  Looking through my collection of more than 1000 edited pictures of 2016, I was inspired to select my favorite ones. I picked these pictures not only based on my own personal choice of uniqueness and aesthetic value, but also, by the stories behind.

These photographs and memories were taken in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, France, and the Philippines from my 2016 travel diary.

 

1. Cambodia : Angkor Wat Solar Eclipse – March 2016

angkor wat solar eclipse photography tour

 

This unique picture was taken on the 9th March during a partial eclipse of the sun in Angkor Wat Temple. What make this shot rare is that of the date of the eclipse was less than 2 weeks away from the spring equinox and it was possible to find a shooting location where the sun was just above the central tower at the maximum of the eclipse. According to  ephemerides, the next partial solar eclipse in Angkor Wat temple during sunrise will take place in 2042 ! Due to the nature of this  eclipse, so the passing of the moon in front of the sun could be only be captured using a very dark filter in this case a 10-stop neutral density filter  ND1000 which blocks 99.9 % of the incoming light coming to the sensor. This is a one-of-a kind, unforgettable shot in Angkor Wat as we  were only 2 photographers at this spot. Others have vanished to go see the other temples and most people except few guides were not aware of the solar eclipse that day. To see more pictures of this solar eclipse please have a look at my blog post.

Settings: ISO 400, 105 mm,  f:4, 1/40s, ND 1000 filter

 

 

2. Ho Chi Minh City : Street Scene – April 2016

Saigon street photography tour

Ho Chi Minh is a sprawling city of 8 million and with almost as many motorbikes racing in its streets. Here you can find places to service your motorbike even on sidewalks.

While inside a coffee shop (which is also numerous in Saigon) my attention was caught by this colorful poster across the street. I took few shots of it alone  but it did not come out very well. By moving few feet, I got a much better picture : framing the customer with her red dusk mask waiting for her motorbike to be serviced against the blue metallic wall, while the poster of a future housing development was in the background. The black and yellow line worked as well as a leading line to connect all  the elements of the picture.

Settings: ISO 160, 20 mm, f:7.1, 1/100s

 

3. Cambodia : Boy Planting Rice, April 2016

flooded paddy fields siem reap photo tour

During the month of April, Cambodian farmers are busy planting floating rice on the West Baray, one of the biggest man made reservoirs in the word build during the Khmer empire in the 11th century.To get closer, we boarded a  small fisherman wooden boat  and it was when I took a shot of this  Cambodian kid, knee-deep in water, smiling despite the  hardship of his  work.

Settings: ISO 100, 168 mm,  f:5.6,  1/500 s  

 

 

 

4. Cambodia : Angkor  Wat Vesak Day – May 2016

angkor wat khmer family vesak day

This picture was taken beside the main tower of Angkor Wat (also called Bakan) which is also the most sacred place of the temple. This Khmer family was walking counter-clockwise making several rounds around it, and I waited there to frame the shot with my  20 mm, the minimum focal length from this corner  to fit all the building in a horizontal frame. This scene was taken 2 days before Buddha’s Day (Vesak Day). The act of walking around a sacred temple is called circumambulation and is an integral part of Hindu and Buddhist devotional practices and usually done clockwise.

Settings: ISO 250, 20 mm, f:7.1  1/800 s   

 

5. India : Ladakhi Monk in Lamayuru Monastery- July 2016

This picture was taken during our first photo tour in Ladakh India, more precisely in Lamayuru monastery about 100 km from Leh. We visited Lamayuru Temple during the 3-day annual colorful monastic festival. This monk posed for a brief moment, adjusting his robe, just enough time for me to frame a shot with the door. The colorful mural with its main character looking at the monk add another dimension to the picture.

Settings: ISO 640, 32 mm, f:4, 1/160 s

 

 

6. India : Milky Way in the Himalayas, July 2016

milky way ladakh himalaya photography tour

During our photo tour in Ladakh, we spent several nights in tents at an altitude of 4700 meters. Even during summer months, temperatures goes down below 5 degree Celsius at night. Adding to that the altitude sickness, this night shot sessions was quite challenging but looking at the starry skies and the Milky Way stretching over the Himalaya mountains was quite rewarding. In this shoot the illuminated tent is the one we used for our dinner and gives a touch of color and a sense of scale to the picture.

Settings: ISO 2000, 20 mm f:2.8, 30s

 

7. Thailand : Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok  at Golden Hour –  July 2016

Suvarnabhumi aiport bangkok thailnd photography tour

This shot was taken at the international airport of Bangkok at sunset. Suvarnabhumi, the busiest airport in Thailand handled more than 50 million passengers in 2015. This section of the terminal although not so photogenic came out much better for few minutes with the evening sunlight  illuminating  nicely the arched rooftop.

Settings:  ISO 400, 84 mm, f:4 1/25s

 

8. France : French Medieval Castle at Sunset – October 2016

Beynac castle dordogne France photography tours

During a scouting photo trip in the region of Dordogne in France, famous worldwide for its food and castles, we ended up the day at the village of Beynac-et-Cazenac  just in time for sunset with a view of  the  Beynac Castle built on on a limestone cliff and overlooking the river. This  12th century fortress was built around the same than Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia  and it is tempting to compare the austere architecture of the fortress with the scale and symmetry of Angkor and its fined carvings. Also on the 12th century, only 50,000 people were living in Paris against  800,000 in Angkor according to last LIDAR survey.

Settings: ISO 200, 24 mm, f:5.6,  1/320  s

 

9. Cambodia : Betel Leaves Vendors – November 2016

elderly betel vendors at market siem reap cambodia

In Cambodia, betel consumption is not as widespread as in Myanmar. Most of the time, only the elderly are munching betel unlike in Myanmar where you can see young people chewing them. In this picture, a wooden basket with fresh betel leaves is standing on the floor in front of this two smiling elderly Cambodian ladies.  The three other ingredients making up the so-called betel squid missing from the picture are areca nut, tobacco and lime water (saturated solution of calcium hydroxide).

Settings: ISO 400, 38 mm f:4, 1/160s  

 

10. Cambodia : Red Angkor Wat Sunrise, November 2016

angkor wat sunrise siem reap photography tour

Out of the many sunrises at Angkor Wat temple I have witnessed in 2016, this one was one the most spectacular hat  I have seen. The bright red dramatic cloudy sky were just breathtaking. This picture was taken around the end of November when monsoon season was coming to an end.

Settings: ISO 320 , 20 mm, f:5.6,  1/80s

 

 

11. Philippines : Here Comes the Bride, December 2016

Bride Intramuros Manila photography tours

I took this quick shot at San Augustin Church in Intramuros Manila just when the bride was making her entrance. Intramuros is the frequently visited area in Manila where two beautiful churches are located not far from each other. You can visit the area by taking a horse carriage (kalesa in Filipino), but one of the best way for photographer is to wander around the cobble stone streets in order  not miss any photographic opportunities.

Settings:  ISO 500, 35 mm, f:2.8, 1/15s

 

12. Philippines : New Year Fireworks in Manila , December 2016

Manila new year fireworks photography tour

 

This picture is one of my last clicks of 2016 taken just 5 minutes before New Year’s Eve in Metro Manila. New Year in this megacity is celebrated with loads of fireworks and firecrackers that lighten up the skies around the city. Fireworks and firecrackers are grand spectacles during this year end celebration. The adverse effect though is that hundreds of people injure themselves every year using firecrackers and it gives raise to a peak in particles pollution few hours after.Fireworks were scattered and I was lucky to have a vantage point from a rooftop with the neon illuminated Rockwell Center in Makati just in the frame. Several shots were combined in Photoshop to  have more firework explosions.

Settings:  ISO 100, 25 mm, f:9, 30 s (composite picture)

Solar Eclipse at Angkor Wat temple

The last solar eclipse making the headlines in Angkor was the one on the 24th October 1995. It was a total eclipse reaching its maximum just before noon. As the sun was already high in the sky, no picture could be taken with the silhouette of Angkor Wat.

The recent solar eclipse that took place on March 9th 2016 received almost the same attention from the media. In a narrow corridor stretching from Sumatra to Sulawesi in Indonesia, the eclipse was total but only partial in other parts of Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, and Cambodia.

As the date of this eclipse  was close to the Spring Equinox celebration where the central tower of Angkor Wat  is perfectly aligned with the rising sun, it was such a perfect timing for watching the sun rising  behind the main towers of the temple. Sunrise on that day was at 6.16 am and the eclipse started at 6.39 am, reaching its maximum  at 7:34 am and ended at 8.37 am.

As expected, the moon started passing in front of the sun just after sunrise. As the eclipse continued the sun was close enough to the main tower to capture a half-sun sitting right above the pinnacle of the main tower. It was also a good time to catch some reflection on the pond.

Another eclipse leaving only a crescent of sun above Angkor Wat will take place on April 20th 2042. Save the date, it should be another spectacular event, though with a maximum point at 8.06 am, the sun will already be quite high on the sky but the changing of light might be interesting.

 

(These pictures were taken with a Canon 5DMKII and a 24-105 mm f:4 lens fitted with a 10-stops neutral density filter)

angkor wat sunrise photography tour

Angkor Wat temple before sunrise – 6.08 am.

 

Angkor Wat solar sunrise eclipse photography tour

Beginning of the solar eclipse behind Angkor Wat – 6.41 am

 

sun eclipse angkor wat photograhy tour

Sun eclipse above Angkor Wat main tower – 6.54 am

 

Sun eclipse Angkor Wat photography tour

Sun eclipse beside Angkor Wat main tower – 6.58 am.

 

sun eclipse angkor wat photograhy tour

Sun eclipse above Angkor Wat main tower – 7.04 am.

 

Angkor Wat temple eclipse photography tour

Angkor Wat temple reflecting on water pond – 7.08 am.

 

partial solar eclipse photography tour

Partial solar eclipse at the maximum – 7.35 am.

 

Angkor Wat temple moat photography tour

Angkor Wat temple and its moat view from the from West entrance – 8.06 am.