2013, Day 1 - Breaking the rules

Another photograph from Angkor Wat's second terrace.  If you regularly read what I post then you will know the area is swarmed with people so I pulled out an old trick, a long exposure.  It was a bright day and even with ten stops of density in front of my lens I had to stop it down completely to get a sixty second exposure.  For the non-photographers, the longer the exposure the more blurred moving objects become and with a sixty second exposure if people walk through but don't stop they won't show up at all.

Why the title?  Because, strictly speaking, you aren't supposed to use a tripod in this part of the temple complex.  There are too many people about and they become a tripping hazard.  Fortunately I had Mr. Mony, Araceli, and Francene flanking me in a corner against the wall so there was little chance of that happening.  Plus the Big Stopper is so dense that it will cause autofocus to act up so I got everything ready ahead of time and was able to quickly, relatively speaking, set up and take a few shots.

Rules are meant to be broken but there is a time and place.  Most exist to protect us or others and we should be mindful of that before we decide that our needs are the most important.  So get out there are break a few rules but do it safely :)

Canon 1D X, Canon 16-35/f2.8L Mark II
16mm, f22, 61 sec @ 100 ISO with Lee Big Stopper Filter