2013, Day 38 - Golden bolt

My fuzzy children have been so good lately.  The kitchen has been under construction for the better part of a month and I have had contractors in and out constantly.  They use noisy tools, drill, hammer, and sometimes swear and the dogs take it all in stride.  Almost all of them have become accustomed to the additional noise and the new faces.  Hubert, Johan, and Frankie are often trying to help or get a better look.  It's nice that all of the people working on this project don't seem to mind the extra attention.

Below is Randi at race practice.  She is a keen little lady who loves to chase.  Although she isn't one of mine I am really interested to see how she does this year as she is only a year and a half old but did exceptionally well last year.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/800 sec @ 640 ISO

2013, Day 37 - Laundry day

On our last day in Battambang we went to Kamping Puoy, one of the massive projects undertaken during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.  They constructed an impressive set of dams and in the process   thousands of people lost their lives to the merciless conditions in the forced labor camps.  Today it is a popular recreation site and as we explored we came upon this woman doing her laundry in the canal whose gentle flow is controlled by the dam.  All I could think as I watched her was how heavy those laundry baskets must be full of damp clothes.  It can't be an easy life but the setting is beautiful.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/2000 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 36 - Evening stroll

I took this picture on our second night in Battambang.  It wasn't especially late but night comes rather early and quickly in Cambodia.  Francene, Araceli, and I had finished a nice dinner and opted to walk back to our hotel from the city center.  It wasn't a long walk and even though the sun was gone it was still hot and humid.  I can vividly remember the sweat dripping down my back as we walked but it was pleasant despite the heat.  Plus we had enjoyed a large meal and the walking helped to jump start digestion.  I love seeing cities at night, the may be lively during the day but there is a whole new heartbeat at night.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24/f1.4L Mark II
24mm, f1.4, 1/80 sec @ 1600 ISO

2013, Day 35 - Melting in winter

I can't believe that the weather we had while in Cambodia was considered mild.  The sun was merciless and there was rarely any air movement so it was like living in a giant sauna and in the hottest part of the year it would reach temperatures fifteen to twenty degrees hotter than what we experienced.  I always thought that it was only hipsters who wear scarves in the summer but I found that the krama, a traditional Cambodian scarf made of cotton, was great to keep the sun off my neck and head plus it served to help keep sweat from running into my eyes.  It isn't the same reason hipsters wear scarves in summer but at least they can be completely functional.

Canon 1D X, Canon 70-200/f2.8L IS Mark II
200mm, f4, 1/1250 sec @ 100 ISO

2013, Day 34 - Serenity

Angkor Wat by night is a marvel.  It is, strictly speaking, not accessible at night but with the right connections anything is possible even if the heads of state for a dozen nations and the US Secretary of Defense are being entertained a half mile away.  With the assistance of a general in the Cambodian army we made our way into the temple complex.  It was remarkable how still it was under the towers of the ancient edifice that is now the symbol of the nation.  In the distance the drumming of the apsara performance was almost drowned out by the drone of crickets, the barking of geckos, and the call of "tree snails."  The stars in the sky were broken by clouds and the occasional stray firefly would blink to life and then disappear.  If I could have stayed all night I would have, it was a unique experience and the calming influence and the relative cool of the night was magical.

Canon 1D X, Canon 24-70/f2.8L Mark II
24mm, f2.8, 120 sec @ 400 ISO

2013, Day 33 - Resting

This is my sweet old man, Stubbs.  He will be ten years old this fall and he loves to worry me.  Somehow he always seems to have a new minor source of discomfort that migrates from one area to another.  So we go to the vet and he invariably says that it is a muscular issue and it will heal on its own.  Sometimes it sticks around for weeks and then I get paranoid and we take x-rays which reveal nothing but give me some expensive peace-of-mind.  Still, it's worth it, he is a gentle soul full of affection and I adore him even if he is a hypochondriac.

Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 50/f1.2L
50mm, f1.4, 1/100 sec @ 2000 ISO

2013, Day 32 - Pure

Black and white photography can be magical but often, in my own work, I feel it misses the mark.  Today I was working on this image of a poppy and decided to lose the vibrant color to try to draw the focus to the structure.  Turns out it worked the way I hoped and I am really happy with the results.

Canon 1D Mark IV, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f8, 1/1000 sec @ 200 ISO