When is a demon not a demon?
Sita, Ravana and Hanuman at Angkor Wat.
Apsara dancers are the traditional dancers of Cambodia. They are the “celestial dancers” that adorn the walls and hallways of Angkor Wat and the other temples of Siem Reap. Apsara dancers often dance the Cambodian version or telling of the Ramayana, a Hindu story of Rama, whose wife Sita is taken captive by the demon king of Lanka, Ravana. Today, Gavin Gough and I wandered with the students from the Angkor Photo Workshop to the ruins of Bayon. Everyday, a troop of costumed apsara dancers arrive in Bayon to allow tourists to have their photos taken with Sita, Ravana, Hanuman the monkey god and others. Gavin and I bargained hard and managed to secure three dancers for models for the workshop. At 5:30pm they promptly arrived at Angkor Wat for the photo shoot. We divided the dancers between three instructors to direct and to coach the students with shooting. I was fortunate to have the terrible demon god Ravana, who in this case was portrayed by Rechana, a beautiful young Cambodian woman and was no threat to me at all. Below are some of the images from today.
The masked Ravana.
Ravana un-masked
The light coming in at this time of day was bouncing around and giving soft shadows.
The beautiful Rechana
Isn’t that just the best location in the world? And those dancers… that light… what more could we have asked for?
@c3e1d91ae87466a4e37720046fd9a94a:disqus, Not much! Thanks for pursuing this originally.
Really beautiful shots Matt… I wish I could be there with you guys!
Bernard and Cole, thanks. I was pleased, the light was really nice yesterday.
Beautiful!
Beautiful images, Matt
Thanks Marco. I am sure you will come up with even better stuff once return without the class. As nice as these are, being able to shoot and take your time would be much better.
the 80mm f1.2 works a treat in this situation. Gorgeous bokeh and light. Love them.
Paul, Thanks for commenting. Yeah the 85 not only give the images a great bokeh it also warms up the saturation when shot at 1.2. A great little extra with that lens.
Breathtaking! your students are very fortunate.
Yes and so were the instructors!
It’s just WOW ! Great images, location, models, light, bokeh… !!!
I really enjoy the depth of field and lighting in the first shot. Were all these shot with the 85MM?
Yep. I never even pull out my 50 1.2. I was so caught up in the great light and in trying to help student that I never got to my 50. In fact I didn’t even shoot a horizontal if you can believe it. A real beginners mistake. Oh well. Live and learn. Check out Gavin Gough’s site for more images. He has some stunning shots.
Which lense are you using most on this trip?
My 85 f/1.2 and my 16-35 f/2.8.
Matt
http://thedigitaltrekker.com
Thanks! I am debating on getting 85mm 1.2 in addition to my 17-40. There are some complaints of low autofocus, do you see this as a problem in your line of work?
Lovely shots. Wonderful lighting. But, my god, what a subject! She’s absolutely beautiful. Elegant, supernatural, captivating in every way. I was fortunate to capture a shot of her and the others as they approached Bayon the other morning. It wasn’t until I returned home that I realized what an amazing shot of her I had. But, alas, it was only one. Nice job, and thanks.
What an awesome location. I love your choice of hallway for these shots as a background.
These are stunning photos! Well done 🙂