Twin faces of the Bayon Photo

Photographer’s Note

Everyone been at the Bayon knows that there are lots of similar faces, 177 to be exact, but perhaps one might have skipped in their account these two twin faces.

This is the guy many visitors meet at one of the Bayon entrance, he's in charge of a small shrine and if you ask me, a pretty good Buddha sales rep.

The night was about to fall, I was almost alone at the Bayon, quite a different atmosphere from Maciek's shot. I bought the guy a bunch of incense sticks to thank him for the photo, he must sell loads in a day...

pingu23, RGatward, Darren, jhm, ChrisJ, dvainoras, yesyuvraj, MLINES has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pingu23 (588) 2004-05-22 10:47

Nice shot ! I like the man's face expression, he doesn't seem bothered at all. Actually he seems very friendly ! Well done!

RGatward (19749) 2004-05-22 11:11

It's amaing how alike their noses are. His ancestor must have been a model fo the statue. Very funny, and good compo, full of interest.

MKING (3050) 2004-05-22 11:39

Nice, bright, saturated colours where there is colour.
Should I ever go to Bayon I will not hesistate to photograph this gentleman, seeing as he is now so climatised to cameras and photographers :)

Darren (6819) 2004-05-22 11:53

Hi Luko. Nice bright, contrasty colors from you. When I opened the thumbnail, I was actually quite surprised to see your name. I have to admit Luko, this does not stand up in relation to most of your other shots.

First, the pose itself is not what I expect of you. The man is more or less standing, looking at you and your camera. Not that I haven't submitted many, many shots where the subject is simply looking my way, but in your best shots (mine too I guess), there is something happening. Here not much is really going on.

Secondly, the man and the statue are upright, but because you shot from a slight angle, instead of shooting straight down the hall, the pillars in the background are at an angle. This is distracting for me.

Finally, why did you crop the base of the statue, when there was lots of room above? Either aiming a little lower, or taking a step back would have made a world of difference for me on this shot.

This guy is certainly a great character, your colors are really appealing and everything is nice and sharp, but there are some technical issues here that let this down I am affraid.

Sorry to be so critical, although I know you can take what I have to say in the way it is intended.

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maciekda (19599) 2004-05-23 0:04

hi Luko, I've read the long comment of Darren and i must agree with many things he said - the pose, the angles of pillars, cropping the base of the statue. Lowering your camera a bit would help a lot i think. somehow the guy looks funny staring at you and holding those incences.. nice shot, but not up to the level of your skills

jhm (83298) 2004-05-23 7:09

Great shot Luko, I like the man's face expression, sharpness and clair, you did great job.

ChrisJ (70443) 2004-05-28 3:48

A tighter crop would help strengthen this image.

thien (2102) 2004-06-01 22:02

I almost fell of my chair laughing when I saw the title and open it up. The tilted pillars and door frame does not bother me much problably because I know that they really are at an angle :D. I think it is great that you have taken a picture of the guy. He was more or less a ghost at the place, selling incenses and move out of your way. Most of the time he only get shoved by the tourists so that a clear shot of the temple can be taken and he obliged every single time. His life is as crooked as the pillars themselves. One thing I know for sure know; you are pretty tall....

danielswalsh (13330) 2004-09-14 6:29

Hi Luko, nice shot;

I do remember this man from my visit to the Bayon. He too tried to sell me some incense, but had already hit my quota- hahaha. I didn't manage to get a shot of him...

Nice shot;
Dan

oochappan (22032) 2004-09-18 7:01

Very nicely done, emphased colors towards a neutral background, working very well here.

scalerman (25787) 2004-09-28 16:34

Luko, I like the fact that you still prefer film to digi. It gives all your shots an artistic edge above where everyone else is going. cheers.

MLINES (10948) 2006-07-21 20:11

Hi Luko, Good photo with interesting comment. The stone has lasted so long already and hopefully well ahead. Good clarity and the stone texture shows up well. Murray.