People at Wat Phnom, a photo from Phnum Penh, West

Photographer's Note

Last time I promised/threatened to return to Wat Phnom, the large 14th century Buddhist temple in Phnom Penh, for my next upload, so here I go.

Today's three photos just show the discreet activities, or hardly even that, in the temple. For this main photo the light was not perfect, but I post it anyway because it shows a very typical activity in a Buddhist temple: the burning of incense as an offering to purify the space and the devotee's own thoughts.

Here is a larger version.

Two workshop photos show a quiet corner of the temple and things that can be bought for offerings.

These photos from 2007 were taken with my first digital camera, a Canon Ixus 750.

papagolf21, gervaso, pajaran, alvaraalto, jhm, Fis2, ikeharel, COSTANTINO, ChrisJ, Cricri, worldcitizen, pierrefonds, PiotrF, Royaldevon, ktanska, ricardomattos, dale54, clic, mcmtanyel, macjake, PaulVDV has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

lousat (139906) 2018-04-06 2:27

Hi Gert,excellent report from this one of the most important temples in Phnom Penh,the main pic is lovely,the backlight give us the chance to see the smoke in a perfect way and the scene of the man offering something to Buddha is interesting too. 2 nice WS too,especially the seller of things to do the ritual,excellent quality! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

papagolf21 (152607) 2018-04-06 3:35

Bonjour, cher Gert,
Vos images n'ont rien à envier à des appareils plus sophistiqués;
La qualité est bien présente et les sujets présentés intéressants à tous les niveaux.
Merci.
Amitiés.
Philippe

snunney (130967) 2018-04-06 4:11

Hello Gert,
An interesting scene and indeed very typical of a Buddhist temple, though I have not visited Cambodia. I like the crop and the smoky atmosphere that make for some agreeable soft lights and colours.

gervaso (28381) 2018-04-06 4:13

Hello, Gert!

Three beautiful images that show a lot about the culture in this place, all of them with beautiful colors and a lot of life. The main photo is great with this smoke that gives an interesting atmosphere to the scene. Very nice job!

Sergiom (117241) 2018-04-06 5:45

Bonjour Gert,

J'aime beaucoup cette composition.Ce sont les débuts des caméras numériques et on voit la précision du focus mais aussi le manque de contrastes. Le contre jour est très bien contrôlé.C'est surtout un très beau moment.

Amicalement

Serge

pajaran (116915) 2018-04-06 5:55

Dobar dan.
Interesantan pogled i trenutak, dobar tekst ...
Lepo pokazano, dobar kontrast i ostrina, lepe boje, lepo uhvacen trenutak. Lep narodni obicaj.
Lepa fotografija i secanje.
Zelim vam lepo popodne, sve nabolje za vikned, srecno.
Paja.

Good day.
Interesting view and a moment, good text ...
Beautifully shown, good contrast and sharpness, nice colors, nice caught moment. Nice folk customs.
Nice photo and memory.
I wish you a good afternoon, all the better for shouting, good luck.

alvaraalto (42804) 2018-04-06 6:21

Hello Gert
These three beautiful photographs give an excellent impression of pious rituals of the Cambodians at this temple. All three of excellent quality but I understand why you posted it as a main photo.
Have a good weekend, groet Rob

jhm (211738) 2018-04-06 6:27

Hello Gert,

This is extraordinarily the different religions, but I look with pleasure to your picture.
A splendid moment for make this one.
An excellent composition and good presentation.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

adramad (73376) 2018-04-06 6:47

Hello Gert.
A sensational exhibition of these three images, because both WS, I find as magnificent as this, even more strongly, although this has the transmission of the spirituality of religion with this man offering offerings in this tiny temple on the column .
Colorful, sharpness and brightness are captured excellently.
Very good composition, magnificent presentation.
Have a good weekend.
Warm greetings.
Luis.

Fis2 (171789) 2018-04-06 6:58

Witaj Gert!
A very interesting scene from daily life.
Excellent frame, colors and light.
Good reportage shot.
I like it.
Warm regards.
Krzysztof

jmdias (116307) 2018-04-06 7:10

GERT

I liked the aspect of the image in vertical with the personage matching well with the small chapel with sticks of insence. very special framing and details. of a daily life scene in the area.

take care

jorge

danos (110407) 2018-04-06 7:41

Hello Gert,
nice the snapshot from the native man to pray to his God,offering a burning incense,in front of the temple.The two WS are completed the whole scenery.Well done.

Regards,Danos

ikeharel (114435) 2018-04-06 7:54

A common scene in the east, Gert, I remember seeing this ceremonial acts in HK islands and Macau almost in every shrine which they have in abundance.
Well captured moment, the smoke has an effect on the picture - but you could not convey its smell through...
Good afternoon,
Ike

Silvio1953 (222747) 2018-04-06 8:31

Ciao Gert, lovely composition with interesting scene, good reportage, difficult light but fine details and wonderful colors, thanks for WS too, very well done, my friend have a good weekend, ciao Silvio

COSTANTINO (117652) 2018-04-06 9:54

Hello dear friend and have a nice time
and a happy new day
original version
a suprising photo as always
with traditional details
and elements concerning
daily ceremony life
regards
Costantino

ChrisJ (172372) 2018-04-06 10:07

Hi Gert

Looks like a similar Buddhist tradition also frequently seen in neighbouring Thailand. I also found the food similar to Thai cuisine. Good sharpness and the smoke from the burning incense sticks adds mood. Excellent graphism of the little pagoda spirit house against the lighter toned sky. Tfs!

Cricri (176) 2018-04-06 10:26

Hi Gert
Trois belles images, différentes scènes, beaucoup de détails et de couleurs, très jolies
Belle soirée
cricri

mesutilgim (0) 2018-04-06 11:36

Hello Gert,
Very nice capture from Cambodia taken with good pov and light management. Very good sharpness and interesting notes.
This is what I often use to say : "power of faith" .
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

worldcitizen (16226) 2018-04-06 11:54

Hello Gert,
The light looks fine to me. :-) I like how the man is reaching out to light the incense, and the smoke that is drifting up from below. The structure holding the incense is like a mini temple, and very interesting, as well. I can imagine the smell that must have hung in the air...

jemaflor (148094) 2018-04-06 12:06

Hi Gert,
Interesting scene well taken, good timing, perfect light and sharpness, well done.

Nicou (193814) 2018-04-06 13:15

Hello

quel homme qui allume ce ofrande d'encens fantasitque comme une niche au sommet de cette co,onne avec l'effet de la fumée sueprbe iamgeet compo grandisoe vue.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

kasianowak (17676) 2018-04-06 14:43

Excellent series of colourful everyday scenes from this temple.
Everything - the activities, the atmosphere, the people and their surroundings - looks like a place I would like to visit. And the image was taken "only" 11 years ago, so there is hope it has not changed a lot.
Have a nice weekend
Kasia

pierrefonds (115408) 2018-04-06 15:14

Hi Gert,

You have captured well the action of the man. The point of view is showing the details of the incense burning. The light has a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

carlo62 (81265) 2018-04-06 15:29

Ciao Gert
la qualità non è al top, ma la foto di questa attività meritava di essere mostrata, troppo spesso vediamo fotografie di templi, ma poche volte vediamo ciò che succede al loro interno.
Buon we
Carlo

PiotrF (55822) 2018-04-06 15:33

Hello Gert,
An interesting series of photos from Cambodia
Very well done, fine presentation.
Regards
Piotr

Royaldevon (86328) 2018-04-07 1:05

Hello Gert,

Not only can we see the figure with his incense burners but we can also see the smoke which hadn't really occurred to me previously! It is an interesting glimpse of activities at the temple.
I was struck by the sense of calm.
In our busy lives, we see people rushing around, multi-tasking but rarely sitting peacefully just enjoying the situation or thinking about deeper things!
Three excellent photographs revealing life at the temple.

Have a lovely w/e,
Bev :-)

ktanska (45018) 2018-04-07 3:23

Hej Gert,
Very nice well framed shot of this temple visitor burning incense. Even though I don't know this culture and religion it is well presented and easy to understand. I also like the quiet corner WS with rich details and relaxed posture of two little girls.
Kari

ricardomattos (17560) 2018-04-07 7:54

Hi Gert,

Interesting picture of Cambodia. I like the others too. Very well done!

Regards

Ricardo

Tue (93296) 2018-04-07 9:03

Hello Gert,
An excellent photo of this important activity and great timing right when the man was lighting the incense in the small house. The warm sunlight was very pleasant and added a nice warm hue to the photo.
Lars

peterpap (2863) 2018-04-07 11:25

Hello Gert, I was one time there and found the results not good enough so I told to myself to return one day... Interesting to watch people doing their normal things, a nice every day life scene. Greetings

dale54 (17768) 2018-04-07 12:19

gert hello-good evening..very nice work for your shot here,total outcome is truly amazing and eye catching! love it! tfs dale

clic (76) 2018-04-08 8:19

Hello Gert In addition to the fragrant fumes of burning incence, a lot of traditional soul effuses from this perfectly-cropped capture featuring the precisely accurate spatial relation of the two main subjects, evenly spaced from the lateral frames. Engaging piece of introspection, for shure! Hjartliga halsningar

GyurMaster (24996) 2018-04-08 14:10

Dear Gert,

It's an excellently composed picture: the man and the column is placed according to the rule of the thirds and connected both by the stuffs at the bottom of the picture and the hand of the man.

Best Wishes,
Gy.

mcmtanyel (69063) 2018-04-10 19:53

Hello Gert,
I think you managed the light quite well, nicely done! My comment on your workshop photo, why buy imitation money, why not place a real banknote? Wouldn't the spirits be happier about real money?
Regards,
MT

emka (158672) 2018-04-15 15:49

Hello, I see that you started new series with the Cambodia pictures. Great! Nice scene from the temple. Interesting small temple for the incense. The burning incense is typical also in China but there are rather big iron vases used for it. Nice buch of lotus flowers in WS photo.

WArm regrads MAlgo

macjake (98544) 2018-04-17 0:56

Hi Gert
ya, the lighting isn't the best, there's a casting halo effect around the subjects - but i get it, well all get it as photographers :) I wasn't there obviously, but I wonder if you could have walked around 180 degrees to face the opposite direction of the sun, maybe then it would have actually been perfect...who knows. But you don't want to miss out on your shot too.

the WS's provide extra context and add a lot, three fine phtos.

Personally, i don't quite get this offering ritual, but i'm also not a religious man. but thats for discussion some other time haha
cheers
Craig

PaulVDV (63432) 2018-04-28 0:48

Hello Gert,
Three very beautiful and colourful daily life-pictures taken in or around the temple.
Interesting to see the miniature temple on top of a column. The man has to stretch to put the incense in the appropriate place.
Looking at the thumbnail I didn't understand why the lower part of the picture was so hazy but this is an excellent capture of the smoke.
Best regards, Paul

serp2000 (47063) 2018-05-27 9:55

Hello, Gert!
I am glad to see you here again. This is one of the most eyecatching photos on your page. Good capture of this moment, it brings me back to the SE Asia. the composition, the colors are perfect!
Best wishes!
Serghei

Miguel82 (47110) 2019-10-12 12:58

Gert, the little tower where the incense sticks are placed has style. The man is burning the incense in that famous temple of Phnom penh to purify the devotees and the space. Excellent photo report showing a ritual. Fine colors, good image quality, regards.