Cambodia - Angkor temples

These are some photos of the Angkor temples, one of the Unesco World Heritage sites, from our family vacation trip. These are the best I could get from a tour guided trip with many todlers and elders :-). All are taken at same usual spots that millions of visitors have stood and clicked

the Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom

Below is the Bayon temple which is recently made well-known to the world probably because of the movie Lare Croft: The Tomb Raider. The temple itself is almost ruined but the way the trees embrace the structures is incredible ...

with the Secret Smiles

I did still not forgetting to get some "model" shots when there are chances :-)

We ended up the day on the top of the Bakheng temple whose stairs are really steep to climb but we did enjoy the sunset from the view. We got there when the sun almost set indeed

What a wonderful wonder! You must be there to appreciate it.

Cambodian wedding couple

I had some photographs of a Cambodian couple when visiting the Angkor temples with my family during Christmas time. Their colorful customs caught my eyes so much that I could not resist to lift my camera, sneaked through their camera man's shoulder and took some shots for myself. Later I've read more about their wedding tradition and learned that this custom is just one of three or four different traditional ones that a couple would use during their wedding which would last at least three to seven days. Would love to share these photos here.

Here is the scene with their camera man and the Angkor Wat in the background

Cambodia - Life on surface of Bien Ho Tonle Sap

Not included in the tour program but it seems so interesting so we managed to sneak a bit of time to make a visit a small part of the big Tonle Sap Lake where a small Vietnamese community resides there. The lake is indeed so big that we could not see the other side of it. In Vietnam we call it "ocean lake" or "biển hồ" in Vietnamese. According to the tour guide, people who live there don't belong to any country, Cambodia nor Vietnam, since they're floating here and there all the time and no government cares about.

Well, not too much of words, some of the photos would show how tough lives there.

Tuan-Tien family pictures

Tuan is one of my best old school friends way back in Vietnam. I had a chance to photograph his family including his lovely wife and the two prospective model daughters. The setting is actually right at my inlaw house in Thu Duc, a Saigon suburban town. Not much special in the photos but just a bit of fun shooting in VN :-)

Thanks Tuan and his family for spending the morning with us for the shoot. What a lovely family!

Ellen Dinh - The BIG Day

Ellen and Dinh's BIG BIG day has come and gone with so many great moments that I'm sure their family, friends and themselves will never forget. For us, it was also a great experience and we are glad the day were captured nicely on photographs.

From details ...

to candid ...

big picture ...

and outdoor fun ...

It was a fun-filled and full of action event but the wedding topped off at the very end where Dinh, Ellen and their dear guest friends were at their best ...

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen!!! Thanks for the opportunity and we're glad we all did it together wonderfully!

visit their personal site of complete wedding coverage here ....

San Francisco - Embarcadero at night

Again, tagging along with some photographers friends, all Cisco fellows actually, on a Friday night trip to San Francisco for some night shots around the Embarcadero area.

Upon arriving at the area, we just missed our last exit before entering Bay bridge so ended up getting onto Treasure Island to make the U turn. So why not take the opportunity to get a popular shot of SF from the across Treasure Island lookout. That is where I figured out I have both tripod and monopod but without the head plate to attach my camera to the stands :-). Hence, this is the first shot hand held (but I like it though)

Had to use the trashcan for tripod to get a picture like this (sorry you have to view it in larger view to figure out what it is :-)

We went back up the Bay bridge and to the Embarcadero where we have the chance to shot the bridge we just drove on few minutes earlier. Borrow the tripod from friends for a few shot but many time, I place my camera on whatever structure around or just had to push IOS up very high (6400 for instance)

the blue moon

It was late around 11:00pm and very cold as well. I just love this shot of the couple whose love definitely kept them warm for the night.

Walked on a bit around, had a chance to capture some shots of the city when business are closed but a whole new nightlife world is about to start.

It was great to be with friends and seeing the city at night even just a small corner. I definitely look for other times to come back to explore more on its nightlife.

Thanks for visiting again :-)