Surreal Nilai 3

Photographed this Afghan carpet dealer walking behind a giant banner stuck to a wall in Nilai 3. It is a bizarre, surreal town in the middle of nowhere, and a shutterbug’s dream place. You kind of half expect a tumbleweed to roll into view any time. There are more carpet and plastic flower shops in tiny Nilai 3, than anywhere in the world.

Originally, I composed this shot as a 16:9 wide image on the Olympus OM-D. The man was framed in the center. Didn’t expect it to work cropped down to a square format for Instagram. Hey! What do I know? It does. The text kind of retained its meaning too. So you never know until you try. Corner vignetting (filter) works in Instagram because it creates the illusion that the film or camera sensor was square to begin with. For foreign viewers, the words mean “Our promotion, Crazy, He (Who Is Fast) Profits!”

Surreal Nilai 3

Pulling Power

Did I hear you say our taxis are too small and stuffy? Maybe you like to try one of Cambodia’s innovative public transport options. Only problem is when a passenger decides to haggle, he will hold up 15 other passengers (not counting the 3 babies on-board). I opted for more upmarket transport. I squatted on the narrow roof rack of a mini bus with 10 others. A bit more cooler and great for street photography. That was how I captured this scene from bustling Phnom Penh.

Pulling Power

Single Lens

I was in Chinatown earlier tonight and had only one lens with me. If you are to take only one fixed-focal lens (non-zoom), which will it be? It is a personal choice but I like the 50 mm (25mm in m43). It is neither too wide or too tight and as such is great for street use. Because it is a bright f1.4, the lighted signboards provided sufficient illumination and speed was a manageable 1/60th of a second, even at ISO 200.

Only limitation is the narrow plane of focus and you have to decide which you want to keep in sharp focus. Here, I focused on the lady. Pana-Leica Summilux paired with the Olympus OMD make a perfect night street photography combo.

Single Lens