Nothing like rebooting the blog after almost half a year, by using it as a space to show off some photos!
I'm doing a photography tour in Laos with
Nathan Horton Photography (link is to this particular tour). My group has seven other photographers plus Nathan and Lao guides, the first of whom is Phonsy (pronounced Pon-see). We all met Monday night in Luang Prabang at
Sanctuary Luang Prabang Hotel on day one of the tour, a lovely space with comfy rooms and gorgeous grounds. Many of the other photographers have done multiple tours with Nathan as well as other photography tours... I'm definitely the baby!
Day 2: Luang Prabang
On the first morning, we headed out at 5:30am to observe and capture the daily morning ritual called 'Tak Bat', or giving alms to the monks. After that we had a quick coffee break, then headed to a local market. Back at the hotel, I got a one-on-one technical overview from Nathan on the basics of photography, tricks and tips for my DSLR cameras (I have two, only because one was declared lost with my shipment to Cambodia and later found!), and a very basic tutorial on using Adobe Lightroom Classic. After a bit of relaxing and lunch, we were off to see Heuan Chan Heritage House, where we had a few models in traditional dress to photograph. We took the two lovely (and patient!) ladies to Wat Xiengthong, with beautiful reflective mosaic exteriors as well as gorgeous golden inlay doors.
This is my first photography tour and it was fascinating to have Nathan there to give pointers on settings and backdrop and composition. Being the newest, it took me awhile to ask questions - it's intimidating! - but he told me that if I didn't, he'd assume I was good to go. So... I asked a lot of questions, and he was a patient and fun teacher.
We then walked through a local street market and headed off to Mount Phousi, from which we watched the sunset along with a couple hundred other tourists. This also began what I have dubbed Nathan Horton's Boot Camp - in the next few days we would climb many stairs and hills, getting a great workout.
Today was a long but exciting day! We began with another go at capturing almsgiving. I struggled in the early morning darkness but found some fun angles as sunlight started saturating the sky. Then it was a box breakfast on the drive to Kuang Si Waterfall, where we arrived before anyone else and so got a lot of time to fiddle with nature and water shots. I learned about neutral density filters and how limiting a crappy tripod can be. When I got frustrated not getting the type of shots everyone else seemed to be getting, I remembered to ask questions... and Nathan loaned me his tripod and showed me how to use my neutral density filter and utilize a time lapse. Later, we visited a H'Mong village and stopped a few times during our drive to photograph Lao countryside and farmers. In the afternoon, we spent a few hours on a boat, cruising up the Mekong River and enjoying fantastic weather. The boat took us to the Pak Ou caves on a cliff facing the river and housing a variety of Buddha statues. On the way back, the boat stopped at a small, abandoned island temple, and then we caught sunset back in Luang Prabang. We ended with a fantastic dinner of local foods.
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| Tak Bat amidst luxury |
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| Kuang Si Waterfall (and my first try at
using a neutral density filter with time
lapse!) |
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| Side of the road farmer |
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Ban Xangkhong Artisan village and H'Mong
traditional wear |
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H'Mong traditional wear (and joy!)
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H'Mong traditional wear on kids
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| Pak Ou cave shrine |
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| Luang Prabang pier and the elusive F22 starburst |
Day 4: Drive to Phonsavan in XiengKhuang Province
Today we drove along twisting mountain roads to get to Phonsavan in XiengKhuang Province. We stopped regularly to capture the countryside and to visit a Hmong village. Lunch was at a very local place with delicious noodles. Because the roads are in very poor condition, the drive took longer than expected - we were on the road for over six hours!
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| Roadside stop |
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| Kitchen at our lunch stop |
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Ban Phouthat Hmong woman with traditional
instrument |
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| Ban Phouthat Hmong woman in traditional wear |
Day 5: Plain of Jars
Up before sun today to drive and take a short hike to the first Plain of Jars site. These Iron Age-era jars marked burial sites but not much more is known about who used them or how the jars were transported to over 90 sites, each with unique tribes of local peoples. We visited three different sites, of just seven that are safe to visit. The others have not yet been cleared of unexploded ordinance remaining from the U.S. bombing of Laos in the second half of the 1960s. Did you know that Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history per capita? I didn't, until visiting the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) museum, which simply lays out the devastating impacts of this terrible fact. We also visited a huge Buddha statue.
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| Sunrise at Plain of Jars site #2 |
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| Plain of Jars |
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| Short hike to Plain of Jars site #3 |
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| Plain of Jars site #3 |
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| Phonsavan temple with Buddha |
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| View from Plain of Jars site #1 |
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| Plain of Jars site #1 |
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| Sunset at Plain of Jars site #1 |
