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Expression through photography in Siem Reap

A Student’s Reflection…..by Srey Bopea
Dear Melissa,
I am very happy when I enter to study about taking photos until this time.  First when I study I did not know about:  How to edit photograph, how to use a camera, how to use photoshop, how to take photo about bad picture to good picture, how to put the picture on computer, how to put film in a camera.  But everyday I have understanding a lot about camera and taking pictures and I know how to edit photograph and how to use camera and other pictures that relate to taking photos.  I want to be a good photographer in the future.

Photo 1:  Photo of a white spider lily


Photo 2:  Bopea’s sisters in their family rice field

PhotoShop as an enhancement to photographs….

When you walk into any photo service center here in Siem Reap, you are guaranteed to see workers editing traditional Cambodian wedding photographs at the speed of light.  In no time, they can “clean up” any photo, take out earrings and details with a blink of the eye.  I decided to introduce PhotoShop to my students as an enhancement to the already existing photographs using Vignettes and lens corrections.   After I showed several examples of Vignettes and lens corrections, I asked each student to choose a photo from the previous week’s shoot so that they could learn how to utilize these tools.  They each choose which effect they liked on their photos.

Photo 1:  Student:Chamnap

A fellow temple boy practicing on a roneart.

Photo 2: Student:Veth
This student creates a Vignette and uses a lens correction accentuating the atmosphere.

Photo 3: Student:Hen
Hen is very imaginative and wanted to express this in his photograph.

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Sela's Cambodian view of beautiful Laos

When I first stepped into Laung Prabang I felt like I was in the heaven. The country is so full of mountains and farmland, it is so beautiful! When I arrived at the guesthous, I did not want to relax so I immediately went out and walked around the city. I was surprise how the level of the country was mountainous, and not flat. I

 

The weather was very nice, but it was cold and foggy at night. In the morning you could see the fog around the edge of the hill. I love the way the city has built itself around the Mekong River.

 

There are a lot of restaurants along the Mekong River and around Mount Phousi where I had the chance to try the Laos food – and especially the sticky rice. At first they gave me a small bowl of sticky rice and I thought that it was not enough for my big belly. I soon found out that they packed a whole lot of sticky rice into that small bucket! I like sticky rice. The Laos people say I will be fat if I eat a lot of sticky rice.

 

The town becomes very busy between 7 and 9pm because a lot of tourists are walking around the night market buying souvenirs. I like the Night Market. In the day time people use it as the main road but at night they turn it to the night market where a lot local people sell their products.

           

Laos people are very nice and very honest. They smile at you all the time when you see them. One time when I went to the local market and went to buy something and negotiate with them they thought I was Laoatian, but I am not.

 

On July 3, I walked around the town alone and saw a lot of beautiful things. In the afternoon, I went on the city tour to the National Museum which used to be the Royal palace. All the decoration is beautiful and you can see the Royal family’s house! The last king of Laos was King Sisavangvong. The guide told me many stories about how famous he was. He had nine wives!. After visiting the Museum I went up to Mount Phousi. From up there you could see all of Luang Prabang, all the buildings and the coconuts trees lining the long roads and of course the Mekong River. The last place that I saw was Wat Xieng Thong. There you can see the powerful architecture of Laos style.

 

The next day I went hiking to Kuang Si Waterfall. On the way there we went through many villages and I went to visit people in the villages. The people were all so nice to me. They talked to me and told me how they make their living. After I went through all the villages, it took me about four hours and half to walk through the jungle up and down the mountains. Once I got to the waterfall, it was cold. At the waterfall you can swim in the clear natural water, but I couldn’t because it was freezing to me. I also saw some bears at the waterfall. In the evening I had dinner at the Tum Tum Cheng Restaurant. The place was simple but the food was great and the staff was very helpful.

 

After breakfast the next morning I set off the to the Pottery Village and took a local longtail boat on the Mekong River. After a big lunch I visited the Pak Ou Cave or the Naga cave. I like the nature of Luang Prabang. Along the Mekong river I saw a lot of beautiful farmland and trees.

 

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Congratulations Andrea, on being named one of Conde Nast Traveler’s Top Travel Specialists Two Years in a Row!

I want to take a moment to congratulate our Director of Tours, Andrea. She has been named a Top Travel Specialist for the second consecutive year in Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. The current August issue will be available in print within the next week.

Andrea was named a travel specialist not only because of her knowledge of the countries and her length of experience, but because of her continued efforts to maintain impeccable quality tour experiences and her personal passion for the company and the countries in which we tour. This spring Andrea personally conducted guide training in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. She also conducted numerous hotel inspections to make sure the hotels we offer are up to her strict standards of quality as well as inspected new hotels to offer to our guests. She opened up a new office in Laos and new Journeys  Within Our Community non profit in Laos. Needless to say it was a very busy off-season, but her continued efforts to improve Journeys Within are visible within every tour.

I am very proud to be a member of such a great team and to have a leader that inspires me to continue to improve not only my personal work ethics, but to also continue to improve the company and to continue to improve the quality of life for the people within the countries which we tour. I would like to express my most sincere congratulations to Andrea, I can think of no other person who deserves the title of Travel Specialist. Read more »

A letter from a volunteer

Below is a letter written by a student from Loyola Marymount University about her experience volunteering with Journeys Within Our Community.

“Joining Journey’s Within Our Community for two weeks was one of the best experiences I have had in a long time.  From the moment our plane landed in Cambodia, I immediately knew I was in for a different
experience.  For two weeks, we visited several of the JWOC projects and got to know the scholarship students overseeing the various projects: Clean Water, Language Schools and Micro-Finance program.  I
was so impressed with the scope of programs that address such crucial areas in Cambodia.  One of my favorite volunteer placements was teaching at Wat Thmei.  Working alongside the teachers, we got to read stories, practice grammar and pronunciation.  The best part of classes was just getting to know the kids, sharing our stories and hearing about theirs also.  Before we knew it, we were alternating words in
Khmer and English.  I really looked forward to going to Wat Thmei in the afternoon.  One of the students won the hearts of all the volunteers.  She brought us personalized bracelets with our names on them.  She said it was a gift for us.  Witnessing the grace and dedication of the students was the best gift I could have received. For me, it represented that JWOC time and resources were invested in the right place:  the people of Cambodia, the youth that can pass on the information and work ethic for future generations.   My experience volunteering through JWOC has undoubtedly changed me and I plan to
keep in touch with the organization.  I’m excited to see how it will continue to develop. “

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Top Ten reasons you know you’re a California girl working for an international tour company

# 10. When your boss brings back the files from the office, not only have the files been packed away, traveled half way across the world, and gone through customs – when they arrive  you have to cut down the paper because it is bigger than your standard 8-1/2” x 11”.  

# 9. You hear the phrase “Sorry I make confusing”  and “To make clare” – and you know exactly what that means.

# 8. You have to look up the country code to call someone back – Soemtimes I Google the phone number to find out what country I’m calling. Sometimes I just call and then try to guess where I’m calling by listening to the accent of the guest on the phone.

# 7.  Your son sees a golf cart and he asks you if he can go for a ride on the “Tuk Tuk”

# 6. You refer to cities by their airport code –  So if I ever ask you how your time was in BKK or REP or LPQ – feel free to remaind me that you don’t speak airport code.

# 5. It’s 7pm in California and you say “good morning”.

# 4. You realize you have a lot in common with Angelina Jolie –  I’ve been to the Angkor Temples in Cambodia, she filmed Tomb Raider there. She gets her picture taken everywhere she goes, people in Southeast Asia took many pictures of me and my family. Ok, I guess that’s about all I really have in common with her – but here’s to dreaming J

# 3. You receive documents in Word and the cursor moves from Right to Left instead of Left to Right.

# 2. A passport, jet lag, elephants, vaccinations and Thai Iced Tea are all included in a days work.

# 1. You’re never shocked to hear that someone couldn’t get back to you because- it is some president’s or royal’s birthday, the electricity turned off, or they were just taking a needed hammock break.Read more »