Late night revelry! Animated haggling! Street-side peddling! While the mayhem might unnerve you at first, the bustling city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia offers the intrepid traveller ample opportunity to frame the chaos of urban living. Courtesy of Panasonic Singapore, we got the chance to take the spankin’ new Lumix GX8 out for a spin in this vibrant city. Here are some of our highlights:
Splish-splashing at Kandal Market
We’ve all been there – nothing dampens the holiday spirit like losing your camera to a watery grave. Our unlucky photographer nearly learnt this the hard way when he got hosed down mid-shot by a very grouchy fishmonger at Kandal Market (we were innocent, we swear!). Fortunately for him, the camera’s splash-/dust-proof construction kept the hardware inside nice and dry (and he still managed to snap the picture!). Splash-proofing isn’t really a feature most of us look for in a camera, but it’s times like this when we’re reminded that it never hurts to be prepared for the worst – or in this case, grumpy grandmas.
Portraiture at Sisowath Quay
After capturing the sunrise against the Tonle Sap River, we took a stroll along Sisowath Quay. What a hive of activity it was! People practicing Tai Chi, fishmongers slicing up freshly caught fish and throngs of children playing and, well, generally being children. We were pleasantly surprised by how friendly the kids were, so we seized the opportunity and tried our hand at some candid portraiture. The moment we whipped out our cameras, the children lit up and very eagerly posed for us. Thankfully, we didn’t get splashed with water here.
Shaking off the shakiness at the Wat Ounalom monastery
Our photography trip to Cambodia was a short weekend getaway, so in the interest of packing light, we decided to leave our bulky tripods at home. But then, we found ourselves within the shadowy interior of the Wat Ounalom monastery. The darkness dictated some tricky hand-held, slow-shutter speed shots so we were a bit apprehensive. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so we tried our very best and ended up with some pretty striking photos of the monks. The images turned out nice and sharp, with no motion blur, thanks to the camera’s inbuilt image stabiliser.
Lights out at the Russian Market
Our first two questions when we arrived at the Russian Market in Phnom Penh were, 1) Why is there even a Russian market here? And 2) Why is it so ruddy dark?! The answer to the first question turned out to be the market’s popularity with the Russian expat population in the ’80s. While we don’t have an answer to the second question, at least we still managed to get some really moody, evocative shots of the market’s never-ending, labyrinthine corridors (and killer bargains!).
Great shots of great eats
All that happy snapping had worked up a hearty appetite in us, so we hopped onto a tuk tuk and made our way back to Sisowath Quay for dinner. We’d had our fill of Cambodian fare, so we sat down to some swish Western fare at Oskar Bistro instead. Like with all the food thus far, we couldn’t resist taking a few shots when our plates arrived. After all, what kind of Singaporeans would we be if we went on a trip and didn’t come back with loads of food shots?
All photos taken with the Lumix GX8.
This article is sponsored by Panasonic Singapore.