Photography In Cambodia

A stunning visual journey through Cambodian culture, history, art, struggle, and modernization. Cambodia has two parallel histories. One is the constant stream of adventurers and diplomats, kings and rebels, archaeologists and artists drawn to the magnificent ruins at Angkor. Another is the formation of a nation through the Cambodian people's fierce struggles with colonialism, war, revolution, famine, and finally, the long road to recovery. This book captures these parallel stories through the eyes of talented photographers who were present to record such events. The images, which include many rare and never-before-published photos, are drawn from archives, national collections, libraries, and private collections. This treasure trove of nearly 500 photographs showcases the work of over 100 photographers--including pioneering female photographers, Cambodian and international photographers, and some who died soon after the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Within these pages, readers will find a fresh perspective on Cambodia. From the early days of French colonialism through the struggle for independence, and emergence into an uneasy peace in the 21st century.

This book accurately chronicles the creation of the French Protectorate of Cambodia through the accounts of the people who actually participated in its inception and in the context of the political intrigues of that time and place involving Cambodia, Siam, France and Great Britain. In the same decade of the 1860's two other related treaties complicated and then resolved the protectorate treaty. Drawing on the same historical context this new book commemorates the 150th anniversary in 2016 of the beginning of photography in Cambodia, presenting over 145 rare engravings, maps, and the remarkable first photographs captured at Angkor and Phnom Penh by John Thomson and Emile Gsell, decades before photographic film was even invented. On February 26, 1866 John Thomson arrived at Angkor Wat to capture the first photographs there. Four months later Emile Gsell's historic photographs at Angkor also marked the beginning of the French expedition, led by Commander Doudart de Lagrée, to explore the then uncharted Mekong River from Cambodia to the north of China, one of the great and most courageous expeditions of exploration in recent centuries. In the end, France captured Cambodia, Siam captured Angkor, King Norodom captured the crown and the throne of Cambodia and for at least a short time the independence of the kingdom, John Thomson and Emile Gsell captured the first photographs at Angkor, and Ernest Doudart de Lagrée was captured by duty, adventure and the affection of a little Cambodian boy named Chhun.

This photography book ventures into the wonderful world of Cambodia. Visit the "Floating Village", the iconic temples of Angkor wat, and beautiful beaches of Koh Rong. This diverse culture is stunningly captured throughout the photos in this book. I found the people in Cambodia especially happy and kind. They found purpose in their lives and loved their country.

Robin Yong is a no-frills photographer who uses natural light to create stunning and captivating images. In his new photography collection, Cambodia: The Legends Live On, he takes readers on a dazzling journey of discovery with the people and lesser-known places in this beautiful land. Through his lens, you are invited to travel through the glistening lotus flower fields, where you will meet local children cooling off in the hot sun. Inspired by the mystical waterfalls of Phnom Kulen, the Khmer boxers, and the Cambodian Circus, where students have transformed their lives through performing art, Yong showcases the unique beauty and power of his subjects. Rather than focus on the ancient temples, the ubiquitous stars of most collections of Cambodian photography, Yong prefers to celebrate the quiet beauty of the country and its people, including the saffron-robed monks at Tonle Sap and the rice fields, or the traditional Apsara dancers. The result is a set of photographs that reflect the splendour of this country that many travelers do not usually see. Cambodia is a dynamic and developing country with a promising future. After seeing these images, those who have been lucky enough to visit Cambodia will be tempted to visit this beautiful country again.

Roughly 1.7 million people died in Cambodia from untreated disease, starvation, and execution during the Khmer Rouge reign of less than four years in the late 1970s. The regime’s brutality has come to be symbolized by the multitude of black-and-white mug shots of prisoners taken at the notorious Tuol Sleng prison, where thousands of “enemies of the state” were tortured before being sent to the Killing Fields. In Archiving the Unspeakable, Michelle Caswell traces the social life of these photographic records through the lens of archival studies and elucidates how, paradoxically, they have become agents of silence and witnessing, human rights and injustice as they are deployed at various moments in time and space. From their creation as Khmer Rouge administrative records to their transformation beginning in 1979 into museum displays, archival collections, and databases, the mug shots are key components in an ongoing drama of unimaginable human suffering. Winner, Waldo Gifford Leland Award, Society of American Archivists Longlist, ICAS Book Prize, International Convention of Asia Scholars

Unbelievable feats of transportation are an everyday occurrence on the streets of Cambodia. Tuk-tuks, cyclos, cars, trucks, motorbikes and bicycles transport loads that defy your wildest imagination. Tuk-tuks crammed to the roof with fruit and veg, beaten-up old taxis transporting pigs bigger than people, beds bigger than pigs and water tanks bigger than beds Six people on one small motorbike, and sixty-seven people standing on the back of a flatbed lorry. Photographers Hans Kemp and Conor Wall spent hundreds of long, painful hours on the back of motorbikes documenting this unique street culture, resulting in this amazing book loaded with incredible photographs that will forever change your definition of "packed "

Given the splendours of Angkor Thom together with another 90 temple sites within the Angkor Archaeological Park, it is no wonder that Cambodia is dubbed the 'Kingdom of Wonder'. In its listing, UNESCO described Angkor as 'an exceptional testimony to a lost civilization'. But Cambodia is also a revitalized modern country with new infrastructure and many living traditions, as well as stunning countryside and quiet beaches. Mick Shippen's informative and entertaining text illustrated by his distinctive and highly personal photography present a wide-ranging introduction to the many facets of Cambodia for resident and visitor alike. The main text is accompanied by sidebars or box stories that highlight details of particular interest, provide anecdotal information and give a lively and reader-friendly look to the book. The book is divided into two parts, the first part giving an overview of the landscapes, people, history, modern economy and culture of Cambodia, and the second looking in detail at the five main regions: Phnom Penh and Around; the North-west; Siem Reap and Angkor; the South Coast and the East.