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A scene from an amazing wood sculpture workshop in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I suppose this goes into the travel section. MP240 with Summicron 50 v4

'Artisans d'Angkor' is a workshop in Siem Reap, the city nearby the historical site of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The workers there make Khmer art in a traditional way. The artworks are sold to tourists, but not at rip-off prices. It may not seem that way because in comparison to many other workshops these artworks are actually quite expensive. But that is because the workers are given a decent wage, and the materials are of the best quality. The organisation are also socially engaged: they educate and employ those who are having difficulties finding a job, like deaf people. At least, that's what we were told. It's always hard to discern the real socially engaged organizations from the fake ones. You never know for sure. But I guess that's just as true in the Western world, or even more so. And I tend to believe Artisans d'Angkor's story because they were founded with the help of the French government and several NGO's and have plenty of solid references. So, we took a quick tour around the workshop and I shot these pictures with my M9 and 50mm summilux. Thank you for watching. Feel free to comment. And follow my blog if you like these pictures. Cedric Verhelst

Here's an impression of how people in Cambodia live on the Tonlé Sap (Great Lake). Click here for direct link to my blog post All pictures were taken with an M9 + 50mm Summilux, and processed with LR3. I also carried a Hasselblad on my big Cambodia/Vietnam trip but didn't take it with me on this trip to the lake. After developing some film rolls I was inspired to process the M9 digital files in the same manner: square format, high contrast black and white. And I kind of like it, it might be something to remember for future assignments. All your comments, positive and negative, are welcome. We were there last January with 'Osmose', on a one day tour, visiting the bird sanctuary and local villages. The group was small, only 5 people and a guide. So we really got a unique insight in how the locals lived there. It's actually a very fascinating phenomenon, this lake. Every year, during the wet season, the water from the Mekong river flows into it. And when the rain stops, the lake empties itself into the sea. People who live there have to adapt their lifestyle constantly, because when the water drops, trees and bushes start to emerge and wildlife changes. If you were to stay in one place for a day and watch a tree stem, you could actually see the water level drop. Since they live on the lake, they also have to move their houses closer together during the dry season, to a place where there's always water. In the summer they fish, in the winter they can plant crops on the fertile soil.