Angkor Wat, Krong Siem Reap, Cambodia

It’s a beautiful forty-two degrees the pilot announced through the cabin speakers earlier that day as I quickly pulled out my iPhone and converted Celsius to Fahrenheit, ~ 108 degrees.

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I noticed the Buddhist monks entering the temple with their saffron robes casting a striking vision against the ruins of the thousand-year-old Angkor Wat stone temple walls.  One monk motioned to the other to stand in front of the Prohm Temple with its famous silk-cotton tree growing on the exterior.  I noticed the framing from a distance and thought it would make for an interesting shot, so I lined up behind the monk in the foreground but in the distance was a curious man in his white crumpled shirt and tattered straw hat surveying the root system of the tree right in line with my perfectly framed photo, so I waited impatiently for him to move.  At the same time, I was monitoring tourist on each side waiting for their turn to take a similar photo in front of the famous tree.

I soon realizing that I was running out of time and dashed up to the man in the straw hat and said, ‘the monks would like to take a photo in front of the temple’, he turned to look at the two monks, took one last look at the silk-cotton tree roots and moved off to the side.  I then dashed back to my spot motioning to one monk in passing that the close was clear to take his photo as he nodded in appreciation.

I quickly position myself, raised my camera without rechecking my setting, and fired off a few shots click click click, hoping that I hadn’t accidently altered the setting on my camera in my frantic attempt to get back in place, click click click ~ I was dripping with perspiration but was happy to have taken the time to get the shot.

At times it’s not just about seeing a shot, it’s about having the patience, awareness, and desire to help document your vision of that moment in time.