VII Photography
A narrative passage through Cambodia
June 24 – July 8, 2014
$4,665 + cost of airfare
STORYTELLING IN CAMBODIA
This is an intensive immersion in photography specifically designed for students
or young photographers who have curiosity about the world and wish to make a
real advance with their photography and narrative story telling skills.
Like all of VII’s masterclasses and workshops, the aim of the program is to launch
students into a culturally-rich environment and teach you the skills to identify,
research and document meaningful stories. On this Summer 2014 Program,
students will be instructed by VII photojournalists Gary Knight and Anastasia
Taylor-Lind. Participation will be capped at 16 students to ensure an intimate
mentoring experience.
Cambodia has an exceptionally rich political and cultural past, which has left its
own legacy on the young nation today. We will be addressing some of those issues
with talks and meetings with leaders from different aspects of the community
amongst whom will be journalists, photographers and NGO workers all of whom
are tackling the big issues that face the country today. In addition to your
photographic work you will also be presented with opportunities to collaborate
and build relationships with local NGO’s.
We will travel from Phnom Penh to Kompong Cham, visit the floating villages on
Ton Le Sap and then spend the final week in Siem Reap.
Each student will be given an assignment by his or her tutor and will work
individually or in pairs. There are a broad range of subjects which include but are
not limited to: floating villages, tourism, spirituality, land mine related issues,
primary health care issues, rural life, urbanism, generation x, arts and crafts.
You will have edit sessions with the tutors, sometimes one-on-one and sometimes
group sessions. The evenings will be spent in discussion and viewing curated
projections and in editing your work. You’ll work hard but there will also be time
for chilling!
At the end of the program you will return home with an edited portfolio and a
journal of this exceptional experience.
The course is open to those interested in developing storytelling skills including,
but not limited to students of photography or journalism. You need to use a digital
camera but the focus is not on the equipment and you can produce as strong an
essay with an iPhone or compact camera as a DSLR camera. You will need a
laptop and editing software.
The trip will begin in Phnom Penh and end in Siem Reap.
DAY 1 — June 24, 2014 | Arrive in Phnom Penh
Arrive into Phnom Penh International Airport. Rustic Pathways representatives
will be waiting for you outside of customs. Check into hotel. After dinner there
will be a projection. You’ll get to meet the rest of the group and discuss your goals
for the trip over dinner with the VII photographers.
Overnight: Salita Hotel, Phnom Penh
DAYS 2 – 3, June 25 - 26 | Phnom Penh
Over some Khmer breakfast, there will be an informal language lesson. While
you’ll just cover the basics, making an effort to learn the local language is a great
gesture of respect to the local people. Over the next couple of days you will start
to think about your photo essay and the direction you would like to take. This is
also time for an introduction to Cambodia’s tumultuous recent past which will put
the contemporary nation into perspective. We’ll have evening projections and
discussions. Sometimes your work will be edited in a group and sometimes one on
one. Photographers and NGO and cultural representatives will be invited to
discuss their work and look at pressing social issues including the Land Rights
conflict, the continuing problem for Land Mine victims and the prevalence of HIV
in Cambodian society.
There will be an opportunity to visit:
• S-21 Tuol Sleng - the notorious prison, formerly a school and now a
genocide museum.
• The Killing Fields of Choeing Ek, which were witness to infinite
executions during Pol Pot’s genocide.
Overnight: Salita Hotel, Phnom Penh
DAYS 4 – 5, June 27 – 28 | Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham
Leave Phnom Penh for Kampong Cham (about a 3 hour drive), the site of the
Rustic Pathways partner NGO, The Buddhism for Social Development Action
(BDSA). This is where you will gain experience in people to people diplomacy
with a group of Cambodian teens who live at The BDSA. This NGO was founded
locally by a small group of monks in response to the vast needs of their
community and now supports a children’s vocational training and arts center
called the Mekong Kampuchea Kids Project. The project provides educational and
practical support to younger children on a daily basis and residential vocational
training to older teens who join the program on a 2-year scholarship. We will be
staying in a Rustic Pathways base house. Dinner and meals will be in the town.
Overnight: Rustic Pathways Base House
DAY 6, June 29 | Kampong Cham to Siem Reap
Departure from Kampong Cham for Siem Reap. (About a 5 hour drive)
Photo projection at the Foreign Correspondents Club, Siem Reap.
DAYS 7 - 8, June 30 - July 1 | Siem Reap
Siem Reap is where you will now focus on really developing your photo essay.
Researching your story with the help of the VII tutors and the Rustic Pathways
local staff.
On the first morning, we will be up before dawn to visit the least frequented of the
Angkor temple sites, away from the tourist crowd. This town has exploded
commercially in the past decade thanks to the opening and commercialization of
the temples at Angkor Wat. This is where history, religion and commerce collide.
There are an infinite further number of story subjects to explore and you will have
the opportunity to either develop a single theme or continue with your personal
journal or narrative. Some ideas you may want to look at:
• Tourism -- how it impacts the local population
• Culture -- Siem Reap has a vibrant art scene both contemporary and
classical
• Religion--both Hindism and Buddhism are followed, there is also a small
but thriving Muslim community on Ton Le Sap
• Village life in rural Cambodia
• Street photography -- life here is lived largely on the street and there is a
plethora of activity to photograph
During the time in Siem Reap there will be regular editing sessions and evening
discussions and projections. Some of the evenings we will have group dinners, on
other evenings you will be free to make your own choice amongst the numerous
ethnic and western restaurants in the town.
Overnight: Reaksmey Chanreas Hotel, Siem Reap
DAY 9, July 2 | Ton Le Sap - Floating Villages (overnight)
There will be a trip to Ton Le Sap, the vast lake where communities live in
floating villages. You’ll travel by boat and take some time out from Siem Reap to
visit 2 villages where you’ll see how these water dependent people live : fishing,
cooking, schooling etc. Rustic overnight accommodation is with home stay
families on the lake.
DAYS 10 – 14, July 3 – 7 | Siem Reap
This period you’ll be working really hard to complete your project. By the 7th you
should have completed the photography and be working on your final edit. This
will be part of the last night projection for the group and take place at the Foreign
Correspondents Club. There will be drinks and dinner on this, the final night in
Cambodia.
Overnight: Reaksmey Chanreas Hotel, Siem Reap
DAY 15, July 8 | Departure
For those going home we’ll get you to the Siem Reap airport for return flights.
Some of you may be traveling onwards by yourselves. N.B - the trip begins in
Phnom Penh and ends in Siem Reap so you need to book flights or make plans
accordingly.
PLEASE NOTE: This trip is open to anyone 18 - 25, who is in education or not.
It is a serious commitment to your photography and you should expect to work
hard but also have time to relax and have fun. You will need: a digital camera
(DSLR, compact or iPhone), a laptop for post-production, a hard drive (see
application).
What is included in the course fee:
All accommodation,
Meals while traveling - Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham, Ton Le Sap, plus breakfast
and 2 dinners in Siem Reap. Six nights in Siem Reap will be independent dinners,
budget between $10-$15 per meal and $5 for lunch.
All activities scheduled in the itinerary plus additional activities according to VII
photographers.
Transportation for scheduled trips. There will be an allowance for independent
local transportation. In certain circumstances, if your project takes you outside of
Siem Reap you may wish to allow for additional transportation costs of up to $25.
FLIGHTS
The trip will begin in Phnom Penh and end in Siem Reap.
For those flying from the US flights can be arranged through Rustic Pathways
from New York to Phnom Penh. Flights for this group booking must be booked by
March 15th. Other students can travel independently and join the group in Phnom
Penh. Bangkok is the nearest major hub and regular flights are available to/from
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
CONTACT:
VII Photo
Rustic Pathways
Fiona Turner
[email protected]
Jamie Spates
[email protected]
+1 440.497.4181