Phnom Penh, Cambodia

** WARNING ** There are some graphic images in this blog post.  The images and subject matter are not for the faint of heart.

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On March 8, news broke out that a Malaysian flight had just disappeared off the radar (as of this writing, it’s still missing).  It’s quite a mind-boggling story, and hopefully there’s some resolution to this mystery soon, especially for the families directly impacted by this event.  Selfishly, it rattled me a little bit considering I was flying out to start my journey in Southeast Asia the next morning.

Add the fact that this was my first time traveling solo and for such an extended period of time, along with the extreme heat and humidity (it’s been 97 degrees+, 100% humidity every day I’ve been here – I don’t do well in the heat), I was wondering if I had made the right decision.

After a twenty hour flight, I landed in Taipei for a short layover and took my first photo of the journey.

Eventually I landed in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.  I got settled in to my hotel and decided to trek out and take a walk around town before it got too late.  Because I heard and read so many stories of snatch-and-grab theft of cameras, I was a bit paranoid about going out and about… but I mean, photographing was one of the main reasons why I chose to vacation in SE Asia, so I wasn’t going to let a few horror stories deter me.  I figured keeping your wits about you and paying attention to your surroundings would minimize the risk of getting my camera stolen.

I’d say there’s a 20:1 ratio of scooters/tuk tuks to automobiles on the roads of Cambodia.  I’m probably underestimating.  The streets are actually pretty crazy, as it seems no one really follows traffic laws, let alone stay in their own lanes.

In preparing for my journey, I did a bit of research on the history of Cambodia.  I kindle’d (is that a term?) Luong Ung’s “First They Killed My Father,” a memoir of her experiences as a child during Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime in the mid to late 1970’s.  I also watched the movie “The Killing Fields” as well as the compelling documentary, “S21 – The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine.”  To be honest, I had never known too much, if anything, about the genocide that took place there in recent history.  Either I slept through those history lessons in high school, or they just aren’t included in American textbooks (probably the latter).I’m in no way an expert on what happened in Cambodia in the 70’s, but in a nutshell, Pol Pot took control of the fragile government and began imprisoning, torturing and executing basically anyone who wasn’t a farmer.  Doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists, religious leaders, university students, foreigners and what have you were all driven from the urban areas of Cambodia and were considered enemies of the state.  The children of these people were also murdered, for fear of retribution against the government in the future.

In a span of just five years, nearly 3 million people were murdered.  Below are some images I took at Cheoung Ek, also known as the Killing Fields.  This was where most of the executions took place, and it also served as the burial ground for all those murdered.

Visitors leave woven bracelets as a way to show their respects.  There are thousands of these all around the Killing Fields.

There is a large indentation in the ground behind the butterfly, where bones, skulls and scraps of clothing were found.

A spirit house on the Killing Fields.

This one is very disturbing.  After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, the researchers who discovered the Killing Fields found skull fragments and human hair on the trunk of this tree, to their bewilderment.  It was later learned that babies were killed by slamming their heads into this tree.

Fragments of bones and teeth are on display.

There are well over 5,000 skulls housed in this stupa/monument.  It is seven stories of just skulls.

After my visit to the Killing Fields, I visited Tuol Sleng, which was originally a high school but became a prison where enemies of the state were held, tortured and killed during the Khmer Rouge regime.

What struck me, besides the obvious, where the meticulous records the Khmer Rouge kept, and the amount of photos they took to record their atrocious acts.

There are thousands and thousands of these “mug shots.”  After the fall of the regime, these photos were put on display at Tuol Sleng so that Cambodians could find out if their family members were imprisoned here and to find out what their fates were.

Leg shackles that were put on the prisoners before going to sleep every night.

Keys of the prison cells were hung on these nails.

Most of the living quarters and holding cells were about three feet wide.

Many of these illustrations have the Khmer Rouge soldiers’ face scratched off.  I’m assuming they were done in contempt by the surviving family members who visited the prison/museum after the regime.

This was my tuk tuk driver for the day.  I asked him about how the Khmer Rouge effected him.  He was just a baby at the time, but his aunt and uncle both passed away in Tuol Sleng, as they were both doctors.

The following two images were taken on a bathroom break on my way up to Siem Reap via bus.  Trains are nonexistent in Cambodia since the Khmer Rouge destroyed most of the train tracks during its rule.

Next up, I’ll post photos of Siem Reap and write about some of my lasting impressions of the beautiful country and even more beautiful people.

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Mexico Destination Wedding, Beloved Resorts (EMILY + VINCE) – Cancun

This winter has been one of the coldest in recent memory.  I actually usually love winter and snow and all that… but I’m almost at my wits end with this cold.  I feel like every time there was a major snow storm or a polar vortex, I had some gig that I had to get to and that stressed me out like no other.

Because of all these subzero temperatures, I figured it’d be nice to blog about a destination wedding I did a few months back down in Cancun… dreaming of warmer weather and margaritas on the beach… I’ve also been meaning to blog about this wedding for a long time, but didn’t really get the chance to, so now here it is!

A little backstory… a few of the images you’ll see below were from the pre-wedding welcome party that included a fire show.  I just wanted to mention that before anyone starts wondering what those images have to do with the beautiful wedding that occurred that weekend!

*****

I also wanted to post these images up before I head abroad for a month in Southeast Asia starting in a couple of days.  I didn’t have any shoots booked for March so I decided I would spend that time traveling solo through Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

I figure I’ll use this opportunity to eat some good food, do a little soul searching, get some writing done and most importantly, refresh my creative juices before the 2014 wedding season swings into full gear.  I feel like ever since I started my business three years ago, my life has been 85% business and 15% art.  I’m using this time away to get a firmer grasp on my passion and I feel art should always be evolving anyways.  Once it starts getting stagnant, it no longer is art.

Here’s to a successful journey, in more ways than one.  I’m hoping to update my blog on a semi-daily basis with some of the images I capture over there, so stay tuned.

And without further ado, I present Emily and Vince’s Cancun wedding!  Enjoy everyone!

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Mexico 2013 (Cancun, Valladolid)

Gosh, it’s been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks… circumstances changing as drastically as the weather.  Thanks to everyone who emailed, texted, and expressed concern with things going on with my family.  I think it’s safe to say that things have settled down a bit and things are returning to normal.  Just have to now deal with a lot of follow-ups and medical bills.  (yay!)

Anyways, enough about that. Last week I was in Mexico to photograph Emily and Vince’s wedding.  We stayed at the all-inclusive Beloved Resort (how appropriate a name!) and what a beautiful resort it was.  Above all else, the customer service and experience was exceptional and beyond anything I could have asked for.

During our stay, my second shooter and I ventured off the resort and traveled into town one day (there’s not much non-touristy stuff in Cancun) and also traveled a few hours off the beaten path to Valladolid… a city which I will always remember as the city I lost my wallet in.  My friend tells me I should just tell everyone that I left my wallet in El Segundo, which actually would have been cool to do and say… but that wouldn’t be the truth.  And I think there are some copyright issues with saying that over and over again anyways.

But despite all the photography wind being let out of my sail that day, we didn’t let it ruin our day.  Canceling your credit cards when abroad isn’t as easy as it seems… especially when I was panicking so much, I couldn’t even remember my login names!!!

Someone in El Segundo… I mean Valladolid is enjoying my 1000 pesos, my metrocard and MoMa membership card.  You win some, you lose some.

Anyways, I wanted to share with you some street shots from that trip into town.  Every time I go off a resort and into town, there is such a huge disparity in terms of lifestyle, wealth and culture.  One can only speak English so much on a Mexican resort.  And then when you travel into town, poverty all around hits you in the face.

But there’s always one thing that is palpable from witnessing such things… and that’s the family bond that they all share.  It’s truly endearing, and it always reminds me of what is truly important in our lives.  It’s not the money we make, the status of our jobs, the food that we take photos of.  It’s family and living for those who we love.  It’s what we share with each other, what we teach and learn from each other, to make our lives that much easier and more bearable to live, no matter what our circumstances.

This trip to Mexico was certainly not short of soul searching on my part.  I had lots of moments either thinking or writing in my journal, of the things I’m going through as a man, a son, a brother, a friend, what have you.  And that’s what traveling is all about, yes?  It’s about self discovery through discovery.  To be more self-aware and grateful.

And that maybe I need to get back to using my chain wallet again.  Even at the risk of looking like a teenager.  At least I never lost my wallet that way.

On that note, I hope you enjoy some of the images that follow.  I’ll be blogging images from Emily and Vince’s wedding later this week, so stay tuned!

~Jase

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