When people think about Cambodia, one place usually comes to mind first: Angkor Wat.
And for good reason. Angkor is extraordinary.
But after more than 20 years of living, working and photographing in Cambodia, we know that Cambodia is so much more than Angkor.
It is a country of villages, rice fields, monasteries, markets, rivers and lakes. It is a country of different cultures and communities, changing landscapes and, above all, people and stories.
This is why we now offer three different photography tours in Cambodia – and are preparing a fourth one.
Each itinerary has its own character, its own season and its own photographic focus.
And there is a very simple reason for this: one Cambodia tour can never show you everything.
More than 20 years of photographing Cambodia
For more than 20 years, our guests have travelled with us through Cambodia.
Over that time, we have built strong relationships with people in villages, monasteries, markets and communities, particularly around Siem Reap.
These relationships are at the heart of our approach.
Our guests don’t simply arrive at a location, take a few photographs and leave.
They meet people we know.
They return to places where we have been welcomed for years.
They have time to observe, talk, connect and photograph.
And many of them come back.
Some guests have joined us for a second or third Cambodia trip, while others have returned several times—like this week, when some are coming back to experience the green season after having already travelled with us twice during the dry season.
And this year, two of our guests are returning for the sixth time, joining us for a private three-week photography workshop.
For us, this is one of the greatest compliments we can receive.
It also reminds us how much Cambodia has to offer photographers – even after many years.
Our Green Season and Harvest Season tour
Our original Cambodia photography experience takes place during the Green Season and Harvest Season.
This is a very special journey for us because it is closely connected to our long-standing relationships around Siem Reap.
During the tour, our guests meet many of our Cambodian friends and contacts – people we have known, photographed and visited over the years.
We may return to the same village or monastery several times, but the experience is never exactly the same.
Children grow up. Families change. The light changes. The landscape changes with the seasons. And everyday life simply continues.
The Green Season brings lush vegetation, vibrant rice fields and dramatic skies, while the Harvest Season offers another rhythm, with farmers working in the fields and the countryside filled with activity.
We also photograph temples, monasteries, markets and rural landscapes.
But the real strength of this tour is the human connection.
It is about meeting people we know and having the time and access to photograph real life rather than simply photographing places.
Why create another Cambodia tour?
After many years of running our main Cambodia itinerary, we started receiving more and more requests from returning guests who wanted to discover a different side of the country.
Some had already explored Siem Reap with us.
They wanted to go further.
At the same time, we knew that the High Water season, when the Tonlé Sap is at its fullest, offered completely different photographic possibilities.
So, together with Pics of Asia, our long-term partner for our Vietnam photography tour, we created a second Cambodia itinerary specifically around this season.
And it is not simply our original tour at another time of year.
It is a different journey.
Cambodia at High Water
Our Cambodia High Water Photography Tour begins in Phnom Penh.
We spend time exploring the city through street photography before heading north and travelling around the Tonlé Sap.
As we follow the lake, we discover villages on its edges, houses built on stilts and floating communities whose lives are deeply connected to the water.
When the Tonlé Sap is full, the landscape is transformed.
Water reaches deep into the countryside, boats become essential and the relationship between people and the lake becomes even more visible.
But the Tonlé Sap is only part of the journey.
We also explore some of the beautiful and largely unexplored Cambodian countryside, travelling away from the usual tourist routes and looking for authentic rural scenes, landscapes, people and everyday moments.
And of course, there are temples.
But rather than visiting every famous temple, we carefully select some of the most atmospheric and photogenic temples of the season.
With the humidity and abundant vegetation, some of these ancient temples become covered in green moss, creating an atmosphere that is very different from what most visitors experience.
We ran this itinerary two years ago, but we have now adjusted the route to make it even more unique, with new locations and a stronger focus on photography.
Two photographers, two visions
Another important aspect of this journey is that you will be accompanied by two photographers with different backgrounds and photographic visions.
We believe this is a real advantage.
The same scene can be interpreted in completely different ways.
One photographer may see a composition. Another may notice a gesture, a relationship between people or a particular quality of light.
Having two photographers also means two different ways of discussing photography, composition, storytelling and the way we approach a scene.
Our goal is not simply to take you to beautiful places.
It is to help you see differently.
And soon: a fourth Cambodia photography tour
We are now preparing a fourth Cambodia photography tour, and this one will explore another fascinating side of the country: its cultural diversity.
The new Cambodia – Minorities itinerary will focus on communities that are rarely part of conventional Cambodia travel.
We will explore the lives, traditions and everyday reality of the Cham people, Vietnamese communities in Cambodia and communities in eastern Cambodia.
This will be a very different photographic experience.
Rather than focusing primarily on temples and landscapes, the emphasis will be on people, identity, culture, traditions and documentary photography.
It is another way of discovering Cambodia — through the communities and cultures that make up the country.
As with our other photography tours, the aim is not simply to pass through these places, but to take the time to observe, understand and photograph them respectfully.
Three tours. Soon four. One country with many faces.
So why do we offer three – and soon four – photography tours in Cambodia?
Because one itinerary cannot tell the whole story of Cambodia.
Our Green Season and Harvest Season tour is rooted in the countryside around Siem Reap, the changing seasons and the relationships we have built with local people over many years.
Our High Water tour takes us on a completely different journey, beginning in Phnom Penh and following the Tonlé Sap through floating villages, stilted communities, rural Cambodia and atmospheric, moss-covered temples.
Our upcoming Cambodia – Ethnic Minorities tour will take us deeper into the country’s cultural diversity, meeting Cham, Vietnamese and eastern Cambodian communities and focusing on documentary and human photography.
Each itinerary has been created for photographers who want something beyond the standard Cambodia experience.
Cambodia is more than Angkor
We love Angkor.
But we don’t want Cambodia to stop at Angkor Wat.
We want our guests to discover the villages beyond the temples, the people behind the landscapes, the communities around the Tonlé Sap, the farmers in the countryside, the markets, monasteries and streets – and the many different cultures that make up Cambodia.
We want you to go beyond the obvious.
Beyond the usual tourist experience.
Because Cambodia is not one destination.
It is hundreds of stories, thousands of moments and countless photographic possibilities.
And after more than 20 years, we are still discovering them.
That is why our guests come back.
And that is why we keep creating new ways to photograph Cambodia.