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Part II of Anna Wang's workshop with the VII Photo Agency in Cambodia

Anna Wang is taking part in a second weeklong workshop with VII photographer Marcus Bleasdale at the end of June, 2009 in Kashmir. The cost is roughly 2,300 US dlrs for a week, including hotel and board. Anyone interested should contact Anna or the VII Photo Agency directly.

6am: After a bowl of noodles in front of a Wat (is there anything better than street food?), I started to explore the quiet streets of Siem Reap looking for pictures that would depict rituals and traditions. This was no glorified vacation where you sightsee, chit chat and take a few pictures of nice temples and sunsets. Everyone on the course had to have a topic, just as if you were on assignment from a magazine.

One person chose transvestites, another the floating village, another street kids. I wanted to experience rituals and tradition that have survived the war and the modernization of an ancient culture.

We had little instructions for the first day, just to go out there and shoot. We were to return around 5pm and regroup in the meeting room to show our stuff. Our only instructions were that we were not to doctor our pictures and to choose less than 40 to show. That was very clear, anything over 40 pictures were not going to be looked at, at all. Gary and Philip are old friends and have been collaborating on workshops for a number of years.

Philip only shot with his Leica, no, not digital…film. He made little attempt to hide his distain for digital photography. His dark sunken eyes and wiry body reminded me of a cross between a cheetah and a meer cat. Gary had an opposite built to Philip. He could’ve been mistaken for a builder.

Thankfully, Gary did shoot with a digital camera. In their rented orange open top jeep, they were the epitome of cool. From the outset, they had established that we were in the presence of masters. Like a true journalist, I had done my homework. I asked the hotel receptionist if she knew of any weddings. What better place to experience rituals than a wedding.

It turns out that I was in luck, it is wedding season, after the monsoons. I would have never imagined it was so easy to crash a wedding. I walked in, and was immediately treated like part of the family. I was feeling very happy, there were plenty of Kodak moments. By mid-afternoon, I was sure I had at least 40 show-able pictures. I was feeling good, although my hand were aching.

I was not used to shooting a Canon 5D full frame with a 24mm-70mm lens all day. It weighted over 3 kilos. I returned that afternoon, full from a wedding banquet. It didn’t take me long to pick out 40 from some 1000 pictures taken in the last 24 hours. At the darkened meeting room, all 12 of us disciples sat around a big boardroom table and rather apprehensively handed in our pictures.

All of them are to be projected and critiqued by two of the best photojournalists of our time. None of us knew what to expect. I think we were all accustomed to friends and family praising our photographic talents. None of us were prepared for what came next.

The Essential Edge will publish Part III of Anna Wang's notebook in the days ahead. For further information about such workshops, please contact Anna on email: •This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it•