Adam Monk Photo Tours & Images Gallery

The Hasselblad H4D-60 is not really a travel camera… it being huge, heavy and not very subtle.  But It’s such a lovely camera to use, and the results are nothing short of spectacular, which makes it all worth it.  Its a hard camera to use quietly, as the shutter makes an almighty “thunk” which tends to echo around the space in places like Dzongs (Temple fortress of Feudal Bhutan) and temples.

This Image shot in the Thimpu Dzong on my last photo tour of Bhutan in the angled light of late afternoon as a group of Monks crossed the courtyard.  Shot on the Hasselblad H4D-60 with the Hasselblad 100mm f2.2.

Thimpu is the capital of Bhutan, though to call it a city is stretch.  Up to a few years ago Thimpu was just a small town in the Thimpu valley, now it is the biggest “city” in Bhutan and the capital with a population of just over 80,000 people.  To me it’s still a beautiful relaxed town where the locals are always ready with a smile and directions for a lost traveller, or even a lost photography tour group.

Despite its title as Capital City, Thimpu still has no traffic lights, and when the city council tried to instal some there was such a local outcry they were removed again shortly afterwards.

This trip to Bhutan we were blessed with some beautiful skies and some magic sunsets.  This is the Thimpu valley at twilight with the Thimpu Dzong on the right hand side behind the rice fields.  Below is the same location shortly afterwards with the lights of the Dzong lit up.

Both Images were shot with the Hasselblad H4D-60 camera and the Hasselblad 50mm f3.5 or the 100mm f2.2.

I have just returned from my latest Bhutan Photo tour where I spent 15 days photographing, teaching and learning.  The great thing about running photography tours is that I learn as much from the participants as they learn from me, not just about photography, but about people skills, diplomacy, about myself and how I react to certain situations.  It really is an illuminating experience that I hope makes each tour better and better.

Ideal Light for Landscapes

Bhutan is always a magical place and this year was not disappointing, the weather last year was all blue skies and sunshine, which is very nice, but this year turned on some magic moody skies and some great overcast days with some lovely soft light for more landscapes, and photographing Bhutan’s wild rivers like the images to the left and below.

The rivers in Bhutan all run straight out of the mountains, usually from snow melt, so they are all rapids and waterfalls, blue and very cold!  The coloured Prayer Flags add a lovely cultural dimension and really place the image firmly in the Buddhist Himalayas.  The Bhutanese, who are almost exclusively Buddhist (Buddhism is part of their constitution) place the prayer flags in many natural beauty spots, particularly high passes and across river valleys.

They are really a great form of labour saving device,  the prayers are written on the flags, which are made in such a way that they unravel in the wind, releasing the prayers as they disintegrate.

I took the Hasselblad H4D-60 along on this latest photo tour (as I did for my tour of Vietnam and Cambodia earlier this year), its not really an ideal travel camera, being rather heavy…  But its such a pleasure to use, and the images are so sharp and clear that I cant say I regretted it for a minute… Except when I had to carry it up the mountain!

Images shot on the Hasselblad H4D-60 and Hasselblad 50mm f3.5 lens.

Bhutan Photo tour for 2014

Next years Bhutan photo tour leaves in march for the spring festivals in Punakha Dzong, wild flowers and battle re-enactments, it will be awesome!

I have finalised all the details for my photography tour of Bhutan for next year and the web page has been fully updated.  Next years tour differs from this years tour, which is leaving next month (october 12th), in that next year we are going in March, which is Spring in Bhutan.  This means all the wildflowers will be out, it also means the festival around which I base the dates for the Bhutan Photo tour will be different.

Bumthang Festivals for the Photo tour of 2013

Both this year and last year the tour dates revolved around two fantastic festivals in the Bumthang region of Bhutan, The Jambay Lhakhang tshechu (religious festival) in Jakar and the Prakar Lhakhang tshechu (religious festival) in the Chumey valley.  Both of these festivals are as authentic as it gets and worth the travelling into the scenic mountainous region of Bhutan, not that you need any further reasons, the scenery in central Bhutan is spectacular even on a bad day!

Punakha Festival  for the Photo tour of 2014

For 2014 by arriving in spring it opens up the possibilities for seeing other festivals.  For next years tour I have set the dates to coincide with the Punakha Dromchen tshechu, which takes place in and around the stunningly beautiful Punakha Dzong (temple fortress).

This festival commemorates a pivotal victory of the Bhutanese over the Tibetan army in the 17th century that took place in the location where the Dzong now stands.  The Punakha Dzong was built to ensure the Tibetans would never be able to sneak up the Punakha valley again, and the festival that happens in spring each year has a dramatic re-enactment of this battle as the main event.  We will be there to photograph it.

If you would like to join me at the Punakha Dzong (which is pictured above) for this unique festival go to the Bhutan Photo Tour webpage to read all the details and reserve your place.

Another image from my favourite temple in the Angkor complex…  Angkor is often misnamed Angkor Wat, when in fact Angkor Wat refers to the largest single temple within the Angkor temple complex (Wat means temple in Khmer).  As impressive as Angkor Wat is, due to sheer size and grandeur, it’s often hard to appreciate it due to the vast number of tourists pouring through it, often it feels more like Disney Land, with screaming and yelling and total chaos.

Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm

When I go to places like Angkor, I like to wander quietly through the incredible ruins and wonder at the long dead builders of such a vast and elaborate work of art, and the culture that created it.  The temples of Angkor really are beyond compare, certainly to anything I have ever seen.  Every square centimetre is covered with detailed and intricate carvings, it’s almost impossible to comprehend the size and complexity of it all.

So the last thing I want is to be there with a bunch of screaming disrespectful idiots, that really breaks the spell and makes me want to leave.  Fortunately most of those idiots are on large organised tours that all follow the same itinerary, and they all arrive around the same time…  9.30 in the morning when it’s stinking hot and so humid you almost need to be a fish to breath!  Since I have been at the temples since 5am, thats a perfect time for me to head back to the air conditioned comfort of my hotel room in Siem Reap to download images and have a sleep until about 3pm  Then I head back to the temples just as those same dehydrated and exhausted tour groups are leaving… strangely quiet now.

The Temple of Ta Prohm doesn’t get anywhere near the numbers of Angkor Wat, but it is still a popular spot for the Disneyland tour groups, so you do have to get there early or late.  Fortunately that’s the best time to be there in every sense, light, temperature, humidity and quiet!  This image was shot early in the morning on my last Photographic tour to Cambodia and Vietnam on the Hasselblad H4D-60 with a 28mm f4 lens.

Cambodia Photo Workshop

I’ve been planning a photographic Workshop in Cambodia since returning in 2013, those plans have come to fruition and the page is up, you can view all the details here>>