Credit: David Lazar

Over two million people travel annually to a region in Cambodia to see the ancient ruins of Angkor. It is a resplendent place where one can view the remains of a once great empire.

Near a dense forest, thousands of temples remain as proof of the mighty Khmer empire that prospered more that a millennia ago. Angkor itself is simply translated as ‘city’ and scientists recognize that it was the largest pre-industrialization city in the world.

Located close to the modern town of Siemreab, the city served as the political and cultural capital of the Khmer empire. It also stands as a monument to the evolved civilization that flourished between the ninth and the early fifteenth centuries AD. At that time, the kingdom was known as Kambuja, and gave the name to modern day Cambodia.

Angkor, however, was not just a religious city; other buildings have been erected to serve the needs of its inhabitants. Unfortunately, only few of them including a few bridges have survived time and all that is left for the visitor to see is the majestic religious architecture of the Khmer civilization.

One very popular temple is “Ta Prohm” which translates into “Jungle Temple”. In the middle of the temple, a tree has spread its roots across the floor.

Credit: David Lazar

“It has been left untouched over the centuries, forming a relationship with the tree which appears to engulf it” David Lazar, an Australian professional photographer, told Astigan. Fascinated by this part of the world, he spent two weeks admiring the remains of the Khmer civilization.

“This temple is very photogenic with the tree over it”, he said.

Armed with a Nikon D70s with Tamron 18-200mm lens, David managed to get a good shot of nature conquering the ancient temple. “This is quite a wide lens so I could get a wide shot of it and quite close up at the same time. I wanted to capture as much as I could of the tree without showing the sky which would certainly be overexposed due to the contrasting lighting conditions.”

Yet the work was not entirely done. The camera didn’t pick up a few shades so David used Photoshop to darken certain parts in order to create atmosphere and “boosted the greens of the moss on the temple”. By doing this he brought attention to the tree. “[It] certainly helps give it the mystical otherworldly look that it may have”, he said.

The Jungle Temple was just an episode in David’s career as a photographer. He recently won a trip from an Australian tour company that gave him the opportunity to explore other amazing parts of the world. “I thought – ‘where can I redeem this trip and go somewhere I probably wouldn’t choose to go otherwise?’

“So I chose Jordan, and since I’ll be there in December, I thought I’d check out Bethlehem and Jerusalem at Christmas too.  Then, Egypt is right over the border so I’ll spend some time there, go scuba diving, and see the sights.  I’ll be taking this 10 week holiday by myself, and plan to capture plenty of interesting landscapes and portraits of the people in these regions. It’s something I do purely for pleasure – and with so many interesting and diverse places to see around the globe, the options are never limited.”

Images: David Lazar
See David’s photography here. 

Tags: angkor, jungle, nature, photography, ta prohm, temple