Day 9 - The Mystery Assignment

This morning after breakfast Eric was being very secretive about where we were going and what we were doing which was slightly unnerving, but we got on the bus anyway and drove off to Battambang town centre where our driver was directed to pull in beside the main market and we all got out.
Eric then told us that we had an hour to complete an assignment for him - we were to go into the market for one hour and take photos but choose just three of the best we had taken to show him. The subjects were to be - one portrait with an uncluttered background, one of something red and one that was typically Cambodian. Once having chosen our best three we had to delete any others we had taken.
It didn't sound quite as daunting as it might have a few days ago but when we entered the market it was very dark and had very narrow passages between the stalls. It also seemed that there were separate areas of sales like the hair and beauty section, the dressmaking section, jewellery makers, shoes, food etc. anyway I found a red cap, almost immediately, hanging over a ladies flower stall so that was one done. The portrait proved much more difficult as nearly everybody had really busy and cluttered walls behind them and I also had to try and get in close to the subject. This for me was the hardest as I found about five people and took the shots but they really weren't very good and all looked like police identikit photos!! A lovely jewellery maker was my final choice and although not a technically brilliant shot he was my favourite. I found my typically Cambodian shot in the food market as piles of plucked chickens with feet attached had become a common site and there in front of me was a huge plateful and behind them was a basket of eggs as well - result!
Once settled in a cafe for a well earned and much needed cold drink it was time for Eric to critique our work. Thankfully I didn't do so bad although my backgrounds still need some work!
We headed back to the hotel to check out and then boarded the bus for a long 3 hour drive up to Siam Reap where we will be staying for 3 days at the Lotus Lodge. Joanne and I checked in and had lunch by the pool (the food was really nice) before we set off again for a photoshoot with some monks at Angkor Wat. Unfortunately it was the Buddha Festival today and the monks were not allowed out until tomorrow so gratefully we decided to have an early finish as it was about 37 degrees and we also have to be up at 4.30am tomorrow in order to catch the best light at sunrise - so early dinner and bed.