Vietnam, Elephant Riding

[cigrainger]

Hey guys, so I'm back with a D300. I've moved from my home in Edinburgh to my girlfriend's parents' place in Barnsley, England, and now I'm living in Vietnam teaching English. I arrived Wednesday and will be here until the end of May at least, living a small city called Buon Ma Thuot. Check out my blog for first impressions, etc -- www.cigrainger.com.

Today my boss took us to a place near Yok Don National Park to ride an elephant. These are some of the photos I took on the day. My 16-85VR is pretty much glued to my D300, as its a fantastic travel/street combination. I'm dying to get wider though -- I see a Tokina 11-16/2.8 in my future. C&C welcome -- looking forward to hearing what you guys think!

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

 

[LaFoto]

Whoa, you are HIGH UP when you sit on an elephant! Shows well in 2! That boy on his bike is sooo far below. I think I'd feel kind of ... funny up there.

There is one photo that doesn't quite fit into the series, or so it seems: the room with that lady standing in the back of said room: what was that? I like how you worked with the given light.

What makes one work as English teacher in Vietnam for a year?

 

[cigrainger]

Whoa, you are HIGH UP when you sit on an elephant! Shows well in 2! That boy on his bike is sooo far below. I think I'd feel kind of ... funny up there.

There is one photo that doesn't quite fit into the series, or so it seems: the room with that lady standing in the back of said room: what was that? I like how you worked with the given light.

What makes one work as English teacher in Vietnam for a year?

Hi Corinna! I hope all is well. Part of that is the wide angle, but yeah, you are up very high.

That photo is in the tradition Ede longhouse -- built in 1887 -- of the man called 'Mother': the most prolific elephant hunter (to train, not kill) ever, according to the legend. He apparently caught 444 elephants. The house is now a museum of elephant hunting and they also sell a tea that is supposed to be good for one's manhood -- apparently women come from all over to get it for their husbands. That's what the woman is doing, selling that tea.

What makes one work as an English teacher in Vietnam for a year? Well, more.. what doesn't? Just graduated, I have no responsibilities. Time to go live somewhere and experience a different way of life for longer than a summer. Check out the blog to learn more. These guys are awesome.

 

[cigrainger]

No one else? Are these really that bad?

 

[Markw]

Absolutely not!! these are very interesting. All of them, especially with the back story. If you were looking for C&C, you probably should have posted a few less photos

Were these taken with the Tokina 11-16mm 2.8? They all look fantastic. Im very jealous of you for this. :thumbsup:

Mark

 

[oldmacman]

Just read through your blog. Great job. I think I will check back occasionally if that's ok. If I was 25 years younger, and taught English rather than media, I would want to do something like this. As it is, I plan on doing a lot of travel when I retire in a few years.

 

[DanFinePhotography]

these are awesome, really good pics. Like the elephant pics

 

[cigrainger]

Thanks everybody. I was starting to think maybe they were just poor photos and people were being nice by not saying anything.

Mark, they were taken with the Nikon 16-85/3.5-5.6 VR. I find myself pushing up against the 16mm end of this lens a lot already (it's a new lens), so I'm thinking I may have to buy the Tokina.

Oldmacman, I'd be happy for you to check back, that's what it's there for! If you do get the chance to travel out to Vietnam, check out Buon Ma Thuot. It's not full of the tick-off-your-list tourist attractions, but because of that it can show you what Vietnamese daily life is like when it's not focused on catering to tourism.

 

[phanleson]

The beautiful Photo

I very like it , Thanks for your post

For more pictures about Viet Nam, You can visit the following website :

the beautiful places in viet nam

The best website about photo of Viet Nam

 

[LaFoto]

Phanleson, I toned down your writing a bit. No need to shout across the forums as if this were a broad market place, ok?