We did an audio tour which gave us a very real feel for what happened at these killing fields. I will spare you some of the details and if you don’t want to know anything graphic, I suggest not reading the captions I will have for the photos. I promise after this post, I will have more uplifting posts and photos from my trip. Learning and understanding some of the history of Cambodia was a big part of our trip so I feel like I should share it!

In one of the graves we found this tooth. Bones, teeth and clothing were everywhere.

Clothing coming out of the ground. The front piece could have been a blindfold.

More clothing… you can see how it is not just sitting on top of the ground but is literally coming out of the earth.

A few of the mass graves.

I thought this was strange because I didn’t see a ton of butterflies flying around and here one lays with another piece of clothing.

The tree on the left will forever haunt me. They hung speakers from this tree and played loud music to cover up the sounds of the people being killed. With the audio tour they played a sample of the music that was played. Both Denise and I would freak out a little anytime we heard a similar sounding music. I then realized that the only people who knew what that music was were either victims of the killing fields, soldiers and tourists. Kind of strange, isn’t it?

This tree I stared at for the longest time in disbelief. The soldiers would beat babies and small children against this tree until the died. They made the mother watch. They didn’t want to waste bullets because they cost money. I still don’t understand how any human could kill so many little children is such a horrific way. The grave on the right was where many women and children were buried.

Some of the clothing they have gathered through the years.

Bones… human bones.

More than 5,000 skulls are displayed in a huge memorial. They are organized by gender and age. Insane!

There were two little puppies (and a lot of chickens) wandering around the killing fields. Just a reminder that life continues on no matter what or where. I really wanted to bring this puppy home!

On our tuk tuk ride back we stopped at a few spots to see more of the beautiful side of Phnom Penh.

And we’re back in the city. Yes, they have lanes. No, they do not use them.

We are also excited the Visual Supply Co will be giving each attendee a little goodie. Both Abi and I use their Lightroom presets for at least 90% of our editing (if not more). Using their presets has significantly cut down my editing time and has made me even more excited about my photography! Seriously, they are awesome! We will also have a few other goodies to give away!

To sign up for our shoot, please go HERE. We look forward to seeing you there!!

A few more details:
It will be on Sunday, February 19th. We will start shooting two hours before sunset.

Back in July, I scouted out a location by literally driving through the desert. I finally found the perfect spot about 30 minutes outside of Vegas. We will meet at the MGM lobby and transport everyone there since it is a little tricky to find our shooting spot.

Both of the models have modeling experience. The child model has appeared in print ads and commercials, including a TLC advertising campaign. She was also the voice for Sea Worlds fireworks show last summer.

Pol Pot was a very disturbed man. From April 1975 until January 7, 1979 he killed an estimated 3 million people. Almost two million were tortured and killed and the others died of starvation. This was 20% of the Cambodian population! Anyone Pol Pot felt threatened by, he killed. This included members of the middle class and educated people such as teachers, police, military or people who wore glasses. He also killed their children because he was paranoid they would come back for revenge when they grew up. As time went on, he got even more paranoid, having some of his own soldiers and family beheaded and killed.

Pol Pot declared ‘Year Zero’ in 1975 and directs a ruthless program to “purify” Cambodian society of capitalism, Western culture, religion and all foreign influences in favor of an isolated and totally self-sufficient Maoist agrarian state. No opposition is tolerated.

Foreigners are expelled, embassies closed, and the currency abolished. Markets, schools, newspapers, religious practices and private property are outlawed.

This is really just touching on the history and I highly recommend googling it to learn more. I didn’t even know this happened until I visited Cambodia two years ago. You would never know it happened because the Cambodian people are so kind and welcoming. Such and amazing place with a very sad history. Most people have relatives they lost and still remember these horrible days.

The prison we visited was a school that was overtaken by Khmer Rouge when Phnom Penh was evacuated. Here they tortured and killed many. If they did not die during torture they were taken to the killing fields (this will be my next post).

The photo on the left is a skull with a bullet hole in the top of the head. Many times they would not just shoot people because bullets were expensive and they didn’t want to waste them. The photo on the right are some of the victims. They would take photos when they entered and photos when they were killed.

These are a few forms of torture and the devices they used. They would also rip off finger nails, beat, and electrocute them. There were only about 7 survivors from this torture prison and it was because they had skills that could be used.

More victims.

The buildings were covered with barbed wire so prisoners couldn’t jump off and commit suicide. They did this after one prisoner jumped from the third floor.

The cells where prisoners were shackled and kept.

Standing in the cell was surreal. Thinking of the people who were in here and died is almost incomprehensible. Blood stains can still be seen on the floor. The containers on the left were used as the bathroom.

This room still had the chalk board and what looks like nails for kids to hang their bags on.

Can’t even imagine what this was like when it was a prison…

Each room was numbered.

Shackles for multiple people.

One of the survivors from S21 sculpted these busts of Pol Pot.

This photo broke my heart. That baby would be 33 now.

One of the larger rooms where politicians or those higher up were held and tortured.

To give you an idea of what it could look like, here is a recent styled family shoot I did at the Salton Sea…

Moss, dogs and long grass…

Melody, who grew up in Mendocino, took us through a cemetery to climb down a blowhole. I wasn’t quite sure what this meant but I was assured it was an easy hike to get to the bottom. Check out the video of Abi making her way down. The rope she’s holding ended about halfway down and for the rest of the way we relied on rocks and tree branched to get us down safely. (this is where the sore quadriceps come in)

So yeah, totally worth risking my life to see this…

How pretty is this?!?

Of course we made a quick stop in the cemetery.

When the light was pretty we headed out to shoot each other…

Hannah

Courtney

Lydia

Melody

Courtney and Brooke

Love these boots…

Abi, Courtney and Brooke

I love this beach… it reminds me so much of the beach used in Twilight.

And the pretty light is almost gone…

Once the sun is down, the girls had fun! Yes, this is what we did for fun.

When I was in Ohio last month I got to have my first “real” photo shoot with Alicia. I still helped her pick out her outfit and shoes… just like when we were kids. I was still bossy and demanding… just like when we were kids. Hopefully I’ll have a full post up soon but for now a look into the past and a look at now!

Alicia couldn’t have been older than 4 in this photo. She was wearing a bathrobe (which doubled as a backdrop) and I attached a bow onto a headband and told her it was a crown. I told her she was a princess and I’m pretty sure I made her walk around the house while I held the back of her royal robe making her wave to the commoners. Oh the fun of being a kid! (Please excuse the bad scanning quality… I shot film back in those day.)

Alicia now. I have always been jealous of her beautiful blue eyes! You are gorgeous!

I hope everyone had fun with the contest. I know I enjoyed watching it! Because it was so close, I decided to do a second and third place in the canvas contest and a second place prize in the free session contest.

Here are the winners and what they won!!

CANVAS WINNERS

First Place: Aiden
Aiden’s mommy and daddy win a 16×24 canvas gallery wrap and 20% off their next shoot!

Second Place: Aimee and Sasha
Aimee and Sasha win an 8×10 canvas gallery wrap!

Third Place: Makenzie
Makenzie’s mommy and daddy win an 11×14 professional print!

FREE SESSION WINNERS!

First Place: Lopaka
Lopaka’s mommy and daddy win a full session for their little guy’s newborn shoot! This includes a CD of high resolution images and a $50 print credit!

Second Place: Palumbo Family
The Palumbo family wins a 45 minute mini session and a CD of full resolution images!

Congratulations to all the winners and watch Richelle Dante Photography‘s Facebook page for announcements about holiday mini shoots coming soon!

Step One: If you don’t already like Richelle Dante Photography, click on the link and “like” my page. (This is not required but recommended so you can follow the contest.)

Step Two: Email a photo of whoever will be a part of the session and write a short description of why you want to win. If you are entering to win a canvas, email the photo you will want on your canvas. Email to richelle@richelledante.com. Your photo will then be loaded to the contest gallery on Richelle Dante Photography’s page, with your description as the caption.

Step Three: Get as many people as possible to “like” your photo. The photo with the most likes wins! Two winners will be chosen. One for the photo session and one for the canvas! The contest will end on July 7th, at midnight PST.

The Rules:
One entry per family. Clients who have had a session within the past sixth months are only eligible for the 16×24 canvas wrap and 20% off the next session. The contest will begin on Wednesday, June 22nd at 9pm PST but entries will be accepted until the last day. Contest ends July 7th at midnight PST. Photo session must be used within one year of July 7, 2011 and must take place within Orange County (there will be a travel fee for anywhere else in the world… yes, world) . The session is up to two hours long and includes a CD of high-res images along with a $50 print credit. The winners will be chosen by the total amount of “likes”, comments will not count.
Facebook is in no way involved or responsible for this contest. It is not sponsored, endorsed, administered or associated with Facebook. All information provided is going directly to Richelle Dante photography and not to Facebook.

A few sneak peeks of recent shoot that are yet to be blogged!

Last week I blogged about the WPPI convention. Part of the fun was meeting photographer Eric Schultheiss of Essence Photography and learning more about off camera flash. I shared a few shots he took of us but not the shots I took. Here are a few of my favorites…

This is my friend Amy. She is from Louisiana and I love being around her! She is an amazingly talented photographer and I’m looking forward to her platform class at WPPI someday. She would seriously have everyone smiling, laughing and loving photography more!

And this is Cherish. She is also from Louisiana and specializes in baby and family photography. Cherish is completely unique and I love hanging out with her! She is also a great model!!

My favorite…

As we were walking back we ran into The Cosmopolitan (literally… it was freezing outside). It is amazing! There are crystals everywhere… I was in awe!

This is part of a giant chandelier that has a bar in the middle of it. Only in Vegas!

I did have a ton of fun and met some really cool people! I also got to hang out with friends from the Thailand/ Cambodia trip! A highlight for me, besides Amy taking a picture with a passed out guy in the MGM bar, was speaking at the Digilabs booth! Turns out I like talking in front of people. Thanks to all who came and listened, you helped me beat my biggest fear of nobody showing up!!

I headed out a day early to go to a group shoot in the desert hosted by Gavin Wade Photography. There were a lot of photographers so I automatically went into the “I have to get a different shot than everybody else” mode. I blame it on my figure skating background and being slightly competitive. =) I always love a creative challenge and I had fun with it! I also met some awesome photographers who I’m sure I will be keeping in touch with!

A few shots from the group shoot…

Taking a wide shot with 30 other photographers was a challenge. =)

There was a bridal couple modeling along with a high fashion model. This is my favorite of her…

My favorite couple shot…

I met two awesome photographers from San Diego. First is Julia from Indica Photography. She is due in a few months so we had a little impromptu maternity shoot. =)

This is Leslie from Leslie Anne Photofinish… I’m so glad I met them on this shoot! Both are super sweet and super talented!

Amazing sunset

A few days later, I spoke at the Digilabs booth. I use Digilabs for all of my prints and coffee table books. I love working with them but more importantly they have beautiful products I get to share with my clients! My talk was an overview of how I do baby shoots from the first email, to facebooking and blogging, to the final product. These photos were taken by Amy on her Canon Powershot G11. Thanks Amy!

One of my favorite parts of WPPI is meeting new friends. We randomly met photographer Eric Schultheiss of Essence Photography. We got to talking about off camera flash. He offered to share his secrets and shoot with us the following day. I haven’t loaded the photos I took but here are a few he took. Pretty awesome, huh? =)

I’m a horrible model but he made me look good! haha

And the last exciting part of the trip was my drive home. I decided to stay up and hit the road at 5am. This seemed like a good idea. I would be home by 10am or so and go to sleep. It turns out when you try to drive on NO sleep, you get tired. My quick 4 hour drive turned into 8 hours of trying to stay awake and finding places to pull over so I could nap in my car. It was an adventure and I’m happy I made it home safely!

Here is an iPhone picture I took right after I drank some Red Bull and was actually awake. =)