It was 2012. I’d bought a used Leica M6 the previous year and was in Cambodia, a place I’d dreamt of visiting for years. I was intrigued by the work and stories of Philip Blenkinsop and Daniel Milnor at the time regarding Cambodia and South East Asia and going there with a film camera loaded with Ilford Delta 3200 film felt right. The introduction on Blenkinsop’s website, even now, leaves me speechless and I check in with Milnor and his current work almost daily.

Siem Reap is of course known for being the gateway to Angkor Wat and I spent a few mornings visiting and photographing the complexes. I took advice from a friend who recommended hiring a tuk-tuk driver to visit each temple in reverse order to other tourists and doing so meant I had most temples to myself. Only later did I find out that the driver was apparently terrified of ghosts and was petrified of being left alone while I explored during the early mornings. One morning I also met the current Japanese Emperor, but that story is for another time.

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After visiting Angkor in the mornings I’d walk the streets and photograph during the afternoons. It was during the heavy monsoon rain on one afternoon that I came across these net fishermen – tuk-tuk drivers in the tourist season, fishermen in the off season – got chatting, and spent an hour or so photographing them. Daily life, no thrills.

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Every now and then I think back to that rainy day and how unrestrained I felt just wandering and shooting, meeting strangers, learning, and getting to know a little about their lives despite having no common language.

One day I’d like to return and give them some prints. I wonder if they are still there, still fishing today?

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