Cambodia – a book of photos

Me and Andrew travelled to Cambodia earlier this year. It was an incredible, unforgettable trip. I am not sure I will ever be able to describe it. The ingenuity and courage of the people; the art and history of an ancient culture; the dense forests, rivers and floodplains; the marks of a terrible recent history. Cambodia touched me deeply. I feel grateful to have visited this amazing place.

I decided to make a book of our photos for Andrew’s birthday. Choosing the pics were ridiculously difficult, but I managed to cut it down to about 80 pages! I bound the book myself using a thread sewing technique. It was my first try at bookbinding. Thanks to Jamie Butler for her online tutorial. Without it, I would have been lost.

My aim was to try and capture the crazy mix of colours and textures we found in Cambodia. It is more a visual memory bank than a album of perfect photographs. Here are some of our favourite spreads.

The sewing of the sections was the most fun. I can’t wait to experimenting with different binding techniques. For the cover I used a piece of cloth we bought at a market in Ratanakiri .

Thank you Samia for pointing us in the direction of Cambodia. As you said, ” it’s beautiful. it’s fucked up. it’s beautiful.”