Something like a dream. That was my first thought when I saw infrared photography as child. I could not figure out how images could look so illuminated. How the leaves became so washed in whites and how soft things appeared. Within infrared there’s an atmosphere that filled with stillness.
There’s timeless sense which is much as how we recall dreams when we awake. Thus is the case with this image that I shot with infrared film. It’s of the North Kleang which are set of structures in the ancient Cambodian capital of Angkor Thom. It’s not known what purpose these buildings once served, but they are built in a way that they intersect a grand avenue that ran from the royal palace to the a gate that’s known as the Victory Gate. The ruins sit with scattered stones blocks and are fragmented; however they still have not lost their majestic essence. Even now I can still look at this photo and am drawn with my imagination to wander within its surreal dream-scape.
Linh Vien Thai is Amerasian, born in Dalat, South Vietnam, where he continued to lived during the war. He left for the U.S. and is now an American living in Tokyo. He enjoys adventure traveling and doing what’s right to make the world a better place.
