Life starts early on the Tonle Sap. With the first glimmers of light creeping over the horizon come the first sounds of distant diesel engines coughing and spluttering their way towards Sisowath Quay. Eerie silhouettes emerge from the darkness to reveal small fishing vessels of the simplest construction. The engine cuts out and the boat glides towards the riverbank.
Father controls the rear while mother paddles at the helm. The poetic grace of their movement belies the strong under currents and pays homage to a life long daily ritual, as two or three sleepy kids emerge from the crudest of corrugated iron protection.
Mother pulls out the weighing scales while father lights his first cigarette of the day. Market women appear from Quayside carrying large empty bowls on their heads, and casual bargaining and banter ensues while the children help each other get dressed. A few customary gasps of disbelief are exchanged before a price is agreed and the fish are on their way to market.
Just a short hop and skip across the main riverfront is one of Phnom Penh's most lively street markets. Besides fish you can buy all manner of meat, vegetables, spices and riverweeds and by 6am this place is not only a hive of activity, but also a riot of colour, noise and smell.
Once flapping around in shallow bowls of water the fish are now systematically scaled, gutted, and beheaded before being sold to eager house wife's and dispatched to hungry families via even more eager moto-drop and cyclo drivers.
Nathan Horton lives in Cambodia and offers daily drop-in Travel Photography Workshops in its vibrant capital; Phnom Penh and longer private itinerary tours.
With 20 years international experience working in London, Asia and the Caribbean for such titles as Elle Magazine, The Times and Food & Travel Magazine he is well qualified to share his varied experience.
A firm believer in the fact that cameras don't take good pictures but people do, he encourages everyone with a camera (SLR, Compact - Digital or Film) that wants to start taking better pictures in Cambodia and their future travels.
Notably different to other photography tuition the workshops emphasizes travel photography that focuses on the local people, their cultures and their traditions and opens up discussion on how to photograph people in a foreign country without upsetting them.
His longer tours are aimed at keen amateurs and aspiring professionals. Nathan not only teaches his participants how to use their cameras more creatively but also to get the most out of Cambodia's many and varied photographic opportunities in a short period of time.
Besides being a big fan of many characters to be found in Phnom Penh, Nathan feels truly privileged to show people around what he believes to be one of the worlds most extensive photographic opportunities; The Temples of Angkor. His extensive knowledge of Angkor will insure the best temples are visited at the best times of day and that hidden gems don't go missed.
Find out more by visiting www.nathanhortonphotography.com