Travel Diary: Bangkok - Part 2

After waxing on perhaps excessively in Part 1 on the origins of my photography journey, I’ll keep it a bit more succinct here. Wandering through the streets of Bangkok with a fresh perspective after all those years stirred up feelings of familiarity right next those of utter novelty. That notion of confluence - the brackish waters of old mixing with new, juxtapositions of the traditional colliding with the ultra-modern, familiar scenes intermingling with the altogether novel, the mundane blending with the weird. These places have a gravitational pull, always drawing me in. Transitions and the interplay between two seemingly opposing forces, that dance between the odd couple… It’s where the most interesting things happen. Influences ebb and flow back and forth, reshaping each other into a new voice and aesthetic. A new noise.

For the photographers, these were all shot on the Fuji x100v as per usual for my travel stuff these days. I’m interested in how this confluence influences your work? Does it at all? Where do you find inspiration and the good stuff? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts! For more of these types of images, head on over to my socials down below.

Travel Diary: Bangkok - Part 1

In 2007, I boarded a plane to Thailand, about to take my first plunge into living overseas. I was the walking, talking version of a clueless 20-something in search of purpose. After 34 hours in airports and wildly uncomfortable plane seats, I landed in Bangkok around midnight. The city hit me like a ton of bricks— the sounds, the smells, the chaos. Tuk-tuks zipping by, street food at every turn, and the heat. It was sensory overload in the best possible way. It was like a shot of adrenaline, and I felt alive in a way I had never experienced. Over the coming months, I went through every emotion — excitement, confusion, loneliness, wanderlust, the lot. Though after a month, I was convinced I’d never leave despite the absolute mine field of emotions I was going through. I felt like I was on the right path even though I had no idea what that path actually was.

From Bangkok, I made the trek to Phuket where I set up my base. I had picked up a little point-and-shoot camera and starting taking photos of my neighbourhood and everything else, really. After posting some images on the interwebs, I started receiving messages like, “Wow, this is beautiful!” and “Are you a photographer now?” I hadn’t even considered it, but hey, what the hell, why not try and make it happen? Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, I kind of wonder if my friends were just blowing smoke up my ass… but whatever, it lit a fire, and I started chasing something that ended up being that path I hadn’t had a name for. I reached out to every photographer I could find, maybe someone would take me seriously off my stellar point and shoot portfolio…… Cue crickets. Finally after a couples months or so of persistence, read badgering and repeated emails, I finally got a response and a contact at a local paper. I reached out to The Phuket Gazette and miraculously, they gave me an assignment. I panicked, flew back to Bangkok, and bought a Canon 300D. Now I was a pro, right? Yeah, I had no idea what I was doing, but I dove in headfirst. Naïve much? Totally. But here we are.

As I started shooting events, people started to ask if I could photograph interiors and exteriors. Without a clue about what that entailed, I said yes. So, off to the internet I went. I started reading everything I could and fumbled my way through my first couple of jobs. Spoiler: Photoshop doesn’t make up for inexperience, but somehow I stumbled across the line with work just good enough to where clients were happy. I was getting paid to make pictures despite my serious lack in experience. Having to execute on demand certainly made it necessary to try and learn as fast as I could.  After all, that adage of “don’t write a check your ass can’t cash” was something ingrained in my head from an early age. All that being said, talk about watching a clown show. I spent countless hours trying to reverse engineer every photo I saw, and experienced what seemed like an infinite number of failures trying to replicate them. Basically a trial by fire.

A year and a half later, I thought I had a decent understanding of what I was doing. My time in Phuket was coming to an end and I was moving back to the States. So much for never leaving. I was deadset confident I’d slide right into a full-time photography gig upon touchdown back in Atlanta, and I’m sure you can see what’s coming next. Big reality check— way more competition, more developed market, and I was nowhere near the calibre photographer that what it would take to make it. I ended up taking a job in hospitality to pay the bills and started reaching out to commercial photographers. I obviously needed to level up. For months, I heard back from a grand total of no one despite casting an absurdly wide net. When I was starting to doubt why I moved back and maybe this whole thing was a flash in the pan that could only happen when I was back in Thailand, I got a call back for gig as a second assistant. The second assistant doesn’t touch cameras, have any creative input, or really anything to do with photography. Essentially, I was the guy who carried gear, built sets, did all the grunt work. Ahh.. these were the dues everyone kept talking about that I thought I had dodged. No such luck, but I was going to be damned if I didn’t take this whole thing seriously. Best believe I studied lighting, styling, camera settings…every little detail and realised I knew so very little about my chosen path.

Fast forward 16 years, and I’m a full time photographer. My craft has evolved, and I’ve been fortunate to make a living off it. The journey’s been a wild one - often times uncertain, sometimes incredible, but this is my thing. I don’t know how to live my life wth out it. The act of photography turned into a kind of therapy for me when things were getting a bit hectic. That time with the camera became time where I could be present. The process quickly superseded the end results, so the photos ended up being a reflection of that process and somehow I got better.

So… Why am I rambling about all of this? I hadn’t been back to Thailand since I left 17 years ago. When I moved back to Asia, this time Vietnam, when I had the chance to travel, I wanted to go somewhere new. Over a decade slipped by without ever really considering going back. But recently, I had the chance to swing through Bangkok again before the Sri Lanka workshop. My curiosity got the better of me. I wondered how the city had changed in nearly two decades? How had I changed? Maybe I’m still the kid with a camera, wandering and trying to figure it out, but I’ve got a few more years under my belt now so maybe I’m just an older kid still trying to figure it out.

Gone are the days of Khao San Road. No need to relive those days. I wanted to see what’s new - cocktail bars, dives, interesting places to shoot, and all the food. I still have old friends living in Bangkok, so I reached out and ended up exploring areas of the city I didn’t realise even existed. Old places and new eyes right?. Felt like a completely different city than what I remember. Whether that’s a result of it changing, me changing, likely a combination of both, but damn what a cool city and I can’t wait to get back. 

For my photographers, I kept it light and fast with the Fuji X100V and the two lens adapters, covering 28-50mm. Everything is edited in Capture One though wiith Fuji’s colour science, I didn’t have to do much. It kind of made me want to shoot only jpgs, but not quite ready for that whole rabbit hole. Anyways, enough waxing on. Here’s part one and stay tuned for part two next week. 

Sri Lanka Workshop Recap: Part 2 - Colombo and Negombo

From the bustling streets of Colombo to the chaotic fish markets of Negombo, these two locations are a street photographers dream. Pockets of light, lively characters you meet in the streets, fish parts flying everywhere. It’s a rush. It’s hard to know where to point the camera and when to hit the shutter. Often times, travelers spend maybe a day in Colombo and head off to other areas of the country, but as a travel photographer, the capital city provides for some incredible photo opportunities. Colombo’s Pettah market is steeped in history and is overflowing with activity. It’s not difficult to get lost in the sea of vendors surrounding you as you stroll through the streets and back alleys. Negombo’s fish market is a myriad of textures, smells, and a literal murder of crows flying in for an easy meal. Finding a clear frame sometimes is a challenge to say the least in both of these situations. That being said, as with most photography, patience is your friend and chasing light is never going to point you in the wrong direction. As I said in part one, sometimes the light is less than stellar, so we need to dig deeper, look closer, listen more. It’s similar to how I personally think travel is the most rewarding. Not observing but interacting and taking a nose dive into the deep end. The difference between traveling and being a tourist. So this wraps this years Sri Lanka workshop with Pics of Asia and we’ve got more planned for next year. We just announced dates for next year soon so head on over to the link above and sign up! We’d love to have you for the next jaunt around of my favourite places on earth.

Sri Lanka Workshop Recap: Part 1: Central Highlands and the Southern Coast

Travel is a funny thing. Despite due diligence and research, trying to control all the variables is often like carrying water in a sieve - a lesson in futility. This is not to say throw caution completely to the wind, but rather understand going into it that things will inherently be different than any preconceived ideas regardless if you’ve been there before. So, with that being said, this year’s workshop I co-led with Etienne Bossot of Pics of Asia in Sri Lanka was a lesson in laughing at the weather when it should have been far less...moody and often grumpy. Maybe it wasn’t grumpy, but it definitely wasn’t blue skies and gorgeous sunsets. So, when these things happen, a bit of a change in perspective is necessary. It allows us to start thinking in a mindset that’s not really so much about “perfect travel conditions” but rather looking at the conditions and making images that play to the strengths of each situation. So that golden light isn’t there….. so what. Are we going to sulk around and whinge about the shitty weather or do we start looking for pools of light, reflections from the rain, indoor markets, texture, beauty in the mundane and decisive moments? Perhaps we need to start thinking more about how to create compelling images with what’s in front of us rather than what is traditionally seen as beautiful. This is definitely a do as I say, not necessarily as I do type situation because there were more than a couple of occasions that I shook my fist at the sky and groaned at another overcast sky. We’re all human, but it’s not the end of the day if things go differently than we thought. If it was, oh man, I’d have been witness to about a million apocalypses at this point in my life.

We started in Negombo, made our way to the mountains around Kandy and Nuwara Eliya, down to the rice paddies on the way down to the coast again and back along the southern coast through Galle and back up to Colombo. It was a whirlwind! This post will focus on the central highlands and the southern coast to Galle. Colombo and Negombo to follow. With such a varied countryside, it became impossible to narrow it down to just one post. So stay tuned for part 2.

For the photographers, I only took the Fuji x100v on this trip and while it had its ups and downs, I recently got the little adapter lenses that give me a 28mm, 35mm, and 50mm equivalent options in a tiny package, so I didn’t miss the bigger system. I did this partly because of the ease and speed of the tiny camera, but additionally to prove a point. Making compelling images doesn’t require a mountain of gear. Yeah yeah, I know everyone has heard its not the gear, and I’m a big supporter of that. But thats’s not the whole picture. It’s more of the recognition that all these magic picture boxes are tools to realise the vision in your head. Picking the right tools for the right job is far more the camp I reside in and the Fuji x100v was more than enough to shoot everything I wanted. I’m not a wildlife photographer, so I don’t need a bazooka lens, I’m not shooting massive print ads on these trips so I don’t need the bajillion megapixels. Sometimes less is more and and these trips are proof positive that you can take a small kit and create something that reflects that crazy person’s vision in your head. Speaking of gear, massive massive thanks to the folks at Think Tank. In addition to our usual program, we ran a friendly little competition for the best series of images/story and, because crows are ubiquitous in Sri Lanka, a cheeky little contest to see who could wrangle the nicest shot of a crow was thrown in last minute. We gave away their incredibly useful cable management bags to the winners.

For transparency, I am a ThinkTank affiliate and any purchase made off the link above I get a small percentage that allows us to keep these types of giveaways possible. I couldn’t speak higher of the folks over there. Not only are their bags incredible, but their customer service is world class. I’ve had nothing but over the top good experiences and only cosign things and companies that I feel are doing it the right way. Supporting them supports photographers and helps us create the images we love.

Saigon Punk Chronicles : Frank Turner, 7uppercuts & Papa Lam

Another chapter in the Chronicles and what a chapter it was. The fine folks at Loud Minority put together an absolute banger of a show. Frank Turner boarded a plane in London, got off of the plane, and played a show a few hours later… If you didn’t know this, you’d have been well impressed by his performance and the energy in the room. Knowing this, it’s ever more impressive… What an absolute professional road dog.

Callum from 7uppercuts started the night off with Skeleton Goode as his backing band with his solo stuff under the name Papa Lam. Really looking forward to see how this progresses, fun stuff in kind of the same vein as Turner. 7uppercuts then got on stage and ripped it up setting up for an absolute barn burner from Frank Turner. The fact that a guy can get up on stage with an acoustic guitar and have people lose their minds like I was watching Bad Brains is quite honestly mind boggling. Can’t give this man enough credit. He played one crowd favourite after the next and ended things with Skeleton Goode coming back on stage as his backing band. As I watched from the balcony, it felt like I had stepped back in time and was watching one of the great punk shows of my youth. This type of energy in a room isn’t the norm so being able to see it in Saigon was pretty special.

For the photographers, these were shot on my Sony kit with a 28mm prime lens that I’ve not used in ages. Normally I’ll use a 18mm for these type of shows and get up close and personal, but opted for a bit of a different feel for this. Allowed for a nice little happy medium in this venue.

Papa Lam

7uppercuts

Tips and Tricks: Technical Perfection is Overrated.

Coffee factories are full of steam, dust, and typically…. DARKNESS. When the light pours in from the windows, you get this incredible atmosphere, but then you’re stuck with such a huge variance in light values that if you expose for your highlights, everything else is nearly black, but if you expose for your shadows, say hello to a millIon blown highlights. Usually when I’m teaching photography, I often encourage students to pick one and shoot to that limitation. Don’t try and satisfy both gods, because you’ll end up pissing them both off and end up with something pleasing neither. So what do you do? I’m not really in the camp of appeasing any gods, so I guess it’s a bit of dancing with the devil and doing whatever gets a compelling image or story. This is often tricky when it comes to photographers as we’re so obsessed with everything being technically “perfect,” that we get lost in the forest for the trees. Moment is always better than technical perfection, so never mind the noise, crank that iso, blow a few highlights and forget about everything you’ve been taught thats supposed to make a good photo. If it works, its not wrong, right?

Of course there are some little tricks you can do, but ultimately in these types of situations, something’s gotta give. It’s just up to you what you can let slide. All of these images are shot with the little fuji x100v. Not exactly known for its ability to handle high dynamic range. But this isn’t a pristine commercial shoot, the subject matter is a bit rough around the edges, so having a bit of technical imperfection isn’t a deal breaker for me. Medium matches the subject? Maybe I’m making excuses for poorly executed images. But that’s what I’m telling myself, and I’m certainly not losing any sleep over it. These were all from a recent trip from Buon Me Thuot down through Dak Nong back to Saigon with Etienne Bossot from the Pics of Asia fam. Let me know your thoughts and make sure to head over to Etienne’s site to read his thoughts on shooting in challenging environments.

Travel Diary: Milan

The last chapter in my trip to Europe, Milan, nearly got skipped in favour of heading up near Lake Como. With all the travel before getting to Milan, the need to slow my roll superseded another destination so I parked it in Milan for a few days and explored the city. Coming from Florence, Milan has a distinctly different feel. It feels lived in rather than the open air museum quality Florence had. While not as traditionally “picturesque” as Florence, Milan’s got its fair share of beautiful architecture and from what i experienced, it certainly is a bit rougher around the edges. For some reason, I always end up gravitating towards areas with a bit of grit as most of the good stuff is always found in the areas that are a bit unpolished. Diamonds are overrated, anyways.

After Florence, I was in full on street photography mode and with the dreary weather Milan was giving me, I leaned into it. Rain always means reflections and an extra bit of dynamism in images, so having those types of days isn’t a bummer and provides for some interesting frames here and there. It also helped out in giving me perhaps a different way of shooting places that have literally been shot a million times before. There’s nothing new under the sun, but it’s a fun challenge shooting famous spots while trying to give it my own spin or capturing it in a different way than what’s normally portrayed. Whats the point in shooting a famous place in the exact same way it’s been done countless times before? I’d just get another frame in a sea of the same…. Forgettable and ultimately a snoozefest. The more and more I travel to places that are famous for something, the less and less I care about getting “that shot.” I’m sure someone has shot that iconic image about a bajillion times and it’s far more interesting to me visually to try and do something different.

Everything shot on the Fuji x100v and tweaked in Capture One.

Travel Diary : Florence and Tuscany and Over-tourism

From Lucerne, I made my way down through northern Italy and ended up in Florence for a few days with a couple little excursions out into the Tuscan countryside. Upon entering the city, it’s pretty clear why it’s such a popular destination- the city is a stunner. Renaissance art, incredible architecture, some of the best food on the planet and a damn good coffee game. What’s not to like?

While absolutely stunning, something in Florence felt ….. off. Walking around the city, I immediately thought “Do people actually live in the central part of this city or is it just a playground for tourists?” Group tours fill the streets, English spoken on every corner, a carbonara with cream and bacon in it?!…something was awry. And I say this while painfully self aware that I am not outside of the problem. This notion of over-tourism is on the forefront of every conversation it seems when it comes to travel these days and I’d feel remiss if I didn’t comment on it. Airbnb, the issue with affordable housing, respect of locals, pricing locals out, and neighbourhoods feeling like open air museums…none of this feels great.. And it certainly doesn’t feel sustainable or conducive to the best part of traveling for me - breaking bread and finding connections with people all over the world. The issue is certainly nuanced, but the more I think about it, the more a common denominator becomes clear - for me at least. There’s a pretty big difference between mass tourism and traveling to experience other cultures. I’m not going sit on a high horse by any means, and any traveling is better than being insular with no world perspective, so take this for what it is - just a slice of my perspective based on a short time here. I’m sure I’m missing key points and I’d love to be schooled on them. That being said, participating, interacting, immersing into a culture is the exact opposite of the petting zoo type scenario you see with mass tourism. It’s like people’s sense of empathy has been replaced with grabbing a photo for the ‘gram or ticking a box on a list of destinations.

I also realise I don’t have the answer to this on a macro level, and I don’t want to be one of those folks that just points out a problem and goes back to exactly what they were doing. I do know I have control over my own actions and can only move in ways that I feel are respectful and empathetic. The more I ponder it, the notion of being a participant in something rather than merely taking up space becomes a differentiation in all of this for me. Certainly, policy level decisions on housing, numbers of tourists, and a myriad of other things need to be addressed, but some personal responsibility on the shoulders of travellers and tourists is definitely in order. A split second of thinking “what if this was my home? Would I act this way if this was my front yard?” If the answer is no, don’t be that guy.

In the images below, it’s not super obvious at the sheer number of people in the city, but I’m a creature of habit, and waking up early to go shoot is pretty normal in Vietnam for me. Putting it lightly, folks don’t rise as early in Florence as they do in Vietnam. Not by a long shot. It made for some quiet, peaceful morning walks and completely confirms my feelings on waking up early and exploring a place while it wakes up is the way to go. Miss the chaos, catch the beautiful light, and watch the world wake up.

For my photography friends, these were all shot on the trusty little fuji x100v. Fast and light.