I'm Blogging now because I have 40min to kill before I hop in a Taxi to goto the airport... and just now some old man sat down next to me, and decided to take off his shoes and socks, then crossed his legs so his right foot is now dangerously close to my knee! I waited a few mins and pretended I finished and walked off and now sitting in another location... didn't wanna be rude, but I have a phobia of feet lol...
Anywayz, this is a Photography BLOG usually :S lol...
My time here in Thailand was an interesting one... it's not something that I really had on the agenda, just thought "Why not" as it was only £200 more overall, and I'm on this side of the world, so may as well make more use of it...
Didn't really know what Thailand had to offer in terms of Photography experience, and in truth, there isn't much for me.
It's definitely a place for an experience, rather than visual... if that makes any sense?
To clarify, I'm in Bangkok... From what everyone tells me in Bangkok, I'm basically in the centre...
Shopping is cheap, Massages are cheap (and painful :'( lol) and food is available... not keen on the food here tbh... I ate everything with fear as anything I ate it gave me a funny feeling in my stomach and didn't taste 'fresh'...
In saying that, I just ate in some Japanese Style Restaurant in Terminal 21 Shopping Centre and the food did not look nice, but tasted great...
In terms of Photography though, there wasn't much for me here in Thailand... I wanted to take some shots of the Grand Palace Temple but I was told by the Taxi Driver that there was a death of someone of importance which forced the Temple to close as they're hosting the funeral and cremation there...
So I missed out on seeing that.. Would've been nice to have seen it, although as I didn't set out to go see it, I'm ok to let that slip by...
Otherwise it's General Street Photography style shooting with people in the markets and so forth.
Two shots that I really like from this holiday are from the Floating Market... Warning to anyone who goes to the Floating Market, expect to pay roughly £20 a head to get on... that is super expensive by Thailand standards, but it's about right for UK rates... They wouldn't negotiate on the rate as they knew they had us... We travelled 1hr30min by Taxi to get there, and we were hardly just going to turn back now... It was a relaxing boat ride along the river and seeing the sites...
Well, it was relaxing when you're not listening to the bargaining and haggling happening all around you... I wouldn't suggest you buy too much from the Floating Market as it's pretty pricy compared to any other market... I would average the prices at least 20% higher than a standard Market...
Anyway, the first image that I really like from that day is of an old lady rowing a boat... We were heading straight on the river and I just so happened to peak left and caught a glimpse of this site. Quickly pulled the camera up and shot....
Nikon D7000 with 35mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8, ISO200, 1/5000sec
The shot had been cropped a bit to re-align the shot, as it was one of those very quick moments...
In hindsight, I should've increased to f2.5-3.5, as the main subject was a touch too soft for my liking. With a little Clarity added I think it's ok now...
Edited with a Vintage feel... it's very Cliché to edit an image like this with a Vintage style, but it really does suit...
The second shot I liked from the day was a trail of Coconuts...
Nikon D7000 with 35mm f/1.8@ f/1.8, ISO100, 1/2500sec
Focussed was missed... as I would've preferred the main focus on the front or second to front Coconut and have the rest fade off in the background... However again, it was a last min spot and off the side of the boat, so I was 'shooting from the hip' as they say... although it wasn't from my hip :S
Basically I couldn't see through the viewfinder to compose the shot lol...
I missed another Photography Opportunity right before this as there was an old woman walking in the River pulling these Coconuts along... I missed the shot as I was recording video and had the camera in Manual Focus and when I saw the chance to shoot, I forgot to switch back into AF Mode and I got the shot, but was WAY out of focus...
Nevermind... another opportunity presented it self later that day, however it was with a man dressed like a Ninja... Not quite the same feel, but that shot got attained lol...
Looking forward to arriving back on UK Soil... I would say I'm feeling slightly home sick... Mainly because I miss home food! I also feel like I need to get back to work...
A few things I need to get on with... I need to finish editing Lisa William's Portraits, my friend Alvin Ossai's Power Lifting Competition, and edit all these holiday pictures. Would prefer to do it on a proper PC with a bit more power and bigger screen...
I've also had an idea for an article to write regarding my lenses...
There is a lot of stigma about "Shoot with what you have", "You can get any shot with any gear" etc... "Zoom with your feet"... "The best camera is the one you have with you"... Where all these sayings have truth to them, there is the other side to it that no-one really discusses which I would like to address...
Not that I'm encouraging people to break their banks to get the stuff, but quality equipment does produce quality images... But of course, yes, great images can be captured on lower-end gear...
I also have a BLOG to complete regarding D7000 to D800 transition... Definitely a good move for me...
D7000 was taken around in Thailand as it wasn't important shots I needed to attain, so D7000 and 35mm suited me fine as a walk around...
Those BLOGS coming soon....
@LeoHoangPhoto
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