• CategoriesPhotography

    Week 16: Water

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    My plan had been to repeat the massively successful shooting of Songkran in Chiang Mai last year. Having previously read somewhere (I forget where, sadly) that “if the end of your lens isn’t wet, you’re not close enough,” I had decided that I wanted to get in really close for some great action shots of the water throwing. From this was born the Songkran Camera Protector Mk.1 – a sealable sandwich bag with a hole ripped in the end for the lens, held in place by the lens hood.

  • CategoriesTravel

    Songkran 2016: Wedded Bliss

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    The third and last of my Songkran travel aims was ticked off a couple of days ago and I’m now back in Phuket and back to work. My few days in Pattaya were a peaceful and very enjoyable way to end my journey, catching up with friends and family and sharing in the joy of a wedding.

  • CategoriesExpat Life · Photography

    The #Hellvan Chronicles

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    For those who don’t know, one of the cheapest forms of long-distance transport around Thailand is the minivan. You can get from Pattaya to Bangkok – a distance of 147km – in supreme discomfort for a mere 150 baht (about £3 or US$4.30) and, what’s more, you can do it surprisingly quickly if you catch the right bus. Why? Because the minivans were famous for being driven by absolute lunatics. That’s why I christened them “Hellvans”.

  • CategoriesPhotography

    Week 8: Outtake

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    This was a bit of a contrast to what had been going on for a lot of the rest of the shoot, where the black angel had been glaring at the white one with daggers in her eyes, looking vengeful and hateful of the latter’s happiness. I can’t exactly recall how this led to the picture below. I remember us laughing about the apparent conflict between the two polar-natured personifications and me getting off a quick snapshot when Becca pretended to throttle Jasica. I was essentially shooting from the hip, but that is a practice I have a surprising about of experience with. It was more chance than anything else that it actually worked, but I suppose that is the very definition of an outtake.

  • CategoriesOp-Ed

    “This is the Real Pattaya”

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    Saying “this is the real Pattaya” would be like me filming a two-minute video on Bangla Road and saying “this is the real Phuket”, or going down to Soi Green Mango and saying “this is the real Koh Samui”, or Patpong and saying “this is the real Bangkok”, or Soho and saying “this is the real London”, or the Reeperbahn and saying “this is the real Hamburg”. The list goes on. And on. And on. You can’t judge an entire city by its seediest part, is my point.

  • CategoriesExpat Life

    Lucy Hill, Blood Donation and Driving in Thailand

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    Lucy Hill is a 21-year-old Brit from Bury, travelling around the world for her gap year. As is often the case with such people, she ended up in Thailand; in Chiang Mai, specifically. As is also often the case, she was involved in a motorbike accident. She was badly injured when a car hit her hired motorbike, causing her to lose a significant amount of blood. Unfortunately, for her, the blood she lost was of type A-, which is rare enough generally, but particularly so in Asia.

  • CategoriesExpat Life

    Happy Expat Christmas!

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    One of the toughest times of the year for me and many of the expatriates I know is the holiday season – Christmas and New Year. The former is not a Thai holiday (though many will happily get involved in the Christmas spirit), but the latter is and most Thais will go back to their home towns and villages in the far-flung regions of the country. The same goes for the foreigners – a large number fly back to their home nations to spend this special time of the year with their families.