Archive for February, 2009

What Guards Your Village?

Korean Jangseung Totem Poles

Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/30 s
Creation Date:   N/A     Aperture:   f/22.0
Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
Exposure Mode:   Aperture priority     Focal Length:   N/A

I’ve added Seoul to the list of cities I’ve officially visited. Although it was just a layover, it lasted 10 hours and I actually left the airport, so it counts. It seemed like a cool city and I found some cool Jangseung Totem Poles, so I was happy. These are they – a pair would be used to guard the entrance to a village against evil spirits.  That’s what the sign said anyway, and any sign next to a Pocari Sweat machine has got to be telling the truth.  I thought they were pretty rad. The backlighting was a good situation to use HDR. Without it, I would have had to choose to either overexpose the sky or lose all the detail in the faces. I did a little post processing, but nothing big.

If this was your walkway, you'd be home already

Koh Kret Walkway

Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/80 s
Creation Date:   2009:01:29 19:31:16     Aperture:   f/6.3
Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
Exposure Mode:   Normal program     Focal Length:   35 mm


Just upriver from central Bangkok (an incredibly busy, smoggy, urban city) is a small island in the bend of the Chao Phraya River called Koh Kret (a small, rural non-city). Still populated largely by the ethnic Mon people, the main activities seem to be shilling their traditional pottery (and dessert, so I hear) to tourists. Once you get off the main drag on the elevated concrete walkway that rings the island, things get distinctly more agricultural and rural. Although the pathway is well built, everything strapped to it is… otherwise constructed. This is the path up to a typical house. I don’t know about you, but personally it looks a little rickety. Maybe that’s just me. In any case, it’s a nice little break from Bangkok, and at forced march speeds, you can walk the whole 5+ kilometers in just over an hour. Hopefully before your hired Long-Tail boat gets pissed at you and leaves.

Nobody Messes With The Chicken

Chumporn Chicken

Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/60 s
Creation Date:   2009:01:28 21:39:02     Aperture:   f/4.0
Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
Exposure Mode:   Normal program     Focal Length:   70 mm

The rule of thumb seems to be that the less developed the country, the more aggressive the fowl. Comparatively, this was a smaller chicken – the largest two roosters I saw were the ones that lived under my bungalow in Koh Tao. In any case, this one had some attitude – look at that stare.

On a photo nerd note, this picture makes me want to mention that there are times you want to break some of those classic rules.  The rule of thirds makes for much more interesting pictures about 95% of the time, but this is one of the times where it’s all about the subject and leaving it off-center would probably detract from the image.  When you really want all focus on one obvious thing, put it in the middle of the frame.  If you want to remind people that there is a larger image to look at, rule of thirds is great.

    The Last of the Long-Tails

    Long-Tail Boat Close-up

    Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/30 s
    Creation Date:   2009:01:28 18:50:55     Aperture:   f/22.0
    Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
    Exposure Mode:   Aperture priority     Focal Length:   35 mm

    I don’t know if I’ve done it justice so far. About 50% of my pictures are long-tail boats but I’ve only posted a couple here. I like this shot as most of mine were taken from the beach so you just see the boat in profile. It’s always nice to be able to shoot down at something or up at it – angles, man! This was from the pier in Mae Haad as we waited for our ferry to come.

    Making bowls for Monk’s Alms

    Traditional Buddhist Monk Bowl

    Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/4 s
    Creation Date:   2009:01:30 02:10:44     Aperture:   f/4.0
    Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
    Exposure Mode:   Normal program     Focal Length:   35 mm

    Buddhist monks in Thailand traditionally beg for their food using a special handmade bowl. Like most things, now there are cheap versions from China, but in the alleys of Soi Ban Baat, the last of three villages founded in the time of Rama I still does things the old fashioned way. The picture above is of the tools used in one of the final steps. The bowls are created of 8 pieces of steel (symbolizing the 8-fold path and all that) that are then soldered together with copper and hammered into shape. The finished bowls are beautiful and have a great tone when struck with something hard. The creation process may or may not involve the use of cats. Either way, it’s a great diversion when you have an extra hour or two in Banglumphu. And you can walk there from the Koh Sahn area – don’t let the irate security guards at Chabad tell you otherwise.

    Thailand Stereotypes: Long-Tail Boats

    Tail-less Longtail Boat

    Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/400 s
    Creation Date:   2009:01:26 17:17:07     Aperture:   f/7.1
    Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
    Exposure Mode:   Normal program     Focal Length:   105 mm

    After Phad Thai and images of the King, there is nothing you will see more often in Thailand than the ubiquitous Long-Tail Boats. Built for speed in narrow waterways (I can confirm – *very* fast), they are all over Bangkok, but also all over the numerous island shores. This shot was taken off Sairee Beach on Koh Tao. Missing, of course, is the long-tail part – you can see the usual look here. Gotta love that color-changing water too.

    Open Flame on Koh Tao

    Beach Lanterns on Koh Tao

    Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/20 s
    Creation Date:   2009:01:25 03:40:34     Aperture:   f/4.0
    Artist:   N/A     ISO:   800
    Exposure Mode:   Normal program     Focal Length:   47 mm

    Walking down Sairee Beach on Koh Tao, I stumbled across a wedding. These lanterns were bordering the fringe. Whenever I travel outside of the US one of my favorite parts is always the ability to have fun in a way that might put you on the wrong side of some lawsuit at home. These were one thing, but the flying incendiary balloons were much… better? worse? I didn’t ask if they only launch these things when the wind will take them offshore.

    Wat Phra Kaew Reflection

    Wat Phra Kaeo Reflection

    Camera & Lens   Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT (Canon) & no lens info     Shutter:   1/80 s
    Creation Date:   2009:01:22 17:57:51     Aperture:   f/4.5
    Artist:   N/A     ISO:   100
    Exposure Mode:   Normal program     Focal Length:   65 mm

    One more picture from Wat Phra Kaew. Might be the last, but no promises. This shot is a reflection of the Royal Pantheon (Prasat Phra Dhepbidorn, if my handout is to be believed) in one of the lilypad and water-filled planters around the site. I often forget that some of the best shots aren’t directly at the subject. Reflections sometimes bring a nice change in viewpoint.