“Stool Guy” Photograph

With this photograph I was very tempted to clone out the orange stool in Photoshop so that he would be left floating above his shoes but decided that that would be taking manipulation a stage too far for a street photography blog.

There was also a “No Parking” sign just to the right but unfortunately it was only in Thai so I left it out.

Photograph taken on Wua Lai Road, Chiang Mai, Thailand

“Yonder” Photograph

Although westerners make up a significant proportion of the street market wanderers in Chiang Mai I find that I am far more drawn to take pictures of the Asians. Maybe it is something to do with finding “difference” more interesting so that as a European I find Asian faces more photogenic. However, I suspect it is also to do with culture as I carry a subconscious feeling that a westerner is more likely to react unpleasantly if they notice me taking their photograph without asking first. A Thai person might not be happy about it but would not confront me and a quick smile from me would be sufficiently placating.

But sometimes I do “risk” photographing the fierce foreigners and manage to survive.

“Yonder” is also one of my favorite words.

Photograph taken at “Sunday Walking Street”, Chiang Mai, Thailand

“No, This Way” Photograph

A good-natured dispute between a young couple as to which way to go.

Care to bet which way they went?

Photograph taken at “Saturday Walking Street”, Chiang Mai, Thailand

“Bike Pusher” Photograph

This was the first picture where I tried using the High Dynamic Range (HDR) technique on a single photograph. Normally HDR is used to increase tonal range by combining several photographs that are identical except for bracketed exposures. However, this is hard to do with moving subjects such as people in a busy street but it is possible to do a pseudo-HDR like this one if the photo is in RAW format.

It produces a very distinctive look that is easily over-done but I love the way it increases local contrast to bring out detail throughout the image. It has the great benefit of often being able to make an ordinary picture look more interesting.

Photograph taken at “Saturday Walking Street”, Chiang Mai, Thailand

“Stunt Rider” Photograph

As a foreigner who first came to both Thailand and motorbikes as an adult I was a little intimidated at the ease at which Thai people of all shapes and sizes controlled their bikes compared to my awkward and overly cautious approach. The reason, of course, is that they grow up on them and even quite young kids can be seen riding around on their own motorbike.

This young girl seemed particularly comfortable on this motorbike. Fortunately, the man noticed her before he jumped on.

Photograph taken at “Saturday Walking Street”, Chiang Mai, Thailand

“Cracked Paint Abstract” Photograph

Abstract patterns and colors were one of my first photographic loves. I started with leaves, treebark and rocks then moved into the urban environment looking at corroded metal and, as in this case, old paintwork. Although I now spend more time focussed on the living streets I still do occasionally drag my eyes back to the inanimate.

This cracked paint was part of an old piece of graffiti artwork on a wall in Bangkok. It is exactly the sort of beautiful detail that we walk passed every day but tend to dismiss as an ugly blemish without a second glance.

Stopping to smell the roses is good advice but I suggest also stopping to stare at the wall occasionally.

Photograph taken in Rangsit, Bangkok, Thailand