Postcard from Ko Samet: On working hard and dunking monks.

I fear that this post might not do much to dispel the myth that travel photographers have it easy. Those who know no better assume that we swan about on tropical beaches, stumbling over the occasional shot before retiring to sip piña coladas beneath palm-fringed canopies with the warm, turquoise water lapping gently at our feet.

Well, let me set the record straight. Right here. Right now. I’ve just spent two days on Ko Samet and… err… actually, that’s pretty much exactly what I did.

OK, I admit it, it probably is a contender for Best Job in the World. It certainly has its ups and downs but when you find yourself taking photos of the sun rising over an idyllic beach scene whilst a warm breeze blows in from the Gulf of Thailand then it’s hard to imagine ever sitting in traffic on the M3 outside Basingstoke, anticipating a day in front of a computer screen. Been there. Done that.

These two pictures were taken at sunrise by a pier in… actually, I’m not going to tell you where. I chanced upon what might just be the perfect little cove in Ko Samet, away from the tourist hordes, eastward facing for sunrise but only a short walk from the western shore for sunset. Better still, instead of the rustic bungalows that dot the island, all of which are perfectly nice I’m sure, I found a traditional Thai house, built from teak and so close to the beach that I could feel the spray on my face from the balcony. If you’re really nice and ask politely then I might share. Really, really nice!

The first image is an HDR constructed from seven RAW files in Photomatix Pro, using the Lightroom plug-in that Martin Evening has just talked about. Exposure times varied from 1/6th to 10 seconds, shot at f/16 at 16mm.

The second was taken this very morning and is a straight image, not HDR.

When I reached the end of this pier this morning, I was approached by a monk with a digital camera who asked if he could take my photo. Talk about swapping roles! He’d clearly heard about our recent class at the Bangkok Photo School, where we discussed approaching strangers and asking to take their picture. He smiled, asked permission, acted with respect and had his camera set-up and ready to shoot. What else could I do? I pushed him off the pier into the water. Jeez, everyone’s a travel photographer.

After I’d fished him out and dried him off we sat on the pier and chatted for a while. He extended my Thai vocabulary by teaching me a few words and then revealed that he was on the island for a holiday. He was staying nearby with another monk and their Buddhist teacher. Leaning forward, he whispered that he really, really wanted to go for a swim in the sea but, as a monk, he couldn’t be seen to be doing anything quite so carefree and irresponsible. A few local people came up the pier and each one bowed low in front of him, bringing their hands together in a traditional Thai greeting or Wai. He was, of course, very respectful in return but I did feel sorry to think that all he really wanted to do was have a swim.

Finally, this brief slideshow offers more evidence of how hard I work when I’m on location. Images courtesy of my able assistant.

Posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 10:14 pm. Filed under: My work, Travel Tags: ko samet, thailand RSS 2.0 feed.