Travel & Humanitarian Photos
I’m currently compiling a photo feature on Bangkok’s markets, especially the 24-hour Pak Khlong Talat flower and vegetable market.
Here are a small sample of the images that I’ve been shooting at all hours of the day and night. Fuelled by lingering jet-lag, this topsy-turvey schedule has thrown my body clock so far out of sync that I’m not sure whether it’s day or night much of the time. At least, that’s the excuse I’m using.
The market is difficult to photograph, especially at night when there’s an odd mix of ambient light, tungsten, fluorescent and sometimes fire or candle-light, depending on where you stand. The main streets are crowded with traffic as buses, tuk-tuks and taxis jockey for position – even at 3 a.m. it’s like mid-morning rush-hour. Porters jog in and out of the vehicles, pushing barrows loaded with flowers to waiting customers and there’s a quiet energy flowing through the crowded streets.
Perhaps unlike any other market, it is strangely quiet. Drivers rarely use their horns in Bangkok and there’s none of the shouting that you’d find in European markets. Consequently, the audio clips that I’ve made seem eerily void of any human element. You can hear the traffic and the occasional conversation but there’s very little to communicate the hustle and bustle that goes on here. It’s all about business. Everyone has their task to perform and goes about it quietly and efficiently. Despite the numbers of people, it’s actually a very friendly and relaxing place to visit – even when the sun has long since dipped below the horizon and the first cup of tea of the day is still a long way off.
If you join me on one of my “Bangkok Insider Photo Workshops” then there’s a chance that we might visit the Pak Khlong Talat flower market – if you’re very well behaved. In this slideshow you’ll also see a picture of the train that comes right through the centre of the market at Mae Klong, about an hour outside Bangkok. You’ll also see some boats photographed at the Amphawa Floating Market, which is nearby and which I occasionally take workshop participants to photograph.
You can embed this slideshow into your own web site or blog by using the code that you’ll find beneath the arrow at the foot of the slideshow.
Love it Gavin!!
Hi Gavin,
I look at your work any chance I can. I watched this slide show about 20 times……love your capture and so missing Bangkok.
I am having some great fun photographing in the snow and currently trying to capture some dripping ice..
We are not sure where or when we are leaving as it could be anywhere from Shanghai to Qatar or maybe even right here in Canada.
Please say hi to everyone in the club, especially Jackie and keep posting…….
Take care,
Penny
Great images Gavin!
Ah, I miss Bangkok. I wish we had made it to more markets while we were there.
Lovely photos Gavin. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back in BKK for a couple of months starting at the end of March. jack