switch on the light

after you have push the trigger do not forget to switch on the light. The button is at the back of each photograph ;)

3 days Sukhothai

Jeannette and Fredy already booked me November last year. They know a good friend who is running a diving school in the South of Thailand. Both  never did see the North of the countryand of course photography is their great passion. Back home the austrian/german couple are working as freelance photographer for a local swiss newspaper.

Everyone landed in Sukhothai is overwhelmed by one of the most romantic Airports the world has to offer. Even Nadi at the Fiji Islands can not catch up easily. After the check in at the  Ruan Thai Hotel we went for dinner to the cozy Pai Resort und Restaurant. One of the most comfortable restaurants if you enjoy decent local food or just looking for a place to relax at the evening. We made plans for our next 3 days and agree to meet at 6.30 for a morning landscape shooting.

Like always when I get visitors I went to check for the locations to photograph up front. The landscape is changing constantly. Where one day still is a beautiful rice field a few days later you probably face barren land. I had chosen a water reservoir at the backside of the mountain range for the morning. I went there with Rob and Markus in the evening already and you never know what time it is best. The sun rises edgewise behind you and it all depend on the clouds and the sky.

The place I picked is half around the lake a 25 minute walk through the forest. The two had to chose either to walk or enjoy the ride on my 35 years old Datsun truck. They went for the adventure of the ride. This way we did not have to tow the gear and had safe some time to. An owl is still sleeping in the middle of the trail and forces me to stop immediately. She dissapear in the forest with breaking wings.

Like the whole week this morning came up hazy again. A fire in the far distance simulated fog and the few clouds became colorful in the short moment of the perfect light. Searching for more subjects to photograph we met an old gammer on her way to the field. While talking to her and directing her in the best position for my guests to photograph I took a few shots out of the hip.

Back at the dam I felt to photograph this location one more time to proof the misty condition.

In my opinion according to landscape photography you can keep your Skylight/UV/Pol filter at home. If you do not use the very best filter available the extra glass in front of your lens just reduces the image quality. Nowadays software does the job perfectly. Still ND filters are useful to extend the exposure time in several occasions. In critical light conditions I prefer different exposures(bracketing) and blending in post over the quality loss through filters. Of course this only works with static subjects. Sure everybody may suit himself. Other photographers have a different opinion on that.

Lunch and a recreative siesta refilled our batteries. On the early afternoon we where back on the track again. This time driving the comfortable Toyota.
On the way to a landscape location with a sugar cane field a farmer is plowing his field with a tractor.
We are fascinated with the dust in the back light.

Beside the common weather conditions during the dry season dust and smut causes a poor visibility.
Even at a clear sky you hardly get the perfect light for landscapes to shoot. Even with the sun in the ideal position the light hardly appears through the layer of dust and leaves the fantastic atmosphere derogated.

While waiting on a red light we notice a huge billboard. The "Great Philharmonic Orchestra" gives a concert at the Historical Park in Sukhothai this evening. Empirically this event goes along with a light show and sometimes even with fireworks. Spotlights on the ruins is an opportunity we do not want to miss. Before we go to explore Sukhothai´s World Heritage Site the next day we practice in long exposure photography and get marvelous results.

It still is the high season which means lots of tourist. The challenge is to find the right rhythm.
You need to go contra synchronous to the party.

So we amuse ourselves with perspectives and camera angles and had a look in to the life inside a ghost house. 

I still find new subjects to photograph every time I go in to the Historical Park. The ancient Thai builder did take their liberties with the  symmetry. I felt the ruins are the way they are and did not correct it in post.

Taking a shower, grab some food and a nap is just the right thing to do in the heat of the middle of the day. Relaxed we are on our way to another landscape shooting in the evening. We went off early and can afford some unscheduled stop over for some additional photography. It is a pleasure to be just with the three of us. No hassle with a thousand opinions. 

Interesting to see every ones personal view at the very same location.

I think photographers have one problem in common.Since they are the guy behind the camera they have very little photographs of them self. You notice when you need it for publications occasionally.

Why not mixing business with pleasure. After a visit at my fried Djugg and his garage in the jungle and a stop over at the hazy lake we search for a abandoned house wall in the shade to do a bit of a portrait session.

A shady place at the hotel garden suits perfectly our little Photoshop lesson "How to work with multiple layer"

Soon 3 days are gone. We really had fun and Jeannette & Fredy promise to come back. They already have plans. A tour about waterfalls for example.

To fade away the evening we go to Eddy´s  Shopper Bar and even get a seat with a view on the street at the balcony. Meanwhile the live music is reduced to a comfortable level and so we chat about photography and the life in Thailand for quite a while.

Koh Chang & Krabi, the wonderful south of Thailand

It's been quite some time since I've seen the ocean, so it was convenient to combine the visit of my friends with a nice trip. I rented a Mansion by the ocean for 3 days on the island Koh Chang which isn't to far to travel by car but also not to crowded like the closer islands near Pattaya.

It was a wonderful start into the vacation. With our own house and a car we where completely independent.

But still strictly followed the rules ;)

One of the highlights on Koh Chang was the Sailing Tour on a Wharram Catamaran. Our Skipper Scotty was a humorous British fellow and his crew made sure that everyone felt really comfortable.

Scotty provided private skin diving lessons while the crew prepared a yummie barbeque. I can highly recommend Scotty´s day trip on his yacht. You´ll reach him on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Adventures/201842163178493

Koh Chang is still not crowded by tourists like the many other islands in the south. We had enjoy beaches to be just on our own.

Originally we planned to continue with a tour to the north of Thailand, away from the 'mainstream', to see the real Thai life. But we where so fascinated by the ocean and so it didn't take much to convince me to travel south instead.
One of the most beautiful places on the ocean side in Thailand is Krabi. That was our new destination. Back to Bangkok and down south, we had a to drive almost 1200 km.

We made stop over in Prachuap Kiri Khan at a hotel on the beach with a fantastic view over the bay. I woke up early and made some  marvelous shots upon sunrise.

The ORANGE CITY HOTEL in Krabi was a stroke of luck. Almost new with incredibly nice stuff and reasonable prices. The owner himself mediated us with various daily trips and so we had an excellent time in Krabi.
I really recommend this place:  http://theorangevillage.com/

Nothing is more beautiful than going on a boat to explore the islands.

Of course he wanted a piece of our lunch box as well.

The Tiger Cave Temple (Wat Tam Suea) is not far from the city Krabi. It is high up on a mountain and is only reachable through a seemingly endless stairway. The 1200 steps give you enough time to find your own  rhythm in climbing stairs. However the view is impressive and it is definitely worth the climb.

We wanted to take our time on the way back and stopped at a cave. To reach the cave we had to walk a ca 1km boardwalk through the jungle, an adventure of its own.

The cave was home to countless bats and looking up , it looked like you where staring into a giants maw. It took us around an hour to completely explore the gigantic cave and at the end we once a again stood in the jungle.

Even a waterfall was on the way, and we definitely did not want to miss that. When suddenly a tree crashed onto the road before us.

For the forest workers it was no problem at all. 15 Minutes and they where done. Just enough time to play around a little with the camera.

Now and then there was a piece of road missing , which was washed away in the rainy season.

In the end we managed to reach the waterfall before dark. It's like they say "The journey is its own reward".

We made a small detour to the Burmese border, before we returned to Bangkok behind a colorful bus.

For me it was another day driving back to Sukhothai. Everything is better than flying!