Posts Tagged Thailand

The End of Photography

Sat, Jul 17th, 2010  |   Events, Talks, Featured No Comments

Here is the presentation that I gave recently at TDEX on 10 and 11 July at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok (See…this is proof that I did more than just overeat while I was in Thailand!).

The 26.5-minute talk is entitled “The End of Photography”, and it’s a summary of my views on the implications of the switch to digital technology for photographers and other content creators.

To be clear…I’m not referring to pixel-counting, the pros/ cons of CF cards vs. SD cards, which computer to use, which processing software to use, or any other technical issue.

The primary point I’m trying to convey is that the switch from analogue to digital has far-reaching implications for all photographers, most of which we’ve collectively only begun to explore and appreciate.

I believe that the issues I set out are fundamentally reshaping the way we can (and should) conceive, plan and execute creative endeavours.

There’s one thing you’ll have to bear with if you watch/ listen to the presentation.

The plan was to have a video camera record the talk, so I could splice in some video footage to liven up the presentation video and also to highlight the occasions when I was pointing things out on my presentation slides.

As it turned out, the video camera wasn’t actually on when I gave the talk, so there are some “slow” sections during the presentation, when there’s no visual action to go along with my rambling, just a static slide.

Hopefully the content of my talk will prove so compelling and spell-binding that you won’t even notice.

In case you’re interested, I put the presentation together in Keynote (part of Apple’s iWork suite), recorded the audio with a Zoom H4n hooked up to a Sennheiser EW 122-P lavalier microphone via a sound board at the venue.

After the talk, I synced the timing of the slides with the audio track by using Keynote’s built-in Record function, and then used Final Cut Studio (specifically Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack Pro) to edit the audio.

Using Soundtrack Pro made a noticeable difference in audio quality, as the presentation environment was “challenging”, i.e., open area with lots of competing ambient noise, echo, random people walking by, etc.

Ayutthaya

Wed, Jul 14th, 2010  |   Funny Stuff, Musings, People, Places, Adventures 1 Comment

A couple of days after TDEX wrapped up, a few of us drove up to Ayutthaya. Actually, a couple of us drove. The rest of us sat in the back asking: “Are we there yet?” at 30-second intervals.

The primary goal was to have lunch at a restaurant called Ton Nam that’s famous for serving river prawns.


River prawns at Ton Nam restaurant, Ayutthaya

We also tried a thai dessert/ snack called roti sai mai, which is sort of like stringy cotton candy that you wrap in a thin roti. I’m not really a dessert person, but it was good, as you can see from the expression on Mean’s face:


Mean enjoying roti sai mai

To work off some of the calories ingested, we spent a bit of time walking around a couple of the temples, mostly Wat Mahathat and the reclining Buddha. If you live in Bangkok or have occasion to visit Thailand, it’s worth travelling to Ayutthaya to learn a little about Thai history. The first time I visited the old part of the city was over 20 years ago.


Aey and Mean at the reclining Buddha in Ayutthaya

It was a weekday during rainy season, so there weren’t many other people around. This gave us the perfect opportunity to conduct extensive tests of our photo and video gear…as you can see in the two series of gif files below.

Among us, we had a Canon IXY220IS compact camera, an Olympus Pen camera, a Panasonic GF-1, a Canon 5D Mark II and a Sony CX550V handycam…so we had to put all the hi-tech hardware to good use.

It probably says a lot about us that this was what we decided to do:



Despite appearances (particularly Eric’s Calvin-like grin), this was a serious camera test. Eric was running through us with the video camera set to capture slow-motion footage.

One of the clips actually turned out quite nicely. I’m sure Eric will post it once he’s back home…if for nothing more than to demonstrate that there really was a (somewhat) constructive purpose to his running a slalom course in the middle of the old city of Ayutthaya.

And of course, after getting back to Bangkok, we went for more food, starting with incredibly good Som Tam Gai Yang (green papaya salad, grilled chicken, plus other stuff) and sticky rice:


Eric Cheng with sticky rice

…followed by my all-time favourite dessert, mango with sticky rice, from the vendor on the corner of Thonglor and Sukhumvit:


Fresh mangos…for mango with sticky rice!

Eating so much in one day was certainly hard work, but someone had to do it.

Eric’s Adoring Fan Club

Mon, Jul 12th, 2010  |   Events, Talks, Funny Stuff, People 6 Comments

Eric and I gave two talks each at the Thai Travel and Dive Expo in Bangkok this weekend.

Here’s a snapshot of Eric showing a photo he took of flamboyant cuttlefish while we were in Lembeh back in March, using the Inon wide-angle macro lens:


Eric Cheng speaking at TDEX 2010

Both of us are accustomed to public speaking, so for the most part, things went smoothly…nothing unexpected or out of the ordinary…except, of course, for a spontaneous gathering of a gaggle of giggling girls expressing undying adoration for young Mr. Cheng (no doubt related to his adroit handling of the aforementioned phallic lens):


Eric enthusiastically explaining his mastery of all things long

Being the consummate professional that he is, Eric took things in stride (note the dopey expression on his face, visible even from behind), even deigning to pose for a group photo with his doey-eyed fan club after he had finished expounding on f-stops and lens angles:


Eric trying not to show how pleased he was with the situation

Despite relishing the attention lavished upon him, young Eric did appear somewhat uncomfortable at times, particularly during the photo session…when he was careful to keep his hands in his lap, lest he inadvertently infringe upon the modesty of one of the innocent young lasses around him:

It is, however, a sad fact of life that all good things must come to an end. The captivated co-eds soon lost interest in my friend, leaving him alone, staring into the distance with a forlorn, pensive expression:


Eric, after being abandoned by his harem

Actually, I was with Eric for the rest of the afternoon, but he seemed rudely disinterested in any attention I attempted to lavish upon him.

Go figure.

Khun Nat

Sat, Jul 10th, 2010  |   Events, Talks, People 2 Comments

I’m in Bangkok now, for the Thailand Travel and Dive Expo, which was postponed from the originally planned dates in May this year.

Visiting Thailand is always lots of fun.

Today…while not preoccupied eating/ digesting far too much food…I walked around saying hello to friends, including my fellow photographer Nat Sumanatemeya.

Nat Sumanatemeya

Khun Nat is well-known in Thailand, and he’s a terrific guy to boot. If you visit TDEX this weekend, be sure to check out the gallery of his images and DSLR video footage on display just before you enter the exhibition hall!

Bedlam in Bangkok

Wed, May 19th, 2010  |   Musings No Comments

I have so many things to be doing (and I’m trying to make progress), but I’m still glued to my computer monitoring the flow of information coming in from Bangkok.

The military crackdown took place this morning, with the government successfully retaking Lumpini Park and nearby areas, followed by the surrender of several key opposition leaders (some others apparently fled).

But that was just the beginning. Heightened emotions coupled with lack of centralised control among the protestors meant things got out of hand quickly.

Buildings have been set ablaze, financial institutions attacked, media outlets surrounded, journalists threatened…and a curfew has been imposed beginning at 20:00 local time. Violence has reportedly spread to other parts of Thailand as well, though it’s difficult to assess the scale of the problem.

Anger prevails, and the atmosphere is toxic (both figuratively and literally due to the many burning tyres and other debris).

fighting scorpionfish

Whatever the case, it seems likely that things will get worse before they get better.

With email, Twitter and other online services…at least I can keep in touch with friends in Bangkok. Fortunately, everyone I know is ok. I really hope it stays that way.

Bummed About Bangkok

Mon, May 17th, 2010  |   Musings 3 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. The beginning of this month was a holiday in Japan (where I am now) so I decided to take a break. I had pretty much been on the road nonstop since August 2009.

To get back into the swing of things, I was looking forward to attending the Thailand Travel & Dive Expo (TDEX), which was scheduled for this coming weekend.

In fact, I spent quite a bit of time putting together a talk/ presentation titled “The End of Photography”, which I was really looking forward to giving at the show.

TDEX has been postponed.

In case you don’t already know, Bangkok is sort of a war zone right now. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the situation in certain parts of the city is…let’s say, “unstable”…with tires burning, shots being fired, and general mayhem being the order of the day.

I am not Thai, but I lived for many years in Thailand, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Bangkok. I have many close friends there, and it’s one of the places I consider home. Bangkok is one of the few cities I actually enjoy spending time in.

…which is why I’ve been in a bummed-out, depressed mood for the past couple of days…unable to get motivated enough to do much.

Bangkok is in the midst of the worst civil disturbance in memory, worse even than the shootings in 1992. I was there in 1992, and it was nowhere near as bad as now.

Things are sort of like this:

fighting sea lions

Not such a good way to be, especially when people and life in Thailand tend to be more like this normally:

sea lions holding hands

There are obviously a number of deep-rooted issues that need to be worked out, but I really hope that some semblance of sanity emerges soon. Too many people have died already, and it’s going to take a long, long time to heal the wounds that have been opened.

Peace.

Rest and Recovery

Tue, May 19th, 2009  |   Events, Talks, People 1 Comment

TDEX was really(!) hectic.

First, I didn’t arrive at the show until the second day due to a scheduling conflict, so I didn’t have much time to adjust. Second, I had to say hi to lots of friends, which is the best part of the event, but it was difficult to catch everyone after things started to get busy.

Third, I had talks to give, which required preparation (yes…of course I wasn’t prepared in advance). And finally, I was running around shooting video interviews with some of the exhibitors.

video

By the end of each day, all I wanted to do was crash. Had I been alone, that’s exactly what I would have done, but with Gunther Deichmann in town, I spent as much time as I could plugging him with questions about Aperture since he’s a certified instructor…which meant staying up to about 2:00 every night. Of course, having the opportunity to get personalised instruction was worth sacrificing some sleep.

Incidentally…during one of our talks, we had one of those “the-world-is-such-a-small-place” moments.

We were chatting about memorable images, and I described a stunning black-and-white portrait of a girl that I saw while I was working in the Philippines in the early 90s. It was such a striking image that I called the photographer, introduced myself, and went over to his studio to meet him. He and his wife were incredibly nice, and he gave me a signed print of the photo I liked so much.

After all these years, I couldn’t immediately recall his name, but when Gunther heard me describe the photographer in question, he immediately ID-ed him…Bien Bautista.

Bien is well-known, particularly for his black-and-white images, and by coincidence, Gunther has been friends with him for a long time!

In case you’re interested, the image that captured my attention is posted on Bien’s website. Stunning images like this stay in my head forever.

Anyway, the upshot of all this rambling is that it’s still going to take a few days of R&R to return to some semblance of normality.

TDEX Talks

Sun, May 17th, 2009  |   Events, Talks 2 Comments

Today is the final day of TDEX. I’m coming down with a sore throat, perhaps from talking too much, or perhaps from continually being in air-conditioned environments over the past few days…I guess I’m more accustomed to tropical beaches at this point in life.

I did two talks yesterday, one on basic photography stuff for beginners, and the second on lighting. Actually, the second talk was more of a demo.

talk at tdex

With a lot of help from Aey and Mean, the show organisers, Canon, and a whole bunch of other people…I rigged up a Canon 5D Mark II to a large-screen TV and demonstrated how to take photos using natural and artificial light…just like you would underwater.

With no practice/ rehearsal, I was certainly relieved when everything worked properly!

My friend Khun Ake dropped by the show to translate for me (actually, it seemed like he was there more to make fun of me in Thai than to interpret), which was a big help and a lot of fun.

After my talks, Gunther gave a great intro into the capabilities and basic functions of Aperture. I picked up a few tips, which will no doubt streamline my workflow going forward.

If you’re around and missed yesterday, I’ll be doing two more talks this afternoon, at 14:00 and 15:30, across from the Canon booth, in the main hallway, and Gunther’s talk is at 16:15.

TDEX

Fri, May 15th, 2009  |   Events, Talks 2 Comments

It’s the second day of TDEX, but just the first full day for me. I got into Bangkok yesterday and went to the show for a few hours, but left a bit early to grab dinner and crash (though actually, I ended up staying up ’til pretty late answering emails and such).

I’m about to head out with a bunch of friends to a place that specialises in awesome pad thai, something I really need, as I basically haven’t eaten since breakfast. It’s a local restaurant that I’d have no hope of finding myself…and let’s just say that the pad thai is frickin’ awesome.

Anyway, here’s a snapshot from today…Mean looking at a portfolio of Gunther’s amazing photos from his recent trip to India…on Gunther’s iPhone. Some of the images are online here. I encourage you to take a look.

Gunther is an Apple certified instructor for Aperture, and he’s here to do a couple of talks about the software. I managed to grab him for breakfast today and fire off a bunch of questions, and I’ll probably do the same tomorrow.

mean and gunther

Custom Wetsuits

Sat, May 9th, 2009  |   Places, Adventures, Video, Multimedia 3 Comments

Believe it or not, we made this video the first time we met Khun Pachara, who’s the owner of Hotwave Wetsuits in Phuket.

I’m usually quite serious, but Khun Pachara was really silly. It was all her fault. Honestly.

10 Great Places to Eat in Phuket

Mon, Apr 20th, 2009  |   Featured, Food, Video, Multimedia 5 Comments

In case it’s not completely obvious, I love the fact that I get to try lots of great food in many of the places I travel to, especially in Asia.

When I was in Phuket last year, we spent two entire days eating at local food stalls and restaurants…places not on the tourist map.

This is a short video summary of 10 recommendations for places to try, which goes together with this PDF file that has details of the specific locations and dishes…in case you’re heading over to Phuket.

Second Video from the Similan Islands

Mon, Feb 23rd, 2009  |   Featured, Places, Adventures, Video, Multimedia 7 Comments

Here’s a second video clip from a recent trip to Phuket and the Similan Islands. This one focuses on the passengers who were with us on the M/V Dive Asia 1.