I've taken a look at what I already posted about Bangkok on Hive, and it seems to me that those night street photography scenes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) are the best materials of mine from my Thai living so I decided to continue the series and set out to Bangkok's Chinatown...
1.5-hour ride on bus from outskirts of the city. A good nap in the bus after a good dinner helps to shorten the trip. I usually arrive at dusk, walking briskly from Hualamphong Train Station towards Yaowarat Street, and, if the step is not peppy, I drink coffee or an energy drink. Concentration and the right attitude is very important, otherwise you can not take a single decent shot.
In an alley on the way:
I liked these textures, all those wrinkles, all over the scene. The era of newspapers is long gone, the old and the young are all mobile-worshipers.
And this is already Yaowarat, the central artery of Bangkok Chinatown, my favorite place to practice street photography. This is because the night and colors of this area evoke non-trivial emotions in people. Although, of course, many people eat or cook there, as in many other locations, but people's facial expressions are often energetic, as if everyone is participating in a grandiose show playing a traveler or a local. People understand that they are on stage which also makes it easier to photograph them.
I noticed this durian "serial killer" out of the corner of my eye, and took a sudden photograph. That was a lucky shot. Look at the background and people there - great pattern and bluriness.
Cramped alleys cross Yaowarat Road, taken by vendors (like this durian seller above) and street restaurants with cheap tables scattered along the sides of on alleys. There I find most scenes like that.
I liked this mustache-brush and couldn't help sneaking an image. This is again 1.8 and I was lucky to get such an orderly background.
It was easy to notice that I was playing a role too in this show - a guy with a camera, never lowering it, and with the face full of sensitive attention.
This person got curious about me. I noticed that and took this image without hiding. I have learned how to express gratitude in a way that is pleasant for Thais - khob khun khrap (polite "thank you") and a slight bow. Doing this, I also neutralize stressful emotions. Right after that, I leave without delay.
I couldn't pass this scene without taking a photograph:
I am sure the boy is delighted with Thailand, but the fatigue is stronger, and he is falling right asleep between plates of food on a dirty sticky oilcloth.
This person looked so sensitive that it struck me. I was looking at her profile and thought, damn, I must take a picture of her.
Another company of eaters but I like the image:
Probably, because it well reflects the atmosphere of Bangkok Chinatown.
No I idea why I like this scene:
Because of the eyes of a horse on the wall?
I noticed a company of travelers from another Asian country. They were openly staring at lightly dressed farang women and evaluating them in terms of physical attractiveness. I decided I wanted to collect an image of one of them:
I took the picture without hiding. We made eye contact, and I decided to show character so I did not leave and did not lower my eyes. There was a strange hitch, ending with my saying khob khun khrap (polite "thank you" in Thai) and bowing slightly with dignity, and in return I received the same gesture - a slight bow. And we parted ways.
A lonely eater, and here I applied my bow. It's just easier for me this way.
A traveling girl, sweetly sleeping right at her dad's shoulders.
Another opportunity in Bangkok Chinatown are tuk-tuks:
If I see bright lights in its cabin, I often look closely who is inside to evaluate if there is any photo potential.
It is always tempting to look into rooms of the first floors of townhouses in Bangkok Chinatown.
Usually this is a dark damp space behind sliding wall-high shutters with the messy interior reminiscent of a garage - a pile of old things, broken and not yet, like, rusty bicycles, holey blankets, dirty plastic bowls, tangled ropes, and rows of cardboard boxes with such treasures. In the evening, the TV usually flickers and a fan buzzes there, and residents, often elderly people, sit in the semi-darkness there. This man, as you see, betrayed TV and joined the army of mobile-worshippers.
This was my street photography walk in Bangkok Chinatown on July 21, 2023.
More stories from Southeast Asia are ahead! Check out the previous ones on my personal Pinmapple map.
I took the images with a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G on a full frame Nikon D750 in Bangkok, Thailand.