Photographer Needs Help

[Guest]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, so sorry if I am in wrong spot....

I am visiting Bangkok (and maybe Pattaya or Chiang Mai) for two weeks in October. This is primarily R&R and I plan to partake in a wide range of the activities discussed daily on this board. I have been to Thailand before but have always had travelling companions that have hindered the full on experience. I plan on needing a vacation after my vacation!

I am a photographer and am going to do a range of night photography (before, during and after other things). My plan is to cover the land of Sumkumvit: nana parking lot, The Sumkumvit street scene, Soi 33, Soi Cowboy, maybe Patpong, etc. I am a pro and will be using a wide angle camera called a Wideluxe with a tripod.

The questions: If I work discreetly will I be able to take the shots?; Will payments of say 200 Baht cover my getting girls on the street to pose €“ do I need to do this?; Will people Freakout or will they relax €“ I have shot all over the world and am a good people photographer which means I know how to work with strangers.

I am considering having a color card made up with some of my photographs and an explanation of what I am doing in a short Thai sentence. A good idea? Over kill? Will this look too professional and therefore people will want $$$$? It worked in China but china isn€™t Thailand €“ especially Sukumvit.

Any good insight, advice from LOS veterans?

[SamplerDoc]

I would say this thread goes elsewhere.
MM and some others are the photo experts.

Good Luck

[BAM]

If you start handing out 200 Baht for girls to just pose on the street I think your biggest problem will be the long line-up!

What are your photos going to be used for?

[Torurot]

>>I am a pro and will be using a wide angle camera called a Wideluxe with a tripod.

The questions: If I work discreetly will I be able to take the shots?;>>

Here's a few thoughts:
Obviously using a TRIPOD in HEAVILY trafficked areas, VERY high pedestrian count, no spare pavement space you will not be discrete, and would stick out like dogs balls. Not only that a significant number of FARANG punters are going want YOU to get out of their face, because they will not want to be in your pictures, which are going where?? Can you use this rig with out a tripod? Many girls will not mind photos, probably more will. One thing to be on someone's point and shoot, another to be on someone's pro rig. Lot's of girls (of all persuasions) don't want anyone to know they "work" in these areas.

[kahuna]

(Torurot @ Aug. 26 2008,19:48) Not only that a significant number of FARANG punters are going want YOU to get out of their face, because they will not want to be in your pictures, which are going where??

Yep...You might just find your tripod stuck up your ass by some very unhappy farang...

[rxpharm]

This is a very interesting camera - used to take panoramic photos field of view 140 degrees.

It is not big - this is a photo of one



This is how it works, courtesy of jumboprawn.net website:

The Widelux uses a swinging lens in a turret, and a vertical slit which moves accross the film and lays down the image with a moving swipe. This camera can usually cover a wider field than fixed-lens types. Because the moving lens is only sampling a small sliver of the image at any one time, small objects appear with natural aspect ratios, but large straight spans are often not straight.

With a stationary wide-angle lens, objects near the edges will become visibly distorted. Faces in the corners are a big no-no!

On the other hand, the Widelux swinging lens treats objects with equal proportion, taking each one as it comes into view during the scan. So all human faces will appear with natural roundness from the center of the image to the sides. This is great for group portraits. Architecture is treated differently though, and a long wall becomes a blimp, with a fat center (head-on angle) and dwindling side wings (oblique angle, distant subject).

So if the tripod isn't too big, people might not know they had their photo taken. The problem is how long do you have to ask your subjects to stay still for a night shot? If the tripod isn't too big, and you have enough money for the subjects, plus your translation card, it might be possible. However, some of the popular areas are quite crowded. You have shot in China though, so that experience should be similar.

I would say get a card made up with the help of a good English speaking hotel staff member. Then ask another to translate to see how accurate it is. I think 100 - 200 Baht is good enough to get subjects to stay still for a photo. After all it only takes 500 Baht to buy a vote in Thailand! Of course don't pay them until after the photo is taken!

I do agree that you might have problems with the farang tourists if they think they are having their photos taken around the Nana area.

Good luck!

[pacman]

This does present some logistical challenges.

I imagine this Wideluxe has a reasonably fast shutter time or else there would be way too much blurring with crowd shots.

If the exposure time is fast enough, & if you don't need to stand too close to your subject, then you may get away without paying, given that they may not figure what you are up to.

However if you want to get closer to them, then I suggest you will need a local to speak to them & pay for their co-operation. 100 baht each should be enough for them to stand still for a few shots.

But then you have the problem of the tourists wanting to avoid being in the picture. Given the traffic & crowd at Nana every evening, good luck getting a clear shot of the entrance.

[donnnnnny]

i would just go,out and do it mate.
The most i would pay anyone for a shot with there cloths on in the street is 20 bhat. most people wont really mind at all, as thais are very friendly. Don,t worry about farangs(foringners) on holiday they will do nothing, and if someone gets shitty with you just walk away and take your tripod to another spot.
good luck and happy shooting, peter
donnnnnny

[Looker]

(peterbeijing @ Aug. 26 2008,05:39) Any good insight, advice from LOS veterans?

Can I be in the pics?
Really..will do it for free
You could always teach me something about photography

[harris11]

just thinking about quesrion of