Three Years Ago Today

A crowd of Red Shirts march down Rama I Road to Ratchaprasong Intersection during a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok Sunday. 

May 19, 2010 is seared into the minds of many Thais. It was the day the Thai Army finally crushed the Red Shirts protests that had gridlocked much of Bangkok. I was here then and blogging about my experiences. And for a long, bloody, week snipers firing from hidden positions killed Red Shirts and civilians alike in what was the lead up to a massive show of force when hundreds of soldiers attacked Red Shirt positions in the center of the city. In the end, more than 85 people were killed. Most of them were Thais. Red Shirts were killed but so were unarmed civilian medics trying to help people trapped in a temple, foreign journalists were killed, people who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time were killed. Several soldiers, about six or seven were also killed. 

The finger pointing continues and then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (he lost a bid for reelection 13 months later in 2011) now faces possible prosecution for his role in the crackdown. But no one has yet been brought to justice and feelings are as raw today as they were on May 19, 2010. 

Now May 19 is a Red Shirt day of remembrance. Tens of thousands of Red Shirts descend on Ratchaprasong to express their unhappiness at the slow pace of the investigation and remember their collegeagues. 

There are lots of photos of the Red Shirts' protests, including the bloody crackdown, in my archive. 

Finally, most of the photos in my archive are available for editorial use or self fulfillment as prints. If you see something you'd like to use or just hang on the wall, click on the "Add to Cart" button and follow the onscreen prompts. 

A Word From Our Sponsors

Cambodians on a "bamboo" train in the countryside. 

Working in Bangkok as a freelance photojournalist has its up and downs. I work on stories I enjoy and I think are important, but there aren't very many assignments so I've looked at other ways of making money. One of the things I'm doing, something I really enjoy, is teaching workshops. 

My neighbor and friend, Gavin Gough, an excellent photographer, has asked me to help him with workshops he leads in Bangkok and it's been a real treat to meet aspiring photographers in Bangkok, which is one of the best cities in the world to learn photography. 

Now Gavin has put together a program which is a great opportunity for photographers who want to explore a seldom seen part of Cambodia. And he's asked me to help him with the workshop. 

(This a slide show photos from a story I worked on about Cambodian trains, back when Cambodia had trains.) 

We're taking a small group of photographers from Phnom Penh to Battambang and then to Seam Reap. 

In Battambang we're going to work on photo stories about the "Bamboo Trains," a Cambodian innovation. Entrepreneurs in the Cambodian countryside have put small lawn mower type engines on bamboo mats and then run the contraptions up and down the abandoned railroad tracks around Battambang. It's a great example of the resourcefulness of the Cambodian people, a model of sustainable development and a lot of fun. 

A bamboo train driver zips down a railroad track in the countryside. 

The workshop is June 28 - July 3. We'll start in Phnom Penh with a visit to the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, then go on to Battambang for the trains and end up in Seam Reap to explore some parts of the breathtaking Angkor Wat complex. The fee for the workshop is only $1,900. For almost everything. 

The fee includes all hotels (and he's lined up some very nice hotels), all meals, all transfers and transportation in Cambodia (including the trains), service fees and tips. The hotels rooms are singles - there's none of the "single supplement" scam and no one will be forced into a room mate situation with a stranger. 

It's easier to list what's not included. Airfare to and from Cambodia (into Phnom Penh and out of Cambodia from Seam Reap), alcoholic beverages, laundry, minibar and misc hotel bills. It also doesn't include a Cambodian visa. We strongly encourage using Cambodia's easy to navigate e-visa program. 

Cambodian women on the bamboo train.

I rode the bamboo trains a few years ago. To this day, they're a highlight of my many memories of Cambodia. I've also traveled a lot in Cambodia and can tell you that for the hotels Gavin has booked and the arrangements he's made (private vans from Phnom Penh to Battambang and Seam Reap) solo travelers would be hard pressed to make the same arrangements at a lower price by themselves. 

In the evenings Gavin and I will talk about workflow (using Adobe's Lightroom, version 5 if it's out, version 4 if it's not), and show pictures and talk about from other stories we've worked on. It promises to be a great six days in Cambodia. Join us! 

Here's a slideshow of my work in Cambodia. 

A Big Story For Shrimps

(And a good story for Arizona!)

A workers sets out nets in a shrimp pond in Saphunburi province. 

I set out Tuesday to photograph workers on a shrimp farm about two hours from Bangkok. Shrimp farming is an important part of Southeast Asia's economies. More than 1 million people in the region rely on shrimp aquaculture for their livelihood and shrimp farming contributed $13.3 billion dollars to regional economies in 2011. That's a lot of crustaceans dipped in cocktail sauce. Thailand is one of the world's leading shrimp exporters and shrimp aquaculture is an important part of the Thai economy. 

I wanted to photograph the shrimp farms because Thai shrimp are dying en masse. The ponds are being ravaged by a disease called EMS - Early Mortality Syndrome - which kills shrimp before they reach market size. The shrimp lose their appetite then die en masse. 

Royal Ploughing Ceremony

People rush onto the field at the end of the Royal Ploughing Ceremony in search of rice seeds sown by Brahmin priests. 

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony was earlier today. The ceremony has been a part of Thai culture for hundreds of years - it reportedly goes back to the Sukothai period around 1300AD. In ancient times the court's Brahmin priests used it to presage the coming rice harvest. In modern times, it marks the beginning of Thailand's rice planting season, but the ancient traditions are still observed. 

In the past, Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand, presided over the ceremony. Health problems have limited the amount of time he spends out of the hospital and his son, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn presides over the ceremony now. Brahmin priests, who still play an important role in Buddhist Thailand's Royal Court, select the day and hour of the ceremony and officiate at it. Royal oxen plough a small piece of land on Sanam Luang while the Brahmins sow the area with blessed rice seeds from the royal seed bank. Watching the ceremony is a bit like opening a window into Thailand's past. 

Nothing In Common

Buddha statues in an alley behind Bangkok's city hall building. 

I usually have a plan when I go out to photograph. Even when it seems like I'm wandering aimlessly, I have an goal in mind. Sometimes I'm working on a story that requires a lot of back and forth walking, like the exchange rate with the Thai Baht and US Dollar. Sometimes it's a profile on a neighborhood, like Ban Krua, a Muslim neighborhood in Bangkok. Sometimes it's a news story, like the ongoing political protests that keep things in the Kingdom lively. 

In most cases, my goal is to make a series of photos that relate to the day's theme or mission. 

Rehearsal for the Royal Ploughing Ceremony at Sanam Luang Friday. 

But sometimes things don't always work out exactly the way I had planned. Today was one of those days. My plan was to go to Sanam Luang, a large parade ground in front of the Grand Palace, and check out a Yellow Shirt protest. (The Yellow Shirts are anti-government and the arch rivals of the Red Shirts - think Tea Party and Progressive Democrats.) The Yellows were protesting in support of the Constitutional Court judges that the Reds had protested against earlier in the week. 

The Yellow Shirts though weren't as motivated as the Red Shirts. They were sitting in their tents and relaxing, not doing anything that could be considered even remotely politically active. 

A Yellow Shirt supporter repairs his fishing nets in the back of his pickup truck while he waits for the protest to start. 

I walked through the campsite a couple of times and made one of two pictures of people not doing much. I wandered over to where the royal oxen were grazing and photographed them as their handlers hitched them to an ornate plough and walked them through their paces in a rehearsal for the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, an important public event that celebrates Thailand's agricultural heritage. 

After I photographed the oxen and the ploughing rehearsal, I ambled over to the front of the palace in search of something to drink. I ran into a group of monks on their morning alms rounds. I made a couple of photos of the monks, then bought a Thai iced coffee from a street vendor (espresso and condensed milk with sugar). 

Monks on their morning alms rounds. 

I photographed all morning, but rather than a story or photos with a theme, I ended up with a few individual frames that I rather like but no narrative to tie them together. 

Finally, most of the photos in my archive are available for editorial use or self fulfillment as prints. If you see something you'd like to use or just hang on the wall, click on the "Add to Cart" button and follow the onscreen prompts.