Saturday, May 1, 2010

Thai Smiles, Part 2

People have been both kind and generous with compliments about my “everyday life” pictures from Thailand (unless I’ve unexpectedly ambushed them with an evening’s worth) and some have asked how I’ve gotten people to stop for photos.

The answer has two parts: first, I always try to ask in advance, and second I try to be prepared. Asking can be as simple as holding the camera up and saying “OK photo?” and then being ready to take it without a clumsy series of those uncomfortable “wait, hold on, just a second” moments. I do take candid shots, but not nearly as often. It means having the camera and view screen on a lot and that goes through a charge, but I carry a back-up battery.

I’ve taken thousands of pictures in Thailand (well, OK… tens of thousands, but keep that to yourself or nobody will ever come over to see them again) and I can honestly say that there have only been four or five times I’ve been waved off by someone who didn’t want to be photographed – and that's always been done politely, too.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Khun I'm very much enjoying your photos. They complete your stories.. and show us the local color.

khunbaobao said...

The comment is appreciated, thanks. The photos are a way of re-living my trip there. You'll see many more as we go along here.