pagespicsPhotographing Thailand’s Urban Beaches
Posted on December 12, 2025
Pattaya and Hua Hin
Pattaya
It takes two hours to drive to Pattaya from Bangkok, making the city close enough for a weekend of photography. All life can be found there, from the young hip crowd seeking the thrills of Walking Street, tourists seeking sun and sand, and old men looking for cheap beer and company. It makes sense that life spills onto the beaches. The best time of day is when the sun starts to set, and the light is not so extreme.
Gear
I packed my trusty OM System EM5 due to its compact and discrete nature. In the bag went my 17mm 1.8 for Street Photography, and my 45mm 1.8 for portraits. Both these lenses work well when the light gets low. As always, the images were edited in Lightroom Classic, which is always improving at removing the noise created by the higher ISO required to shoot in the evening and at dusk.
The People We Meet…
Most people sporting tattoos are quite happy for their pic to be taken, and this bloke was no exception. As always, the moment past in a flash. I wish I had asked about the significance of 1992! Tattoos are something that are always on my shot list.
Hua Hin
Hua Hin is further from Bangkok than Pattaya. If the traffic is fair, then you can cover the distance in just over three hours. The vibe is very different and a lot more relaxed. There are a diverse range of bars and restaurants, ensuring a variety of activities and people to photograph. I was strictly on holiday mode and spent more time reading books than taking photos. Some time was spent playing with intentional camera movement (ICM), leading to the image below, which is more than a little inspired by Maggie from Gisborne Camera Club!
Happy Christmas
Well, that may be all from Pagespics until 2026. I will be in the South Island of New Zealand for Christmas and returning to Thailand in time to see Fat Boy Slim play in Phuket. My camera will be with me, so looking forward to lots of family pics and landscape photography.
Take care and keep clicking, Chris
Exploring Halloween Ghouls in Sukhumvit, Bangkok
Posted on November 3, 2025
Location, location, location
For Halloween I headed to Sukhumvit in the center for town and focused on the area between Soi Cowboy and Nana. This area is a notorious party zone with plenty of bars and clubs that spill out onto the street, offering ample opportunities for Street Photography. I was looking to capture portraits, rather than candid moments. I’m not sure I quite hit the brief as I failed to return with as many face shots as I hoped. However, as always, I had fun trying. There were certainly some great outfits to be found.
Did I Choose the Right Lens?
Photogenic characters can always be found along Sukhumvit in Bangkok, even when it is not Halloween. For this photo walk I took my OM System EM5. Shooting at night with a M4/3 (Micro four thirds) camera creates a lot of digital noise, which I fixed in Lightroom. Using a 35mm equivalent lens ensured I could go wide enough to capture the action. However, on reflection a more portrait orientated lens may have captured the finer details of the weird and wonderfully made-up faces of the night.
Like, follow, and what’s in the pipeline…
Like, follow, and share! I will be continuing to post tips and photo guides that will help lift your photography game. Planned but not promised, images that did not quite make it into the book, ‘The Bangalorean‘, even if they maybe should have!
That’s all for today folks as it is Sunday afternoon the evening is screaming for a movie to be watched. Take care and keep clicking, Chris
Exploring Thonburi: Hidden Gems of Bangkok
Posted on October 6, 2025
Photographs Of My New Home
I had never planned on living in Bangkok, but what a wonderful city to end up in. I am living close to Thonburi, on the west side of the river Chao Phraya River. Thonburi is the old capital of Thailand, and whilst the big lights of the city centre are far away, there are numerous areas for exploration on my side of town. Bangkok may well be a place for another photo project; however, it is a city that has been photographed from every angle by some very talented photographers. My heart has not settled on a project yet, but I am having some ideas.
Exploring Movement, or Bangkok at Night.
This image was captured with a slow shutter speed and took a fair amount of editing to get the look just right. Capturing this kind of image can be more about luck than judgement. As with many things, the more you do it, the luckier you get. The prompts of ‘Movement’ and ‘Night’ are two areas I will be exploring. Night has been done to death, so movement may be the way to go, or maybe ‘Night Moves’. Admittedly, ‘Night Moves’ sounds a little cheesy…
Cars (and Bars?)
Cars may be the way to go. Bangkok bars could get me into trouble! Bangkok does appear to have more than its fair share of old classic cars. Many of them looking like they have seen better days and are in various states of disrepair. Of course, this makes them much more photogenic. I found this example just round the corner from Wat Arun Temple. I could have posted a beautiful landmark instead of a car, but that would be boring. In addition, how can I compete with the millions of images already taken of these majestic buildings?
People
People are clearly my favourite subjects for photography. The above example is an environmental portrait of a barrel maker whose shop is in the heart of Thonburi. A ‘cooper’ is the title given to someone who makes barrels. Thank me if it comes up in a pub quiz. In China I worked on getting to know the people I took photographs of, so this may be a way forward.
Thats All Folks
Well, that is all for now, and I promise I will try and be more regular with my blog posts. I certainly have no excuse of there being nothing to photograph. If anything, there is too much. It excites me to be back in a place full of vibrant street photography opportunities. However, this time I am looking for more than just street photography, and I am loving the journey.
Take Care and Keep Clicking, Chris
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