The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

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Songkran is the actual Thai Buddhist calendar New Year holiday . . . and the third New Year celebrated each year in this wonderful country (the others are January 1 and the Chinese New Year). I had a ten day holiday from work (in Bangkok) . . . so I hit the road.  The first four days in Hua Hin, and the next five days on a road trip through Trat Province to Khlong Yai District and then on to the Cambodian boarder (Hat Lek) at the furthest Southeast point in Thailand.  I will be putting up all my best photos from this trip over the next few weeks, as time allows, so keep checking back.   Photos from the Hua Hin part of my holiday follow this blog entry here.

Trat and Khlong Yai Provinces boarder the Gulf of Thailand, so there is no shortage of tropical vistas.

The topicality was ubiquitous . . . as these back lit palm trees against a blue sky testify.

EXPLORING the MAIROOD FISHING VILLAGEThe main attraction of the Khlong Yai coast are the many small fishing villages built on pilings in the estuarial mangrove inlets.  The good thing about having your own vehicle is taking the small seaside roads so you can check out any "local attractions."  This is Mairood Fishing Village.  We stayed here for two days and two nights.  it was a photogaphers paradice . . . . completely unspoiled by mass tourism . . . and beautiful colors.

Thai fishermen paint their photogenic boats amazing colors.

The fishing villagers were very friendly.  This fisherman called out to us to join him for an evening's trawl!

All the villages had an array of boats in all sizes and configurations.  it was a photographer's heaven . . . and hell: how to choose between so many fascinating images?  We stayed at the fantastic, and rustic, Mairood Resort which you had to walk through hte village to get to!

The wooden houses of the fishing villages were connected by old wooden boardwalks above the muddy mangrove bays.

Although I am sure the occupants would want "better," the colors and textures of this house are something fantastic. I might be interested in trading homes.

With all the un-air-conditioned houses packed so closely together, everyone must get along.  Three generations enjoy a mid-day meal in 40+ heat.

There are bits and pieces of adornment here and there throughout the village.

An old fisherman swelters in the heat, kiddie fan in hand.

 A fisherman's shack, Mairood, Thailand.

This jaundiced old bachelor fisherman kept a messy shack.

Rusty corrugated "tin" roofing has become the icon for degradation. Why?  It is so beautiful.

Most of the fishermen and their families keep a tidy, clean, and spare house.  They all live on the floor; there was hardly a chair in the village.

Life within the village.

Incredible line, pattern, and shadow.

A benefit of building your home over the estuary is the convenience of casting your nets from your front porch.

The irony of this photo was not lost on this old fisherman.

Apparently the fisherman (above) had not tended his spirit house properly.  It is interesting that his spirit house was made of the same materials as his home.

Most houses had a spirit house . . . often in a better state of repair than the main house.

No matter where I have been in my life, there has always been a house made into art.

Most residents of these fishing villages spend the hot part of the day sitting in their open-fronted houses looking out over their dock and boat.

The dock poarchs are the workplaces of the fishermen.

The docks are used for a variety of purposes.  Here shrimp are drying.

Some docks are very busy places in preparation for the coming night's fishing foray.

Very clever: shells used as net weights.

Neatly stacked stuffed shell net weights.

There is a system of colored flags to identify each owners' nets when deployed at sea.

Bright net flags.

A wide variety of colored flags are used, making the fishing village a very colorful place indeed.

The bows of the fishing boats are festooned with colorful flower bouquets, gossamer bunting, and garlands for good luck.

There was no hiding the colorful boats!

The Everyday here seemed bright and profound: the Supra Mundane of the Buddhists.

Although remote and undeveloped, the villagers are not cut off from the modern world: I saw many iPhones here . . .  and notice the satellite dishes atop the shacks.

There were many elderly people in the village.

I thuroughly enjoyed photograaphing the corregated art of Mairood Village.

The area around the village, and the Mairood Resort, was sandy Mangrove marsh and beaches.

Mangrove plants are very strange . . . they throw up shoots in the lagoons . . . and knees in the swamps.

The villagers abandon worn out boats in the lagoon . . . but not forever, it seems.  Many of the houses seem to be build of disassembled fishing boats.

Out on the beach this man came up to us eager to share his amazement, and good luck, about the bee hive rich in honey he had just robbed across the lagoon.

While the open fronts of the houses face the estuary and docks, the backs of their homes are in the mangrove swamp.

The mangrove swamp is full of interesting, and photogenic, things.

It would be wonderful to be a child in this environment . . . the opportunities to  fantasy play in the mangroves is limitless.  It reminded me of the several years I lived, and played, in the Sabine River swamps of Louisiana in my own childhood (1958-1960).

I found these girls among the mangroves . . . on some kind of a lark.

My cabin at the Mairood Resort was as comfortable as it was beautiful . . . and a stone's throw from the mangrove swamp, beach, and fishing village.  Perfect!

This photography stuff is difficult . . . and hot!  Poor me . . . . I had to spend the afternoon at the Mairood Resort pool.

The grounds and gardens of the Mairood Resort are beautiffly landscaped.

EARLY MORNING MAIROOD, THAILANDWe woke very early one morning to go out on the docks to see the Buddhist monks on their morning alms rounds.  It was quiet, calm, and clear as the village awoke.

A few people were up and starting their day . . . . but no monks.

The fishing boats sat  still in their morning moorings.

The village was still asleep.

We walked to the bridge where we would walk the road to the nearby Buddhist temple.  There was one dockside shop open selling vegetables and fruit.

A part of Mairood is firmly planted on the ground. 

As we walked toward the Wat, the morning light started to pour in.

An eager shopkeeper opening early (6:00am) on what promised to be a fiercely hot day.

The local hardware store opened early too.

The walk to Wat turned out to be three kilometers.  The scenery was breathtaking; the light perfect.

We saw a great variety of spirit houses along the way.  Some home made . . .

. . . and some store bought.

But all the spirit houses were serving their purposes well: to house the spirits in nature that were displaced when the humans came and cleared land and built houses.

Many people were out in the "cool" morning air (it was 28c at 6:00am!) tending small garden plots.

As we walked along the country road taking photographs, these monks caught and passed us on their way back to the Wat.

We followed this young monk to his Wat.

The monks, young and old, arrived back at the Wat with the morning's alms.  Th Abbot told us they will eat only once a day.  Monks continued to arrive in small and large groups.

It was a very spiritual morning.

The Wat bell . . . used to call the monks to meditation and study.

A peaceful and tranquil place.  The rural Wats are more serene than the noisy and dog-infested Bangkok counterparts.

Yep, all roads lead here . . . that's a certainty.  The Wat crematorium stained with the soot of those once alive.

We arrived at the fantastic Mairood Wat and were greeted by very friendly monk who showed us around and explained its history and pointed out some of the building projects going on which he was in charge of.

Sorry.  I took about twenty perfect photos of this Wat and could not decide which to post . .  so here is another.  Incredible beauty.

Self portrait at the Mairood Wat.

It was the perfect morning to wear your new dress while riding your new bicycle before it got too hot.

We walked back to Mairood village in time to see some boats coming back in from the over night  fishing.

The colors of the village, fishermen, and boats were vivid.

This was the fish of the day being offloaded.

What's for lunch?  Not seafood AGAIN! The poor children.

The simple beauty and charm of home made spirit houses, recently tended, was touching.

Mothers and children awaited the return of the fishermen with news of the catch . . . and their safety.

A Mairood Sunset

As we walked around the  village we noticed the sun was getting low.  Villagers were beginning to prepare the evening meal:  seafood, what else!

 As the sun began to set, and he heat and humidity began to subside, the village children came out to play.

Sometimes it seemed like the children were posing . . . it was such a perfectly beautiful evening.

Magic light . . .

During and after the Killing Fields of Pol Pot, this part of Thailand was a haven for Cambodian refugees.  many of the residents of the Mairood Village are of Cambodian nationality, like this little girl.

A boy lost in play among the thick hyacinth tangle at sunset.

This girl and her dog were inseparable.

And, my oh my, what a sunset it was!

For the boys it was time to climb up onto a squid boat . . . .

. . . . and play pirates in the squid rigging.

 We were at the estuary outlet one sunset.

Children were out playing in the fading light.

This boy was very sad: he had just learned that his family as going to move to "the city" from Mairood village.

There is so much to do and to explore in a young world.

Young Sisyphus.

Sunset Boyplay.  When and where indelible memories are made.

With the last of the light fading, more and more boats left Mairood port for a night's fishing n the Gulf of Saim.

Songkran is the actual Thai calendar New Year holiday . . . and the third New Year celebrated each year in this wonderful country (the others are January 1 and the Chinese New Year). The new year dawned with a fantastic tropical sunrise.

I bought a new lens (to complete my lens range), the Canon L-series f2.8 II 16-35mm zoom, and was dying to try it out.  I missed having a wide angle lens on my Canon full frame 5D Mark II.

There are some shots that you cannot get with anything other than a wide lens . . . like this one.

The 16-35mm II lens takes a unique 82mm filter, which I do not have, so no polarizer is used on these shots.

These squid fishing boats go out at sunset and return a little after sunrise.

It was a beautiful day fo a walk on the beach . . . with all the curiosities to discover. This is a cleaved Mangrove nut cluster that washed ashore.

This yellow-clad girl indicated that she wanted me to share in her appreciation of her new Marvel Heroes parasol.  I did.

The pool at the Dusit Polo Hua Hin was a good subject for my new wide lens. Very sharp.

I went into Hua Hin early to watch the Chinese Formula One race at the Hilton and had a little walk around time in my favorite Thai town with my new lens.

Such a sweet town.

This being the end of the Hot Season and the beginning of the Hot and Wet Season, many trees in Hua Hin are in full bloom.

I stumbled upon a seaside Chinese Buddhist Temple I hadn't seen before.

The temple was near the many piers that hold guest houses and seafood restaurants.

After four days we drove back home to Bangkok . . . and stopped half way at our favorite seafood-on-a-pond, The Lod Talay.

Yes, there are two car shows per year i Bangkok: (1) The Bangkok International Motor Show in November and the (2) The Bangkok MotorShow in April.

I went to the Bangkok MotorShow to take a look at the debut of the "All New Ford Focus" in Thailand.  I was thinking maybe I would want to buy one . . . . but it looked pretty pedestrian.  My friend Bud said that the Focus "wasn't me."

Ford had the most space; they manufacture in Thailand and have three new models in the Thai market -- the Fiesta, the New Ford Ranger, and the soon-to-arrive Focus.

Bud was at the MotorShow to see if they had the new Porsche Boxter . . . . . they didn't, but he was also interested in the new VW Scirocco.  Nice in green and . . .

. . . and nice in black.  The Scirocco is not for sale in the USA.  Why?

The MotorShow seemed smaller than the International MotorShow in November, although there were many outstanding displays, like the new D-Max from Isuzu.

There were a lot of cool new cars and motorcycles to look at.  The workmanship on the Ducati is awesome.

The concept cars are always interesting too.  Toyota had this new Corolla (?) concept.

The Nissan "TownPod"  concept car was extra-cool.  Build it, please.

The Mercedes 2-door run-about seemed to take styling cues from the 57 Chrysler New Yorker grill.  I have a feeling this one will not make it to production . .  way to labor-intensive . . . and low flying birds would eventually mess with the symmetry.

Yep, there were even some scooter sidecar concepts. Way cool.

As is always the case, where there are models, there are photographers in abundance.  Being tall has its advantages in Thailand once in awhile.

I believe those mirrors are standard on the Honda this year.

I believe this model was affiliated with an automobile manufacturer.

I would have like an unobstructed view of this cool Chevy Cruz in full Bad Boy street racer trim.

I believe she was standing next to a Suzuki.  Whether it was a car or motorcycle, I can not tell you.

A set of four models. They spoke too!

The Volvo models were again the classiest and most beautiful.

Bud and i enjoyed the MotorShow.

I made a quick trip to the Gulf of Siam  . . . .  got up early to catch the misty, hot, humid sunrise.

The squid boats were coming back in from a night's trawling . . . . picturesquely through the morning golden light.

It is the 'hot season' in Thailand . . . and by 6:30am it was already 85f degrees and 85% humidity.  The sky was thick with heat haze already.

The tourists, local or foreign, do not come to the beach in March or April; it is just too hot.

The number of fishermen seems also to diminish. These underwater sand ripples were fascinating.

When it is this hot and humid the air is so thick that sound does not travel very far.  There is an immense silence that falls over the sea.  You can hear neither surf or motor boat.

About the only thing you feel like doing in this heat is to languish in the pool . . . but the water was already too warm to enjoy.

My friend and photography teacher, Basil, and his wife left Bangkok at 5:15am to reach the salt pans of Samut Songkhram at sunrise to take photos under the magical light of morning. We arrived at 6:30am to a driving tropical thunder and lightning storm. We bided our time taking photos of whatever was lit enough to shoot, like this frangipani flower . . .

. . . or this wet red morning flower.

The rain finally gave way to moody morning light reflected in the salt pans.  Beautiful.

As the sunrise broke through the clouds a light shade of peach started to permeate the landscape.  We got in my truck and raced down the road to see if there might be some salt harvesting between the storms.

Indeed!  There was to be salt harvesting to be done . . . . interrupted by the rain.

We were in luck: there were cones of salt ready for porterage sitting in the light rain under the peachy morning light.

The light did not last long . . . but my-oh-my!

As we walked around the sunrise salt pan we noticed a dilapidated bamboo salt shed and went in for a look.

A soft, light rain fell on us as we stood transfixed within the beautiful mood invoked by the patterns and the light.

Why is dilapidation, a returning back to elemental substances, so beautiful?

 Extraordinary textures.

The dampness of the morning rain and the soft light made the colors jump into your eye wherever you looked.

Basil was in Photographers' Heaven!

Cones of salt dissolving in the rain.

There had been terrible erosion of the salt cones in the rain.  We spoke to one of the pan workers who said that 50% of the harvest had been lost because of the early rains.  This is suppose to be the hot and dry season, not the rainy season.

We came back later in the morning and watched the salt laborers carry the salt out of the pans.

Scooping heavy wet salt is hard labor.

This crew worked very fast; perhaps they feared a resumption of the erosive rain.

The salt pan laborers ranged from the very old . . .

. . . to teenagers . . .

. . . all in a rush to stack (and cover) the newly harvested salt.

It didn't take long for this crew to empty the pan of its salt stacks.

We drove around on the small roads between the saalt pans and came upon a salt barge being unloded.

Hard physical labor in the stiffling heat and humidity.

A timeless scene under a cloudy sky.

We drove around on the farm roads between the salt pans and found an old Wat that was in the middle of a big building project . . . and I do mean BIG.

The building project involved putting the oldest wooden Wat on wheels and moving it to a new location.

The mundane and the spiritual exist side-by-side in the Wat.

Bangkok is a great city in which to live in its own right, but literally an hour from the great city are many marvels of rural life.

The old wooden Wat seemed very fragile; I did not go up the ladder to take a look, but Basil did.

Where the monks live.

The accidental aesthetics of the Wat is always surprising.

Although it is a place where the residents do not tend to the physical world, they make a beautiful place . . . perhaps because of it.

I love the textures of old spaces.

The deities that had been housed in the old wooden Wat had been removed, awaiting their placement in the new Wat under construction nearby.

Vestiges of earlier historical influences could be seen in much of the statuary, which were from the Hindu pantheon.

At the back of the Wat, in a stand of pine trees, there appeared a collection of very, very old Buddha statues.

The Buddhas were covered in a deep layer of pine needles. They looked as if they were emerging from beneath the ground.

Some of these Buddhas looked ancient.

Other Buddhas still showed remnants of their original coloration and adornment.

I could not tell if this collection of Buddhas were abandoned to this part of the Wat, were placed here in temporary storage awaiting the completion of the new Wat structure, or were intended to keep watch over the forest and the chedis that held the ashes of former monks and abbots interned nearby.

The forest chedis watched over by the ancient Buddha images.

The old chedis still revealed their carved Buddha embellishments.

Nearby, next to a stand of bamboo stood a large collection of spirit houses.

The tropical pole pine needles coated the spirit houses as well.

The pine needles, the stand of wispy trees and the golden spirit houses created a strange mood in the misty morning light.

Some spirit houses can be quite whimsical with their family of "inhabitants."

In the middle of the grove of spirit houses were the remnants of a blessing ceremony on a white table covered with pine needles.

The untended spaces of the Thai Wats allow for a stunning beauty to occur.

The monks at this Wat had a marvelous aesthetic sensibility . . . 

. . . and a wacky architectural sense of humor! YOU tell me what's going on here!

We had had a wonderful day of discovery and wonder . . . and photography.  As we drove home we noticed another crew of salt pan laborers clearing a pan in the distance, so, of course, we drove up a muddy road to take a look . . . .

. . . and more photos of this visually interesting process.

This second crew also worked at breakneck speed, and had the pan nearly cleared during the time we watched them.

It was a memorable day.