The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

There was a cloud in the sky, but only one.  A rare day of blue sky in Thailand . . . a perfect day for a family outing to the ancesteral grave plot 65 kilometers south of Bangkok.

I went to Chonburi with my wife and her extended family to visit the family grave plot and to pay respect to the ancestors.  There is a valley full of these graves.

Many of the family graves are beautifully detailed.

We stop first at the cemetery shrine to send our blessings and revere the ancestors.

Much incense is lit and sustenance is offered.

Offerings are sent to the other side.

I am reluctant to post the photos of my family and the grave site out of respect to their privacy.  However, among the activities that day was sending "Hell Bank Notes" off "to the other side" for use there, should the need arise.

The spent incense ends up on this large stone.

The cemetery complex is tended by this old man.

After the grave side memorial, we always go to this small, very old, Thai town of Talad Hua Kun Jae to have lunch together.

Talad Hua Kun Jae is a typical rural Thai village: wooden buildings, a central market, and a very slow pace of life.  Nice.

It was a hot and bright afternoon in Talad Hua Kun Jae.   A good day to stop in for a quick bowl of fiery noodle soup.

Looks like something one might see in Alabama in the 1930s . . . the only thing missing is Walker Evans lugging his big box camera with James Agee trailing behind taking notes for my favorite book, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.

The old wooden buildings had the patina and textures of age.

Old wooden Thai country market towns . . .  yummy textures.

For Walker Evans.

Rusted corrugated roofing and weathered old wood . . .

Small town life in rural Thailand.

My brother is visiting, so what better time than to play tourist and take him out to a scrumptious Thai meal in a beautiful environment.

A self portrait.

Thai style gardens.  Magnificent.

A Thai garden scene.

After dinner I popped on the cheap-but-good Canon 50mm f1.8 lense for some night image stalking.  It was a short walk through these dark alleyways to Silom Village, a tourist hot spot.

Bangkokians are out and about after the sun goes down.

Swapping lies, swatting flies.  It's good to have friends.

There is a mosque, a Hindu temple, and a Buddhist Wat all within 100 meters of each other in this part of Bangkok.  Here a hawker prepares halal street food.

Guys shooting the breeze across the street of the mosque at the Muslim Welfare Society office.

It was a beautiful night to be outside.  I could almost sense the beginnings of the "cool and dry" season (as opposed to the "damn hot and damn wet" season).

Imported fruits.

A nice evening for a walkabout in the Silom Village area near my wife's business. Buddha curios abounds.

I love the carved wood filigree . . . and have much of in in my home.

Thai tourist curios must be of the highest quality of anywhere in the world.

The Silom Village complex is very beautiful at night.  They have tried to recreate an old Thai village feel.

Old Bangkok.

Silom Village side streets.

Even though it is intended for the tourists, the music was good, and the musicians were well-intended.

There are still some beautiful old Thai style homes in th back streets of this area.

There is a Hindu Temple right across the street from Silom Village

The Silom Road Hindu Temple is spectacular at night.

The Hindu Pantheon in all is glory.

Garland sellers surround the Hindu Temple.

The life of a night guard is not so interesting . . . . .

. . . . but there is much to see at night around Silom Village.

Red leaf, white wall.

I went out and about on a Saturday with my friend John Stiles.  We saw many wonderful things and listened to some fantastic music.

The Bangkok "Chinatown" is a very messy, noisy, busy place with a huge amount of human activity, mostly to do with commerce.

I really do not get down to this part of the city enough.  Even though about 30% of Bangkok is underwater, life goes on in the rest of the city without adult supervision, as we expats like to call it.

Busy, busy businessmen.  Here we see a shop dedicated to selling fake rice sacks; "Value Added" takes on a whole new meaning.

Chinatown, along the river, is the oldest part of Bangkok.  The buildings exude a worn and aged charm.

When I first moved to Bangkok I had the fantasy of living in one of these kinds of neighborhoods. What, exactly, is the beauty here?

I spotted a sign on the main street saying there was a temple down the alley.

We found a very old, and beautifully kept, Chinese Buddhist Temple wedged among the tiny passageways of old Chinatown, Bangkok.

The courtyard of the Chinese Temple was festooned with yellow lanterns.

I poked around a side and found the leprous temple keeper and asked if I could go in and pray.  He nodded yes. The space was magnificently decorated.

The new temple banners showed the signs of recent ceremonies conducted in honor large donors.

There were many small vestibule-like altar rooms around the temple . . . .

. . . that were exquisitely decorated with the phantasmagoria of the Chinese Buddhist pantheon.

Many famalies lodge their hopes, prayers, and wishes here.

Each altar had become a new construction of a unique spirit world.

Every detail tells a story from ancient Chinese spiritual literature, like these incense holders with peacock fronds.

The Buddhist Temples in Thailand are not archeological curiosities, but living places of spiritual refreshment. I love the celebratory use of twinkling holiday lights.

I made a large donation before we left and received a special honorary receipt from the kind temple keeper.

As it grew darker we descended into the deep back alleys of the Bangkok Chinatown.

A yellow inflatable boat in a dark alley was one of many clues that nearly thirty percent of Bangkok was under water from massive flooding . . . but not this part.

By nightfall we found our way back to the commercial streets.

The mix of mercury vapor and neon lighting played nicely upon the telephone lines across this old Chinatown storefront.

Every once in a while a photo just creates itself right in front of you.

Damn Tourists.  Not really.  Peter, an out-of-towner visiting my friend John, trying to figure out if it is better to take the Skytrain or taxi to get to Victory Monument Circle from Chinatown.  We took the taxi.

Victory Monument Circle on a Saturday night.  It seemed almost deserted, no doubt, because of the floods.

Down this small side street off of Victory Monument Circle you can find the best blues, funk, and reggae in Bangkok.

The Saxophone Jazz and Blues Club.  I am always happy to be there.  There were two bands on that night.

The House Band fronted by a very talented blues guitarist.

His BB King covers were noteworthy.

But the highlight of the evening  was a funk/reggae band I had never heard.  They came on at midnight and played until 3:00am! The completely rocked the joint . . . got everybody up out of their seats and dancing!  Definitely one of the best live bands I have heard in many, many years.  I will go back to see them again . . . and soon.

Only 4 foot 9 inches, but the most powerful and controlled singer in this quadrant of the universe.  Every band member was very, very talented.  Amazing!

Here are a few more images from that wonderful day . . . . saved as a slide show (which I am still figuring out).

I am not feeling too bad about selling my drag race car and giving up my race shop any more. The drag strip and my former shop are now under about a meter of water. I hope the new owners got the race car out in time!

I came across this photo today while cleaning up in my studio/office: R.I.P. The last of the old order Danish sailors, Lennart Reisdorff, my brother-in-law, on the Madsen family farm, Grimmelokkevej, Fyn, Denmark, Christmas 1989.