The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

On March 23, 2025, my buddy John and I met up on Silom Road near the Hindu temple to start the evening taking photos at the nearby market street before ending the evening at a blues bar neither of us had been to.

People stopping on their way home to grab some food for dinner were happy to see this cart.

A street market across from the Hindu temple was a photographer's delight.

Carts of seasonal fruits lined the side street.

As always, many different kinds of fruit are available.

A juice cart is a good place to meet up with friends for conversation.

Fruit as far as the eye can see!

All of these are my favorites.

A noodle soup vendor working her cart.  A lovely photo.

Bulk cracklin pork  . . . to bring home.

With the light fading, we headed back to the Hindu temple and a south Indian restaurant next door.

There are many small shops selling votive flower garlands for worship at the Hindu temple.

Such beautiful work . . .

After a deli.cious south Indian meal (Dossai Massala), we headed out to the blues club, about 10 blocks away.  We took a short-cut through the old Silom Village . . . now nearly deserted.

Before COVID, Silom Village was a tourist hot spot: live traditional Thai music and dance, and lots of good food.  I do not know why it is deserted now.

Night streeet photography is one of my favorite things to do . . . and in Bangkok it is very rewarding.

I know this area very well.  This is my favorite Japanese restaurant in Bangkok, Hanaya 1976.

Our walk to the blues club took us down some pretty dark side streets.  I feel completely safe in these places in Bangkok.

A speeding tuk-tuk photo-bombed my night photo.

Our destination, the Bangkok Mojo Music Lovers Bar.  he club was very small, but the live bands were very good . . . although the seats were very uncomfortable for me.

I saw this in my feed online and thought it might be interesting to go to the Bangkok Chinatown for Chinese New Year.  I had never been to Chinatown on Chinese New Years in all my years in Bangkok . . . plus, the Bangkok Chinatown is the largest Chinatown outside of China.  I took the Bangkok underground and popped out . . . 

[This trip was also an opportunity to test my new camera, the Fuji X-T5, in a variety of challenging lighting conditions: bright sunlight, deep shadow, and night street photography.  The X-T5 takes 40mp photos, but are posted here in only 850px on the long edge. You be the judge . . . but I am very happy with the results!]

 . . . I popped out a few blocks from the center of Chinatown . . . in the middle of a huge crowd.  It seems that I was not the only one with the idea.

Part of the crowd was congregating around this Chinese Temple.  We found out that one of the Thai Royal Family was due to arrive there soon to pay respects.  It was a big day in the Bangkok Chinatown.

I was hot and thirsty so I bought a pomegranate juice and was happy.

We cut through an alley to get to the center of the action.  The whole highly decorated area was a crush of people, many of whom were foreign tourists.

The many small Chinese temples were busy with devotees leaving alms and donations and being blessed by the monks.

Every imaginable kind of 'altar toy' was for sale in gold and red.  Fantastic!

This good natured monk seemed to enjoy giving water blessings to whomever stopped and donated.

We explpored deep down the beautifully decorated side streets of Bangkok's Chinatown.

Chinese New Year is a traditional time for fruit purchasing, apparently.

These ice blocks sitting in an alley looked inviting . . . as a shortcut over to the next street . . . and as a way of avoiding the crushing crowds.

Chinatown alleys always offer up surprise images, like this very old small industry.

Spotted amid the complex patterns of the alley was some kind of temple . . . let's explore . . .

Looking inside, we found this marvelous Chinese Buddhist Temple.  Serendipity!

The temple inner altar was fantastically decorated.

The inner temple altar in all its phantasmagoria!

Incense pot . . . 

The main altar displayed the pantheon of Chinese spiritual deities and revered monks behind glass.

The opportunities for amazing photos were endless here . . . I took many more excellent photos in there than I have posted here . . . perhaps I need an entry just for this marvelous place.

These were very low light (and smoky) conditions for photography . . . such beauty everywhere!

There were several small "side altars" around the inner chamber.

We spent quite a abit of time inside the Chinese Temple . . . and could have spent a whole day documenting this old, photogenic, spiritual space . . . but we left for the alley again and onward to the New Year celebrations about to happen.

Back out in the small alley . . . it is fun to explore for images here.

Many visual wonders to see along the alley walls . . . 

We popped out on the very crowded main street leading to the performance stage . . .

Moments before the street was finally closed to auto traffic . . . and vendors and 'selfie' takers took over.

Four local ladies all dressed up for a night of celebration.

Plenty of goodies to eat . . . healthy and otherwise!

As evening approached the crowd migrated toward a "main stage" for the nighttime events.

It became almost impossible to get to the intersection where the stage was set . . . but we somehow pushed our way through.

Revellers found time to pose with traditionally dressed street photo hawkers.

We finally made it to an area behind the stage where the handlers of the dragon were waiting to do their dragon dance down the crowded avenue.

The dragon head . . . staged and ready.

We roamed the side streets looking for interesting images to capture with our cameras.  We are never disappointed in Bangkok Chinatown for photogenic scenes.

A beautiful Chinatown scene . . . 

These small side street restaurants would become full after the street celebrations later in the evening.

The crows were becoming a crush on the main avenue . . . 

The anticipation was just killing him!!!!

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Night Arrives!

Night arrived at last . . . and we wriggled our way through this crowd to an area behind the stage where the performers were getting ready for the show.

Fantastic costumes everywhere back stage. . . .

A photographer's dream!

A wonderful array of traditional costumes.

The backstage area almost warranted its own blog entry.

New Years' revellers taking a load off their tired feet . . . and checking their phones for vital communication.

The backstage entrance light tunnel was popular.

There was no way to get close to the Dragon when it made its way out into the crowd . . . too many iPhone photographers!!!

I did manage this shot of the departing Dragon by holding my camera over my head.  Amazing.

After the dragon departed we decided it was time to beat the crowds back to the underground station, and headed out . . . but still with camera in hand for the fantastic night images.

Yes, we "fought" our way back through this crowd . . . but people were good and generous with our passage.

A beautiful array of lighting above . . .

The street food vendors were doing a brisk business after dark.  Here rice-cooked-in-bamboo . . . delicious!

People were out for a nice meal on the Chinatown streets tonight.

Long lines at this stall . . . it must have been good and tasty.

Preparing Northern Thailand spicy sausage . . . yum-yum!

We left the crowded main celebration avenue and walked along a parallel street . . . there was no shortage of photographically interesting things along this route.

A Thai Buddhist temple (Wat) lit up.

"Why not keep the shop open a little later tonight . . . maybe make some extra sales, what with the big crowds and all."

Why not set up a couple of card tables for those treasures you have for sale?

A real jumble sale.  This one was very sad to see . . . someone was very poor.  I looked for the seller, but could find nobody. I left 100 baht (US$3.oo) on the table as a donation.

This night busker had it all . . . even his own light show!

This Buddhist votive statuary shopkeeper had a brilliant way of lureing customers into their shop . . .  and it worked:

I bought the Ji Gong effigy (far right, top, third from right) for my collection.

At last, a shortcut back to the MRT underground station.

Then onto a crowded MRT underground train home. [This is the ONLY person on the train NOT wearing a mask . . . an American, of course!]

I have so many wonderful memories from that evening spent among the thousands celebrating Chinese New Year in Bangkok's Chinatown.  It was a visual extravaganza . . . and a photographers dream!

Yes! Hot Rods in Bangkok Thailand! The Bangkok Hot Rod Show proves it!

If you know me, you know I am a "car guy" . . . a "Gear Head."  You have no idea how happy I am as a long-term Thailand resident to have discovered (years ago) that there is a thriving Thai hot rod scene. A very tasty '60 Chevy convertible well presented.

A pristine 1959 Buick La Sabre Coupé . . . as good a show car as can be seen anywhere in the world.

Very clean and tastefully done semi-custom Ford Galaxy 500.

There are many fine craftsmen in Thailand.  The restoration work on this 1959 Chevy pick-up was flawless. Excellent understated pin stripping as well.

Every kind and classification of "hot rod" was represented at the show.  A nice 1959 Chevy panel in the rat rod motif.  I came across this very Chevy panel about 15 years ago in a 'wrecking yard' in Bangkok and had the opportunity to buy it . . . but passed because I had a race car at the time that kept me busy. Nice rodded old Ford COE in the background.

The classic, traditional mid '20s Dodge hot rod.  Very nice. Also a very cool fat fender pick up in the background (A Hudson pickup?).

There were a number of home-built-from-scratch hot rods. A local re-interpretation within the hot rod style idiom.  Fun.

This one may have started off as a late '60s Nissan pick-up.  I love all the cues and nods to hot rod heritage throughout this rod. The Navajo blanket themed paint taken from the '50s custom of covering your hot rod seats with Navajo blankets until you could afford the Tijuana tuck-and-roll upholstery.

A 'lakes' themed Crown Toyota wagon.  Nicely done with full Moon discs, beautiful paint, tuck-and-roll, and the right stance. A real hot rod.

Individual. Idiosyncratic. A true hot rod.  I bet this guy has a lots of fun with this Toyota (1UZ) V8-powered homebuild.

One of my favorite cars at the show.  This Bad Boy Fiat 500 was modified as a street racer.  The workmanship on this car was world-class, creative and extremely clever.

The interior of the Bad Boy Fiat 500.  Incredible design of these seats.  WOW!

A beautifully prepared 1969 Ford Mustang "Mach I" in candy apple red.

The Mustang Mach I had a 406ci Windsor with EFI.  Beautiful engine detailing.

My friends at Volcano Customs entered this pristine 1957 Chevy . . . and walked away with the show's Grand Prize.  Well done. [Notice the 'American Car Club of Thailand' plaque in the background]

This car is perfect in every way.  Remember . . . this is in Bangkok, Thailand.  Fantastic.

What would any car show be without a C2 Corvette?  This white one was beautifully done.

The engine compartment on the white 'Vette was nicely done with individual throttle body EFI.

A near perfect C3 Corvette.

A blown big block wedge (540ci) 1969 Dodge Charger, what else? A street rod that would draw a crowd in L.A.

Yes . . . he drives it on the street.  There is some monkey-bidness going on here!

An early '50s mild custom Buick with outrageous paint . . . and an LS Chevy motor.

Loved the paint, pin striping, and the laced roof.  Super cool!

A rare 1959 Chevrolet El Camino.  Too cool as a rat rod custom.  Where in the world did they find this in Thailand?

An interesting small block Chevy powered channeled 1926-1927 Model T Sedan with a Model A radiator.

I have to say . . . I like this sponge daubed paint!  It's got the right look.

A nicely prepared Toyota pick-up with a turbocharged engine.  I liked the 'throw back' graphics.  Maybe I will enter my V8 Hilux Tiger next year.

As fantastic as the cars were . . . the cycles may have been the stars of the show.  The ingenuity, creativity, and craftsmanship of the motorcycles at the show was truly fantastic.

Fine artistry and detail everywhere.

From fast street bikes . . . .

 . . . to famous drag bikes . . . .

 . . . to outrageously stylized choppers, the show had a huge variety of two-wheeled art.

How does a 500cc twin powered "Gongzilla" minibike tickle your fancy?

Maybe a 400cc single minibike is more your thing?

A 250cc 2-stroke motocross engine in an "off road scooter" could be hours of fun!

A cool scooter with wonderful paint.

The paint was flawless and incredibly creative on this scooter.

This "rat rod Vespa" was highly modified and displayed in an "under construction" state. Is that an early BSA 500cc twin in there? Radical, to say the least.

The ultimate scooter . . . now THAT IS STYLE! As you can see, I liked the scooters.  There were so many of these . . . they are small, cheap, and offer a canvass for creativity.

A totally outrageous Harley.  Just fantastic!

The Harley motor is fantastic!

Another beautiful Harley with real gold accents.

Gold details and twirled billet spokes.  WOW!

I believe that is a 20" wheel right there.  Big tire too.

I went to this show with a couple of buddies of mine who were real motorcycle nuts.  They pointed out this bike as a famous MotoGP Ducati 900 from the early 70s.  Looks great to me.

A big single chopper with lots of springs.

I love all the mechanical bits & pieces on this bike.

Nicely presented four cylinder chopper.

I liked the pipes and the brass bits on this bike.

A scrambler bike with roll bars.  Nice.

Rebel Indeed! One of my favorites in the show.  I don't know what it is about this bike I find so attractive.  Clean, modern, machinelike.

Another small 75cc bike demonstrating that you do not need a big Harley to express your ingenuity and creativity.  This one is 'under construction' . . . but look at the innovative solutions and engineering magic . . . and just plain FUN in this one!

The event started just before sunset on a warm, but not too hot late afternoon in Bangkok.  As night fell, more people came, and the lights were turned on creating a very different mood. This is the last bike for now . . . .

Part of a Moon Racing Equipment pop-up shop at the show.

Odd as it may seem, there is a Moon Racing Equipment dealer in Bangkok.  This was a very nice display . . . I bought a couple of decals here.

When night fell my friends and I climbed up on some containers for some wide shots of the show.  Lots of people attended after the sun set. Nice old '58 Chevy pick-up.

It's hard to believe your own eyes! Bangkok, Thailand! Very cool red Trans Am.

So many fantastic hot rods in one place.  The show was a big success, according to the promoters.

There were many nice displays, like this one, all round the show grounds.  Nice early 50s Chevy and an even older CEO truck.

The promoters even built a 50s-style garage to display some of the hot rods, like this 50s Buick.  Beautiful.  I had a great time at the Bangkok Hot Rod Show and am looking forward to going again next year . . . to see the Thai artistry and creativity.

Pak Khlong Talat is Bangkok's great flower market . . . and one of the largest flower markets in the world.

Literally millions of fresh lotus buds and flowers every day pass through this flower market.

The lotus bud is a powerful symbol in Buddhist thought.

Pak Khlong Talat is a huge flower market with large indoor spaces and narrow alleys all full of flowers . . . it is a wholesale market, so many buyers come every morning and send their purchases back to their shops by tuk-tuk.

Some buyers come to buy 'raw' flowers for arrangement elsewhere, and some come to buy ready-made arrangements, like these aromatic jasmine bud garlands (used in Buddhist blessings).  Imagine how wonderful these women smell after a days' work!!!

Fragrant jasmine buds being weighed.

Beautifully made jasmine garlands on ice, ready for sales.

Many kinds and styles of Buddhist votive flower arrangements were being made everywhere.

The market has more than flowers for sale . . . fruit for the hundreds, if not thousands of flower market workers.

But, of course, it is the flowers that amaze a visitor to the flower market.  Orchids everywhere!

 Thailand's hot and humid climate means that orchids grow outside all year long.  Just nail one on a tree and it grows!

Orchids come in every color of the rainbow . . .

Exquisite orchids.

 . . . including white orchids.

An orchid hawker tending her product.

The flower market is also a good place to get people photos.

The market opens at 3:00am when the growers begin to bring in their flowers . . . and buyers begin to purchase and ship.  This draymen looks tired!

Hoping for a big sale.

The kinds and varieties of flowers available for sale was staggering!  These sunflowers are from Thailand.

Roses, roses, roses . . . 

 . . . roses, roses, roses . . .

 . . . and more roses.  These wrapped roses were imported from Europe.

Some flowers were sold as already made arrangements, like this white lily ensemble.

Marigold flowers sold on nylon strings.

Such a beautiful and colorful array . . . 

Although the light in the market was not ideal for flower photography, every once in a while there was magic light!

Pretty little things!

Bunches and bunches of flowers.

And bundles and bundles of beautiful flowers.

And this extraordinary bouquet!

Individually hand-wrapped chrysanthemums.

Inside the flower market.  This was at around 9:30am and lots of the stalls were already closed . . . sold out.

A market draymen moving purchases out of the market to waiting tuk-tuk delivery.

The area around the flower is made up of many rows of old shop houses.

The flower market is in a very old part of Bangkok, not far from the Chao River and just north of the Chinatown district.

Remnants of Old Bangkok can be seen in and among the complexity of the streets.

Not only flowers . . . but everything a creative flower arranger might want to employ in a tropical flower arrangement!

Existentially beautiful tropical leaf.

Gorgeous.

And ribbons and bows for that special wedding or graduation event.

A complete flower arranger super store!

Need some green sprigs with little buds for your arrangement . . . sure, they have them.

And ribbons and bows . . . 

 . . . bunches and bunches of ribbons and bows.

The back side of the flower market blends into a traditional, and common, Bangkok "wet market" -- a fresh fruit and vegetable market.

A ginger hawker's display.

Beautiful ginger.  I love ginger . . . and many Thai dishes are made with ginger . . . especially Thai desserts, my favorite.

Purple net sacks full of potatoes.

A stack of spice root.

A stack of Thai squash ("fucktong" in Thai).

A lot of activity in the vegetable wholesale market.

Unique ingredients are what make Thai food so tasty.

A market chili sorter . . . she did not smell like flowers!!!

A small sale of fish . . . no doubt intended for the market workers to take home for dinner.

After three hours (!!) we finally stepped outside the markets.  

Loading up the produce . . . outside the market.

Produce all loaded in the tuk-tuk bound for a restaurent or small market somewhere in the city.

Who was that masked man?  A flower market worker taking a break.

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We walked a few blocks from the flower market to find a very good cup of coffee . . . and stumbled upon this shop selling "fake" plastic flowers:  incredibly realistic plastic flowers.  I guess some people get tired of having to buy fresh flowers over and over . . .

I work as a director and professor at a Thai public university.  On most days I take an express boat 40 minutes to and from my office on the Chao Phraya River . . . but due to the COVID-19 virus, I am now working from home as my university has closed the campus.

After a short public bus ride, I catch this Chao Phraya River Express Boat (green flag) for the 40 minute ride down the fascinating and picturesque river to my office.

These are the docks where I catch my commuter boat. Pakkret Pier.

I am not the only person out on my morning commute and rounds . . . .

Many long-tail river taxi boats lined up taking merchants back to their small businesses after visiting the morning wet market.

I join in a mass movement of people on their way to work along, on, and across the Chao Phraya River. Here a 3 baht ferry.

The journey down river begins by passing through a narrow 'cut' canal in the river that passes a beautiful, and sacred, tilted chedi on the point of Koh Kret (island) at Wat Poramai Yikawat.

Facing Koh Kret is the magnificent Wat Sanam Nuea and a ferry terminal . . . the main way to get to the island.

There is a continuous line of houses up on stilts along the Koh Kret cut. This is what my daily mundane life looks like . . . my supramundane.

I know these houses by heart . . . I 'study' them every morning in the calm serenity and languid humidity of the tropical morning.

My express boat rattles some, and its old diesel engine chugs along in a rhythmic manner . . . but it's cadences are broken when a long-tail boat, a kind of hot rod river taxi,  roars past.  What a way to get to school or market!

When I moved to Thailand 23 years ago I spent a good deal of time for two years trying to find one of these river houses to rent . . . and never could find one.

Every morning I have been watching this new construction of a traditional Thai-style house going up on the island side of the canal. Beautiful.  I want to live here.

I can see myself sitting on one of these porches watching the boats go by . . . but this dream is not to be.

There is a charming mixture of houses along the canal: a traditional restaurent beside a stick and stucco modern house.

All along the canal small ferries offer a 'short cut' off the island.

On most mornings these small ferries are full of school children on their way to school.

The river is itself a busy part of the city in places. Here a collection of work boats busily raising the banks of the river.

The river, even here at 75 miles from the ocean (Gulf of Thailand), is estuarial.  As such, it is subject to the effects of climate change and sea level rise.  The city and national government are making a huge effort to raise the banks along many, many miles of the river.

One of the great sights on the river each morning are the coming and goings of the barge trains, always four barges long.  These barges are empty and sitting high in the water . . . easily managed by a single tug boat on the ebb tide.

Magnificent and powerful: a Chao Phraya River tug boat.

Many fabulous Buddhist wats can be seen on my morning journey.

A loaded barge train passes a giant Buddha statue.  I watched this colossal Buddha being built over the last three years from my seat on the express boat.  It is now finished.  I must make a pilgrimage to this wat soon to pay my respects and make a donation in thanks for the wonderful reminder it provides every morning to make something of my consciousness.

Traditional Thai architecture, old and new.

Another of my dream houses. I've been following its renovation from afar for quite some time.

I pass under four bridges on my way to work.

Further down the river and into fast growing Bangkok, a city of 14 million people . . . and the dusty, smoky air that it creates.

The river tug boats come in many sizes and colors.

These barges, known as rice barges, were made of teak wood in former days.  They are often now converted to self-propelled cabin boats for the tourist trade.

Whenever I see this particular Buddha image I wai and get up and walk to the disembarkation deck of the express boat; my stop is next.

This is where I would normally get off the express boat, at the Rama VII Bridge, and walk the remaining one kilometer to my university job . . . but I am travelling on into the city this morning with a friend to see the Pak Khlong Flower Market.

Down near the touristy part of the city are parked the large restaurant barges that specialize in night dining cruises through the lit city. I've done it.  

Many tourist boats on the lower river . . . but almost no tourists in Thailand today.  I worry for the Thai people who depend on tourist-related income.

We got off the green flag Chao Phraya Express boat near here.  The long-tail boat jockeys maneuvering for a fare.

I miss all of this.  This is my normal . . .