The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

The Minburi Market is actually a collection of three very large open markets in the northern suburb of Bangkok.  My friend John and I drove there from his house.

My photographer friend, John and I love to skulk the old back alleys in and around the Minburi Market for textures and patterns.

I'm always rewarded here with finding one of my favorite photographic subjects: aged and rusting corrugation.

Pealing paint, rust, dilapidated corrugation . . . all the things I love to photograph.

This old neighborhood is just outside the actual Minburi Market wet market area . . . on the way from where we parked.  

Narrow elevated walkways suspended above a flooded field. So much to see.

Patterns on top of patterns on top of dilapidation covered by corrugation.  It doesn't get any better!!!

What the heck?  It seems we stumbled upon a Thai movie set.  The authenticity of this sold 1940s neighborhood played perfectly into a setting of wartime Japanese occupation.

A perfect period setting for a WWII movie.  At this point a young production assistant came over and said we would have to leave the set and not to take any photos.  Oops! Too late!

If you look closely you see many small details that reflect the spiritual interests of the people living in these old neighborhoods.  These votive items seem to have been there for a very long time and have acquired a patina of age.

A rudimentary, and seemingly abandoned, spirit house platform and beer offering.

We walked into the old wet market and discovered it abandoned for the day.  Very interesting to be in here with nobody around.

We walked over a bridge to get to the markets and saw this image:  a solar-powered khlong boat  "bus" and the new Pink Line Sky Train.

The Minburi Market is framed by several canals (khlongs). This boatman is waiting for a fare.

Life along the Minburi Khlong.

An old canal rice barge tied along the Khlong.  A lovely scene.

Shed houses on stilts in the canal . . . so fascinating.

Idyllic Thai canal life.

It was a very, very hot afternoon, so we walked quickly through several markets in search of the air-conditioned coffee shop. I have many entries elsewhere on this blog inside the wonderful Thai markets.

We did stop now and again when an amazing image presented itself.  Fresh fish with accouterments.

Marvelous patterns everywhere.

After a pleasant day spent in the Minburi Market, I took the recently opened Pink Line Sly Train home.

On the morning of April 14, 2024 a friend sent us an e-mail with an attachment about a kite festival not far away.  Sure, why not, and we can find a sweet place to eat too after beach combing.

We saw some amazing kites that afternoon . . . but we couldn't stay all day.

We learned that there is a big kiting community who travel from festival/event to event to fly and show off their kites. Most participants had several kites.

The event organizers were first to put up a kite with the locale banner.

The first decorative kite to go up was this amazing stingray kite.  Some kiters told us this kite was made in Germany and was very expensive, several thousand dollars.  It was 40 metres long!

So beautiful flying above the blue sea and sky!

The detail on these kites was remarkable.

Launching one of these amazing kites took considerable technical skill.

I thought launching one octopus kite was quite a feat, but two!

Two octopus kites up and flying.

I thought launching two octopus kites was quite a feat, but three!

All three up and flying . . . but wait!

WOW! These guys put up four octopus kites tethered on a common rigging with an auxiliary kite to keep it all airborne.  WOW!

It was an oppressively hot and humid afternoon . . . so we stayed under the trees . . . and left early for lunch.

A memorable afternoon of flying octopus and stingray kites!

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We went on for lunch and a shore drive.

We had a  fantastic Thai lunch at this old wooden hole-in-the-wall restaurant.  Food photos were posted on-line (of course!).

On our way back to the car, we passed these squid drying on the sidewalk . . . with amazing shadow patterns!

These are going to be tasty!

We drove south on a small rural road that hugged the seaside and arrived at Khao Kalok Beach.  Beautiful.

Such a sublimely beautiful place.

We will come back to this place . . . .

We bought water at this beach side eatery . . . it was just too hot and humid to beach comb much.  We went back.  It was a good day.

Just exploring the Thai countryside while my wife plays golf . . .

Not too far from my home in Bangkok (Pakkret).

I've been using Google Maps to find points of interest in the Thai countryside.  Lately I have been punching in the word cave and have "discovered" many interesting places.  Khao Bin Cave.

I went to the ticket booth to get a ticket and was told the cave was closed because they were filming a movie in it right now.  I managed to talk them into letting me in with a guide so I would stay away from the filming crew.  Thanks.  And we went in.

Right away I knew I had made a good decision!  But the first thing I noticed was how oppressively hot and humid it was in the cave!  Although it was mid-90s (f) and 50% humidity outside in Thailand at the time, it was MUCH hotter and more humid inside.  I would guess 110f and humidity above 90% . . . an incredible heat index!  Fortunately I had a big water bottle.  The guide said, "Walk slow. Drink water."

This cave was one of the most interesting I have been in since Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, USA.

What sets this cave apart from the others, for me, is the amazing variety of formations.

A nicely maintained path leads through the cave.  It is about a kilometer to the exit at the far end.

This big flowing stalactite with green moss was fantastic.  I assume the heat and high humidity, along with the cave lighting supported just the right conditions for this life to thrive here.

A good walk taken.

They weren't actually filming a movie . . . just setting up the lighting.

Such an interesting, and well-lit cave. Great photos at every turn in challenging low light photographic conditions (hand held).

I have been in many caves in Thailand and all of them have had large Buddha statuary and altars . . . except this one.  This is the only votive, reverential altar in the entire cave.

Stalactites galore!

Stalactites galore!

I have never seen this kind of stalactite in any other cave in my life.

A constant walk of amazement.

There were large rooms and narrower passages, each with their own unique mix of fascinating formations.

After 45 minutes of slowly walking through this fantastic place . . . in high heat and humidity . . . we neared the exit.  I drank a whole bottle of water before I entered and a whole bottle of water while in the cave . . . and had completely soaked my clothing all the way through with sweat.

I felt the "cool" outside air before I saw the exit stairs.  I say cool, but it was 96f outside . . . such a difference to the inside sweltering, and somewhat dangerous, air inside the cave.

As my guide (who didn't want to be photographed) and I left the cave, a highly tattooed movie production technician was reentering the cave after stepping out to "cool off.