The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

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.

While visiting my Hong Kong in-laws, we all took the morning in the Hong Kong Flower Show.  A beautiful experience . . . and another opportunity to try out my new-ish X-T5 Fuji camera.

Acres of extraordinary flowers.

From these exciting yellow splashes, to . . .

 . . . to fields of colorful tulips . . . the Hong Kong Flower Show had it all!

I wish I could tell you the names of all these flowers . . . but I did not take notes while there . . .  I was only rffocusing on the beauty.

Such happiness expressed in this arrangement!

I think this show had more different kinds of flowers than I have ever seen i one place.

Some of the arrangements were fantistically beautiful.

Thailand had an official entry . . . a large space to showcase Thai flowers and garden aesthetics.

I have to confess a bias: I live in Thailand . . . and I think the Thai exhibit was the very best in the show.  There, I said it.

I have these in myb garden . . . astonishing!

Bluebells galore!!!

Japan also had an official entry . . . and it was beautiful too . . . and very Japanese!

Japanese garden style.

A classic formal Japanese garden.

Massivce tulip plantings everywhere . . . the colors were sooooo bright!

Tulip interiors are also interestimng.

More tulips . . . on the way.

Tulips, tulips, tulips . . . I could have done an entire entry on tulips . . . I took so many photos.

I have these in my garden.

A mixed arrangement.  Nice.

I wasn't the only person who thought of bringing their camera to the Flower Show. Everybody, and I do mean EVERYBODY, had their cameras and phones out taking photos . . . and there was some elbowing here and there to get the 'best' photo angles.

A lone pink rose.

New yellow rose in colorful company.

Yellow rose showing off.

There was a small pavilion with flower arrangements . . . I think this one won.

A massive flower arrangement.  Wow!

A cute "farm" display.

The European-style farm display used grain stalks with good results.

I do not know how they managed to get these fruit trees to blossom at the exact time for the Flower Show . . .

A lovely sunflower and succulent ground cover arrangement.

Lovely color and pattern . . .

Purple succulent splash!

Sunflowers always make me feel happy.

The organizers of this event spent a lot of time placing the flowers in perfect compositions for the many photographers who attended.

These were my favorite.

I want these in my garden . . . but it may be too hot here in Bangkok.

Color, color, color everywhere!

I was very happy with my flower photos from this show.

Colorful puffs.

So pretty.

It seemed at every turn we found more tulips!

Fields of tulips!

I had a great time at the flower show with my photographer brother in-law . . . .

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 The Rest Of My Hong Kong Visit:

The rest of my Hong Kong stay was equally photogenic . . . Star ferry in sunset light .

Hong Kong skyline . . . 

Many interesting kinds of boats in Hong Kong Harbour.

Wooden harbour "party boats" ready to board.

We took a late afternoon bay cruise around the back of Hong Kong Island to Lamma Island, aka, "seafood restaurant island" . . . This is our cruise boat arriving.

The back side of Hong Kong . . . showing the high density mass housing high-rise estates. I guess it is a good way to house people because it saves the destruction of nature and open spaces.

Arriving at the Lamma Island sea food village . . . where there was only sea food restaurant.

A long stretch of seafood eateries lining the Lamma Island harbour.

We found our table by the bay and set off to secure seafood favorites.

Our live seafood choices!!!

These looked good!

Waiting on the dock for our boat to take us back to Kowloon . . . our stomachs full from the delicious meal!

Our arrival by boat back into Hong Kong harbour at night was truly spectacular!

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Chi Lin Nunnery and Garden Park

It's nice to have in-laws living in Hong Kong  . . . they know the cool places to go, beyond the tourist spots, for good photography.  These gardens were magnificent!  And right in the city.

An astonishingly beautiful place surrounded by the city.

Stunning ancient Chinese styled garden pagoda.

Classic bridge to the Other Side.

Old water-powered mill in the park.

The inner temple at the nunnery.

They did not allow photography inside the temple . . . but it was fantastic.

Stepping out from the inner temple we were greeted with this view of Hong Kong Kowloon side.

When I got home I couldn't resist making a highly altered HDR "Art" photo from the nunnery.

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!

Back in December 2020, just as COVID 19 was bursting on the international scene and choking Thailand's tourist industry, the Thai government came up with a brilliant scheme to give vouchers to Thai residents for discounts at Thai resorts and restaurants in 'tourist areas' to spur more 'in country' tourism by Thais.  It worked . . . we took a road trip north to Loei, Chiang Khan, and the Mekong River.

Our route had us drive straight through to Loei from our home in a northern suburb of Bangkok.

The  majority of the drive north to Loei was on modern, divided expressway.  However, as we neared Loei the road reverted to a 2-lane country road.  We were lured into this strawberry stand with the promise of delicious fruit.

They were growing their own strawberries here . . . but they were asking a very high price for them.  We declined to purchase any strawberries here.

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LOEI

This is the old Loei I came to see . . . 

Loei is a provincial market town in the north of Thailand.  It is still "old Thailand" in Loei. I last visited here about 20 years ago . . . and yes, it has changed a great deal.

But there is still a lot of the old Thailand I know and love in Loei.

The street food in Loei is excellent . . . and the people friendly.

The old downtown of Loei still has locally-owned department stores and "supermarkets" like this one.

A street corner in downtown Loei.  I love snooping around in these old Thai market towns.

We stopped in this hole-in-the-wall restaurant for delicious noodle soup.

A busy market town serving a large agricultural community.

The things you see in Thailand! Yes, it was Christmas season even in Loei, Thailand.  They celebrate everything here!

We walked through the downtown and found the banks of the Loei River.  The bridge led to a beautiful city park.

There was fun to be had in Loei.

I sat across the street in a hipster coffee shop while my wife shopped in a fine traditional Thai textile shop across the street.

Yes, the hipster cool coffee shop can be found throughout the entire planet . . . even in the remote old market town of Loei.

Always interesting old stuff to be found in old Thai village stores.

Our very good, and very cheap Au Place Hotel in Loei.

Just a half block away from the hotel on a rural street we found this stylish Vietnamese restaurant.

We spent a couple nights in Loei and would venture out into the countryside in search of interesting things to see.  We found this amazing Buddhist Temple (Wat).

There were caves with Buddhas to explore at this wat.

There was this very beautiful marble temple on the wat grounds.

The marble temple was very interesting inside.

Marvelous light and reflection inside the marble wat.

We found this marvelous restaurant for our dinner on the second night in Loei.

The "elephant restaurant' interior dining area.

We had a fine meal in this old wooden room with traditional spirit masks hanging around.

Back at our hotel . . . they had the grounds lit up like a carnival!!!

The next morning we said good-bye to Loei and hit the road for then short drive north to the town of Chiang Khan along the Mekong River.

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CHIANG KHAN

We stopped at a riverside resort as soon as we arrived at the river . . . and this was out first view of the mighty Mekong River.

We quickly found our charming old wooden guest house.

Our guest house was right on a kind of 'walking street' through the riverside village.  The Mekong River is directly behind the row of houses and shops to the left.

Chiang Khan is a lovely and funky old Thai town with interesting shops and bike rentals.

With both front and rear doors open, you can look right through this hostel to the river behind it.

The many shops lining the walking street had ample supplies of local handicrafts to meet the tourist demand.

A guest house with street side 'beer chairs' . . . perfect for people watching.  I couldn't help but notice the Brew Dog Punk IPA bottle . . . from Aberdeen, Scotland, my former residence.

Such an interesting and photogenic little town.

Some shops hung fabric against the harsh afternoon sun.

Each shop-front seems to have its own personality, and the photographs are like portraits.

Beautiful local, high quality traditional textiles.

There were also many shops selling the usual array of souvenir 'touristwear.'

There is no shortage of restaurants and places to buy good, expensive coffee.

I love photographing these old wooden shops . . . anywhere in the world . . . but Chiang Khan had hundreds of them, and all with amazing shapes, features, colors, and textures.

A beautiful shop-front portrait.  The harsh afternoon sunlight actually enhances this photo by accentuating the wood grain and colors.

Another fabulous paneled storefront with Chinese lanterns. Lovely.

Just so much to see, notice, and photograph in this sweet little riverside town.

There was also some very nice chalk public art here and there.

Sweet chalk street art.

A very inviting bakery . . . delicious too!

Thai aesthetics are always fascinating and gorgeous. It's all in the details.  Here, a detail of the interior of our guesthouse.

When walking around such these richly aesthetic places with a camera in hand, I am prone to take these kinds of "still life" photographs: pleasing arrangements of objects in fascinating light.

Another "still life" of an old art gallery.

A very old wall revealing ancient building techniques.

Wooden wall with broom and ash tray.

Chalk graffiti on old panel shop doors . . . there is a story here.

Old panel shop doors reflected in a stainless steel table.  Nice.  These "still life" photo opportunities were endless in Chiang Khan.

A very nice tuk-tuk, although I never saw anybody riding in one . . . everybody walked around the little town.

We were getting tired and sore walking around the sweet town . . . deciding what to do next . . .

Massage! That's what's next!!  The massage shop owner was very kind.

a 2 1/2 hour Thai massage will cure whatever ails you, that's for sure!  This street side massage room was so beautiful. Just breathtaking!

We spent part of our days walking along a path next to the Mekong River.

Looking across the Mekong toward the 'wild side' of Laos.

Riverboat ferry both local people and tourists up and down the river.

Mekong River boats at the ready.

A fisherman going home.  Surprisingly, I did not see very many fishermen out on the river.

The fiew upriver toward the smoky Lao hills from Chiang Khan.

When the sun set we headed to the night market street.

CHIANG KHAN by NIGHT

As the light faded, and the heat dissipated, it seemed that every Thai tourist in town left their guesthouse and headed to the main walking street. 

The darker it got, the bigger the crowd under the colorful, and fading sky.

At last the sun had fully set.

Many of the shops, restaurants, and bars that were closed in the afternoon opened for the throngs that came out at night.  This craft beer joint was a welcome stop for me.

The interior of the craft beer hall.

The Thai hippies who ran the craft beer hall had a fantastic collection of beers and ales to choose from.

The town became even more photogenic at night. BBQ beef street hawkers.

The many stalls set up along the night street became a 'night market' - a favorite of Thai people and visitors to Thailand.  There was a wide variety of things for sale.  Nuts! I love nuts!

All the night market visitors brought their appetites . . . and were rewarded with a wide variety of delicious Thai specialties to eat.

Street performers in their traditional 'hill tribe' costumes entertained the gathered crowds.

My favorite street performer was this young busker playing electrified traditional old Thai music in a homemade outfit. Cool.

We enjoyed out nights walking along the Chiang Khan night market street.

After two nights in Chiang Khan we woke up early and said good-bye to the river and headed south.

Khon Kaen

We were about 30 minutes out of Chiang Khan and decided to take a different route home to Bangkok. Neither of us had ever been to Khon Kaen . . . so why not?

We didn't do too much sightseeing . . . just drove around town . . . found a great restaurant on Google . . . and found this magnificent wat to go in . . .

We were very glad we went inside.

There are many different altars in the large inner space . . . each with a group of people paying respects.

Very special light falling on the various Buddha images.

Pots for making donations and making wishes.

Such a pretty flower memorial altar.

This hyper-realistic wax monk was too realistic . . . and creepy.

We paid our respects here and then chatted with a monk before leaving.  We knew we haddn't spent enough time in Khon Kaen and vowed to return.

We left the next morning for a 7 hour drive home.  

It had been a wonderful vacation in the middle of the COVID Pandemic!

At the start of a long road trip to the Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce National Parks, my wonderful wife and I stopped off for a two days of camping along the Deschutes River on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains of Central Oregon. Bull Bend Campground was lovely!

A 3 1/2 hour drive from our starting point in Keizer, Oregon to the Bull Bend Campground through the beautiful Santiam Pass . . .

There was a somewhat bumpy and dusty 2-3 mile drive off the paved road through the dry Ponderosa Pine forest to get to Bull Bend Campground.

The campground was very nice with all the sites actually on the river.  We found a nice one and went about setting up camp.

With our camp set up (complete with our "shower/toilet" tent), we took of for a quick look around.

We were situated in a beautiful forest on a perfect, clear 80f day.

30 feet from our campsite we had the Deschutes River.  Spectacular!

There is a big 300 degree bend in the river which almost creates an island, where the campground is situated.

Incredible nature!

I immediately went back to our camp site and grabbed my camping chair and took it down to the river banks.  This is where I wanted to sit and enjoy life.

The view from my camp chair.  Heaven.

Looking to my left from my camping chair the river bends out and around in a big arch which surrounds the campground.

I took my bike out for a spin around the campground . . . 

Then I rode the road out of the campground . . . for some different views of the river.

The Dechutes River floods at various times of the year eroding the banks.  These sawed-off root snags can be found along the banks.

The forest floor is a complex and beautiful environment . . .

Various tree falls from fires and thinning.

On the next morning my wife and I took a walk out into the forest on a random trail leading away from the river.

There was plenty of evidence that there had been a big burn in the not-too-distant past. Of course, these Ponderosa pines depend on fire to help their seeds propagate.

Such an inviting forest trail . . . on such a gorgeous day!

Our trail "away from the river" eventually lead us back to another bend in the meandering Dechutes River.

I am not sure if I will ever get back to this wonderful place, but I will always remember these fantastic trees.

An absolutely gorgeous place to camp for a couple of days . . .