The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

A nice early hot season day in Bangkok; a Saturday . . . time to go in to Bangkok to give up some blood at Bummrungrad Hospital for my doctor's appointment next week.  I always stand next to this window by the cashier's counter and admired the view . . . today I took a photo.

After the blood letting I was out on food in Bangkok.  I noticed my iPhone belt pouch was falling apart so I stopped at a sidewalk seamster's establishment to have it re-sewed.  Very handy.  Cost me 20 baht (US$0.60).

Since I had to "fast" before the blood sample, I walked over to La Monita Mexican Grille a few blocks away - starving.  I had never eaten there, but it came highly recommended.  I was very happy with the food (B+) and the incredible colors of the interior (NOT bumped up in PhotoShop!).  WOW!

I was running late, so I took a taxi to Siam Square area for my not-so-regular hair cut. Siam Square is across the street from the mammoth Paragon Mall and is a maze of covered alleys filled with interesting little shops.  This is the view from the SkyTrain platform.

All along the way, and I do mean all along the way, the temptation of that which is forbidden to cross my lips proliferates beyond imagination and in abundance, and I do mean beyond imagination. Solid sugar constuctions.

Inside The Machine.  I left my barber light headed and walked to the MBK Mall to a camera store I knew about.  I have been researching the purchase of a new lens, the Sigma 12-24 II . . . a wide zoom for a full frame camera like my Canon 50D Mark II.  They let me put it on my camera and go out in the mall to test its capabilities.  I took this picture.  I didn't buy it . . . I was not happy with this particular example.

In this part of Bangkok (Siam Center), where the SkyTrain runs, they have suspended a wide pedestrian walkway, a promenade, above the famous Bangkok Traffic.

People describe the effect as "living in the movie Blade Runner."

There is a surreal element about this urban environment.

I took a short-cut through several air-conditioned malls and then out on the elevated promenade to the CentralWorld Mall (burned down during "The Troubles" a couple of years ago).  I had to marvel at the amazing contrasts to be found in Bangkok: messy poverty and post-modern grandeur.

I checked out the photo stors at CentralWorld mall without seeing anything I liked.  The glitz here is on a monumental scale.

There is something very disturbing about naming a department store "Zen" . . . even if it is a Japanese department store.  "Counter-Zen" would be more like it!  In the CentralWorld Mall, Bangkok, February 25, 2012.

As the sun was setting over Bangkok, I made my way through a few more interconnected malls to the Intercontenential Hotel where I shagged a taxi home.  It was good "to out amung'em."

Every year I take a group of high school students from the International School Bangkok into the slums of Klong Toey in Bangkok, Thailand to carry out a community service project for the Mercy Center Foundation.

This year we worked with 3-5 year-old pre-school and kidergarteners.

It was a visually, as well as culturally, interesting place.

About the only safe way out of the cycle of poverty in this part of Bangkok is to commit to education.  Liking school becomes a necessity.

This school is organized as an intervention in the "Eldest Daughter Syndrome," where the oldest daughter quits school at 9 or 10 years of age to take care of the younger children and becomes enmeshed in the cycle of poverty herself.  By providing day schooling for young children, the older girls can finish school and move out of the slum.

The school is not without resources, thanks to Father Joe and the Mercy Center Foundation.

We brought large boxes of art materials and lesson plans for fun projects.

The kids ere very enthralled with the art projects.

Some students showed very good art skills.

We shared our hope with the young art students.

There were many different activities to choose from.

The kids were eager to help.

Art is not easy.

Sometimes an artist just needs to think.

In addition to providing a school, materials, and teachers, the mercy Center, through its donors, also provide vitamin fortified milk and a health lunch so the childrens' physical development is assured.

The kids loved that milk.

The school suddenly became very quiet when the milk was handed out.

Not every day is a good day.

At the end of the school day mothers, relaties, or neighbors would fetch the children.  This mother brought an especially observant baby.

An 1872 photograph of Borobudur taken by a Dutch photographer, Isidore van Kinsbergen. The picture also shows the Dutch flag on top of the main dome. The "Lost Temple of Borobudur" had been discovered!

The great Borobudur Temple in Central Java Indonesia is often compared to Ankor Wat in Cambodia.  Although Borobudur is not as vast as Ankor, it may be better preserved as the result of having been buried in volcanic ash for the past 700 years.

Borobudur is a huge pyramid literally covered with Buddha images and miles and miles of bas relief panels depicting the life of The Buddha, the royally of the period, and the life of the ordinary people of the region at the time.

The state of preservation is remarkable. The spouting corner Garudas are a good example.

Many (54 actually) fine Buddhas remain in their alcoves, untouched by looters.

Life-sized Buddhas everywhere decorate the exterior.

UNESCO and other donor maintain the structure and continuously engage in its restoration.

But the real treat of seeing Borobudur are the 2,672 exquisitely carved, and perfectly preserved 1300 year old stone panels. Magnificent!

The ancient sea.

Hindu Sadus, royal personages and their attendants . . . .

Life in the royal court.

The work of the servants.

Holy men and court advisors.

The lives of the Royals.

The Royals and their retinue.

The spiritual practices of the Royalty depicted everywhere.

Housing and village life from 1300 years ago in Central Java.

Many Indonesian tourists to asked me to take my photograph . . . I obliged, but only if I could take their photograph.  I found it amazing to think of these girls as the descendants of the girls carved into the stone just over their shoulders.  In fact, the girl at the left looks remarkably like the girl just over behind her!

I had the same feeling about these temple restorers on their break: they looked like the people depicted in the panels they were leaning against.

There were so many beautiful panels . . . and I took a million photos . . . here are a few more in a slideshow format:

I just registered this site at Photoblogs.com.

Bangsaen, Thailand is a sleepy little seaside resort town about two hours drive from Bangkok.

Normally people come to Bangsaen to sit under the parasols to eat sea food and maybe frolic in the water.

Beach chairs and a view of the Gulf of Siam.  Nice.

Bangsae is organized to receive many, many seasiders.

Perhaps take a dip before . . . .

. . . . before having a snack of fried grasshoppers or grub worms, maybe even some . . . . . .

. . . . or even a "five foot stick" (although it looks shorter then that).  It's great to be at the beach.

But two week-ends a year the streets of central Bangsaen are closed off and barriers are erected to hold the Bangsaen Speed Festival. It was a cloudy day, not perfect for photography, but I did the best I could.

The race draws a wide variety of race cars from throughout Thailand and a few from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and a "V8 Supercar" from New Zealand.  The locally modified KE Toyota and Chevy race truck are fine examples of the race cars present.

Many of the race cars would be right at home on any race track in the world.  The workmanship and preparation of this EVO was outstanding.

There are many classes for racers to participate in.  My friend, Khun Mac (MacTec), qualified this car number one on the grid for his class - and won the race . . . but was DQed for being underweight.  Oops.

There is seemingly a class for everyone.  This bubble hooded EVO-powered Mini from Hong Kong was a little work of art.  It looks like a '57 Chevy pick-up front end.  Nice.

Some of the cars had very big budgets, but most were locally made using a lot of used engines with a few racing upgrades, like this Toyota.

The pit area was quite large, and always full of action.

One of the most popular classes is the "One Make Class," where identical Toyotas or Hondas race together, under a set of rules that govern the extent of modifications.  The racing is very close in these classes.

Another One Make Toyota Class pit.

The bucks up teams looked very professional.  This is the Toyota tent.

A lot of ingenuity went into this home-built SuperCar class racer, although I had to be concerned about some of the safety features . . . . that went missing.

What would a car race be without the race girls?

The Big Cola race girls were particularly noteworthy.

Walking through the pits I spotted this model . . . and she looked familiar.  I remembered her as one of the Volvo models in the beautiful big wolven hats I photographed at the Bangkok Mortor Show. She couldn't believe I remembered her! Her name is Alita.

Like at races everywhere, there were features between the races, like the parade of classic cars.  This 1958  Fiat was immaculate . . .

. . . . as was this classic Toyota pick-up.

But tight class racing is what Bansaen is all about! This is from a "Modified Vintage" class race.

A nicely prepped Toyota KE 4-door.

Some drivers were better than others.  A sideways Toyota.

My friend Peter and I scouted the best photo angles and locations.  I got lucky with this wheel up Rothman's Mini.

I even managed some accidental art.

The One Make Toyota race was tightly contested.

We had a good location to shoot the cars going around a double apex curve that gave a lot of the drivers problems.

As over 50% of all motor vehicles in Thailand are pick-up trucks, it only figures that there would be road racing trucks at Bangsaen. The pits and track were still wet from an earlier sudden splash-and-dash thunderstorm.

There are three classes of racing trucks: vintage, standard, and modified. These Modified Truck Class racers were very fast and agile through the twisty bits.

There was a fair amount of bumping, nudging, and pushing between the race trucks.

 A race truck at speed.  Very cool. The race trucks are all turbo diesels.

After a long day we headed home . . . but fortunately NOT in this local Bangsaen bus with the big stereo!