The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

I found a good excuse to go out on the road to try out my new Canon IS 24-105mm f4.0L lens with my new Canon 5D Mark II DSLR.

On the road with visiting friends Jeff & Sharon from Oregon.  This time we drive west out of Bangkok to Kanchanaburi Province where e visited the famous "Bridge over the River Kwai."

Many thousands of Dutch, British, Canadian, and American soldiers were killed in the building of the bridge and the "Death Railway" from the Thai coast up through Hell Fire Pass to the Burmese boarder. Many of the killed were buried here in an Allied Forces cemetery in Kanchanaburi.

There seemed to be many, many cemeteries in Kanchanaburi.  These are Thai Chedis at a Wat.

A Chedi forest.

The two hundred mile drive was through rough, dry hills dotted with many interest features, and typically strange development.

At the Hell Fire Pass Memorial there was an ostriche farm.

Hell Fire Pass, the route of the Death Railway from here to the Three Pagoda Pass and the Burmese boarder..

A fun thing to do on a road trip in Thailand is to turn off the main roads when you see tourist signs like "Tiger Temple." Tigers under construction.

We saw this fabulous hilltop Thai Wat from the road and turned in for a look see.

Strange hills at dusk in silhouette at the Wat.

The Wat had a special water Bikku.

We spotted this flower, some kind of a fly trap, growing from the trunk of a large tree. 

We arrived at the Burmese boarder just as it was getting dark and were turned back by Thai military personnel.  We drove back to the Nature Resort, rented a cabin that didn't have water, complained, and were given individual de lux cabins on a lake.  I awoke the next morning to geese in the fog.

The fog slowly lifted revealng a fantastic nature reserve . . .

. . . and this tree house.

We enjoyed "magic light" of the morning taking photographs of everything.

Yep, I've got friends in town (Jeff & Sharon from Keizer, Oregon, USA) . . . . so it's time for me to [happily] be a tourist for a few weeks. Chatuchak Week-end Market anyone?

I'm really glad my friends came . . . I love Chatuchak ("JJ Market" to the locals).  Here we have home-made coconut ice cream being served in the half shell.

Fire Dogs! A little flare and a little danger to bring in the customers.

We stopped for a hearty bowl of wak-fried squid eggs.  Yummy!

So much to see & buy . . . and photograph at JJ Market.

Thai people are especially creative.  JJ Market is a place to be surprised by wonderfully aesthetic product ideas.

I may go back for this while slatted cabinet . . . I have a perfect place for it.

Lots of creativity and fine light to be found in JJ Market.

Something for EVERYBODY!

Chatuchak Market is known for its miles and miles of narrow isles packed with thousands of stalls.

Absolutely everything is available.  Most stalls carry only items designed and made by the proprietor.

In the dark depths of JJ Market there are special finds.

Hand-made shoes to die for.

Wonderful workmanship.

O.K., not everybody has the gift of commerce.

Interesting selection of items to sell: sling shots, back scratchers, salt, peanuts, fresh ginger, and curry sauce bags.

There is a lot to see outside the enclosed market area as well.

Back-lit plastic feet: what a great marketing idea.

Various sales approaches are on view . . . like this "Buy the damned dusters or else" method.

A young musician on a traditional Thai instrument making a little week-end cash.

Some Thai parents still cut their children's hair in the ancient styles.  This style goes back a thousand years and can still be seen in the old temple paintings.

Lots of ways to try and make money at JJ Market.

Whatever is "hot" or "cool" anywhere in the world comes to JJ Market . . . the trend either starts here, or arrives here early in the coolness half life.

Lots of young travellers come to Thailand for the beaches and adventure.  This is what they are wearing this year.

It wasn't n especially hot day, but we stopped for a cool drink at an old friend's bar, Viva, which had moved from its old JJ market spot.  Lovely place with nice jazz music.

JJ market is a great place to go even if you don't buy anything; there are so many things to see.

Ceramic dogs or wicker reindeer . . . so many Christmas gift ideas.

A wind-up toy hawker.

Famous for his coffee.  Notice the press clippings on his cart!

Tending stuff-on-a-stick (fish and pork balls).

Fried meat stand.

Red ball ice dessert anyone?

It is not easy to be blind in Thailand . . . or anywhere.

The neighborhood around JJ Market is alive with construction activity.  Businessmen are keen to cash in on its popularity.

The Bangkok Motor Show is an annual pilgrimage for my friend Bud Rockey and I. We like to see the new cars and the few "concept cars" the big car companies ship out to Thailand, like this Chevy Mira.

Cute Mazda concept car.  Please build this one.

There is a big vendor area where every imaginable car accessory is displayed, but we like to see the vans with the big stereos.  Amazing.  The vans that go boom.

The interiors of these land yachts are quite fantastic: big screen flat panel TVs, and a million watts of power.

The extent of decoration of these vans is amazing. Fun.

There is even a section displaying local race cards.  This is the "Pro Mod" of my friend Khun O.  It has a 632 cu in. big block Chevrolet and over 1000hp. 

Thee are product demonstations and stage shows going on everywhere to attract the Motor Show patrons interest.

But the fun part of the Motor Show are the models who will pose in front of the cars without even being asked.

Whatever was needed to attraction your attention to the new Hondas . . . .

The models are everywhere posing in front of cars.

Some were sweet . . . . .

. . . . and some were nutty, like the pretty Suzuki girls . . .

. . . . the Suzuki girls looked great from any angle.  They drew a large crowd of professional and amateur photographers like myself.

I took a break between photographing the models by looking at the cool old restored Mercedes . . .

. . . and old Jags!  WOW!

Some of the models were gorgeous.

Some booths had a mature beauty leaning on their new cars . . . .

The Mini stand opted for black leather and a red car . . . .

. . . . and sultry black on black.

You don't really need a pretty lady in pink to attract attention to the Porsche Boxter.

Porsche drew quite a crowd of photographers . . . I wasn't sure which they were more interested in, the car or the model.

But Volvo had the classiest act: Hats!

Wonderful Hats!

"Miss Cleaning Product" was my favorite model in the entire Motor Show.  I wanted to buy wax and spray cleaners from her in the worst way.

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.