No More Film

I shot the last of my film today, all the color and b/w roll film, 425 sheets of 4x5 b/w and about 20 sheets of color 4x5 are gone!

The final totals are as follows.

I photographed 20 different ladyboys.
I also photographed 4 ladies.
I ended up reshooting 6 people from previous trips.

Overall I am happy, at this point I think I went into new areas with my work. I hope the work is good, I think it should have some impact. I hope that I can get 10 good portraits for my portfolio box set of ladyboys.

Tonight I used up the last 36 sheets of 4x5 shooting a girl named Nit. I have photographed her on 2 previous occasions in 2003 and in 2007. Nit is a sweet lady but she is getting old fast, she is only 23 now but seems much older. She has a son and has been working a shortime bar for at least 4 years. I worry for her, I hope she does not suffer the same fate as the other lady Nit I photographed in Bangkok who is now 49 and still working the sex scene.

Walking down the regular photo Soi (road) tonight after not making photographs there for 3 or 4 days was kind of fun. Many people in the shortime bars called out to me and I heard my name on 2 occasions, people were so friendly asking me to come over and talk and joke around with them. If I had more time to spend here I could establish better long term relationships. I now think that I will return next year and do more photographs with the 8x10 camera and white background studio set up. I expect to have 7 weeks to shoot in 2009 and will probably return in May to do that work. I have emails and phone numbers for most of the people I photographed and I hope to hand out some free prints and reshoot people when I return. I think Jock Sturges and Jim were right I will try to come back year after year and continue to make portraits of the same people, it is important I establish strong relationships with the people I photograph.

Time to pack and prepare for my return to Canada, am eager to develop the film and make the prints.