Crazy Day

Had a busy busy day today. The day started out with 2 no shows for shoots. I was hoping to finish the ringflash color work in the morning but 3 ladyboys who were supposed to come for photographs before my 12pm checkout time did not show. I walked the beach and made a few photographs. I then discovered the flash hotshoe from my Hasselblad XPAN was GONE! How the hell do you lose a hotshoe? Of all the cameras I have ever owned (dozens of cameras) I have never lost a hotshoe, guess there is a first time for everything. I bought the camera second hand on Ebay it must been damaged by the previous owner. When I returned to Bangkok later in the day I had to do a emergency run to the shop that got me the adaptor ring for my other Hasselblad. The owner doubted he could get me an XPAN hotshoe but will try to adapt another hotshoe to work. If the hotshoe does not work I will have to sinc the flash using a sync cord. A repair in Canada would probably cost over $150, here in Bangkok it might cost $33 or less. I left the camera with the store and will hear back from him in the next 2 days.

Later that evening I returned to Sukhumvit road the place I made most of my 1999 street photographs. It was sort of nostalgic in a weird sort of way. I even met a American man (H) I knew from that period a man I had not met in at least 5 years. I stumbled onto to him in the parking lot of a hotel he frequents and without batting and eye it took him about 2 seconds after seeing me to say "Hi Gerry, how you been?" Was nice to talk to him, he had recently had some health issues and seemed quite humble and relaxed. We had a nice 45 minute conversation I even talked to him about having a long term relationship and he said that it would be the ideal situation. We all need love, someone to trust and someone who worry and take care of us. Even men who had sex with thousands of women have the the need to find a girl that will love them and be with them full time. H talked to me of a 67 year old man who was in longterm with a 24 year old Thai lady and seemed quite envious. I think I stereotype people at times and sexpats who engage in sex with countless women are easy to judge in a negative way. Now that I have known several hardcore sexpats for 10 years plus I can see a bit of their own humanity, see a bit clearer their need for love and companionship. Talking to these fellows now after 10 years I can understand their loneliness a bit, and see them as more of a shade of grey than in simple black and white terms. Before I saw them wearing a black hat and now see them as wearing a blackish grey hat. I am not sure that is much of an improvement but heck it does make them more human and more real. I think I might like to try do some white background portraits of these fellows at some future date if they will allow me to photograph them.

I ended up photographing 5 ladies tonight to make up four the 3 ladyboys missed earlier in the day. I photographed 3 older ladies early in the evening before my talk with H and 2 later in the evening after midnight. I am finished doing the ringflash color stuff (did about 25 photo sessions) and am happy that this part of the photographs is done. I think I made some good photos especially at the beginning of the night when I did the first 3 who were all older 44 to 57 years old. One of the ladies Mai was quite angry at the beginning of the session and was difficult to handle but I tried to be as polite as I could and treated here with respect using the Thai words for politeness as often as I could. I do not blame here for being angry toward a farang she did not know, being 57 and working as a sex worker is not easy, her life must be filled with sadness. I hope I can get to know her better and at some future date and make more portraits of her. When I left her both her and Pun another lady I photographed waved goodbye to me with a smile.

I spoke a ton of Thai today my fear of the language has vanished and I jumped in speaking at any opportunity. I even learned all about my taxi drivers life on the way to my room after the days shooting. I also played my first Thai chess on the street in several years, it was fun and I was competitive until the end game when the Thai man I was playing (he the help of his 2 friends) got a slight advantage and won with some difficulty. They asked me to return to play them again the next day, it was lots of fun to joke with them and to smash the pieces down on the wooden board while saying ROOK (check).

The thing I need to do now that the sex worker photos are done with is to photograph people on the street with the same ease. I need to move outside that comfort zone I talked about before and create photographs in a new form. Damn I wish I had more time, I have only about 18 days, 17 actually as it is 620am and I exhausted. Tomorrow will probably be a non day as I need to load film and unpack from my trip South.

It was a fun day, hard day, unlucky day and lucky day but need to move on to better photographs. I am excited by the possibilities.