Today as I got ready to come to work and was washing my hair I got
thinking about a photo portrait idea (yes I even think about photography
when I wash my hair!). I spent a lot of time looking at the portrait of
Pagoda yesterday morning and I thought this type of shot might work
with a series I was thinking of on the African sex workers in Bangkok (I
mentioned then in a earlier blog). I wanted to do simple headshots of
these women, to emphasize there humanity, I want to make the photos less
sexual, no nudity, no shortime rooms, no hint at sex, just show them
face to face, eye to eye with the viewer to demonstrate that regardless
on how they make money they are no different than us. I want to make
simple portraits that communicate a straight forward human message, a
message that we are all connected and should care and watch out for each
other.
My idea in the bath tub was to shoot the faces the same as the Pagoda portrait but possibly with flash and maybe a reflector. The flash would be harsh straight on light and the reflector would be on the left. I might also just try to shoot it in available light thou I do not know if this is possible based on the woman's working hours (11pm or later). I would probably have to set up the 4x5 equipment and the flash in a short time sex hotel room in the area where they would normally take there customers (always have problem explaining to the hotel owner I want to rent the room for all night, not 1 hour!). I have no idea where this hotel is located but there has to be one (or more) somewhere close and convenient. Dealing with this type of prostitution might be dangerous, the woman are probably illegals (trafficked?)the police no doubt get some kind of kickbacks, there might be some mafia influence or pimps of some kind. When you are using people to make money, like the mafia folks and the police might be doing, when the people are illegally in the country, making pictures in those situations can upset folks, I will have to be careful.
The idea of the photography style (simple harshly lit headshots) and image composition (head and shoulders shots) is to simplify to achieve more (less is more). There should not be a language problem I have talked to 2 different African sex workers in another area of Bangkok and they were polite kind people who spoke fluent English. Thinking back to those women that I met years ago makes me want to try to tell the story of these current workers. I remember what one African lady told me about her work "I do not want to do this kind of work, no one wants to do it but I need to make money, I want to send money back home to my family". She was maybe in her mid 30s and had sad beautiful eyes.
Not sure anything will come of this, but might try to give it a 2 or 3 day try in October to see how goes, and if it goes well, try again again in 2014.
My idea in the bath tub was to shoot the faces the same as the Pagoda portrait but possibly with flash and maybe a reflector. The flash would be harsh straight on light and the reflector would be on the left. I might also just try to shoot it in available light thou I do not know if this is possible based on the woman's working hours (11pm or later). I would probably have to set up the 4x5 equipment and the flash in a short time sex hotel room in the area where they would normally take there customers (always have problem explaining to the hotel owner I want to rent the room for all night, not 1 hour!). I have no idea where this hotel is located but there has to be one (or more) somewhere close and convenient. Dealing with this type of prostitution might be dangerous, the woman are probably illegals (trafficked?)the police no doubt get some kind of kickbacks, there might be some mafia influence or pimps of some kind. When you are using people to make money, like the mafia folks and the police might be doing, when the people are illegally in the country, making pictures in those situations can upset folks, I will have to be careful.
The idea of the photography style (simple harshly lit headshots) and image composition (head and shoulders shots) is to simplify to achieve more (less is more). There should not be a language problem I have talked to 2 different African sex workers in another area of Bangkok and they were polite kind people who spoke fluent English. Thinking back to those women that I met years ago makes me want to try to tell the story of these current workers. I remember what one African lady told me about her work "I do not want to do this kind of work, no one wants to do it but I need to make money, I want to send money back home to my family". She was maybe in her mid 30s and had sad beautiful eyes.
Not sure anything will come of this, but might try to give it a 2 or 3 day try in October to see how goes, and if it goes well, try again again in 2014.
