Matt is a great person to photograph, I think I might have photographed her more than 10 times, maybe as many as 15 times, between the years of 2007 and 2011. When I did the sex worker photos on white backgrounds with the 8x10 camera in 2012 I went looking for Matt but she had left the bar where she worked. I left my hotel, phone number etc with folks that knew her but I was never contacted, the man I spoke to at the bar (Thai language) told me she had left the city and was working elsewhere. Matt has a really cool look to her, when I photographed her in 2007 she had no breasts but later, I think in 2008 she got breast implants. Like most ladyboys Matt was very proud of her nom (breasts) and would like to show them off in the pictures. I think they made her happy because they made her feel so much more feminine, which she seemed to me to be. She used to come over with ladyboy friends (Bee, Nong) to be photographed as she was a bit nervous and shy to he with me alone, we eventually did do some photos alone and she was OK with it (around 2010). I remember telling her when we were finally alone doing pics that I had never before photographed her alone, she smiled and "Yes I know.".
For this photo I think we were alone, we were joking about something and she let out a spontaneous laugh at something I had said or done. Most photo sessions I do are like this, its important to make the person happy and comfortable in the portrait process even if joy is not the message of the photo your looking to create. Matt is a very nice person and someone I would love to photograph as she ages, I hope she finds happiness, romance and love, often for ladyboys in Thailand this can be difficult. Maybe someday I will meet her again and we can do more pictures together.
Tech stuff, Xpan camera with their standard lens and Tri-x (200), direct flash. D-76 2-1 at 20C for 12 minutes 30 seconds.
Note* If you meet or spend time with transgender people like ladyboys in Thailand it's good to be polite and always refer to them in the feminine, even if technically-physically they are still male.
For this photo I think we were alone, we were joking about something and she let out a spontaneous laugh at something I had said or done. Most photo sessions I do are like this, its important to make the person happy and comfortable in the portrait process even if joy is not the message of the photo your looking to create. Matt is a very nice person and someone I would love to photograph as she ages, I hope she finds happiness, romance and love, often for ladyboys in Thailand this can be difficult. Maybe someday I will meet her again and we can do more pictures together.
Tech stuff, Xpan camera with their standard lens and Tri-x (200), direct flash. D-76 2-1 at 20C for 12 minutes 30 seconds.
Note* If you meet or spend time with transgender people like ladyboys in Thailand it's good to be polite and always refer to them in the feminine, even if technically-physically they are still male.
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| Matt 28 Ladyboy Sex Worker, Thailand 2010 |
