Got warned again, "No Photo" this time at night around 8pm about taking photos of people working the picking area. I sweet talked the Thai-Burmese men 3 of them who came to talk to me. They asked me why I was photographing at the dump. I told them the truth that I was there to help the children, buying boots etc.
The man who spoke to me was polite, giving me a big wai, telling me not to worry later on etc. It is all still very off putting. I had been filming among-st the workers in the garbage not 10 minutes earlier. What if they had come at that time and seen me working? Luckily I was in an area away from the picking, and with 3 children (changing some batteries) when they road in on their motorbikes. You know your in trouble when big well fed people show up on bikes. They came right up to me, knew I was there, they were looking for me. The guy I spoke to was speaking to another fellow on a cellphone. I think the driver of a garbage truck that was leaving as I was arriving on my bike called him (god I hate cell phones), then the troops arrived to question me about 30 minutes later. They asked my name and where I was from, I was honest with them in all ways except I did not tell them that I had been filming the working earlier. I was told it was OK to photograph the children, but not the working area or the work.
Will lay off shooting the picking from the garbage dump for now. Will concentrate on the life in and around peoples homes for a bit. The only one who may have problems with me shooting there is Fred. I would rather deal with one angry expat farang (western) man, than a team of angry official Thai people any day. Gosh I am struggling enough from a technical point of view, trying to do all this, I do not need people stopping me from shooting. Feeling lots of negative emotions again.
The man tonight seemed like a friendly enough sort, we were joking by the end of our talk. He even gave me advice on where to buy headlamps for the families. He told me I could buy them at the market. Can't blame the guy, he is just doing his job. He has a boss who know doubt is on his ass to keep things quiet. I sometimes worry I might be endangering the peoples livelihoods here by drawing too much attention their way. I need to lay off for a while and respect the wishes of the Thai authorities. Fred is definitely right in that regard, in some ways he is a very smart cookie.
Note* When I do shoot the picking. I think I need to come later in the evening next time and to try and avoid the garbage truck drivers. Over the next while. I now need to go into peoples homes, see that world. I will try to visit "X" tomorrow, she said she wanted to help.
The man who spoke to me was polite, giving me a big wai, telling me not to worry later on etc. It is all still very off putting. I had been filming among-st the workers in the garbage not 10 minutes earlier. What if they had come at that time and seen me working? Luckily I was in an area away from the picking, and with 3 children (changing some batteries) when they road in on their motorbikes. You know your in trouble when big well fed people show up on bikes. They came right up to me, knew I was there, they were looking for me. The guy I spoke to was speaking to another fellow on a cellphone. I think the driver of a garbage truck that was leaving as I was arriving on my bike called him (god I hate cell phones), then the troops arrived to question me about 30 minutes later. They asked my name and where I was from, I was honest with them in all ways except I did not tell them that I had been filming the working earlier. I was told it was OK to photograph the children, but not the working area or the work.
Will lay off shooting the picking from the garbage dump for now. Will concentrate on the life in and around peoples homes for a bit. The only one who may have problems with me shooting there is Fred. I would rather deal with one angry expat farang (western) man, than a team of angry official Thai people any day. Gosh I am struggling enough from a technical point of view, trying to do all this, I do not need people stopping me from shooting. Feeling lots of negative emotions again.
The man tonight seemed like a friendly enough sort, we were joking by the end of our talk. He even gave me advice on where to buy headlamps for the families. He told me I could buy them at the market. Can't blame the guy, he is just doing his job. He has a boss who know doubt is on his ass to keep things quiet. I sometimes worry I might be endangering the peoples livelihoods here by drawing too much attention their way. I need to lay off for a while and respect the wishes of the Thai authorities. Fred is definitely right in that regard, in some ways he is a very smart cookie.
Note* When I do shoot the picking. I think I need to come later in the evening next time and to try and avoid the garbage truck drivers. Over the next while. I now need to go into peoples homes, see that world. I will try to visit "X" tomorrow, she said she wanted to help.
