Thursday, July 3, 2014

Photo Story: Laughing Homeless Man, Bangkok Thailand 1999

This photo was made as part of my 10 month trip to Thailand in 1999. I was doing a series on freelance sex workers in Thailand and after a long night of shooting I was walking home around 6am down Sukhumvit road in Bangkok when I came across this man sitting amongst some scrap wood next to the very busy road filled with early morning traffic. I spoke to him with my very limited Thai at that time and we joked around a bit, leading to his laugh. I shot him in both b/w and colour, I had completely forgotten about this colour pic until I found it on the blog today. I remember his hair being terribly matted and that his clothes were very dirty, he did not seem to be all there when I spoke to him. This man might have had mental health issues or a history of substance abuse. The series of photos I made with him lasted maybe 5 minutes, I gave him some money which you can see in my favourite b/w shot and then I was off. Even thou I used to walk Sukhumvit nightly back then I never did meet this man again. The photo was made with a Mamiya 6 camera and their wide angle 50mm lens with Afga colour 120 film using direct flash mixed with some early morning light.

Laughing homeless man, Bangkok Thailand 1999