Feature spread on Siem Reap published in Jetstar Asia Magazine.

Feature spread on Siem Reap published in Jetstar Asia Magazine

At the end of last year I put the word out to some Photo Editor’s that I would be going to Siem Reap for a week. In the space of three days I had two assignments to shoot.

The first one was for Jetstar Asia Magazine. The brief was to photograph ten different venues to accompany an article on the up and coming tourist destination of Siem Reap. Ten different locations in two days is a lot to cover, when you consider I have to arrange access as well. Knowing this, my editor managed to cut the shoot list down a bit and use some existing imagery from some of the establishments they needed to cover for the article.

The article was published in the December 2010 issue. I remember seeing it while sitting in a cafe in Hanoi of all places!

Thanks to Haryati for the assignment and the great spread. And a big thank you to the people that let me photograph their premises on such short notice.

You can view and license more photos of Siem Reap here.

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Photographing Bangkok Street Food for Fah Thai Magazine

This was a short assignment I was sent on in October for Bangkok Airways Fah Thai Magazine.

The brief was simple: head to China Town in Bangkok, photograph a variety of dishes and more importantly, capture some street scenes of people eating, which reflect the China Town experience.

I love these types of assignments. And I knew the type of street food scene I was after. All I had to do was find it!

It took me 3 1/2 hours of walking all over China Town, but I eventually stumbled across the scene I had visualised in my mind – except it was better in real life. It was better because the foot path was so narrow there wasn’t space for the normal street stall tables. Instead, people just sat on their little chairs and ate from the bowl in their hands. The worn, faded green backdrop of the building is just so China Town for me.

It was great to see this photo run in the final version of the article, which you can read online at this link: Bangkok Street Food in Fah Thai November 2010 issue.

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Portrait of Nat Prakobsantisuk, Bangkok Thailand for Bangkok Airways Fah Thai Magazine.

In early October I received an email from the Art Director at Fah Thai Magazine asking me to go and photograph Nat Prakobsantisuk. The brief was to produce a variety of portraits on location with ample copy space for the text that would accompany the photo.

Due to a very full schedule, I didn’t do what I usually do before arriving at a shoot – namely, doing some research about my subject.

On the day of the shoot, I travelled out to Brain Studios in the suburbs surrounding Bangkok. Nat was yet to turn up, so I spent 20-minutes scouting the location for possible back drops. When Nat turned up and we introduced ourselves, I asked him what he did. Nat gave me a quizzical look and replied ‘I’m a Fashion Photographer’.

Nat’s response jogged my memory as to where I had seen his name before – as a contributing photographer on the mast head of Travel & Leisure SE Asia magazine.

Okay, so no pressure. I’m just photographing one of Bangkok’s leading fashion photographers.

Despite this new found knowledge, I stuck to my game plan and within 15-minutes had taken multiple shots of Nat in three different locations around Brain Studios.

Though I had my on-location lights with me and Nat had generously offered me use of any equipment in his studio, I ended up shooting with available light. I think this surprised Nat as on two occasions he asked ‘are you sure you don’t want to use some of my lights?’.

Nat is the first photographer that I’ve photographed for an assignment and in all honestly, I’m not sure who was more nervous. In the end I was really happy that I stuck with the way I wanted to photograph Nat and though I had lights, I decided not to use them.

A big thank you to Nat for his time and in helping me move people, tables and chairs for the final image, which was published in the November edition of Bangkok Airways Fah Thai Magazine.

See Nat’s work at his site - Nat Prakobsantisuk

See more outtakes of this portrait shoot  - People | Nat Prakobsantisuk

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Like all commercial shoots, a lot of time goes into pre-production. There are meetings with the client, the creative agency, the creation of a shoot schedule, liaison with Hansar’s site contact for our access requirements, styling requirements etc… A successful pre-production phase really helps ensure that on the day, everyone knows what is happening, when it is happening and what is needed on location.

The images have already been used by Hansar in the hotels listing in the Small Luxury Hotels of The World web site. I’ve included some selects from our 12-hour shoot day below:

Screen grab from the Small Luxury Hotels of the World web site.

Hansar Hotel Bangkok, Thailand.

Hansar Hotel Bangkok, Thailand.

Hansar Hotel Bangkok, Thailand.

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School lunches from around the world, May/June 2010 issue of Afar Magazine. My photo is the white plate on the red table cloth, bottom right.

If there is one thing I really love about the world of photography these days, it is this: it is easier than ever to connect with Photo Editors’ and for them to take advantage of where you may be travelling to.

Let me explain.

In late December 2009, an email popped up in my inbox asking for shots of school lunches from around the world. The PE at Afar Magazine wanted to assign the job to multiple photographers, in multiple countries. With my January/February trip to the Maldives already booked, I put my hand up for the Maldives and was assigned it.

Now to be honest, this wasn’t the most glamorous of assignments, but it was actually a lot of fun. In the Maldives I hooked up with my Maldivian friend and fellow photographer, Ahmed Zahid. Together we went to the boys school in Male’ and after explaining what I was after to two different people, we were given permission to do the shoot (well, take two photos – shoot is a bit of a stretch!).

The photo taking bit took about 8-minutes. The getting permission bit took about 22-minutes. That night I uploaded the hi-res images and sent them to my editor.

In June of this year I was killing some time at Bangkok airport waiting for my flight to Japan. What did I spot in the newsagency? None other than the May/June 2010 issue of Afar. Flicking through I found the double page spread and let me tell you, it looks great!

If you haven’t seen Afar magazine yet, then make sure you get a copy. One of the things I really like about it is the print quality and colour reproduction. I’m not sure what paper they use, but it has a great pearly type feel to it. As for the colour reproduction, it is fantastic. The content is great too. Grab a copy and have a read.

Thanks to Tara from Afar Magazine for assigning me the Maldives.

Afar Magazine

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The trip will be a mix of travel and some assignment work.

Despite Japan being known for telecommunications and digital everything, I’ll be dropping off the internet grid for most of my trip. This means no blog posts until July (sorry) and probably only once a week email checks.

Can’t wait to wander through the culture, colour and people of Japan.

Expect loads of high quality travel imagery upon my return.

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This weeks photo from the archive comes from Baa Atoll in the Maldives.

I was in Baa Atoll for a 36-hour visit to Six Senses Soneva Fushi Resort, for Bangkok Airways Fah Thai Magazine. Six Senses are one of the first resort companies in the Maldives to offer guests a luxury sea plane service with their provider, Maldivian Air Taxi. After I disembarked from the sea plane in this photo, myself and the other resort guests’ were transferred to a dhoni for the short 7-minute ride to the resort.

This photo really sums up sea plane travel in the Maldives. Beautiful turquoise waters, lots of open ocean space and a small floating dock for passengers. When I look at this image now, I just think ‘so Maldives’.

License the image by clicking on it.

More Maldives photography is available for licensing at my stock library and Aurora Photos.

Embed and share at your own site by clicking the triangle in the lower right hand corner.

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I had been granted a day and one night at the resort so I could produce some imagery for an article I had previously written on the resort designer, Mohamed Shafeeq. Working to such a tight time frame meant I had to have a very clear shoot list. After an initial scout of the entire resort, I sat down and worked out a game plan with the help of my resort contact. Arranging resort staff to model for various shots helps enormously in producing more dynamic and salable imagery.

While having a game plan and a schedule is important, I always look for anything photographic that may pass my way. Given the time and effort to get out to a place like Huvafen, it is important as a photographer to maximize my shooting time while on-location.

Below I have provided a sample of images from my 36-hours at Huvafen Fushi. If all goes to plan, some of these images should be appearing in a magazine article later in the year (I’ll keep you posted).

License any image by clicking on it.

See the full Huvafen Fushi Resort gallery at my stock library.

Embed and share on your own site, by clicking on the triangle in the bottom right hand corner.

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A week after arriving back in Bangkok from a month shooting in the Maldives, I picked up my first job with Wonderful Machine.

While I can’t show any outtakes or discuss who the client was, I can tell you that it was part of a global campaign and I was just one of many photographers assigned to it. My brief was to photograph a CEO on-location at a factory site outside of Bangkok. All went well and I hope to post some outtakes in the coming months.

Big thanks to the crew at Wonderful Machine, especially Jess Dudley.

If you haven’t heard of Wonderful Machine before, make sure you check out their site. They have a great roster of photographers, spanning the globe.

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For now, two photos from the recently opened Shangri-La Resort, Maldives.

Shangri-La Presidential Suite, Maldives.

The old and the new. Resort staff motoring past a dhoni.

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