Bangkok Motorshow

Yesterday I made my way to the Bangkok Motorshow, camera in hand.  Last year the family went, and Tim ended up buying a car.  She is still driving on the temporary tags on that one since we are waiting for her "lucky" number license plate.

This year I went alone.  I took a cab because it was on the other side of town, and I read that sometimes you can wait up to an hour to find a parking spot there.

Like a lot of the amateur photographers there, I was more interested in taking photos of the female models than the new car models.  Its not every day that you can photograph models.  I also noticed that there were a lot of photographers there with some nice glass.  Strangely, it seemed like there were a lot more Canons than Nikons.

Overall, I was somewhat happy with the photos.  The lighting there was top down and not very great.  I used a flash on low power, but sometimes it wasn't enough to get rid of the shadows from the overhead lighting.  While the light was plenty bright enough to see in, I had to shoot at a little slower shutter speed than I would have liked, and I used a higher iso.  I didn't have the sharp focus that I really would have liked.

I didn't take my 70-200 2.8 mm lens, which would have been a much better choice than the 24-105 mm.  The 2.8 aperture would have let me shoot at a higher shutter speed, and I would have had a shallower depth of focus, making the models stand out from the background more.    When I got home, I was actually going ot go back with my 70-200 lens.  I had Nalin tell the guard to call a taxi for me to arrive in 30 minutes.  An hour later I walked to the guard station.  He had forgotten.  At that point it wasn't worth going back.

One thing I noticed is that the Thai photographers would all stand around the models, sometimes three or more people deep.  Most of the photographers in the back couldn't be getting a lot of great photos, there were people in their way. I wasn't going to stand in the back and wait for ten minutes only to have the model leave.  I would just walk around to the front of all the photographers and shoot sitting down or kneeling.  Essentially I was in the front row.

Throughout the day, I only saw a handful of Thai photographers shoot from any position but standing.   I'm glad they didn't or I couldn't have gotten so close all the time. Since they were standing, I could work my way up to the front without blocking anyone's shot.  The models look at different cameras so you can take your shot, and since I was in the front, I never had any issue with them looking my way.

I definitely plan on going back next year.  In fact, I may end up going for a few days.

Here are a few photos of the models.  I'll add some more and some of cars (I did take a few) later.

 

Tale of Two Ladyboys

I was looking through my photos again, so it was a great time to revisit some blogging topics.  This time I am going to talk about that ever popular subject in Thailand, the ladyboy.

Ladyboys, or katoey as they are known in Thai are better known in English as transsexuals.  Unlike in the U.S., and probably most Western countries, where they are on the very fringes of society, here ladyboys are quite common.  There is no open discrimination against them, although it seems like they are somewhat limited in their professions.  There are a lot of them in the sex industry, and also industries like hair dressing, waitressing and other occupations that have a higher concentration of female workers.

Ladyboys are still legally male here, as is indicated on their national identity card.  There is actually a movement to try to get a third gender recognized to deal with some of the issues of having them classified as males.  Right now they go to a male prison.  It doesn't take a lot of imagination to figure out the problems that this might cause.

Another issue is that Thailand has compulsory military service for males.  There was a photo in the Bangkok Post of recruits in a room awaiting a physical.  The ladyboy in pink stood out.  She was disqualified from service because she had a "disfigured chest".  I am going to try to use that excuse if I'm caught looking at a girls chest.  "It was so disfigured dear, I couldn't look away."

I've had very little direct dealings with ladyboys.  Sure, I've seen them in the grocery store on occasion, and certainly when walking around in Pattaya and Phuket.  There was a ladyboy who works in the Build a Bear store in Central Chaengwattana who I didn't realize was not a woman until she spoke.  She fooled Aleena however.

When I was visiting Phuket back in November 2008, I had three interactions with ladyboys.  The purpose of my trip was to take photos of the people at the Vegetarian Festival, where the participants pierce their face with various sharp instruments.   After one morning of taking photos, a pair of katoeys came up to me and asked me to take their photo.  They were very nice about it so I did.  They didn't ask me for money or harass me in any way.



In the evening, I took a stroll down  Bangla Road in Patong beach.  As I walked by Soi Crocodile (small street named Crocodile), I saw a group of five or six ladyboys in full dresses and costumes.  They approached everyone who walked by to try to get them to take photos, come see the show, and perhaps even a private show if that is one's desire.  It wasn't mine.  The girls were very aggressive.  I did give the "girls" a small tip and took some photos.





My final ladyboy experience came as I was walking down beach road the next day.  When you walk down beach road in Patong, you are bombarded with solicitations for taxis, t-shirts, suits, and massages.  A very attractive woman came up and stood just inches in front of me.  She offered me a massage which included "lip service" (she was more explicit) for about $30.  Naturally I decline.  As close as she was to me, I couldn't tell that it was not a woman.  The only reason that I figured it out was that the other people around her were very obviously ladyboys.  It did make me wonder how often her offer was accepted by someone who wasn't aware of the extra "package" she was bringing to the table.

I do want to go to a ladyboy cabaret show again.  I went back when I came to Thailand the first time back in 94.  I figure I'll get some decent photos for the blog.