Street Photography In Bangkok, Thailand
2023 is here and starts with a busy schedule. Bangkok is the place where I travelled to first, and what a great photography opportunity this city is.
“Gritty” is the word I have been using the most to describe Bangkok in the past few weeks. Bangkok is hot. Bangkok is sticky. Bangkok is extremely polluted and the smog in the air adds a feel to this city that definitely makes it even grittier. Most of all though, the people is what makes Thailand such a great street photography spot.
Before I get into the details of the places I shot, lets mention a touristy aspect of Thailand that is beautiful and unavoidable when visiting the country and that is the majestic Temples scattered all over town.
On our first days in town we explored two of them. The Marble Temple also known as “Wat Benchamabophit” and the famous “Wat Arun”.
Wat Benchamabophit - Bangkok, Thailand - Shot on Fujifilm X-T3 -16-80mm f4
The city in itself seems to have two faces. The first one is the built up skyscrapers modern megacity, filled with air-conditioned malls, selling fancy clothes and accessories to oblivious tourists who forget where they are and simply think of Thailand as a place to get luxury items for cheap.
Downtown Bangkok, Thailand - Fujifilm X-T4 - 18-55mm f2.8
The second is the broken down, left in disarray urban landscape, filled with people selling on the streets trying to make a living.
Older man grinding it out in Bangkok, Thailand - Fujifilm X-T3 - 18-55mm f2.8
The aforementioned side of Bangkok is incredible to experience. Camera in hand, we spent most of our time in Bangkok trying to capture the life and vibes of night markets. This is where locals sell meat skewers and all the traditional Thai street food for a few Bahts. You can definitely eat your meal for under two dollars pretty much anywhere, which leaves you wondering how these people make ends meet or afford anything in this life.
Chinatown - Bangkok, Thailand - Fujifilm X-T4 -18-55mm f2.8 lens
Chinatown - Bangkok, Thailand - Fujifilm X-T4 - 16 - 80mm f4
Chinatown was definitely the town where we experienced the more lively part of the city, especially at night. A lot of people would be meddling there, hopping from stall to stall, grabbing different foods as they go. We can definitely tell that Thai and tourist alike enjoyed the same evening all together as one. Watching the foreigner’s faces when they stumbled upon the one stall that sells insects and scorpions was fascinating as well. A true cultural shock.
The one thing that really stuck with me on the night markets is the smells. You can smell all the foods cooking outside on the street mixing all together. Mostly the oil in which most of it is fried was definitely overwhelming. However, that’s not all. The smell of sewers kept creeping in as well and gives Bangkok this unique feel that I have yet to experience anywhere else.
All in all, Bangkok was an incredible experience and the shots I captured while exploring the city are some of my favourites. You can check out this video and a few more on my YouTube channel to see and learn more about our trip to the great country of Thailand.
