Michael,
As do many others I find your work revealing and appealing.
As you have many shots from a close distance it makes me wonder:
Do you spend much time engaging with the subjects and then shoot after asking permission?
Is there a language barrier?
Clearly these are not the typical Gun and Run street photography .
I noticed only one shot where a subject seemed somewhat hostile or annoyed (and he might not have been)
Anyway, thoroughly enjoy your work and the obvious passion you bring to it.
Keep 'em coming!
CG
Hi CG,
Thanks for the message. You asked some good questions and I will try my best to answer them. I sometimes shoot first then engage my subjects if the opportunity presents itself, and then I may shoot a couple of more photos after that. As far as a language barrier goes, I speak Thai, but I don't think that really plays a big part in my photography, because I travel all over the world and I basically photograph the same way here as I do in other countries.
I am big guy (6 feet and around 185 lbs), and I stick out so much in this part of the world that it is impossible for me to blend in, that said, I don't really think about it too much when I am taking photos. I try to approach my subjects with respect and in a non threatening way and I imagine the people are aware that I am taking their photo. If someone looks at me in a way that I think they don't want me to take their photo, then I don't take any photos and I say sorry and move on.
Honestly, I think it is all about the way I approach people and take photos, I think that some people are shy to approach strangers on the street, and try to take "sneaky photos" but I don't do that. I don't hide my camera and I don't try to "sneak photos". I guess it's just my style. I have gone shooting with some other rff members, SimonSawSunlight would be one those people and we went off the beaten track out here and explored some side streets and hidden corners in my town. We stumbled upon a pig slaughter house and we were able to shoot there for about 20-30 minutes. My Thai friends told me that it would be "impossible" to shoot at a pig farm, but it wasn't. Maybe we got lucky, who knows, but it was an awesome experience and I am glad that I got to do it with Simon.
Below are a couple of photos that I think you can see where I engaged my subjects and those that I didn't.
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cheers, michael