Category: PHOTO ESSAY

PHOTO ESSAY : CONTEMPLATING IN RAMADAN1444

April 8, 2023
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: TEECHALIT CHULARAT

(For Thai, press here) 

If you ask me when the most anticipated time of year is for Muslims, I will provide you with an answer right now: it is Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Fasting is intended to be a time of spiritual discipline, a deep contemplation of one’s gratitude and relationship with God. When compared to other months of the year, Ramadan is the time when Muslims refrain from entertainment and engage in extra religious activities. However, faithful Muslims welcome Ramadan with joy and consider this faithful experience as a great blessing for the spiritual advancement they will receive during the holy month.

One of the things that makes Ramadan so special to me is being able to observe people’s lives and activities during this special time. This series of photographs depicts the way of life of Muslims in Thailand at the start of Ramadan this year (2023 is the year 1,444 in the Islamic calendar). I spent time photographing people at work or on their way to mosques to participate in religious ceremonies, as well as how they stopped to buy food in the afternoon to prepare for their first meal after sunset. Throughout different periods of the day, I noticed a different color, felt something different in the air, and witnessed people’s lifestyles differ from how they would normally live in other months of the year.

This is the first year I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with my own photography as I contemplated life during the month of Ramadan with a simpler perspective while my own personal emotional experiences were hidden inside each picture. I hope viewers will join me on this journey and discover new dimensions of life during this sacred time.

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Teechalit Chularat graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He is currently working as a freelance architect under the name TEECHALIT ARCHITECT, the studio that he founded, with a portfolio that includes the architectural design of four mosques. He is also a photographer and the administrator of the Facebook page, Thai Minimal Photography.

instagram.com/minimalmccalen
facebook.com/minimal.mccalen

PHOTO ESSAY : CHRISTMAS IN THAILAND

March 4, 2023
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: BARRY MACDONALD

(For Thai, press here) 

Christmas in England and most Christian countries is our main holiday and celebration of the year. In the dark and cold winter months it is something to look forward to, a chance to spend time with family and loved ones. The whole country shuts down for a few days, with New Years so close they become intertwined. It’s a chance to celebrate, rest and reflect on the year that’s gone, and the one that’s about to start. I got to spend Christmas 2022 in Thailand, and was fascinated by how enthusiastic Thai people were about it. From giant shopping mall displays, to office Christmas parties and secret Santa’s between friends, so many of the traditions were embraced fully or slightly altered to fit Thai culture. It was interesting to see Christmas interpreted through a different culture and I hope my project shows the spirit of Christmas in Thailand.

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Barry Macdonald was born in London, UK. His dad used to take photos with a 35mm film camera as a hobby and taught him how to use it when he was quite young. He had his own film camera by the time I was 15. The camera opened up a way to interact with the world that made sense to him. Composing a frame and timing the moment brings a satisfaction when everything falls into place. His camera has allowed him to travel and meet a lot of people, and He is always grateful to it for changing his life and helping him make sense of the world.

instagram.com/barrymac84

PHOTO ESSAY : A YEAR COUNTDOWN

February 18, 2023
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: JITTINUN JITHPRATUCK

(For Thai, press here) 

A series of photographs documenting a memory of the Plan House 1 building on Sathorn Soi 10 Road in its final year as the office of Plan Architect Co., Ltd. after more than 30 years of use since its construction. As the contract for the land on which the building is built comes to an end in 2023, the day will come when this place will become nothing but a mere memory.

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Jittinun Jithpratuck is an architect who joined Plan Architect Co., Ltd. in 2012. She has documented a corner of his workplace as the days and seasons passed.

instagram.com/ayearcountdown

PHOTO ESSAY : #TAKEHOMEDESIGNFURSPECTIVE

February 2, 2023
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: PAPHOP WONGPANICH

(For Thai, press here) 

When I’m on vacation, I always want to capture the memory I have of a certain place. I choose to use my “children” (the furniture I designed) to represent different moments in my memories.

It all started with me wanting to take some beautiful and one-of-a-kind photographs of my own works. The concept has led me to bring my chairs with me to all of these various locations, causing those who see my photographs to develop a shared sentiment and imagine the feeling of using each piece of furniture while being embraced by the presence of nature. It has become a hobby of mine to take my children to places I have visited, such as waterfalls, forests, beaches, volcanoes, and even snow-capped mountain peaks. The images of my furniture being photographed in all of these beautiful settings has now become a signature of my brand. I think it’s fun. 

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Paphop Wongpanich is the owner of TAKE HOME DESIGN, a boutique furniture brand. He was chosen to showcase his work as an emerging designer at the Salone Satellite Zone at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano, Italy.

facebook.com/takehomedesignfurniture

PHOTO ESSAY : SALT FIELDS

December 24, 2022
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: WAN CHANTAVILASVONG

(For Thai, press here) 

The tranquil silence of the mouth of a river and a pale monsoon sky highlights the shacks, the barns, and the fences of salt fields against the monotonous background. The silence and absence of people may be signifying that the area is heading towards decline, where salt farming may be becoming a part of past that has faded away from people’s everyday lives.

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Wan Chantavilasvong is a city planner and a researcher, who cherishes photography as her serious play. Her photography often portrays the similarities and differences between the environments and people’s lives in different parts of the world.

wanc.space 
facebook.com/wan.chtvlv
instagram.com/wan.chtvlv

PHOTO ESSAY : FADE #01

November 5, 2022
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: THANNOP AUTTAPUMSUWAN

(For Thai, press here)  

What can be seen clearly may not always be understood emotionally.

Ascend, exist, perish… 
Objects, places, and spirits… time is always passing, and we can’t really tell how long things can last. Unknowingly, things may be fading away at any moment. But everything we have come across has something we can experience differently as an individual through the way we see, interact and touch. From what one particular thing is or could be at a particular time, to the process of self-reflection that occurs along the way, things seem to change or fade away in one’s memories.

There are certain things that people experience collectively, which can also be varied by the difference in time at which the experience unfolds. The artist uses black and white film photographs and photography techniques, including darkroom processes, to convey viewers’ perspectives and to reveal discernible, tactile meanings of how things emerge, sustain, and cease to exist. The process is reliant on each viewer’s personal anecdotes, helping them express the stories of their interactions with the photographs.

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Thannop Auttapumsuwan graduated from Silpakorn University’s Faculty of Architecture. He is currently working as an architectural photographer and exploring personal projects with black and white film cameras and darkroom processes.

facebook.com/gapjaa 
instagram.com/whydoyoulovefilm

 

PHOTO ESSAY : WHEN I WAKE UP, I WILL DREAM OF BEING A CHILD AGAIN

October 22, 2022
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: RATTHEE PHAISANCHOTSIRI

(For Thai, press here)  

This series of photographs was taken between 2010 and 2011 when I was living in Japan as a fresh graduate. Like many students of product design at the time, Japan was a dream destination for many to pursue their education. It was a time when the Minimalist movement was flourishing.

But the transition from adolescence to working age—the period we call “coming of age”—turned out to be a lot more complicated than I had imagined. It wasn’t easy to strike a balance between reality and fantasy, between being realistic and prejudice-free. My own coming of age was filled with too many questions. Circulating in my mind were thoughts about life and death, as my body grew weaker by the day. How could I endure this feeling when the time has come for me to start living my life in the way that society has already determined?

It has been over twelve years and the childhood dreams I once had are no longer lucid like they used to be. Looking back to those memories in an attempt to compare them to the present I’m living in, in days when my age has progressed closer to the people in these pictures I took, in the time when technology has made all of our lives more convenient, but how we are living as human beings doesn’t seem that different from those days in the past. We are still struggling with the happiness we find ourselves with each passing day.

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Ratthee Phaisanchotsiri is an industrial designer and one of the members of the Issaraphap Collective who splits his time between Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

rattheephaisanchotsiri.com
instagram.com/rattheephaisanchotsiri

PHOTO ESSAY : LATE WINTER RAIN

October 8, 2022
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: CHANAPONG SRIWEERAPONG

(For Thai, press here)

A walk up to the summit of Phu Kradueng Mountain is a tough one and demands quite a lot of patience and strength. But what’s waiting at the destination makes everything worth the effort. There, nature changes through seasons, and each season has its own unique beauty. 

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Chanapong Sriweerapong works as a video editor and photographer at interior design form, DUDE DECORATE. He loves art and nature. 

instagram.com/best.sri6

PHOTO ESSAY : STAY AT HOME 2020

September 24, 2022
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: THANACHAI TANKVARALUK

(For Thai, press here)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on people’s daily lives with new implemented rules, regulations, and measures to prevent the spread of the infectious disease. Under the New Normal way of life, people are required to make significant adjustments. This series of photographs is a documentation of memories and a reflection of the beauty and spirit hidden in the simplicity and ordinariness of life’s mundane stories, at a time where there is a significant shift in how humans live and a society evolves. Under entirely new circumstances and conditions, people are adapting to their new way of life. And before we know it, despite all the changes and disruptions, we have found some peace and happiness. We are currently more optimistic than ever that the pandemic will end and we will be able to resume our normal lives  in the near future. 

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Thanachai Tankvaraluk, who was born in Udon Thani, Thailand, earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication arts with a Journalism Major from Rangsit University. Currently, he is a business owner, but has always had a keen interest in everything around him, as well as an unwavering love and passion for travel and photography.

instagram.com/thanachai_diary
facebook.com/profile.php?id=100031795672130

PHOTO ESSAY : A LONELY JOURNEY

September 17, 2022
by Ketsiree Wongwan

TEXT & PHOTO: SUPAKORN SOONTARARAK

(For Thai, press here)

We’ve heard the phrase ‘traveling is a journey of self-discovery’ so often that it’s almost become a catchphrase. But even so, we’ve seen it inspire countless individuals to pack their bags and explore the globe. On the other hand, if the statement were changed and ‘alone’ was added to the equation. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people had second thoughts or abandoned the idea out of fear of the word and what it implies. But this assertion made me question myself. After a period of reflection, I overcame my fear and my thoughts became clear. I established a goal that I hoped would enable me to discover more about who I am. I began planning my first solo trip and haven’t looked back since. My journey to self-discovery has revealed that solo travel has become an important and meaningful chapter of my life. I’ve learned more about myself simply by spending time alone. Traveling alone allows me to linger longer over something or a location, appreciating all the details, my surroundings, and my emotions on a deeper level. 

Upon observing architecture and design, I began recognizing the intention behind each work, how light and shadow affect a space at various times of the day, and the beauty that has been meticulously crafted and conveyed. It would not be incorrect to say that the famous quote is accurate. If I hadn’t been able to overcome my fear, I would have never had the courage to travel alone, and I certainly wouldn’t know myself as well as I do now. 

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Supakorn Soontararak used to be an architect. Now working full-time as a Senior Business Developer with a part-time job as an architectural photographer for SynSpaceStudio, he is the only Thai person ever to win the internationally renowned photography awards Arch2O by Architecture and Design Magazine in 2021 and Cyberpunk2077 World Photo Contest in 2020.

instagram.com/synspacestudio
facebook.com/synspacestudio