ellipsis…

Happy New Year!!!

Rung in 2012 with my dad, an awesome Brit from Kenya, and almost 400k other people. We were all waiting for the fire works in Hong Kong harbor. Waiting… for 8 hours…. for a 5 minute show…. gotta do it once in my life.

Merry Christmas!!!!

this very Merry Christmas is coming way of YVR airport. waiting to board a plane to Hong Kong for round-two of my sister’s wedding, a fantastic Chinese reception. last time i was only in Hong Kong for a few days, so i’m really excited to explore what the city has to offer. i’m also thinking of shooting some street fashion over the 10 days that i’ll be there. should be fun!

wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. eat lots, drink till you’re merry, and be safe.

a little Friday post that has nothing to do with tech or business. this lovely space is the treasure of a fantastic cafe/lounge in Seattle called Odd Fellows. the entire restaurant has a great rustic/heritage charm; from it’s exposed brick to the bright coloured tea pot. the best part of the entire space is a super small, super cute, patio off to the back. completely surrounded by brick, adorned with white & blue tables and chairs, with a just enough soft light coming through the buildings. was tipped off about Odd Fellows by my buddy Danny, and went for breakfast a few weekends ago with Steve & Kim. if you are in Seattle you must stop by for brunch or lunch or drinks. the menu is small, but very good. have a great weekend!

[more pictures after the jump]

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Bobbie, one of my teammates on my Thailand trip, just posted a report that the CBC News did on NightLight. they interview Loy, one of the women at NightLight; Sandra, the lady who organized my trip; and Jeff, the founders husband. it’s a short report, but you definitely get the idea of what NightLight is trying to accomplish.

i’m back from a whirlwind trip to Thailand. visited an orphanage, rode a elephant, and got soaked by the extended Songkran festival while river rafting, all in Chiang Mai. got down to work photographing NightLight staff while they worked on some amazing jewelry. met up with Chris who works with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) who took me around Nana Plaza and told me all of the ins and outs of photographing in a red light district. Chris also heads the MST Project that works with the men who buy sex workers. MST Project’s mission statement is “Men are not part of the problem but rather part of the solution.” pretty powerful stuff. he says that a lot of his work is to change people’s perspective of the men who buy sex. and on my last day, i photographed a handful of signature pieces and some of the new lineup of jewelry on the streets of Bangkok.

i didn’t bring any of my digital gear so i borrowed Katie’s equipment, an Olympus E-520 with the kit 14-42 and 40-150 lens. to be honest, it’s amazing what you can do with just a basic consumer kit. Katie is NightLight’s jewelry designer. she’s got an awesome vision for where she wants to take the jewelry, and is coming out with some fantastic stuff. Katie, Gift (her design intern), and I headed out onto the streets of Bangkok on one of the hottest days i’ve experienced, 40 plus degrees celsius and probably 90% humidity. add in all of the pollution and you’ve got a sweltering day for a photo shoot.

the idea was to place the jewelry in, on, around the busy streets of Bangkok. using the urban landscape to create interesting backgrounds for the jewelry. i grabbed a couple of sheets of white paper to use as reflectors but the sun was already so high in the sky at 10am i didn’t really use them. plus white doesn’t reflect enough to really counter act the sun. it was funny how many people stopped and watched as i crouched on the ground taking pictures. when i was in China and Japan i remember seeing photo shoots everywhere i went. no so much in Thailand, it was like i was a new street performer. half way through Katie asked me if i was going to take a shower after, i totally didn’t notice how dirty i was getting from shooting everything from such a low angle.

i think the images turned out pretty good. i’m hoping NightLight can put them to good use. you can find NightLight’s jewelry here. they have a brand new website launching soon, so don’t mind the design for now.

I came to Thailand looking to photograph the raw sex that this country has unfortunitely become known for. What I have found instead is a thriving hope that NightLight Design Co. is giving sex workers. Even flying over the pacific I had no idea what to expect from NightLight. Actually when my dad met me in Vancover he had heard that I would probably not be able to photograph the women at NightLight at all.

NightLight has blown me away. Initially I thought NightLight was an NGO. It turns out that it’s actually NightLight Design Company a full fledge jewelry design company who hires sex workers as an alternate job. Through the company they provide education, healthcare and counselling to their employees. What an ingenious way of providing a way out of the sex industry. The jewelry is high end stuff too. (I’m writing this on my phone so I can’t add a link, but I’ll post information on all of that when I get back.) They are just starting to scale back their designs, which sit at just over 200, so they can start to design for the mainstream fashion seasons. Currently they have a an exclusive line designed for a highend client in the UK, and eventually wanting to expand to stores like Neman Marcus in the US. Annie, the president, has an amazing vision for the company and a huge heart for these women. I sat in with my dad this afternoon as he got the chance to interview two of NightLight’s women. Just amazing life stories. I was able to pop off a couple of frames. I guess the annoying part of shooting film is the waiting, I would have loved to post them right away.

A couple of nights ago I ventured out to the three major red light districts in Bangkok; Pat Pong, Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. Usually I’m not shy about taking pictures in public places, but I definitely had my guard up. Nana Plaza especially, a three story outside plaza with only one way in and one way out. Scared the shit out if me to be honest. I’m not quite sure how I am going to pull off shooting in such a “client” aware area without being noticed. And really, forget about getting into the nitty gritty part of the sex culture without having some sort of exclusive inside edge. I really wish I could. I think it would make for amazing images. A “day in the life” would be such an eye opening and brutal story, and yet I think the images would be amazingly powerful.

I am hoping to be working with NightLight in the future. They are currently working on new branding and marketing. It would be awesome in the future to bring a small team to Thailand to photograph new collections, maybe even use some I the NightLight women as models keeping everything local.

That’s all for now. Here are a couple of iPhone snaps.

[update]
A correction really. NightLight is a Christian NGO, NightLight Design Company is not. There is a notforprofit side but it’s completely separate from the jewelry design company. The women’s salaries are soley paid by the design business. So inorder to support the women jewelery must be sold since none of the NGO donations can be transferred. Annie was telling us that a lot of people expect NightLight’s jewelry to be cheaper because part of the overall organization is a NGO. But to her business is business. You have to make money to pay your staff a fair and good wage, buy quality supplies, and have proper marketing and distribution. Makes sense to me.

I’ve got 2 hours to kill at YVR so I thought I’d write my first post of the trip. Over the last couple of days Bangkok has been over run with red shirted demonstraters who want the exiled prime minister back in power. Before the weekend they had taken over and stopped the Asia leaders conference that was suppose to happen. And at the moment the Thai military has been mobilized to breakup the rallies which has inturn sparked some violence. So all-in-all things are a bit touch and go in Bangkok. To be honest it makes me more excited to go.

I’m packing pretty light camera wise this trip. My trusty Konica Hexar that has travelled the world with me, an Olympus OM-2sp with an 85mm (which is almost smaller than my Hexar), 12 rolls of Fuji 800z, a ND4 & a ND8 filter for the day, and my Fuji F40. I’m hoping the ND filters will be dark enough for some portrait work with 800 speed film.

I picked up a map of Bangkok the other day to start to pinpoint the districts I want to go to. Googling Bangkok sex tourism is a creepy thing. I managed to find an article by a Chicago Post writer who was in Bangkok and he wrote about the different red light districts. It’s going to be an interesting trip working with NightLight and the women they help, as well as having the political unrest. I’m trying to keep my expectations low, but I’m super excited to see what images I can capture about the sex trade in Bangkok, the women and boys & girls who work I it, and the people who help them find alternative work.

I guess I haven’t really written about why I’m going to Thailand. I am traveling to Thailand with a my dad and a team of 6 others from a church in Red Deer. We are going to Thailand to work with an organization called NightLight who works with women and children in the sex trade, providing alternative work, shelter, counselling, and support. I am going to document NightLight and their work, as well as the try to capture the realness of the sex trade itself. It’s a bit of a daunting task, but I’m excited to see what results of it. Keep tuned in here and Twitter, I am going to try to keep things updated as much as possible. Now I think I’m going to find some lunch

it’s been a while since i’ve posted anything. it’s not the lack of having anything to write really, it’s more that i’m just lazy. today i decided to work outside on the second cup patio. unlike the sugar bowl, another cafe that i frequent a lot to work, there is less to be distracted by here. not that it’s boring, but the sugar bowl tends to be a busier spot. plus parking is a bitch down there. the warm weather and the sunshine prompted me to write this little diddy.

for those waiting for pictures from my asian adventures, i’m planning on adding an entire page dedicated to my travels. the wait will be a bit longer, but it will all be worth it. soon. soon.

i wasn’t overly excited about the first part of my trip to asia. 16 days with a tour group isn’t really what i call travelling, more like a headache. the tour wasn’t all that bad, i was able to see all the touristy things that are the must sees in china; the great wall, terra cotta warriors, tien ah men square, and so forth.

travelling for me takes on a bit of a different style. it’s one that’s pretty much infused in the surrounding culture. eating at local restuarants, hell, going to the store and trying to cook with what’s available. walking down the back streets and getting lost in the neighborhoods. watching everyday life unfold. doing all of this with camera in hand. it may seem odd to you. maybe it’s the photojournalist in me.

up until yesterday i’ve been feeling that i’ve been missing out on a part of china. yesterday i visited a village just outside of guangzhou; it seems like more of a town (i guess compared to shanghai with 18 million people it’s a village.) the village is where my dad’s nanny from his childhood now lives. he hasn’t seen her in 22 years (my mom insists that i should remember the last time… i don’t… i was 2.) we were dropped off at the edge of town and a couple of ladies lead us through the narrow paths between rows and rows of old storied condos. wet laundry drips on my head, and people look up from their door ways or pots. we are greeted at a wide open door way by a little old woman, my dad’s nanny, and a host of other ladies. they all motion for us to come in, come in… sit, sit they say. this is what i’ve been waiting for. a non-catered view of china and the chinese people.

we all sat around an open living room. they chatted. i tried to follow with my limited knowledge of cantonese. an grandpa looking man brought out the best lychee fruit i’ve ever tasted. the room was a dim and only flashes of light reflected off faces. i was a bit mad at myself because i forgot faster film for my camera… damn, digital it is. we eventually moved to another house where a couple ladies had prepared the best chinese food i’ve had on this trip so far! nothing like home cooking. sharing a meal with these elderly people was awesome. their character and expressions when they talk. their laughter, and hand gestures. totally what i’ve been wanting to experience.

i’m so glad that i stuck out the 16 days of touring. it was all worth it for the afternoon in that village. i could have probably stayed 16 days in that village and felt that i’ve seen more of china than travelling to all the site of china. china is almost over for me. 3 more days and i’m off to osaka, japan. that’ll be a completely different story.

pictures to come…

so only my stop in pisa was quicker than this stop in xian. we flew from beijing to xian to see the terra cotta warriors. their a pretty cool group of status. 8000 found to date, and not one of them is the same! it’s too bad that my connection is so slow, because i would have pictures of all of this stuff to show you. all to come. we fly out early tomorrow morning to guilin for a couple of days in what they say some of the finest scenery around, the “finest under heaven.” i’ll let you know in a couple of days. it was homan’s birthday today too! he got all red after a couple of shots… so funny!