Sunday, December 21, 2008

It's time to break the rules

With a long weekend approaching, Brian and I decided that we needed to put our time to good use and travel somewhere in this Asian continent, we now call home. At the same time we needed to get some Christmas shopping done.

That is when we decided Bangkok would be our next travel experience. Then straight from left field, news about the Bangkok airport close flooded the media and our travel plans went from 60 mph to 0 mph. Luckily for us we hadn't booked any plane tickets.

Our first thought was to cancel the trip and visit Bangkok another time, but with a little research and many conversations with our local friends, we knew we could put our trip back on the front burner. Eventually the airport opened and we booked our flight a week later.

Bangkok and Thailand in general, can be described best by the architecture of its temples: beautiful, elaborate, diverse, and traditional. But the architecture alone cannot define this place; it's the people that keep the culture strong and vibrant.

Since Christmas shopping was the first priority on the "to do" list, we saved the last day for The Grand Palace and Giant Buddha, which wasn't the best idea in the world, but with an entry fee of 200 Thai Baht or $5 US I think we can afford to go back before we leave this wonderful continent.

These are just some things I kept in mind while taking pictures of this legendary place. Know the rules, but also know when to use them and when to break them. Shooting into the sun is not usually a good idea, but here I went for it. The light was harsh by the time we arrived at the Palace so I had to think of a way to use it to my advantage. It was an opportunity for me to test my photography skills in less than optimal light. It's always a good idea to challenge yourself!

When you can get images that you like in poor light, taking images in good light is gravy!





































Sunday, December 7, 2008

Phuket, Thailand November 15-20, 2008

It's nice to have friends who don't mind being in front of the camera! I couldn't let the good light go to waste.