Images shot with the vintage Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8
Khao San Road, Bangkok.
It’s been done. Countless times.
As have many of the tourists who go there.
I still remember the first time I went, all bright eyed and bushy tailed. Some things excited me and others really didn’t.
And yes, I did fall for the tuk tuk scam.
“Oh, that place you’re going to? Yeah, closed mate. King’s Buddha Birthday-day. Get in my tuk tuk, I’ll show you a better temple anyway. Hang on, you know what? I’ll take you to them all. Yeah mate, all of them. For a ridiculously cheap price. You look like you need a new suit too btw.”
“Oh, right. Good job we found you. Would’ve looked stupid otherwise, going to this shut temple…”
I still see people, when I go back, falling for the same trick.
First time in Bangkok, lads?
Khao San Road photography
On one of the occasions I was back in Bangkok, I took a walk around Khao San Road with the Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8.
I wanted to capture the real essence of the place through a vintage lens, so I fixed it onto my Sony mirrorless camera – a great choice for your travel and street photography and available here on Amazon – and went in.
When I say the real essence of Khao San Road, I mean the same same but different vests, the daytime drunks, the stupid trousers, the street food, and the Chang t-shirts.
The whole Khao San Road market; be that clothes, souvenirs, or meat.
The pictures you see here are the result of that day.
Khao San Road back street
Perhaps you’ll notice that there aren’t actually that many photos, and that a few of them look quite similar.
Mannequin heads in particular.
That’s because my day of shooting with the Super-Takumar 55mm f1.8 was unexpectedly cut short.
However, before it came to its premature end, I did walk down a back street parallel to Khao San Road.
This allowed me to add a few more serene images to the set.
The cat on the motorbike was really the beginning of the end.
As I headed back onto Khao San Road proper, I heard someone calling my name.
It’s always a touch worrying when that happens and you don’t think you know anybody in town.
Surprised, I turned around to see a friend from Shanghai sitting there with a beer.
Of course, this being Khao San Road, I had to join him.
And so my day of taking pictures – and this photo essay – was over.
I maintain, it wasn’t my fault.
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