Pic(k) of the week 18: BROKEN TRAIN - Hua Lamphong Railway station, Bangkok
A few years ago, I met Thai photographer, Rammy Narula, who was exhibiting his "Platform 10" work in a gallery in Bangkok. Rammy shot a great body of work during a six month period, at a single platform (nr10) at the Hua Lamphong Railway station. The work was also published in a great photo-book; click here for more info.
Last week I got the chance to set out to the Hua Lamphong station again to do some more "street photography". A shame the station will likely disappear in about a year or two as they are presently building a new station somewhere else.
I strongly believe there is difference between being inspired by another photographer versus wanting to copy somebody else his/her work just merely for having similar images. While the first one can often be a boost for the photographers creativity, the second is mostly counter-productive and unfulfilling.
The inspiration might just be the push to go to the same place, but almost always opens new perspectives and viewpoints. The beauty of Street/Documentary photography, is that the scene and subject matter constantly changes.
Although relatively small, I ended up shooting in the station for just over 3 hours; yes, it is full of photographic opportunities!
The image below of a Thai boy waiting for the train to arrive, is probably the best "story telling image" I shot that day. I love how he is deeply involved in the movie he is watching while a broken toy train sits just on the side. The train in the shadow background, gives the whole image a send of place.
Although I also made a Black and White version (click here ) of the image, I like the colour one below as well; his skin tone against the dark pastel blue of the table, work well together.
Image details:
- Fujifilm X-T3 with XF 16mm f2.8 lens
- 1/320, f 5.6, ISO 1250
- RAW development in Lightroom CC using Classic Chrome profile
- Photoshop CC to remove some distracting elements in the top right
The shoot at the Bangkok Railway station must have been one of the most productive ones I've done in a while. Please check out the entire series here.
The entire series was shot with the new Fujifilm XF16 f.2.8 lens; a compact 24mm equivalent wide-angle which is great for environmental portraits. While I haven't shot that much Street photography with my much larger XF16 f1.4 lens, this much smaller lens will probably see more use for my Street Photography in the future!
Time permitting, I'll blog about the new lens somewhere early May!
Remember: "If a train does not stop at your station, then it is not your train" - Marianne Williamson
BJORN
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