Mauy Thai or Thai kick boxing is famous in Thailand and many visitors make it a must to see, but I have rarely seen any really good photos of this sport. I arranged to visit the most famous stadium to photograph some of the fighters. Luckily, my wife's friend is a tour guide and they managed to get me a dressing room pass so I could capture the fighters before and after their bouts.
Not knowing how close I would be to the boxing ring, I went armed with a selection of lenses and ended up changing them frequently in order to capture a variety of images.
In this first image I captured a foreign fighter warming up in the dressing room. Even here the action was fast and the lighting poor so the use of a high ISO was necessary in all shots. Flash lighting is not allowed. I like this capture as it shows the fighter's determination and speed. His left hand and foot are blurred but the rest of his body is in clear focus. It has a good depth to it and the shadows help to outline his mussels.
In this second image, one of the fighters has been knocked out and the officials are about to put him onto a stretcher. This image captures one of the few moments in the evening when everything slows down and a clear shot can be taken. I've left in the foreground mat in to make it clear where the subject is located.
Another important activity in Bangkok is a visit to one of the many markets. A lot of the markets sell similar products, so I decided to visit the largest flower market. The flower market is not restricted to only flowers. It also sells fresh produce and in this next image I have captured the most important ingredient in Thai food, the chili. Green chilies, yellow chilies and big and small red chilies. I found the arrangement of all these chilies to be interesting and the background gives some clues as to where the photo was taken.
Of course the flower market does also sell flowers, and lots of them. Roses seem to be one of the favourites and this image shows a seller watering the roses in order to keep them fresh before she sells them to a hotel or flower shop. I liked the way the roses had been wrapped in old newspaper as their colour worked well with the overall red or the roses. The eye expands into the photo from the bottom left corner and feels balanced with the seller in the middle of the frame.
This next image was taken on New Year's Eve and shows a popular activity for people in Bangkok on special occasions. They light a candle inside a paper balloon and wait for the balloon to fill with hot air before it takes to the sky. I made a point in this image to include three people and took it from a low angle to show the inside of the balloon.
The last image I'm showing here is a typical scene in a Bangkok park during the Loy Kratong festival. The image show a family with their lit kratongs that are made from palm leaves, banana shoots and flowers. Traditionally they will put a few small coins and something personal like a few hairs or nail clippings onto the kratong before sending it out into the water. They make a wish before releasing the kratong. This image was taken early on in the evening. Later on the whole lake will be full of kratongs and people around the edges.
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