koknia

I booked on Lao Airlines recently and it took about a minute! They don't want all that info, just name, flight, VISA, done.

Canon Thailand has excellent service with very prompt turnaround times. I am a member of Canon Professional Services in Canada, but the normal consumer service in Thailand is better IMO.

Follow the Saigon rules:

- wear your bag in on the shoulder away from the street.

- if you hear a 2-stroke engine gunning it behind you, dive away from the street.

Fotofile now carries ThinkTank which are arguably the most popular bags among working photographers.

The trick with Indian spices is to dry roast them in a heavy pan beforehand, then grind in a mortar and pestle, or coffee grinder dedicated to that task. Infinitely better than any store-bought powders.

Just came off a nice job, shooting "Mekong Citizens" along the river from Luang Prabang all the way to the ocean. (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam)

You can check out a few of the images here.

Went down to my favorite island in Ranong for a week or so. Just used my little Lumix GF1 and a couple of lenses.

Some shots here.

Bloom Lab is the best printer in BKK. I haven't used them but they come highly recommended by pros here.

http://www.bloomprolab.com/

The Fuji's look cool but the reviews are less than positive. A couple of years ago I went with the Lumix GF1 after looking at some other options. I love the 20/1.7 pancake lens - the combo cost US$750. That body is out of print I believe, but other options here.

I have some image samples on my FB page here.

FWIW - I have another recent photo essay here on the fight against HIV/AIDS in Cambodia.

greasy spoon breakfast

Very few days with clear skies in HK with the pollution. Best to go to The Peak as early as possible as you will get the clearest view and escape the hordes of mainland tourists who overrun the place. The best thing to do is tram up, and walk down.

If you happen to be there on a Wednesday go the track at Happy Valley. For HK$10, best deal in town. (Aside from the Star Ferry.)

I like wandering around Kowloon myself. For a taste of old HK, hit the Mido Cafe for a milk tea ("yeet lai cha") and a pineapple bun ("bo lo bow").

Just back from this eastern Cambodian province. Still quite easy to get to from Bangkok if you are looking for a decent place to shoot some rural activity. Hard to find this kind of unspoiled place in Thailand these days.

Some images here.

Pro Color Lab has a range of stuff as well.

http://procolorlab.com/

Just back from Cambodia, drier than normal over there too.

At high noon I bury myself in the shade of buildings or trees and work from there. Usually i get the subject to face the open area so they get a higher level of ambient with a lower amount of colour cast. You have to watch for green reflections from foliage and other colours coming off buildings. A gray card can help a lot in these situations.

Here is a sample of a shot I took using this method. It was incredibly sunny and hot, so I just moved her back into the shadows until liked the light on her face and in her eyes. You can see the sun blowing out areas of the background.

To my mind there are three elements to this kind of photo - light, composition and 'the moment'. Light is fairly easy to control once you practice.

Has this guy ever heard of second passports?

Why on earth stay in Canada waiting to be extradited?....the stupidity...

Uh, this guy is anything but stupid. He was under house arrest in Vancouver for years.

Some pix I've done for Mercy Center in Klong Toei.

As a former restaurant owner I can tell you it is a lot of work to make money in the food biz. Maybe you know this, but you want to have a tight business plan or else you are going to work like crazy for very little profit. If you want to charge reasonable prices you are going to have to do serious volume.

With the prices that most Indian restaurants charge here I suspect that they make enough from just one table of four per day to cover all their bills and give themselves a fancy pension as well. Indian restaurant prices here are absurdly high.

I would hazard a guess you have never run a restaurant.

"mostly operating in Thailand and Pattaya"

I flew out of Phnom Penh with them after the coup in 1997. Only 6 of us on that huge plane, and they put us all in the same row. Easier to hand out the water maybe.

Completely depends on your place and what kind of breeze and cover you have.

I was in Phnom Penh for much of the 90s. I had a place near the river on the 3rd floor with tiled floors, high ceiling, overhead fan and large terrace. (2X size of flat.) I never turned the a/c on, even once, in 6 years. In my BKK condo it's 24/7 during this season.

Thanks.

Checked Home Pro yesterday but they didn't have the smaller (e.g. 4 kgs) one I was looking for, 6.5 kgs was the smallest. Will try the others today.

I am looking for one of those small top load washing machines that fit on condo balconies. I've tried a few places but only found one poor quality example at Big C on Ratchadamri.

Would like to find a store with a bit of selection. Any info appreciated.

Don't know if this is in another thread, but possible to do same day visa service in BKK for a bit more baht. Morning drop, afternoon pickup.