Book Featuring The Photographs Of His Majesty The King

[webfact]

The magic of the lens

The Nation

TMB Bank comes up with a coffee-table book featuring the photographs of His Majesty the King

Of all the photographs of His Majesty the King on public view, perhaps the one Thais cherish the most shows the Monarch striding through the countryside, a map and pencil in his hands and a camera around his neck.

As part of the celebrations marking the King's seventh cycle birthday, TMB Bank has published a 168-page coffee table book titled "Through the King's Lens", which brings together many of the numerous photographs His Majesty has taken during his visits to the provinces. They include images of places, people, the countryside as well as important temples, most of them captured for documentation purposes.

His Majesty's photographs combine the aesthetics of pure art with photojournalism. Some images, for example, illustrate the potential of a selected geographical site to build a dam, reservoir or road. All have been used as documents for his royal initiative projects in rural development.

For example, during the flooding in 1995, His Majesty took a lot of pictures that would enable him and his teams of experts to study flood prevention, while many of the sights and scenes photographed in rural areas were for the study of proposed dams. The photographs in the King's album are well organised and even serialised: each shot has its own number.

Boontuck Wungcharoen, TMB's Chief Executive Officer says, "Throughout his reign, His Majesty the King, has devoted his life to improving the lives of his people. The development of a country is no easy task. His Majesty's leadership, full of dedication and sacrifice, has been mainly spent on providing rural areas with sustainable development.

"During his frequent visits to the provinces, His Majesty the King always had his camera handy. All of his efforts have benefitted the national development for the peace and happiness of the people of Thailand."

The photography book is divided into three chapters. "Chapter one - Biography" covers his life and early years, telling the story of his childhood in Switzerland, the brotherly bonds between King Ananda and Prince Bhumibol and the development of his keen mind. "Chapter two - the Royal Lens" shows 48 pictures taken by His Majesty under the broad heading "duty and destiny" and reveals the King's work for national development to bring peace and happiness to the people of Thailand. "Chapter three - his Artistic Talents" features his talent for photography along with the cameras that had been used throughout this period.

In 1994, His Majesty the King mentioned that he didn't want to use photography only for its artistic aspects or to show off high technology, but to keep the "good memories" alive. "And if someone has an opportunity to see them, they will also like and feel happy about them. It will be very good to share this happiness with all those who have seen our pictures" the King said.

He was just eight when Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother gave him his first camera - a Coronet Midget - an ordinary camera without exposure meters. His second camera was the Kodak Vest Pocket Montreux, with just six shots to each roll of film.

From 1938 to 1941, the Prince used an Elax Lumiere Before switching in 1950 to a modern camera from Singapore - a Zeiss Contax II. He used this one to photograph Her Majesty the Queen when she was Mom Rajawongse Sirikit Kitiyakara, prior to their wedding in April 1950.

A Ricoh EF-90 was the camera pressed into service during the 1995 flooding and his study of measures for flood prevention. He later donated it as a prize for a lucky draw.

His latest one is a Canon EOS 30D, which he keeps by his side at Siriraj Hospital.

The photos of His Majesty the King are everywhere in Thailand in homes, offices and shops. 'Through the King's Lens', and always in his heart.

Now you can keep them on your coffee table too. To get your copy of "Through the King's Lens", call TMB Call Centre at 1558.

-- The Nation 2011-12-13