Photoproject: 100 visits to Seri Huamark Market (days 1-10)

After thinking carefully, I settled on one project that seemed attractive and feasible, and that fulfilled three criteria that I considered essential:
1) It was interesting for me (essential to keep me dragged and motivated over a long period of time).
2) It was near my neighborhood (helpful to fight against eventual laziness, might that arise at some point).
3) It was clearly defined yet flexible at the same time (which would bring structure while keeping things open to variation at the same time).

Day 01, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 01b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 01c, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Deal! I would pay 100 visits to the same place, as often as I could, preferably every day unless I had some serious work-related compromises that would prevent it or if I was out of the city. The place shouldn't be too big so as not to risk dispersion but not too small to keep interest for such a prolonged period of time. I could go any time of the day or night and I would linger there until I had captured at least one image that made me happy, which could range from as little as 15 minutes to more than 1 hour. The idea behind the project was to explore a space that would start being alien and, slowly, make it my own through careful observation and familiarity.

Day 02, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 02b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 02c, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

One place that fulfilled all those conditions was Seri Huamark Market (ตลาดโต้รุ่งเสรีหัวหมาก), a small fresh market in my neighborhood that I had past by countless times in the last six years but that I had never really paid any attention to, a place that represents the area where I live and my own life these past 6 years as good as any other place could. Done! That would be my hunting ground and the place where I would embark upon to regain my faded passion. 100 visits to Seri Huamark Market was therefore born and I was excited to start my voyage.

Day 03, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 03b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

The number of days had no special meaning, it was just a number I considered to be significant enough to give me time to discover all the nooks and crannies of the market and to help me make it part of myself; the fact of the number being round would besides bring frame and a clear closure to the project, which would also be helpful. I paired the small GM1 with the PanaLeica 15mm, a combo that seemed to be the perfect match for this kind of street photography, and I was all set to start.

Day 04, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 04b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 04c, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 04d, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

The firs days I visited the market in the afternoon, on my way back home after work, and I took my time to wander around to get a feel for it, for its dimensions, its flow, its colors, smells and people. Everything was new so I had no expectations or preconceptions of what I might find and capture whatsoever, I just walked slowly around the narrow aisles, smiling to the vendors, who where quite surprised to see a westerner with a camera in their realm and that, at first, showed not much interest in me. They kept doing their things as I walked past, though some of them seemed a bit uncomfortable with my presence around, even rejecting me when I approached them. In those instances I just smiled, and kept walking.

Day 05, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 05b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 05c, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 05d, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 05e, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

For the most part, I kept my camera in aperture priority, as I focused mainly in static subjects; I usually shot at f4 to f5.6 because the interior of the market could be quite dark and I feared raising the ISO too much, but that increased the risk of out of focus areas in the images, so I slowly learnt how to compromise the different settings and I ended up working with Auto ISO and raising its limit to 6400, which gave me more leeway to adjust the other parameters and keep everything in focus.

Day 06, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 06b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

The outdoor areas of the market were, however, much brighter, and this huge difference in brightness was a big challenge to the dynamic range of the camera, something that forced me to be always very careful with my backgrounds, my exposure and my composition, to avoid areas of harsh contrast. I had some interesting indoor images ruined by burned highlights in the outdoor backgrounds, which has taught me to be more careful with my composition afterwards, and adjust my perspective accordingly. In those instances were high dynamic range was unavoidable, I learnt to underexpose the image, as noise is always preferable to washed out whites.

Day 07, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 07b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

As the days passed, I had only one motto in my mind: trying not to shoot the same scene twice. I forced myself to look for different subjects or different approaches, and this kept things fresh and interesting. The market was still new to me, so I never ran out of things to shoot and corners to discover, and, despite its humble size, every day seemed totally different from the previous ones, therefore I never fell into repetition during these first days. It remains to be seen if I can keep finding new angles and subjects in the subsequent 90 days!

Day 08, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 08b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 08c, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 08d, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

These firs days were more about seeing than shooting, so I was not worried about the number of images I captured; I felt relaxed and excited, so I usually went back home with 20 to 100 images. Most of the days I knew straightaway what image would be the selected one, for it had been one of those eye-opening moments that happen unexpectedly, but other days I was not quite sure, and I would have to check the captures later in the computer to select the best one. But I decided that I would not check the pictures the same day of capture, I wanted to give them some room to breathe and I wanted to keep on shooting without thinking too much about my previous images, so I would sort out my photos only after every ten days were completed.

Day 09, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

Day 09b, GM1 + Panasonic Leica 15mm

As for my discipline, I didn't miss a single day, so it was an encouraging beginning: I had not resorted to self-excuses or fallen into boredom or repetition at all, I had kept my plan and, in return, I had started to discover a place that seemed to offer plenty of opportunities. I was happy, I was motivated, I was eager to continue and see where the road would lead me, so I ended up the first 10 days in high spirits and willing to continue without interruption.