Group photowalk: Chinatown at night

27 Oct 2016

Group photowalk: Chinatown at night

Photography, for me, is a lonely endeavour most of the times, yet sometimes it's fun to do it with others. That's why being part of a collective or photo group in your city or region is a very good idea, because it lets you socialise and share your passion with other like-minded people and it allows you to break the pattern and go out to take pictures accompanied by other photographers every now and then.

Yaowarat Chinatown Heritage Center, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Offerings I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Offerings II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

I'm part of a photography group myself, namely the Bangkok Photographers Group and, despite not being a particularly active member in it, I have slowly developed bonds with some other members and it's always a nice occasion for me to join them in their regular photowalks around the city.

Yaowarat Road I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Yaowarat Road II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Yaowarat Road III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Last August they had such a gathering: an evening walk in Chinatown. It had been ages since I last went to that lively part of the city, and it's not often that I go out photographing in the evening and at night, so it seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to try something different from my usual routine. Besides, it was exactly a year ago that we had our group photo exhibition and I hadn't met most of them since them, so I felt like it was about time to remedy that as well.

Chinese restaurant I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Chinese restaurant II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Chinese restaurant III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The walk started in Hualampong Train Station just before sunset, and as we walked towards Yaowarat Road, night slowly covered the city, and the hundreds of lights that abound in this busy area started to lit up, filling everything with colour and glitter.

Street food I, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Street food II, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Street food III, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Street food IV, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

These group photowalks always follow the same structure for me; it's not something I consciously chase, but it usually ends up being something like this: we all start as a big, compact group at the starting point, and as the walk progresses the mass of photographers (that sometimes is unmanageable for the small communities we tend to visit, having numbers close to a hundred at times) starts to drift away, and smaller groups continue the walk in slightly separate ways.

The glance, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

The flame, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Up and down, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Orange man, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

As for me, at some point I always find myself completely alone, for I like to stray off the beaten path and explore smaller alleys or surrounding areas and, without noticing, I'm left alone. Usually I end up regrouping with some other castaways as the walk advances, but more often than not what started as a group activity becomes another solitary dialogue between me and the environment. But that's the way I enjoy it: going with the flow, no fixed itineraries or rules to follow that could constrain my vision or creativity, just following my own intuition.

Former cinema, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Family dinner, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Protrusion, GX80 + Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm

Sometimes I meet by chance some other stragglers right at the end, when the walk has supposedly already finished, but generally I finish completely on my own, I grab something to eat in a small restaurant of the neighbourhood I'm in, and I head home full of small new experiences and a bit of welcomed exercise in my legs.