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During the July heat of the Buddhist Holiday, Asalha Puja, I landed in Bangkok on a journey to uncover the hidden nocturnal side of the Thai capital with my new photobook and photo series, Bangkok Phosphors.

For many visitors, their experience of this beautiful city is centered around the popular tourist areas such as Sukhumvit or the Grand Palace, but for me, the attraction was in the paths less traveled: from the massive oil refinery on the banks of the Chao Phraya River to the dark intertwined side streets of the Khlong Toei night market and shantytown.

Bangkok Phosphors was captured over a period of five weeks as I went out every night to discover the changing face of the megacity between the old way of life and modernity. Bangkok is a city defined by neon lights and the shadow of night. From concrete canals and forgotten temples shining under the glow of streetlights and neon signs to old cars rusting on the streets next to blaring television sets in the night markets.

Because Thailand is always so hot, many people live nocturnal lives and there are these moments when you sometimes see just a slight shadow of someone late at night. In the cover shot from the photobook, I photographed a young ‘iceman’ delivering large blocks of ice from the back of an old truck in an alley silhouetted against the Temple of Dawn around midnight. For other stunning pictures, I captured highways and concrete buildings, empty streets, and the way the city which has so much traffic and chaos during the day becomes eerily peaceful at night.

Bangkok Phosphors was shot with the Sony Alpha camera and successfully published via Kickstarter in 2019.

More info: derive.tokyo | Instagram | behance.net | kickstarter.com

#1

Bangkok Phosphors / Ghost Tower

Bangkok Phosphors / Ghost Tower

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#2

Bangkok Phosphors / Khlong Toei Market

Bangkok Phosphors / Khlong Toei Market

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#3

Bangkok Phosphors / Hidden Temple

Bangkok Phosphors / Hidden Temple

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#4

Bangkok Phosphors / Wat Khlong Toei Temple

Bangkok Phosphors / Wat Khlong Toei Temple

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#5

Bangkok Phosphors / Railway

Bangkok Phosphors / Railway

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#6

Bangkok Phosphors / Demolished Building

Bangkok Phosphors / Demolished Building

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#7

Bangkok Phosphors / Highway Of Light

Bangkok Phosphors / Highway Of Light

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#8

Bangkok Phosphors / Neon Nights Of Thailand

Bangkok Phosphors / Neon Nights Of Thailand

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#9

Bangkok Phosphors / Family Home

Bangkok Phosphors / Family Home

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#10

Bangkok Phosphors / The Old Town

Bangkok Phosphors / The Old Town

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#11

Bangkok Phosphors / Old And New Architecture

Bangkok Phosphors / Old And New Architecture

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#12

Bangkok Phosphors / Concrete Canals

Bangkok Phosphors / Concrete Canals

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#13

Bangkok Phosphors / Empty Streets

Bangkok Phosphors / Empty Streets

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#14

Bangkok Phosphors / Industrial Outskirts

Bangkok Phosphors / Industrial Outskirts

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#15

Bangkok Phosphors / Boat On River

Bangkok Phosphors / Boat On River

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#16

Bangkok Phosphors / Abandoned Shopping Mall

Bangkok Phosphors / Abandoned Shopping Mall

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#17

Bangkok Phosphors / The Temple Of Dawn

Bangkok Phosphors / The Temple Of Dawn

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corrandavid avatar
Christopher D. Corran
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember helping the iceman one day when I was a boy. Ten shillings for the day> We went to the ice works, where a huge saw made an incredible noise as it cut each long slab of ice into those you see on his truck. In those day, many people had ice chests instead of refrigerators. In Hong Kong I watched an iceman cut one of those blocks into four smaller ones, using a hand saw with huge teeth.

#18

Bangkok Phosphors / Under The Highway

Bangkok Phosphors / Under The Highway

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#19

Bangkok Phosphors / Flooded

Bangkok Phosphors / Flooded

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#20

Bangkok Phosphors / Venice Of The East

Bangkok Phosphors / Venice Of The East

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