5
As the three of us did a test of the route that would become BPG’s 126th photo walk, we took
a guess at what subjects we would get the most submissions of. We all agreed that it would
be cats and the colourful houses we were ourselves shooting from across the khlong. We
were not disappointed.
The July photo walk took us around the colourful community of Bang Bua. That’s not the
official name of the neighbourhood, which straddles the Ansuawari and Talat Bang Khen
subdistricts. Bang Bua is actually the name of the canal, but it is a name that the locals
are proud of. In fact, they petitioned to keep Bang Bua as the name of the MRT station
here after Sripatum University requested to have it named after the institution on whose
grounds it was built.
About 46 photographers met at Bang Bua MRT station (the locals won) on 14th July, from
where we headed east to Wat Bang Bua. On the test walk, we found the place to be mostly
deserted, its bright pink ordination hall closed and locked. We expected to be in and out in
just a few minutes on the day of the walk. Finding a big ceremony in full swing was great for
all of us as photographers, but it created a complication for the three of us. Mark eventually
led half of the group off while Chutima and Ben waited for the final few photographers at the
back, which ended up splitting the group in two.
We headed north along the west bank of the canal before passing under Phahonyothin
Road. Ben, leading the back group, took a wrong turn here and ran into Mark and the front
group coming the other way. We didn’t mention it at the time, but a local we met on the
test walk had told us to be cautious on the rickety wooden bridge where the two groups
collided – it is overdue to be replaced!
The two groups merged here and headed north along the east bank of Khlong Thanon
towards the end of the route near 11th Infantry Regiment MRT station, passing those beautiful
colourful houses that grace the cover. Jump to page 66 and you’ll see photos of them
from more than half of this issue’s 31 contributors. We hope you will enjoy them and all the
fantastic photos in the following pages.Have fun,
Mark, Chutima, and Ben.Bangkok Photo Walks
Magazine Issue #102 • Walk #
Magazine Editor Ben Reeves
Photo Walk Coordinator Mark A. Hathaway
Photo Walk Support Chutima Panjapan
Logo Design Ubonpayom Ongsara
Front Cover Photo Zrs Gamboa
Title Page Photo Andrew Cooper
Group Photo Chutima Panjapan
Back Cover Photo Tony Chan
© 2024 Bangkok Photographers GroupOf Cats and Colours