Selling CDs near Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos

Boy near Pha That Luang, Vientiane, Laos

Another pic from earlier the same day.

Praying at Wat Si Muang, Vientiane, Laos

Last week I attended two of Joe McNally’s photography workshops in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, The Hot Shoe Diaries and Let There Be Light. I learned heaps and got the chance to use lots of previously unfamiliar lighting equipment, although not always successfully, as illustrated above. But regardless of our success, Joe was an enthusiastic, fun and inspiring teacher:

and in addition to two of his excellent books and some cool new Lastolite gear, I took home several techniques and ideas that I hope to use soon. If Joe is ever in your part of the world, I’d highly recommend investing in his workshops. Failing that, do check out his books The Moment It Clicks and The Hot Shoe Diaries, both of which are fun and pretty enough to grace the coffee table, but informative enough for the photo geek.

(For any photo geeks out there, the shot above was taken with my D700 and a 70-200 f/2.8 with two barn-doored SB900s providing the backlights and to camera left, an SB800 shot through a 30″ Ezybox Softbox diffused additionally through a TriGrip, all of this, believe it or not, in TTL mode.)

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted something on this half of the blog, mostly because I haven’t been taking too many pics lately. Other than the occasional photography assignment, I’ve predominately been working on guidebooks and other writing projects. It was during this photographic drought that I mentioned to a friend that I’d always wanted to check out a look thung concert, roughly equivalent to Thai-style country music. I got the hook-up (thanks, Angie!), and this afternoon I found myself at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, taking pics from the audience as well as backstage. I’ve previously posted photos of other Thai performances, from ngiw to likay, previously, and it’s a topic I’d like to pursue, so stay tuned for more in the future.