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Published: June 28th 2014
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Photographing the Tai Chi Performers is in my bucket things to do in Bangkok. I couldn’t find any information online about public performances anywhere. It is information passed around by the locals.
I haven’t been able to adjust my schedule to wake up early in the morning because most of my favorite things to do in Bangkok happen at night and I am up at pretty late hours. I tried to make the effort to be at the park by 6 am but I kept snoozing the alarm. I kept thinking that sunrise is at 6 am and that probably all the drunken partiers from Friday night would be still up and walking the streets and I didn’t want to deal with that. A girl walking alone with a camera in the middle of drunks wasn’t probably the best idea. I waited until the sun was out to leave home. I was in the park in 12 minutes walking from were I live. I got to the entrance to Lumphini Park and the atmosphere was totally different to what I had expected. The park was full of people exercising. I think every hour the park plays the national hymn through
speakers and every one stops what they are doing, showing respect, to listen.
Very soon I found groups of ladies wearing distinctive clothes. Black pants and pink shirts. They were doing a very slow dance. Some with instruments like long sticks and different types of swords. Could this be Tai Chi? It is very different to the one I have seen before. I stopped and watch around me. They were about 7 different groups of about 4 to 8 people each performing different dances or “movements”. Then I saw them. There was a very special group of ladies dancing with big red fans, laughing and having a lot of fun between dances. I got close to take a photo and one of them came straight at me. I thought oh no Im going to get asked to leave. And she asked me to see the photo I took. She loved it and called the others. And they all organized in front of me to take more photos. And then we exchanged emails and then continued doing different dances. I reviewed my shots and I screwed must of the up. My shutter speed was too low to freeze the movement.
It is very difficult to photograph people in movement. I tried taking photos of the whole group but didn’t have the right lens, then I tried to get close to with the 105mm but I was to close. Oh no. Ah total disaster. After they were all packed up and ready to go. They did one more amazing dance and even the main performer, which before was directing, this time participated. I felt they did it for me: They pulled out their “umbrellas” and they do a dance were they slowly handle the umbrella as a sword. What an amazing performance to watch. I should have shot video. I needed my 28-70mm. No photograph can give credit of the beautiful and powerful movements. Slow and strong movements very calculated each of them. They entered in a very deep state of concentration while they do the sequence. I approached them and thank them very politely for letting me photographing them and asked them I could go back the next day. They said yes: same place. They start at 6 o’clock. Sharp.
To see a mini video of a woman training Tai-Chi in the park please click here:
http:// To
see a video of a Tai Chi Performance using umbrellas as an instrument please click here:
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Tai Chi
Some of the best things in life happen early. Glad you were able to photograph this. How wonderful