Portraits from a corner at the Hua Lumphong Train Station - Platforms and around
- Kaisern Chen
- Jan 23, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 30
I was once asked, "Why a train station?" when I began taking a series of portraits at Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok, Thailand—an iconic place I later described as "A train station frozen in time." That phrase perhaps best captures its allure.
At first, my choice was practical. Living within reasonable distance and having easy access via mass transit made it convenient amidst Bangkok's notorious traffic. As the collection of portraits grew, it became a form of meditation, striving to create unique images from the same location repeatedly.
So, the collection continues, displayed in random order.
Olga Svyryda, November 2016, Hasselblad X1D50c + XCD 45/3.5
Irina Kornia, October 2016, Leica M-P 240 + Summilux-M 35/1.4 ASPH FLE
Tatiana Larionova, September 2016, Leica M-P 240 + Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH
Valentina Kolot, November 2018, SONY A7RIII + EF 24-70/2.8 GM
Sorina Miheala, January 2018, Leica M10 + Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH
"The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do."
~ Andy Warhol
Jenny García Vergara, April 2018, Hasselblad X1D + XCD 45/3.5
"The journey has it own lyrics
A duet of balanced motion
The rails and wheels in tune"
~ Richard L. Ratliff
Gao Ming Ming, December 2018, Fujifilm GFX50R + GF 110/2 R LM WR
Daria Luci, September 2015, Leica M-P 240 + Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH
"Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph."
~Matt Hardy
Daria Saburova, February 2016, Leica SL Typ 601 + Apochromat Kinoptik Paris 50mm F2 Focale
Angela Hasler, January 2016, Leica SL Typ 601 + Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-90/2.8-4 ASPH
Erika Larissa Tang, August 2017, Leica M-P Titan + Summilux-M 35/1.4 ASPH FLE
Tatiana Kucheruk, October 2017, Leica M-P Titan + Apo-Summicron-M 50/2 ASPH
Valentina Kolot, November 2018, SONY A7RIII + FE 24-70/2.8 GM
"In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality."
~ Alfred Stieglitz
Daria Saburova, February 2016, Leica SL + Apochromat Kinoptik Paris 50mm F2 Focale
"Beneath the vaulted arches of an old station, every departure is a quiet promise and every arrival is a story waiting to be told. It is a place where time stands still, even as the world rushes forward."
"A traditional train station is a time capsule built of iron and glass, where the symphony of ticking clocks, hissing steam, and echoing footsteps composes the soundtrack of human connection."
The right train of thought can take you to a better station in life.
"A classic railway platform is the ultimate theater of human emotion; it is where heavy hearts weigh anchor and eager souls set sail."
It is about to hit the 10-year mark since I started to do more concentrated shoots at the Hualumphong Station. The station is without questionably old, and some may consider it did not age well because of a lack of sophisticated management, or it does not justify effective funding allotment by its diminished role in strategic national traffic planning.
What Hualumphong failed in progress along with time gave the public a chance to witness what a train station and travel used to look and feel like; and the deｍeanor of the typical nothing-mattered and easy-going Thainess, kind of reminding people that yeah, it is "Siam"! And that is the charm.
Although portraits are not the only type of pictures I took in Hualumphong it does stockpile a large portion of them. The light can come in from a large different angles, direct or indirect, giving good photographic practices with a human object of various figures, skin tones, and hair colors.
Repeating the practices often enough started to challenge the photographer's way of approaching to avoid making the same pictures which are not necessarily positive nor negative but a self-teaching practice that one learns to establish a style or a personality that takes time to polish, hopefully, and develop a universal adaptation elsewhere.
It is a study of light, shadow, the structure of the human face and figure, the relationship between objects and the background, colors, and tones, and hopefully a time well spent. Or keep practicing.
Thanks to a great photographer friend, Steve McCurry, who introduced me to the idea of the train station and the consistency of always looking for one whenever we travel together. And don't stop going back to the exact location as when there are lives, something will always happen.
"Raining and the Fog" - During my shoot with the lovely Mariia from Kaliningrad, a city I have always longed to visit, the rain began to fall, and a hesitant expression crossed her face. I reassured her, saying that I actually enjoy rain; in some situations, I prefer it for photography. Rain, much like the September fog in Russia, reduces background distractions and allows the subject to stand out while adding a lovely texture. And so, we continued with the shoot.
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