Entries by Liam Morgan

Continue reading "Bangkok- KomLoy- suitable for any event!" »

As you may have heard, there is quite a bit of flooding going on here in Bangkok. Out of curiosity, I took my bicycle out and went exploring some of the areas beside the river that are flooded. At times I was cycling through knee-deep water and at times, I was on dry roads which were free of cars. I bought some food and cycled to the top of the Pinklao bridge to watch the sunset and eat my supper. The far side of the bridge didn't meet land, rather it ended by disappearing into the water. Thus, this normally traffic-congested road-way over the river was quiet and peaceful. Quite a few people were hanging out up there- fishing off the bridge, taking photos, eating. It seemed like a park in the early evening. A few days later, a few friends and I went out to play with cameras and music in some of these newly-peaceful areas- here's what we made. It got me to imagining (not for the first time) what this city would be like if it didn't have a traffic problem. Bangkok is known for it's horrible traffic. The traffic is something that affects most every aspect of our lives here and all of our senses.
Sitting on top of that park-on-a-bridge, I began to picture different areas of the city without the automobiles that rule them. The whole feeling of the city changed; in my mind's eye, it became much more pleasant, quieter and less stressful.
So I decided to use my camera to create a few images of what it could be like rather than what it is like.
So three of these images of normally traffic-congested areas of the city are not real pictures. They are composited images, made up of 50-100 images each. Thus, using the power of modern technology, I have single-handedly solved Bangkok's traffic problem and created a bit more peace on earth... The final picture is something more sinister.


Continue reading "Everyday Scenes of How It Could Be: Bangkok" »

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Continue reading ""Indie" Fashion Show. Bangkok." »

Continue reading "Saturday's Expenditure - Bangkok" »

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Continue reading "Bangkok is more Gray than Green." »

Most people in Bangkok are actually from somewhere else. The urbanization of Thailand has been huge and Bangkok is where most Thai people who leave their homes end up. In essence, Bangkok's "culture" is a mix of the cultural heritage of the many regions of Thailand, and even beyond, into international waters. In many ways, Bangkok is not really a city, but a huge mush of villages all crammed together and coated in concrete.

This is a collection of images of people in different parts of Thailand- north to south.


Continue reading "Outside In: Bangkok." »

As yesterday turned into a bit of a behind-the-scenes day for Jochen and I, we thought it would be good to spend a bit more time in the sessions and thinking about the issues being discussed here. So, I spent a bit of time listening to a session on 'green and inclusive infrastructure'. There were a few things brought up that quite interest me.

Firstly, The moderator mentioned a case of cities in India, in some of which up to 60% of the population rely on bicycles and busses to get around their city. The concern is that as these people become more wealthy, it is assumed that they will buy cars (India produces the cheapest cars in the world). This would be a very big problem in already-congested cities. The moderator, who was a native of Amsterdam, then brought up his home city as an example showing that affluence and owning cars need not go hand-in-hand. Of course, the world knows Amsterdam as a city of bicycles, and it is a very big part of the culture there. But, on top of a natural inclination to cycling, the city encourages bicycle use by discouraging car use. This is achieved through such methods as making parking in the city center very expensive and blocking car access to some areas, thus making it more convenient to get around by tram or bicycle.




Continue reading "APUF Live: (Opinion) Bicycles, Water and..." »

There was a documentary evening organized by the APUF people tonight. They showed a bunch of short films. This is one of them that I really like:

Jiang's Earth Bike

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Photos) Views from Above" »

I thought my fellow photo-bloggers might like to see how their work is being shown here in Bangkok. Click on the links to see the original posts.




Continue reading "APUF Live: (Photos) Pictures of Pictures" »

There is a group here called the 'Urban Planning Cafe'. The fellow who stood up to represent them and give a bit of an introduction said "There is a tendency to think and never do, or to do and never think." I'm not certain about the thinking and not doing bit, but I'm damn sure about the doing and not thinking part. This is beside my house:



Continue reading "APUF Live: (Photos) Thinking and Doing" »

This event is concerned with the future and development of the world's cities; concerned with both the massive mega-cities, such as Bangkok, where we are blogging from, and small, but rapidly growing cities.

The trouble photographers have at such conferences is that the ideas and concepts being presented and debated are just that: concepts, largely in the form of words. There is very little visual evidence of what is happening here. As such, I ventured outside to try to find evidence of the things being discussed.

Across the street from the U.N. Building here in Bangkok sits a political protest camp. It has been there for quite some time. It is essentially a small, planned community, though not a permanent one (hopefully!). So that is how I explored it. This camp, in a temporary sense, must deal with many of the issues that urban planners and other people involved in this conference are concerned with, such as:

Continue reading "APUF Live: (Photos) The Camp Outside." »

Continue reading "This is Us (Who are They?)" »