In late 2009, I traveled to Thailand for the first time. At first, I was dreading the 19 hour flight from Los Angeles to Bangkok, but Thai Air made the trip as pleasant as possible. I spent a week in and around Bangkok, then headed down to the island of Phuket, where a tsunami hit in 2004. The area had recovered, but water marks on the walls of inland restaurants served as reminders of the devastation that nature can cause on our civilizations. While walking home from dinner one night, I came across a group of local musicians performing their version of the popular song by Beyoncé, “Single Ladies”, which I found amusing:

I posted a few other videos of a tuk tuk ride through Bangkok, trying out new foods from street vendors and children playing with blown up condoms.

As I explored, as always, my camera was in hand. (surprise, surprise) Here are a few shots from my explorations of Bangkok markets and temples (click to expand):

Kiwi, as most refer to her, is a Southern California artist that I met several years ago while I was back in the chilly North East. We were more like “virtual acquaintances” – connecting and communicating across different creative communities, where the name associated with her portfolios would differ from Melissa Nichole, Mae Fitch, Kiwi Monster, Kiwi (and I think there was a Kiwi M in there, too).

Last year she surprised and flattered me by starting to paint one of my photos on wood. (finished version)

Always intrigued by her beautifully unique look (she’s part Native American), I asked Kiwi if she’d allow me to photograph her. Without much convincing we found some time to get together over the past year. Incidentally, she showed me around some amazing areas out in the desert east of San Diego where I wound up getting some great landscape shots and returned to on my recent road trip.

Aside from painting on wood, Kiwi delves into a variety of creative ventures – including photography. She is known to pick up non-traditional cameras and films, like the medium-format Holga, which she’s been tinkering with lately. When we went out shooting together a few times, I noticed that she truly has a different perspective when she looks through the viewfinder. You can find some of her photography and other art on flickr until she gets her act together and finishes her portfolio website.