A hot and tiring morning at the festival, and after coffee and food we return to the resort where we are booked to stay for a second night. Trouble is, there is nothing else we want to do around Dan Sai, so we get some sort of value from our booking by making full use of the bathroom, check out, and hit the road. A sort of a plan to check out the dok krachiao flowers near Chaiyaphum collapses when we realise that we will arrive too late. So what to do? Drive all the way home was the answer, and some 600 kilometres later we were back in Pattaya; conveniently just in time for the Canadian Grand Prix.
It was fun taking photographs with she who must be obeyed. Now she has her own, decent, camera; she is happy to wander around places that would previously have bored her. The only downside is that she has liberated my zoom lens, leaving me to use my 40mm fixed lens for almost every shot. But in a way it is liberating to be restricted in this way and I don’t feel I missed much. Certainly didn’t miss carrying around a DSLR, I am seriously considering selling all my Canon equipment.
We didn’t get lost as much as I thought we would, and she who must be obeyed kept me awake on the drive home by playing excerpts from Eddie Izzard concerts on YouTube and stuffing a steady supply of snacks into my mouth; you couldn’t ask for better support.
A good trip, although the mini-adventure has left me with man-flu, so it feels like death is near. Goodbye cruel world etc.
One final shot from the weekend:
Panasonic GF1 with 40mm lens at F2.2
Comments 🔗
2010-06-17| genuinej saysIs that final shot a self portrait? If so, you must have a very bad form of man flu! Get well soon.
2010-06-17| Spike saysgenuinej, How dare you suggest that it looks like SWMBO had been out in the sun too long!
At least, that’s what I told her you wrote.
2010-06-18| Jamie Monk says“Certainly didn’t miss carrying around a DSLR, I am seriously considering selling all my Canon equipment.”
If your trip pics are all taken with a Panasonic GF1, then I am also considering selling my Canon and all the lenses, buying a GF1 and having some cash left over!
2010-06-18| Spike saysJamie, every one with the GF1.
Also, these: 2010_01_a-fiery-farewell
2010_01_by-their-markets-shall-you-know-them
The Canon is great for sports; but for everything else I use the GF1. The 20mm (effective 40mm) F1.7 pancake lens, is just amazing, easily bests my 24-105mm L Canon lens; and of course the whole package is so light and inconspicuous.
The Olympus EPL-1 is slightly cheaper than the GF1 and getting some good press. But get the 20mm F1.7 to put on it.
2010-06-18| Jamie Monk saysI am reading reviews of GF1 vs Olympus EPL1 - looks like people can’t agree which is better - sounds like Olympus maybe better for a beginner, but GF1 has HD video and very good RAW output which I do like if I’m taking some serious photos like festivals… Only thing is I have not seen GF1 for sale anywhere in Phuket, guess will have to order it. Thanks for your advice and all!
2010-06-18| Spike saysPanasonic’s marketing is crap in Thailand. I buy a lot of my camera gear from Hong Kong sellers on eBay. Fedex delivery in a couple of days and they are creative when stating values for customs. The week before our trip we bought the Panasonic 45-200 (90-400) for 13,000 baht and it came in three days with minimal duty. My friend has the Canon 100-400 which is big and heavy and cost him 60,000 baht. Been back to Canon twice for calibration and still not that great. Haven’t used the 45-200 much, but looks pretty good for the price: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1296/4703009019_1d9bc90b68_b.jpg