• 
• 

Published on July 9, 2007

Every photograph should tell a story, says Decho Buranabunpot, whose 30 years as a lensman have been dotted with international awards for his work, including an associateship and a fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain.

However, he says he is more proud of the more than 40,000 photographs of Her Majesty the Queen he has taken over the years.

Around 300 pictures of his, which have never been exhibited anywhere before, are on display at Siam Paragon until Sunday in the "Paragon Electronica Showcase".

The master photographer has earned fame for his cinematic style. A good picture, Decho says, has to perfectly capture a moment, and be able to communicate a comprehensive message.

He always has this in mind when taking photos of the Queen. "I have to not only take a portrait of Her Majesty, but capture the feeling of the place - the people who come for an audience, who wait before being called forward, the emotions. Once the moment has gone, it's gone," he says.

During the celebration of the 60th year of His Mjesty the King's reign last year, Decho was granted permission to take pictures inside Chitralada Palace. He says during that special experience he always carried his camera in a ready position so he could snap up the fleeting magnificence as it passed before his eyes.

His proudest picture is a shot he calls "Caring Smile", which shows an affectionate moment shared by Their Majesties the King and the Queen.

"A digital camera allows the photographer to snap many shots in a row, but if the flash is on it's irritating to the person being photographed. So every time I take photos, I'm very careful. That doesn't mean that I've never missed a shot, though."

Unsurprisingly, much of Decho's work is saturated with Buddhism and Thai culture. But he tries to get a spontaneous and natural angle on his subjects.

"As a photographer, you shouldn't direct a monk, for example, on how to pose," he comments. "You don't set up the scene. The easiest way to get a good shot is to ask the monk about the correct way to practise. For instance, when monks pray and mediate, they don't light up a lot of candles - just one. So if you see a bunch of candles in a picture, it's not authentic - some photographer probably just wanted a lot of light."

His pictures express the natural rhythms of life in Thailand, such as Thai farmers leading their buffaloes to rice fields, a line of people offering food to monks, boys playing football, or women carrying children.

Decho's book "My Digital Way" is due for release soon, and features guidelines and techniques for taking photographs, how to choose a camera, and other tips. It's in both Thai and English.

He recommends that people read the manuals for their cameras thoroughly, so that they can get familiar with all the special features. He says that photographers with digital cameras shouldn't preview the photos they take too often, since they risk missing what might be even better snaps of scenes in front of them. Also, previewing pictures is a waste of battery power.

Another piece of advice is to keep your camera unsheathed, so that you're ready to take pictures at any time. "Cameras have developer programmes, so there's no need to use PhotoShop," he adds.

Decho says that photographers should practise framing scenes, making sure they know what they want in the foreground and the background. To get a feel for what good shots look like, he recommends flicking through glossy books of photographs, as well as books of paintings.

"Artists can make unbeautiful subjects beautiful, unlike photographers. To get a good picture, the best time is the early morning, no later than 9am. After that, I'll begin taking pictures again around 4pm. In the meantime, you can survey the place you want to take pictures of."

The most important advice Decho says he can give to photographers is not to get too attached to their work. "Some photographers are really good but are afraid to take pictures because they're worried that they won't be as good as their previous shots. Actually, the more pictures a photographer takes, the more his career progresses, and the more advanced the results will be."

Kupluthai Pungkanon

The Nation