KAMPOL

This is the first time for me in Istanbul and It’s not gonna be the last time!

Istanbul citys located in the north-west Marmara Region of Turkey. That placed the city between two continents, Asian and Eroupe. I was travelling there in summer and the weather is real nice.

I had a chance to stay in the very nice hotel, The Ciragan Palace Kempinski Istanbul, that used to be a palace and one of the old building nowadays used as a palace suite for anyone with money to stay.. I think it more than about 20,000$ per night!!?!!? I am only staying in the standard one if you are wondering about it…

The day trip in here combined work and sight seeing at the same time. I went to the Grand Bazaar and lot of place in town for a nice location for shooting this including Ottoman Neo-Baroque, Ortaköy Mosque, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Basilica Cistern and many more…

One of the most interesting is the old harem, Topkapi Palace, that inside is so beautiful made me felt chilling just to walk around inside.

The other interesting things is that I can tell people here has so many love for CATS as I could see cats running around everywhere in the city but rarely see dog around… maybe they tend to keep dog inside, I don’t know… even one cat I saw was sitting in front of fishmonger shop waiting for some fish, how cute it is!

It’s a very last minute and very tight budget shoot indeed. In fact, We doesn’t have any money at all to do this shoot for Wallpaper mag as It just a picture for a small style column 2 pages of the magazine.

We did this at the roof of my apartment building, preparing all hair and make up in my room. The model Anna she is really nice as it is so small budget shoot and she agree to do it, We’re very appreciate for it much, Thank you Anna :-)).

The shoot start from the picture that will link to the article I wrote for Wallpaper about Japanese designer today, from the 80s with legendary designer from Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto that open the door for us to see what Japanese fashion is all about. Until today with new big name likes Junya watanabe, Undercover and the latest one Limi Feu (The daughter of Yohji Yamamoto).

Even though, It’s very tight budget that we didn’t even have enough money to lend any lighting equipment but we did it with love and very enjoy it much. After the shoot everyone (Apart from Anna) enjoying my Wiskey collection in my room with a good selection of Wiskey I brought from Scotland. This WPP* will out this month and I hope everyone like it. C ya ;-))

It’s a trip not in the city of light, New York, but a jazz and high way to heaven route 66… This is New Orleans and Albuquerque, New Mexico. I got this chance to travel round in US for ‘Honeymoon & Travel’ to the place not many Asian tourists would list in their holiday. The trip start with 27 hours of fight from Bangkok to Tokyo and Tokyo to Chicago before heading to New Orleans and then Albuquerque.

The first morning in New Orleans was about start working. We having the popular dough at ‘Cafe Du Monde’ for breakfast with a photo shoot inside the shop.

The dough itself, for me, nothing different from a Thai desert made from flour fried in oil and selling on the street called ‘Pa-Tong-Ko’. What different here is they serve it with lot of icing sugar and every bite I took I feel very bad the same as when I having Krispy Kreme doughnut! I just feel like I’m getting fat another stone!!!!

Inside the cafe is decorated with lot of feature feel so French colonial. As here used to be pretty much about French and also a lot of VOODOO thing too!

One of the most interesting night here was when we went to have a dinner in one of the restaurant here in New Orleans. It was a Jazz bar and the owner threat us with honour and when we having dinner we were very enjoying good wine and nice JAZZY!!!

We also enjoying a nice day trip along the Mississippi river. It was a very nice sunny day and we had lot of fun there…

After a few day in New Orleans we heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s a trip we visiting the route66, ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California before ending at Los Angeles, encompassing a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km)

We had visiting and have some breakfast at one of the most beautiful hotel I have ever been, Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa. The hotel sit on the stunning view with lot of activities for their customer including horse riding and balloon trip.

And then we went to have lunch at the ROUTE66 restaurant. It was about hamburger and fast food, with no offense, I can’t believe how people eating these kindda food.. It’s just so not healthy and FAT FAT FAT!!!!!!!

And this will be another trip I would remember very well how nice it is. Here the link of the Albuquerque isuue of Honeymoon & Travel. I will put the New Orleans issue up the page soon if I’m not too lazy to scan it ;-))

It is a test shoot for photographer and model and it happen in early March. We working with lot of beautiful clothes from Prada, Dries Van Noten, Jil Sander and many more. And today my assistant absolutlely fierce!!!

We are working with one Canadian girl and another Russian girl. One of the test shoot set will be publish in 2 magazine this June.

The shoot went on like usual until we got some free time at the end of the shoot… My assistant then got an idea he want to be like Madonna in the advert of Madonna for Louis Vuitton as we have the LV collection of shoes and clothes at the studio.

I think my assistant a bit FIERCE than madonna ;-)) as he dress more with bangles from Burberry, bag and hat from Chanel… but one thing missing is that he got a bit of SHORT legs compare to the goddess mother.. I think my assistant is very cute and funny. He made hard and stressful job become fun to do!!?!?!? DO YOU LIKE HIM ;-))

It was a tight schedule shoot of the last Spring-Summer 2009 collection as most of the brand would go on sale season and it all about Pre-fall now. This is a fashion shoot for CRUSH, men magazine in Thailand, that I did last week.

CRUSH magazine don’t want any female fashion like something in your face as Maxim or FHM did. So the fashion result in a clean styling but elegant and sexy. The clothes in this set are the mix of Spring-Summer 2009 pieces with underwear from Hermés shirtdress to Chanel jacket mix with see-through lace from La Perla.

The girl we working with is one of the best model in Bangkok ;-)) It really good when you pick the right girl to work with, I can tell you!

I always pay attention to the detail of having the right girl for the right shoot as I used to have lot of experiences that even though the photographer is great and the clothes are stunning but with the bad girl, the picture could end up not quite like it should be… and this I seen in lot of fashion shooting today that not really success.

Here the link of contact sheet and sample layout. The magazine will come out in this month and I hope everyone like it…

One of the best holiday I have ever had in 2008! This city beat 130 other European cities to gain first place in European Tourism City of the Year in June 2007. In this cute little town, they’re not offer a cheesy tourist but a true history with lot of unique thing hiding everywhere you go. It just like a treasure game where you wonder round finding gems after gems.

It took about two hours to York from Rochdale, Manchester, as we took the train that stop by Leed and before we got on the train the trip is actually start from 12th century church, Rochdale Parish Church St.Chad’s. Where we had some breakfast and some pictures taking with the first Co-Op in the UK.

After about an hour on the train we stop at Leed and here we did some sight seeing a little bit. I went to Harvey Nichols and it is a sale season at the moment. What i found here in Leed is a lovely shoes from Dries Van Noten that is very cheap and something like this would not left in the sale in London as so many tourist would rave for it! And then we back on the train for a journey to our York Minster town…

Here we stay in local B&B. We just walk round and found this one cuz it got a picture of a cute cat at the window, I know right away this is the place we will stay ;-)) A time in York was so lovely. It has so many cute little boutiques and lot of things to see and taste. Basically we spent lot of time exploring from day to night and then get drunk… What’s a lovely life!

The hilight of the town would be the Minster itself.. It is one of the largest cathedral in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral with Gothic styles. York minster resurection so many time from destroying start from 627AD. It is took almost half of a century work to look what it is today and it has been standing there as a house of god for over 1,000 years!!!

Inside the Minster much more bigger even more than the outside. The big hall fill with ultra high cieling and statues of all English King with the great example of England turn back to Vatican (all the statues of angels and saints are beheaded). This was the result of Tudor, King Henry VIII, time. Also contained the biggest stain glass window in Europe…

And after the Minster we also enjoying a long walk along the wall of the city. We also visiting the old king castle site that today nothing more than a crumble of rock building…

The last night in York was about getting drunk and we did quite pretty well going in and out many pub, drinking lot of wine and beer… Then the next day we catch the train and our next stop is Liverpool…

It was in March 2008 when I was in Helsinki and one thing I remember is how nice and charming little city to live.

We arrived at night around 7pm. and by the time we got to the hotel it was about 9pm. and everything in Helsinki was so quite. Doesn’t seem many people walking around city centre in the night. Or is it just because it is a big city with just only  578,126 people…

First morning in Helsinki for me is Sunday. I woke up quite early with the photographer and start exploring the town near our hotel a little bit. It is about 8am and it is not much people around town. The temperature here a bit chilli but I have a nice cardigan to keep me warm.

Our hotel not very far from port of Helsinki and it is walking distance to Helsinki Cathedral. The Helsinki Cathedral is very huge while the decoration is very clean and simple just like St.Paul in London another thing in common with the St.Paul is a tourist spot. In here we see many tourist on the big staircase enjoying a sun in a nice sunny day.

In the afternoon me and photographer start do some shooting around town for Premiere magazine. It was very easy job to work as the town is so clean and beautiful to take a picture. After we finish our job, we start doing more our little walk to everything in town and what we found is a nice park and a beautiful glass house.

before we leave Finland, we also visiting a small town with an icy lake that breath takingly beautiful to end our journey… and am sure I will be back here again!

I’m not in Tokyo at this time but am in Sendai and Kobe. Here Cherry blossom are everywhere for about a week to enjoy in April. This was a chance to experience some authentic Japanese apart from manga and Harajuku girls.

We stay in very nice and traditional hotel and yes it has a hot spring here. So basically life here apart from working with fashion shooting for Honeymoon & Travel, it is about sight seeing around town, relaxing in hot spring and yes having a big Japanese feat most of the meal!

The food we have here are much more a surprise. Every evening at the hotel they always serve some kind of feat to us (am already forgot what it called in Japanese). It had all kind of Japanese food you could imagine including ‘uni’ or Sea Urchin  (I must say I don’t really like it, but well I’m not a raw food lover anyway). So every dinner, food will start serve one after another (sure lot of Sake too) for over two and a half hours. It absolutely made me felt like a KING!!!!!

I also had a chance to try fresh young Sake that not look like Sake but MILK in Sendai.. It has very sweet taste with a strong alcohol. I must confess I’m not enjoy that much would prefer a normal Sake to drink than sweet alcohol!

And when am in Kobe, What else could it be but try the best beef in Japan and I want to assure you all.. IT THE BEST BEEF I’VE EVER TRY! and everyone should try when you are there.

At the very last day we stop by doing some shopping and I brought some interesting stuffs from Issey Miyake and Comme Des Garçon (there are pretty much cheap in here compare to Bangkok and London, I mean quite reasonably price here) before pack our bags and head to the airport. And I hope in very very near future I be back there in Japan real soon.