Encapsulating GRIEF

WITH THE COUNTRY still mired in grief over the death on October 13 of His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej, loyal citizens have come out in force to perform good deeds to honour Thailand’s revered monarch, who was, for most Thais, the only King they had ever known.
Sanam Luang, adjacent to the Grand Palace where the King’s body is resting, has seen hundreds of thousands of grieving Thais flocking the vast lawn to pay their last respects to the King, as well as some charitable souls bringing food, water, medicine and more to give away for free. The ground is also crowded with photographers, both amateur and professional, who have came to capture these historic moments. While some keep the images for personal reference, many are sharing their works with the public.
AIA executive Pharkphum Sirirojwong took up photography as a hobby four years ago not knowing that he would be one day be among the first to share the magnificent images of the “thooma kade” fog hovering over the capital on the night the King passed.
“I heard the news earlier that night, and I couldn’t sleep. It was just too much to bear.” Pharkphum told XP. “My wife and I went out on to the balcony of our condo, which is on the 26th floor, and we saw this thin, white fog stretching into the distance. We later learned that it was the “thooma kade” fog, a phenomenon that only occurs rarely and always on a very special historic event, so I grabbed by camera to capture it.”
The occurrence of this boding fog was first recorded in the Ayutthaya Period, when kings passed away. It was then reported that when King Chulalongkorn passed on October 23, 1910, Bangkok was also covered with this kind of fog.
“People started asking for the files on my Facebook once I posted those images, especially those living abroad. Some even asked if they could buy them. But I gave them away for free and included some other images of the funeral procession and the Grand Palace, too. His Majesty once said that photography could be a great tool to benefit others in many different ways. I had that in mind and wanted to do this to honour his grace.”
Pharkphum’s images can be downloaded from www.Facebook.com/ BigFatUgly.
Well-known wedding photographer Jakawin Poosawas has uploaded some 200 high resolution (22 million megapixels!) images online for free download.
“Taking pictures is what I can do best, and I want to remember His Majesty’s grace and virtue by giving them away to everyone, for their personal use.” Jakawin says. “The King inspired me to go to greater things, to achieve more in my life and my career. He said if you want to do something, think big and make it happen with happiness and fun, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. That’s what has got me where I am today and I am forever in debt to his wise words. I know that everyone wants to go to the Grand Palace and pay respect, but a lot of us can’t for whatever reason, and I just hope my images will at least ease their minds and help us all remember this moment in history, and the father of our nation.”
Jakawin’s images cover the procession of the cortege from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace, and the ninth day of the passing on October 22 when hundreds of thousands came together to sing the royal anthem, making for one of the most heartfelt gatherings in history.
 “I’ve made up my mind that my team and I will go as often as we can to capture images of this historic event, all the way until the cremation ceremony. It is very challenging to take pictures from just one spot because you can’t really move around. Ideally people should put together images they have from various different angles and times to complete the picture.”
Jakawin also hopes to make a photo book out of this image collection in the near future. See more at www.Facebook.com/Jakawin/.
Another wedding and event photographer, Phurit Netimongkolchai of Vin Buddy Wedding, is offering his narrative photography for free download too.
“Like many others who wish to help out and honour HM the King’s memory in their own ways, I am choosing to contribute my photographic suilsl,” Phurit, or Vin, says.
“On the night of October 13, my team and I went to Siriraj Hospital but we didn’t take a lot of pictures because it was very emotional and people were crying so hard. We had to respect them and let them grieve in private. After that I took images of the crowd, of the happening and the ambience around the Grand Palace and let the pictures speak for themselves.”
Vin waited long hours in one spot, waiting for the right moments to press the shutter and the results are breathtaking. The Minister of Culture, Vira Rojpojchanarat, recently contacted Vin personally to ask for his permission to include some of his 50-plus images in a new book project planned by the Ministry.
His images can be downloaded from www.Facebook.com /VinBuddyWedding.