9 Days in the Kingdom

Editorial Consultant, writing briefs for 55 of the world’s top photographers

For this prominent project by the publisher Editions Didier Millet, I was hired onto the editorial board, along with the publishing team (including Didier Millet and Yvan Van Outrive), prominent photographers Michael Freeman and Robert McLeod, corporate sponsors, and the head of the Crown Property bureau Dr Chirayu Isarangkul na Ayutthaya.

My assignment as a cultural expert and guidebook writer on Thailand, was to write the briefs for the photographers. These covered many of Thailand’s provinces, and focused on fresh sights and activities, avoiding clichés, and catching festivals and activities happening during the period of shooting. I also sought out possible topics suited to the specialisms of certain photographers, and their expressed interests, such as underwater locations, aerial locations, street culture, wildlife, ethnic minorities, youth subcultures, architecture, folk beliefs, heritage, and contemporary culture. This amounted to a huge report with hundreds of possible locations. These were allocated to the photographers, and teams of fixers enabled the shoots to take place.

During the actual period of photography, I joined Katerine Kernow at Bangkok’s university football match and its satirical puppetry, and Greg Gorman in his portraits of transexual Muay Thai boxer Nong Toom in Pattaya. We all took part in a giant group photograph atop the SkyBar of Vertigo on the Tai Wah II Tower. Later I joined the book launch at Zen in an audience with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who was photographed there by Greg Gorman, and the formal presentation of the book to Princes Chulabhorn Valailaksana in an audience at Chitrlada Palace.

The group photo of most participating photographers and the full publishing and production team. I am pictured on the front balcony, back row, 4th from the right in a cream shirt.