I'm typing with my right hand while my left is stabbing at bits of tuna left over in a tinfoil take-home dish. A new Thai-owned French restaurant just opened up on the corner of Soi Preedee 15 on Sukhumvit 71 Rd. in between a few air conditioner repair places and seedy karaoke joints. Odd because it's an odd spot for a restaurant to open and a very odd spot for a restaurant selling soups, salads, crepes, and ten types of red and white wines. Seems to be busy though.

I'm busy too. Just finished midterm exams and my first solo advertising shoot last week. I've been bragging about the ad shoot to everyone who'll listen because it seems exciting to me. Exciting in that I didn't screw up or injure anyone in front of a room full of people.

Last Saturday, the 4th years of BUIC's student government/fraternity had a going-away party for the younger years. We're not really going anywhere just yet, but we did have a budget surplus and this is the time of year when 3rd year students take the wheel. Dinner was at a riverside restaurant and was a lot of fun. The 3rd year students gave us all personalized awards too, I'll post a picture.

Yesterday, I met up with P'Oun, then stopped by the MRD concert at Moon Star Studios in Lardprao. Didn't expect the huge crowds. I had my new Canon with me so P'Oui and I took advantage of spare 'technician' passes and crawled around in front of the stage. Besides the television cameraman's cable-carrying assistant repeatedly trampling over me, it was a fun evening. More pics below.

This week I'm on "spring break". I plan to make some plans before the end of the week. Need to figure out what the hell it is I am doing this next year..

Next week will be busy too. Back to school and 16 environmental portraits of the (fixed) "Teachers of the Year" for the university news magazine. It's a lot of work but I shouldn't complain because this is exactly the type of work I need to be doing right now.

A New Year

I haven't posted in several months. Shame on me.

Late November, I was attacked by a gang of trade school students who though I was a student a rival school. It's been a sore subject (ha) which I wasn't particularly excited to blog about. I'm better now, albeit rather swollen. No permanent injuries; got lucky. I've also been very lucky to have the constant support of my family, friends and teachers.

Lots to do.

Today was the beginning of my last semester at BU, which means I'm very close to being catapulted off a cliff into the real world. I'm terrified slightly intimidated by the task of finding a place to live, work, eat, and a way to pay for graduate school.

I photographed students for BU News Magazine's annual Student of the Year issue last week. This is exciting because this issue will be printed in color with big photos. BU News had previously been the 1950's television set of school news magazines and the university is trying to change that. This morning we shot some awards that students had won, which will hopefully be the cover for this issue.



Last month I photographed a couple graduation ceremonies. Tomorrow, I have a graduation party to shoot in the evening. This should allow me to save enough cash to make a new batch of business cards and postcards, for promotional mailings; which will (fingers crossed) lead to more work.

In the next couple weeks I'm going to need to find a graduate school and a way to pay for it, then apply. Not sure how I'm going to take GREs and prepare paperwork/portfolios in time for application deadlines though.

Have to file insurance claims too. This requires translating police reports, hospital receipts (a friend's family paid), and medical certificates. Need get my back and ribs examined too. I'm so bored of hospitals, police stations, and medicine right now. I'm sure Mai is too; she's been with me at alot these appointments. She says she's there for moral support but I'm almost certain she's probably secretly kicking the asses of corrupt policemen and unorganized hospital employees behind-the-scenes.

I'm teaching now. I was asked by the BU Language Institute to teach a four-week program of conversational English. I'll teach two sections from 10.00-12.00 and 13.00-15.00. I hear class sizes will be 30-40, which will be be something very different for me. Should be interesting...

A high school friend Renae sent me this video link in an email this morning. I'm not sure if I'm honored or terrified that they used my name. Some people just don't seem to understand satirical news and may actually think the election has already ended and I messed it up for everybody.

I disappeared for a month because I was on midterm break. Didn't get to Cambodia as I'd hoped, but I did get a lot of work done which was nice. University classes began again yesterday so I'm back to my regular schedule.

Band practice is happening again. We've been united again by a mini-tour contract with The Mall, Paragon, and Emporium shopping malls. We'll be playing at each branch, once our audition video is approved.

A professor called me last night to say a Japanese graduate student would like to interview me for his doctoral thesis on cultural integration and globalization. Cool.

...Again, sorry for the sporadic updates. "I forgot" says Depew.



[update] I just realized that video is customizable. Genius on MoveOn.org's part; very creative thinking. But terribly embarrassing.

Wish I'd known about this place earlier. I first heard about it last week, when one of the students I was photographing suggested his team take a group photo at TCDC. "TC what?" I have to admit I was tired and pushing for the deadline (more in a bit..) so my brain wasn't too excited when some suggesting packing up, traveling, and re-shooting in a shopping mall. So, I filed the place's name somewhere in the back of my head with all the other jung, figuring I'd check it out the next time I was at the Emporium.

Today, P'Oy and P'Oun asked me to drop off a package their design company needed to send to this same mall. I said sure, because it's pretty close to my house and they said it was urgent. Around 4pm I re-read the instructions on the package:

TCDC. 6th floor, Emporium
Name Card Festival 2008 Application
Three Dot Design

Sweet! So I googled it, then ran like a mad man to MBK and found a shop to print the required 300 cards. Print quality wasn't too hot, nor was the price, but I was 2 hours from the entrance deadline the package from Three Dot's marketing deptartment still siting in my backpack.

I turned in both applications in time and received a discount on a 15-month membership (600 baht) at the TCDC Library... which is something every student should have access to. This library is actually quiet, comfortable, has interesting books and periodicals, and should be a wonderful place to study. I'm excited to take my Media and Society slides and read at the TCDC tomorrow evening.

Midterms are near. Wednesday, Thur, Fri, Sat, Fri. Odd schedule. Bad news is that there's one week of class between the end of midterms and the midterm break. Also an odd schedule, but I think I'll make it through.

The BU News deadline that I mentioned above isn't as close as August and I had thought. No news is good news? The September and October months are a single issue, which we had thought was a October/November issue. Which means that I just finished the November issue's story and I have almost two months to prepare for the December issue.

I think I'm going to try and head to the village this Sunday and return Tuesday night. It's been too long and I'll have several days to kill before the last exam on the 3rd. Looking forward to fresh air/food and familiar faces.

So much to do.

Tomorrow, I'll be conducting interview for the October issue of BU News Mag, with four students who took part in an internship pilot project last month. There have been many scheduling conflicts, so it'll be nice to get this one finished. The September issue is out and it looks pretty nice, if I may so myself. A printing color set I joked about when I started writing for the school news, pink and white, actually looked OK.

PAD protest gallery is up with a few pics: www.danieldepew.com/PADprotests

Some silly shots with friends too:
www.danieldepew.com/friends

Business cards are coming and a "cute" domain name too. ShootwithDan.com will link straight to danieldepew.com but should be easier to remember. Please let me know what you think.



And, I've finally started the personal project I'd been promising myself. More soon..

PAD Protests

The People's Alliance for Democracy have been in the news all week. Last week was the beginning of "the final war" protest against the corruption of the current administration. 200,000 protesters have taken over the government buildings, government TV station, and major airports and roads throughout Thailand. Many PAD supporters are groups who have come from small villages and provinces by bus to protest. Labor unions are also coming to Bangkok for the protests.

All of the streets leading to the government compound have been barricaded with tires and, ironically, metal police barriers. The barriers are overlapped and lashed together for strength. The only way inside is through security check points or hopping the fence while "security" holds your bags.

On the inside there are two types of people. The majority of PAD supporters lay on lawns, sidewalks, under tarps, and inside tents, listening to speakers on the main stage set in the middle of several city blocks. There are many smaller stages, with projection screens and speakers, catering to the overflow supporters who arrive by evening. The second type of supporters are those who rest next to sticks, pipes, golf clubs and helmets. They stay near the outer edges of the area under PAD occupation, at various "posts"; Intersections or small streets where opposing protesters, police, or army troops could enter from. However, these guards aren't just middle-aged men: elderly women and college students too.

Protesters injured during the Monday night fights, started by allegedly hired thugs of the Peoples Power Party, return to their old posts still wearing hospital gowns, as if they were returning home to see family. They are heroes. People rush to take pictures and ask for autographs.

In some cases, they are returning to family. Dozens of families are living under tarps or tents in gardens and lawns of government buildings.



Who do I support? I'm not sure. Some of the "peaceful protesting" wasn't. But they don't have much of a choice... PAD was written off by politicians as a few powerful people who were all noise and no fact. What amazes me is the way Samak has handled the situation. Not once has his administration commented on Samak's 80 million baht profits or why Samak continues to consult former PM, PPP/TRT spokesman, and crininal Thaksin, or about known cases of vote buying during the previous election. If I was innocent I'd at least try to explain... PM Samak has yet to give any answers; only threats to those who protest.

First two weeks of the new semester pasted smoothly. I'm very happy with my classes, and my professors. The fourth year classes seem to have some substance in the subject matter and are generally more exciting.

I'm just finishing tomorrow's advanced digi photo homework. The assignment was to create a self-portrait that represented us. I knew I wanted a photograph that showed I'm someone who's different; that I could fit-in, even in places I wasn't supposed to "belong".

The Western equivalent to being a "morcy" might be a pizza delivery boy or grocery store cashier. It's something people do because they don't want much (ironically) responsibility, or can't find work elsewhere. At least that's the stereotype... I've met some very interesting drivers over the years. But "morcy" drivers are almost never college grads, business owners, office workers, fair skinned, Bangkok-born, or very young (with some exceptions). I want to do a personal project on this stereotype soon..

I had a motorcycle taxi vest laying around, left over from a school event, that I had been wanting to feature in a photo. So I did. Thanks again to Mario and Shai for the much-needed assistance.




Talking with some friends the other day at the uni, we came up with an idea for their upcoming album cover. They asked for samples of a pretty girl with a blindfold, so Pat and I got to work two days later:






I hope to do a personal project soon. The subject will be social status in Thailand. A glass ceiling for people born with dark skin. More soon...

Laos was beautiful. On a whim, I jumped on a train with two high school friends to Laos last two Saturdays ago. After a 14-hour train ride and a bit of visa "prepping", at a local visa service shop, we crossed the friendship bridge from Nong Khai to Viengtieng. We spent two days there exploring, then headed to the "next" town on the way to Luang Phapang: Vang Vieng. This town was beautiful. Tourist population was only high in one part of town, which consisted of 6-7 beer gardens/restaurants which played episodes of Friends all night, every night. The trip to Luang Phapang was spectacular, but you wouldn't notice that looking at the pictures I took.. I just didn't have a lens wide enough to capture it all. The city of Luang Phapang itself was very pleasant. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed spending time with Chey and Sam. They'll continue to explore Laos for another couple weeks, then move on to Cambodia or return to Thailand for a bit before moving on. My trip took 8 days and $160/5000฿/1,250,000 Kip.















If my writing is lame, un-concise, and brief; it's because I'm returning from a 16 hour day shooting a graduation ceremony.

Earlier this week I interviewed Dr. Jared Dorn, our Vice President. Very interesting and kind gentleman. Tuesday, I transcribed and the interview and did my best at writing an article. I took some pictures of him too. Bought a white umbrella cover and made myself a makeshift soft-box the night before... and it worked! Soft indeed.

Wednesday, I registered for first semester classes. The winners are: Organizational Communication, Critical Analysis of Messages, Conflict and Negotiation, Media and Society, Comm. and Development. I hear the last two are being taught by a part-time professor who has very good reviews...

Tomorrow I'll fill out more forms and wait in a few more lines to register for the Computer Graphics and Multimedia major's Advanced Digital Photography class. I went to the class Monday and was very impressed. The professor is an American indie feature film director who knows his stuff and promises assignments every week. I'm excited about this one too.

More soon...

Wanna know what I've been doing all summer? OK, fine, but pretend you do, cause I'm gonna tell ya.

Mr. Myagi Tim Matsui has been teaching me in the office, and as of last Monday, in the bar too. I might have learned more over Bleu Burgers and IPAs than I did anywhere else, all summer. Tim and I talked about what I want to do, what I need to do, and how I'm going to do it. Those questions aren't crystal clear yet, but what is? Our consensus was: a good portfolio is even more important than a good education to clients. So I'm gonna quit school and shoot full-time.... nah. When I start senior year in two weeks, I'm going to find something that interests me, a story I want to tell, that I'll work on for as long as it takes. Show what I can do, show my style, and show what I like to do. Easier said than done.

Leo Lam had me assist a fashion shoot for a new designer label. Good fun. Learned lots.

Brian Smale took me to an architectural shoot in West Seattle. Interesting to see Brian working.

Last week, I spent seven days in Portland, OR. I stayed with family there, John and Cathy, who are the world's nicest hosts. Besides leaving me, someone they couldn't remember if they'd met or not, with their house key while they went to the coast, John and Cathy also fed me MacandCheese w/ hotdogs, helped me with maps and directions, and beat me 3-0 in ping pong. They'll be a rematch this week.

Lincoln was the first photographer I met with. He talked to me about the need for some business classes and self-marketing ideas, and learned some nifty post-processing techniques later in the week. I was reminded by our talk about mailings that Bangkok has an abundance of cheap printers which could pump out a box of promo cards for cheap.

The next photographer I worked with was Daniel Root. We shot photographed a lawyer for a SoCal law magazine. They wanted to photoshop the subject into a 60's war movie poster, so we setup a studio in a warehouse, matched the lighting to the poster, and only needed to spend 10 minutes actually photographing. Next job was a golf course: "Best golf couse for non-golfers" for Portland Monthly's upcoming "Best of Portland" series. That night we shot a bar which had the interactive video game and karaoke machine Rock Band, projected on a 10' screen; complete with stage lights and a fog machine. The morning after we covered "The best place to send your kids for the summer"... a rock climbing camp at a downtown climbing gym.

I have 2 minutes battery remaining and I'll be too lazy to write later, so this all for now. Stay tuned...