I put myself in the category of being a street photographer when maybe opportunistic might be a better way of describing my works. We all love labels, so the “street” box is an acceptable one, but my box definitely doesn’t have four walls. I am drawn to crowds, as this is when you get fleeting moments – movement changes, colours morph, facial expressions are never the same from one minute to the next. I love to capture fleeting moments that can never be repeated. It’s with one click and one chance to harness what drew my attention to a scene in the first place.
I am a voyeur of humanity in the different guises of history and culture, seeing the world through a camera lens of life and travel.
Author Gail Palethorpe
Bhamo, Myanmar 2012
I froze in knee-shaking fear in the middle of the wooden gangplank that the nimble locals virtually skipped along with huge bags on their backs. Wrinkly brown hands came to my rescue from either end of the plank to shuffle me over the foul, dirty water below, to the somewhat safety of a rickety local ferry heading downriver to Mandalay.
Relief flooded through me, as I looked back upon the hectic scene on the muddy riverbank of the Irrawaddy River in the remote outpost of Bhamo, only 65km from the Chinese border. The most northern town of Myanmar that a tourist could venture to in 2012, its city limits were surrounded by the military with big guns and plenty of attitude towards foreigners, who they suspected of being spies. There was only one other westerner in the town, who was an Australian as well.
Lellama – fish market, Negombo, Sri Lanka 2014
After escaping the smelly stench of fish guts inside the bustling fish markets of Negombo in the wee hours of the morning, I was greeted by a chaotic streetscape choked with weather-beaten souls, motorbikes, rickshaws and rusted-out trucks.
Fishermen were heading home, fish buyers and sellers were hanging around gossiping like old women, while the background buzz was the cacophony of auctioneers competing for attention with the raucous caws of the enormous black squabbling crows. With diesel fumes wafting up my nose and having to jump out of the way of the moving masses, it was a maelstrom of madness tainted with the constant miasma of reeking seafood of every sort your mind can wrap itself around.
Khao San Road, Bangkok, Thailand 2015
Total anarchy happens during the annual celebration of Songkran in Thailand, especially on Khao San Road, Bangkok, where it becomes a playground for gigantic water pistols. I fled dripping wet and splattered with flour to the upper levels of a road-crossing to get a better view of what’s known as the world’s biggest water fight.
The Dettol stand caught my eye as a quirky symbolic image for today’s interpretation of cleansing the soul, which is what Songkran is basically about; washing away the past to bring good luck in the future.
Traditional souk, Sahara Desert, outside of Ait Ben Haddou, Morocco 2015
Traditional life in the dust and humidity of the Sahara Desert; captured from a far-off hill through a telephoto lens. I became smothered in the hot whispering sand that threatened to engulf me as the time-honoured dance of trading and bartering – whether it be over goats, horses, olives or oranges – played out before me.
Donkeys were loaded up with goods, and old dented Mercedes Benz cars jostled with canvas-covered trucks for space in what had been deemed to be the car parking area. This weekly souk, like a pop-up shopping hub with a distinct Moroccan flair under old umbrellas and floating canvas sheets, was a riotous imitation of what it once would have been when swarthy robed Berber nomads on camels ruled the parched land.
Ribeira, Porto, Portugal 2016
A living history museum that shimmers with the radiant glow of a setting sun; Ribeira is the beautiful ancient heart of Porto, that was once a Roman Empire outpost. The old stonewalls of the flowing Douro River are stained with mud, tide lines and battle scars creating a rustic stage for terrace houses wearing intricate aprons of wrought-iron balconies draped in washing, and markets sheltering under a carpet of umbrellas. Restaurants dot the terraced walls or hide in the gloom behind old archways and wafts of port scent the air from the cellars across the river.
Hoi An, Vietnam 2018
This is such a familiar scene to come upon in Hoi Ann that I could not look away.
From the slip-on shoes with socks, the colourful clothes, bright fruit nesting in bamboo baskets and the typical conical hats. The UNESCO town of Hoi An is flooded with iconic Vietnamese images for the taking. Tourists and locals pushing the pedals on bicycles, bustling market areas where locals hang together chattering amongst their goods for sale, and narrow streets dressed-up with colourful lanterns of all shapes and sizes. The traditional bamboo shoulder pole method of carrying epitomizes the Asian identity and is a cultural statement reminiscent of years gone by.
Granada, Spain 2018
Drawn by the image of the elegant woman in the middle with her bare feet and bright red varnished toe and fingernails, amongst her conservative parading females, brought a smile to my face. Definitely, a soul that marches to her own tune, I could totally relate to that feeling of going barefoot when you shouldn’t.
It was at the end of September during the street parade for the festival of Virgen de las Angustias (Our Lady of Sorrows), the Patroness of Granada. A solemn procession of the women of Granada carrying candles promenade along the city streets in a sombre mood, leaving a trail of dripping wax. This deep-rooted tradition draws people from all over the area and culminates in an Autumn market near The Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Las Angustias.
The Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu, Nepal 2018
The colourful ritual of cremation at the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu had me spellbound. It was the beauty of the vivid colours, the ritualistic happenings such as purifying the body and lovingly wrapping it in a bright cloak of marigold flowers known as the “herb of the sun”. Marigold flowers represent how fragile life is and are believed to guide the spirits with their intense colour and pervasive scent.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, the collection of ashrams and temples forming the sacred Hindu Pashupatinath Temple complex are perched on the holy Bagmati River banks. This river runs through the heart of the temple connecting it with the revered Ganges River in India.
“The Hand”, Brava Beach, Punta del Este, Uruguay 2019
Walking along the beach, I came upon this site. I was drawn to it because of the incredibly clear blue sky, the fluffy clouds and the creamy colored sand dune crowned by stone fingers sticking up in the air with a flurry of tourists gathering around it. Uncluttered, clean and bright, with a hint of blazing white city buildings, the scene was verging on surreal.
I was fascinated to learn that the Chilean artist, Mario Irarrázabal, has left his “hands” in other countries around the world.
La Vega Market, Santiago, Chile 2019
I was drawn by the familiarity oozing from the colours, the actions of the people and the everyday appeal of the neighbourhood known as La Chimba, a part of the Recoleta commune in Santiago. Taken at one of the exit points of the famous La Vega market, it represents the working-class people of Chile.
The colours, the splash of graffiti on tired building walls, men scoffing take-away as they slouch against a wall, carrying a child, pushing a pram; this is people living their lives.
