The Shooter :

Akkara Naktamna

Akkara Naktamna was born in Bangkok, Thailand and brings out a unique side of the city through his photographs. While Bangkok is a chaotic city, he finds moments within all that chaos that normally might go unnoticed.

Looking through Akkara’s work, you’ll notice he likes to find humor out of every day life. His photos are clever, ironic, funny, and unusual. He captures scenes that hold your attention because not only are they interesting, but sometimes they have a comical side too.

Luckily, Akkara agreed to be featured and interviewed, along with his country and photos, for this installment of the “A Shooter in…” interview series. So onto the interview…

(All photos were made in Bangkok by Akkara)

1. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got into Photography, and more specifically, Street Photography?

I started shooting in 2008. I was influenced by Elliott Erwitt’s work and a comedy movie named “Pecker”. As I remember, I bought a point and shoot camera after watching Pecker and I went out to shoot following the actor in the movie. In that time, I didn’t know what Street Photography was yet.

2. How would you describe your style/interests when it comes to photography?

Actually, I like comedy movies, comic books, and funny stuff on the internet. When I saw Erwitt’s work, I thought it’s the same thing and realized I will shoot with this style.





3. How long have you lived in Bangkok, Thailand?

I was born here, which means more than 30 years.

The City :

Bangkok, Thailand

4. From a Street Photographer’s perspective, what are the first descriptive words that come to your mind when thinking of Bangkok?

Bangkok’s so busy, a lot of traffic, hot weather, but you will find many interesting things here.

5. What do you like most about shooting photography in Bangkok? What makes Bangkok unique to other places for photographing?

Here, you might have difficulty shooting on the sidewalk because street food stands and shops will be seizing them. A lot of activities will happen there and this will be challenging, but suited for a street shooter :p

6. Do you approach Street Photography differently in Bangkok than you do in other places? How would you say people’s reaction is to Street Photography in Bangkok compared to other places?

For a Thai street photographer, we seem to have a barrier between us (photographer) and them (target people). Yes I mean Thai and Thai. We need to act like a tourist and approach them for getting a picture. But if you’re a foreigner or tourist, that’s fine. You get a permit for photographing easily, in my opinion, because Thailand is the best traveling country. We’ve known this fact and so we welcome all tourists to our country with a sweet smile :)

7. Can you give a snapshot of a typical day for you shooting photography in Bangkok?

Street shooting, for me, is similar to strolling on a Sunday evening. Relaxed and nothing special.

8. What are a few of your favorite streets and spots for shooting photography in Bangkok?

I like the area around the grand palace (Wat Phra Kaew). You will find hi-class to low-class people there. Also, the ‘Tha Tian’ area, near grand palace, where I often shoot and get good pictures.

9. What are some of your favorite subjects to shoot in Bangkok? Do you have a favorite photo, or one that stands out in your memory, that you made in Bangkok?

After lunch, in my working day, I walked to the quiet park near my office and found a lot of Christmas balls hung from the tree. Some of them looked like the moon. I shot it with my iPhone 4S, and finally that picture is exhibited in the great Thailand museum.

10. What is your favorite non-shooting activity when out shooting photography in Bangkok?

Go to my favorite book store and read some photo books for free.

11. Outside of Bangkok, what has been one of your favorite places to shoot Street Photography?

Shooting street photography on the beach in Thailand is really awesome. You can go easily such as Hua-Hin, Bang San, etc. They’re quite near Bangkok.

12. Last, but not least, what Tips would you give a Street Photographer coming to shoot in Bangkok?

The weather here is pretty hot, you need to prepare yourself for shooting in high temperature in Bangkok. For a tip, I have one from Gus Powell and you can use it everywhere:

“Don’t Ask, Shoot Fast”.



A big thank you to Akkara for sharing his work, answers and city!

For everyone who would like to see more of Akkara’s work, just follow the link below…

The Link :