Street Photography in Chiang Mai

Warorot, also called Kad Luang, is the heart of Chinatown and the best place to start a day here. There is human traffic inside and out, and the old building gives you architecture to work with. Beside the Ping River, the flower market is busy through the day. Go before 9 am, when light comes in through the upper windows. Climb a stairway or the river footbridge for a view down onto the crowd. Composition idea: frame a vendor through the market's interior arches. Caution: vendors are working. Show them your camera with a smile and move on if they do not smile back.

Muang Mai is the largest fresh market in Chiang Mai and it runs early. In the morning, trucks bring produce down from the hill villages, and cooks and home buyers come to stock up. Get there soon after sunrise, then walk the side alleys as well as the main aisles. Composition idea: wait for a transaction, the moment money or goods change hands, and shoot the faces. Caution: the ground is wet and trolleys move fast. Stay out of the lanes where goods are being unloaded.

Tha Phae Gate is the red brick landmark on the east side of the old city. You get tourists feeding pigeons and people resting under the trees. The wall is a strong backdrop. The light is softest early in the morning and in the evening, and before 7:30 am it is almost empty. Sit on the square for a while and let scenes come to you. Composition idea: use the flat brick wall as a clean background and wait for a figure with pigeons in the air. Caution: on busy evenings the square gets crowded and so does the road around it, so watch the traffic.

Wat Phra Singh is one of the most important temples in the old city, about a 15 minute walk west of Tha Phae Gate. It has a golden chedi and Lanna style buildings, and locals come to worship and leave offerings. Skip the standard temple shot and look for people and details: a monk crossing the courtyard, hands placing flowers. Mornings are calmer. Composition idea: stand in shade and shoot out into the bright courtyard so a figure pops against the sunlit wall. Caution: dress with shoulders and knees covered and never climb on Buddha images.

Wat Chedi Luang has a huge ruined chedi in the middle of the old city. Between about 6 and 7:30 am it is almost empty, with warm morning light. Walk the alley on the east side too, where the chedi rises between old wooden houses. Composition idea: put a monk or a visitor small at the base of the chedi to show its scale. Caution: this is a working temple. Keep your voice down and ask before close photos of monks.

At Chiang Mai Gate on the south side of the old city, samlor (tricycle taxi) riders often wait for customers in front of the market. They are usually open to a portrait if you chat with them and show them the picture. The market across the road is dim, so push your ISO. In the evening, food carts set up along the moat. Composition idea: a rider seated in his samlor, framed by the vehicle's canopy. Caution: ask before a close portrait, and buy something if you spend a long time at a stall.

Chang Phueak Gate on the north side has an evening street food market. The evening light here can be very good: as the sun drops behind Doi Suthep, the moat reflects a warm glow. Arrive before sunset, work the cooks while there is still daylight, then switch to the lit carts. Composition idea: silhouette a cook against the steam lit by a bulb behind. Caution: carts and scooters share a narrow space with diners. Keep your bag in front and your elbows in.

Wua Lai Road is known for silver work. Turn into the side streets and listen for hammers on metal, then follow the sound to a craftsman at work. There are temples decorated with pressed metal. On Saturday evenings it hosts one of the city's walking street markets, with crowds and lights. Composition idea: shoot the artisan's hands and tools close, with a wider frame to show the workshop. Caution: workshops are private spaces. Ask before you step in or shoot inside.