f4foto.org: Featured Galleries and Collections

Recent additions

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:03:05 GMT

Images recently shot and not yet categorized

Halloween Characters

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:28:13 GMT

Halloween characters, their makeup and attire

Angkor Wat - Siem Reap

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:42:29 GMT

The incredible Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Asia

Cambodia Visited

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:23:02 GMT

Scenes from my visits to Cambodia A fascinating Country of many contradictions. Wealth and poverty sit side by side.

Thailand insight

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:50:36 GMT

images from my travels around the Kingdom of Thailand

Thailand Girls

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Mon, 25 May 2009 04:39:53 GMT

The beautiful Ladies of South East Asia

Thailand Ladyboys

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:20:42 GMT

Ladyboys , aka Katoeys, are a very common sight in Thailand and many live shows are dedicated to them. Thai society accepts and tolerates this faction quite comfortably. Even the televised soap dramas frequently feature a ladyboy. As can be seen many commence the gender change at an early age.

Portraits Collection

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:48:03 GMT

Portraits, both candid and posed, of people I've known in England, Thailand and Cambodia

Suvarnabhumi Airport - Thailand

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:37:20 GMT

Images from the newly constructed International airport in Bangkok, Thailand

Thailands Armed forces

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:24:14 GMT

Not always armed

Cambodia - S-21 and Killing Fields

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:57:11 GMT

Tuol Sleng, otherwise known as S-21. During the mass genocide activities of the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot, S-21 was the notorious and secretive headquarters for the interrogation, torture and killing of an estimated 14,000 Cambodians. Records also show a number Westerners were also slaughtered. The overall number is arguably far higher as records show that during the period of 1975-1978 an average of 1,200-1,500 prisoners were captive at any one time. Few ( a mere 7 in total ) survived. Through these images I hope to bring to your awareness the horror, pain and suffering inflicted on the people of Cambodia (Kampuchea). May they rest in peace.

Jazz Festival - Hua Hin

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:01:39 GMT

Annual Jazz Festival at Hua Hin featuring some great bands.

The Bridge over the River Kwai

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:13:54 GMT

The Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, is a 415 km (258 mile) railway between Bangkok, Thailand and Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), built by the Japanese during World War II, to support its forces in the Burma campaign.
Forced labour was used in its construction. About 180,000 Asian labourers and 60,000 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) worked on the railway. Of these, around 90,000 Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied POWs died as a direct result of the project. The dead POWs included 6,318 British personnel, 2,815 Australians, 2,490 Dutch, about 356 Americans and a smaller number of Canadians.
The most famous portion of the railway is probably Bridge 277 over the Khwae Yai River (Thai แควใหญ่, English "big tributary"). (The river was originally known as the Mae Klong and was renamed Khwae Yai in 1960.) It was immortalized by Pierre Boulle in his book and the film based on it: The Bridge on the River Kwai. However, there are many who say that the movie is utterly unrealistic and does not show what the conditions and treatment of prisoners was really like. The first wooden bridge over the Khwae Noi (Thai แควน้อย, English "small tributary") was finished in February 1943, followed by a concrete and steel bridge in June 1943. The Allies made several attempts to destroy the bridges, but succeeded only in damaging them in their first attempts. On 2 April 1945, AZON bomber crews from the U.S. 458th Heavy Bombardment Group destroyed Bridge 277. After the war, two squarish central sections were made in Japan to repair the bridge, and were donated to Thailand.
The living and working conditions on the railway were horrific. The estimated total number of civilian labourers and POWs who died during construction is about 160,000. About 25% of the POW workers died because of overwork, malnutrition, and diseases like cholera, malaria, and dysentery. The death rate of the Asian civilian workers was even higher; the number who died is over 150,000 people.
POWs and Asian workers were also used to build the Kra Isthmus Railway from Chumphon to Kra Buri, and the Sumatra or Palembang Railway from Pakanbaroe to Moeara.
The construction of the Burma Railway is only one of many major war crimes committed by Japan in Asia during the war. It is regarded as a major event in the "Asian Holocaust", during which millions of civilians and POWs were killed by Japanese personnel. Hiroshi Abe, the first lieutenant who supervised construction of the railway at Sonkrai where over 3,000 POWs died, was later sentenced to death as a B/C class war criminal. His sentence was later commuted to 15 years in prison.

Asian Transport - Cambodia and Thailand

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 02:34:57 GMT

The transport used to mobilise S.E. Asia

England - Memories

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:09:19 GMT

England and the Country of my birth. A selection of the fond memories I have of England

The images shown here date back 20 years and more, and all were shot on film cameras. As of the time I re-located to Thailand we had barely arrived in the digital age.

Stratford upon Avon - England

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:18:08 GMT

The birthplace of "The Bard", William Shakespeare and the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company with its magnificent theatre idyllically located on the banks of the River Avon.

Again, all of these images were shot pre-digital era and I have indicated the approximate year captured.

Medium Format - Film Images

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:49:32 GMT

I'm still a devotee of film and it's unique look and feel and I will continue to use this medium for the foreseeable future. I'm currently scanning all the medium format images I've taken over the last 30 years and will be uploading progressively.

Big Cats

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:56:35 GMT

Commercial

ray@f4foto.org (f4foto.org) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 02:09:19 GMT

Advertising commission for the sale of highly desirable Koh Samui mountain top Villa