Ride a Motorcycle to Northern Thailand with June (doubleshots_lomo) & the Lomo'Instant Wide Camera

By plane, you can get from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in one hour, but June (doubleshots_lomo) decided to bring everyone along on a much more exciting journey. She chose to make the over 700 km trip by motorcycle, riding all the way from Bangkok to northern Thailand, conveying stories of fun and beauty she found along the way through the eyes of the Lomo'Instant Wide Camera.

Hello, June! Please introduce yourself to our readers.

- Hello, I'm June (Warangkana Sangsawang). I love to travel by motorcycle and take photos. I am especially happy when I shoot landscapes, flowers and trees and I enjoy cross-country road trips.

Why do you love riding a motorcycle?

- That's a very difficult question. I think it's because I can experience my surroundings directly so I love to ride my motorcycle in rural areas. If you go at the right time, when you drive through the fields you will smell rice and if I go to the coast, I like to ride through the fishing villages where I can smell the sea, I can hear the sound of the waves and the atmosphere makes me really happy. This reminds me of a friend who told me “in this world, it's only dogs and motorcyclists that are so happy when the wind hits their face" and I think that's so true.

Which trip was the most impressive?

- There have been so many. On one trip, I went to Shangri La and Yading (near the Tibetan border). It was very beautiful and I had a lot of fun taking photos. At that time, the round trip distance was about 6500 km. The landscape of China is amazing. Whether it's the mountains, rivers or trees, it's all wonderful and worth photographing. As the road was so wide, it allowed me to just have fun riding and photographing. It's so beautiful, I almost forget to breathe.

Another trip that fascinated me, through culture shock, was in Vietnam. Both the northern and central parts were equally fun. I have to congratulate the local Vietnamese motorcyclists though...they comfortably carried a big pig and a whole calf on the back of their motorcycle! When I rode in Laos or China, I never saw anything like this. Life on the road in Vietnam is really fun.

From your series of photos taken with the Lomo'Instant Wide Camera, could you please tell us a story about this trip?

- I brought this camera with me on 2 trips. I went to the North for 8 days and then to Koh Kood for 3 days. Because I was traveling by motorcycle, I had to plan carefully. I had to bring a lot of instant films (for example I brought 50 sheets along for my Northern trip and used 30 sheets). I also had to make sure that I kept the camera safe from the vibrations of my motorcycle but it needed to be easy to access as well. All this planning makes for a very tough journey!

At first, I was confused about how to use the camera. I wasn't quite sure when I should use the wide-angle lens and was thinking too much about it all. It took me a while to get to know the camera before I understood its limits. Now, I can take more accurate photos and have fun with it. However, I'm still not good at adjusting for lighting so the photos are a bit inconsistent. When there was enough light I took lots of photos, this was so much fun. Since using this camera, I used the word 'cute' a lot. Anyone who uses this camera should be able to understand my feelings!

If our readers would like to start traveling using a motorcycle do you have any advice for them?

- You should start by taking short trips, maybe you just go to an interesting cafe and then the next time you could increase the distance, traveling further and further away. You don't have to go to difficult places, just start by riding as much as you can. For safety, don't forget to check the condition of your motorcycle before traveling as well. Motorcycle trips are something you should definitely try for yourself. If you don't love it, you will hate it.

Is there any place or particular route that you recommend?

- I was so impressed by the 'curved road no. 3' in the Bo Kluea District, Nan Province, that I have to use the word 'perfect'. It's a good way to ride. It was very fun, very enjoyable with beautiful views, good for photographers and great weather. I would recommend that you start the trip around the late rainy season or in early winter so you can take photos of the green rice fields. It was so beautiful that I forgot to save the film for shooting elsewhere. The key thing is that you focus on 'the right moment' and then I believe that every trip will be an impressive trip.

Which photo do you like the most?

- I like this picture because I found it hard to figure out how to take it. I saw pictures on Instagram that people took using the Splitzer and thought it was very interesting. I realized that if our all devices are the same, I could take a similar photo. I thought for a long time about how to adjust the camera to achieve that look and I lost three photos before I got the one that I love on the fourth attempt. Never give up! For the next photos, I know what settings to use and it will be much easier. If I understand the camera better, I can enjoy it more.

Do you have any advice for someone using the Lomo'Instant Wide camera for the first time?

- Before pressing the shutter, make sure that you have set the camera according to the environment. Once you've thought about the camera settings, the resulting photos will help you to understand the limits of the camera better and make fewer mistakes in the future. Another thing to pay attention to is the accessories. Don't be discouraged. Once you've taken the right picture, you will be very happy.

How can we follow your future work?

- On Instagram: doubleshots_lomo. I just made this new account for analogue photos and I will gradually add new photos along with a description of the camera settings that I used. I'll write all of the details as far as I can remember them! For travel articles, I mostly post on pantip.com under the username BikeGirl, focusing on my motorcycle trips with lots of detail and photos.

Please follow me, Thank you. : )

written by aomschll on 2022-03-08 #people #places #roadtrip #thailand #women-s-day #lomoinstantwide #lomowomen