Nick Nostitz: Photographer, Documentarian, Communicator
He’s the “most Thai foreigner” I know. After years of work in the twilight of Bangkokian nights and his recent front line coverage of Thailand’s political conflict he has become something of a celebrity around here. Thai Politicians of all sides and the top brass know him. He recently published Red vs. Yellow: Thailand’s Crisis of Identity, has been interviewed twice by Stickman, the rather pro-old The Nation just spoke to him, and now this site: pleased to meet German photographer Nick Nostitz.
Nick came over for a coffee and half a pack of cigarettes – and we talked. I actually wanted to avoid politics as much as possible. Hasn’t everything been said already? Obviously not. There is no way talking to Nick without talking about Thai politics and society. „It’s very difficult to be a Thai in Thailand,“ says Nick who has a grasp of the inner workings of Thailand that makes many seasoned observers look like dilettante newbies. So what lies ahead?
Nick’s not an observer. He’s a man at the front lines. Wrote Stickman: The man once known as “Mr. Nightlife (…) has become the Westerner whose opinions I respect more than any other on many matters Thai as he digs into the deepest, darkest depths of Thai society. When Nick covers an issue, you can be sure that what you are about to read will be a thoroughly researched, unbiased report that doesn’t seek to charm.” Here we go:
Who are you Nick.
Can’t say that really, I am just a normal guy trying to do a job. I’m a photographer who loves working on longterm projects. I have photographed the Bangkok nightlife for many years, first from the foreigner’s perspective, I published the book Patpong: Bangkok’s Twilight Zone about the addiction to a hedonistic lifestyle. I continued taking nightlife pictures, spent then years with the Por Tek Tung. That was an incredible window into the Thai life we Westerners do not see gangs, murders, all functioning with patronage networks. It was a fascinating time.
An easy way to polish your already decent Thai!
Not only the spoken Thai, but I also learned how Thai society actually functions.
Were you surprised?
The whole system, all the aspects, everything here deals with the patronage system. At the same time my wife and me bought some land upcountry, so her family can make a living. I learned about much of the social problems and corruption up there. In those early days I obviously had my political opinions, without much in-depth knowledge about politics. But after 2005, when politics became visible on the street, I shifted my focus.
We all kind of sympathized with the yellows back then, didn’t we?
Not me, really. Obviously I had a strong antipathy towards Thaksin, I was always hoping for a more democratic opposition to Thaksin, then there was the TV show of Sondhi in Lumphini Park, the first event I have visited, that was before all the protests started. A lot of criticism of the then present system and government shared with him, but his solutions were a lot more dangerous than Thaksin I thought. At the time the PAD became the darling of the Western media. I had quite a few arguments and debates with my colleagues about that. They got perfect quotes and soundbites from the PAD, but I listened to the speeches on the stage, and they were quite the opposite of what they were saying to us Western journalists. Towards foreign journalists they spoke about democracy, but on the stage you heard extreme forms of nationalism. From what I understood from the speeches I asked the leaders and advisers critical questions. The reactions I got already back then were quite negative.
Negative?
These academics and PAD people just walked away. They did not want to answer my questions about the dangers of nationalism. I asked them in Thai, not in English. Anyway, so obviously during that time the pro-Thaksin groups were largely ignored, such as the caravan of the poor, they were quite an eye opener for me. So I went to these simple farmers and I usually always like to confront and challenge people. So I asked about corruption and all those allegations against Thaksin. I didn’t know much back then and was quite surprised by the reasonable answers I got. What choice do we have, they said. Before we had nothing, no hope. With Thaksin we got health service, local corruption actually decreased and we started to have some hopes that things get better for us.
Today’s arguments are still the same.
Of course, to a large part. But there’s more to it. In these last three years since the coup the political consciousness has been developed quite tremendously within the Thai political context. It has become a strong social movement. A lot of the points the PAD is raising have to be addressed, such as corruption, but I don’t think their policies are steps forward.
But you’re not seriously thinking that the „old“ Thaksin order can or should be establihshed again.
No old order can be established again, there is no way that the clock can be turned back, something else has to be developed I hope …
You hope.
I hope.
You’re not sure.
I personally think there will be bloodshed, the question is only the scale and how long it will take. It won’t just be about a change of government, it’s about a system change. Look at the scenarios. If the reds would win through violence with an overthrow of the government, their opponents will still be there. And it would mean further endless confrontation. Same if the yellow side of the conflict wins.
So how does a realistic solution look like.
I don’t know. At the moment I don’t see any. If we look at how such a compromise could look like, neither side is ready for negotiations. You have all the colors, the military, the different parties … it’s a very difficult situation, obviously it goes way beyond the government. In the end we need a new social contract in Thailand, through negotiations and compromise.
And Prime Minister Abhisit’s approach to play for time?
Difficult to say. My work is about the grassroot levels, I don’t do and don’t know much about the elite conflict, because I get very little provable factors what is really going on on that level. I understand the grassroot level, but not enough about the elite level.
So you’re saying, countering Abhisit’s claims, the potential for conflict hasn’t diminished at all.
No. But he can say a lot. In Thailand there are actually two systems of power distribution at work, the formal power distribution, in which he is the main representative of the nation. But overlaying this, there is the informal power distribution along patronage networks, and within this he is just a face without much influence.
And the place got even more incomprehensible since you arrived in the 90s?
In many ways yes, in many not. The last few years were a steep learning curve for me. So the formal versus the informal power distribution was there, but the social conflict was not fought out in the open as it is now. And I’m not the same man anymore when I arrived.
How did you change?
I got older, I learned a lot. Well, I’m an emotional person, nothing leaves me untouched. And life has become quite dangerous for me – but there is also hope, more hope than when I arrived. Furthermore, the common population is getting very interested in politics, how their country is governed. That is new and encouraging. A lot of Westerners and Western journalists just look at the royal family, the succession, the health of the king. I don’t really look at this at all. We don’t know really know anything about the palace. It’s a fallacy to think in terms of all this socio-political conflict is somehow connected to what is going on or may go on in the palace. This whole discussion I don’t like. We get snippets here and snippets there, lots of rumors, but it’s not enough to base our theories on. But there is so much going on in the communities, we can learn so much from what happens there. I believe that the driving force of this conflict, of this ongoing conflict is the mass participation.
That rather sounds like a solution … But what about the silent majority?
Who’s the silent majority? Everywhere I go people talk about the silent majority? Where are those silent people? But I see people taking positions. I do not see the silent majority. I see people who are sometimes reluctant to express their view in front of strangers, but I don’t see these people being quiet. Look at my neighborhood. The neighborhood I am living is a mostly lower middle class, working class neighborhood. The majority of the people, obviously working class, are pro-red. You have a couple of moo baans, there you have more yellow supporters. And in the market, the red supporters go to the red dealers, the yellow supporters to the yellow dealers.
How do they know.
They know, they just know. During the red protests, red shops were closed because people were at the protests. Same with the yellows.
True, it is quite obvious that Thai people today are much more vocal than ten years ago. And more fearless?
Oh yes, and that is a positive thing in Thailand. Thailand one day wants to become a developed country, but to have a developed country you need a population taking interest in how their country is governed.
Still, many of them seem resigned to the fact that there is no way out. Life ten years ago seemed more peaceful.
Was it more peaceful? The stories my wife tells me about her rural childhood, that’s a pretty horrible life.
So you’re saying life is not worse today with all these new, more open conflicts.
These whole conflicts are not new, they are the locigal conclusion of Thailand’s development over the past decades. It’s a natural conflict. Sure, it has horrific aspects, such as the violence, the uncertainty. But the previously unpoliticized sectors of society are getting politicized, and I think that is positive. Whatever violence might happen, this trend of politicization might be the foundation for one day having a society of equal opportunities for each citizen. This will be a problem for a lot of foreigners coming here. Out of their own delusions they find Thailand to be their own little paradise. Maybe Thailand will not be a very nice place anymore, but a more fair and more just society. The demands foreigners have are pretty irrelevant.
Such as?
The place anyone can come to and find a wife at the age of his granddaughter. A place where you can still lead a little bit of a colonial life. For good or bad, the last years have shown that we are treated more and more as equals. The last years have actually made it much easier to form friendships in Thailand. And also enemies.
Many foreigners feel still treated as third class citizens, just to mention the visa and residency rules.
I don’t think we are. The problems Thais have in their own society are so much worse than the problems foreigners „face“ in Thailand. I have never really seen the Land of Smiles here. It’s a very rough and raw society, very forbidding. It’s very difficult to be a Thai in Thailand. Compared to the average Thai we have a very nice life here I think. A lot of the real problems in society don’t really affect us much. Me as a foreign photographer I can do a lot of things that would be too dangerous for a Thai photographer. For example before and during the drug war I was able to hang out with drug dealers and junkies in the worst of neigborhoods. Thai photographers could only walk in with quite a security presence.
Back then during the drug war with hundreds of people killed you were in no danger. But today in these times of colored politics you’re afraid?
Depends on the point in time. I never had the high profile I have now. All the stories I write on New Mandala are translated into Thai and appear on Prachatai. Prachatai is under a lot of pressure, they’re very courageous people and believe in what they’re doing … But the fear that something could happen is mostly worse than fear itself. I try to base my work on reality, not paranoia. Fortunately I have Thai friends who advise me on dangers I might be facing or not, how I should proceed.
The Nation interview or book review was a major recognition of you and your work.
Somehow I become a public figure, that wasn’t really intended.
Does that change anything? How is a life of fame and fortune.
(Laughs) No fortune, I am afraid. I am in a very difficult financial situation. But at least I am still happy and can work. Regarding the article in The Nation, author Pravit is always the odd one out at The Nation. I know him for quite a while. The Nation has people of both ends and all the sides. There’s an overwhelming yellow, pro-government government reporting. Prawit was always more critical, but also not a Thaksinite. He was always very critical about Thaksin as well. Now, well, he thought I’m newsworthy.
It’s more difficult for the yellows to threaten you now. I mean they always said you’re a Thaksin stooge.
Well, I have had good talks even with some of the yellows … This year the yellows are a lot more relaxed with a lot less pressure, so I can talk with them quite well. There were situations that were more problematic. I talk with anybody who wants to talk to me. At the October 7 rally last year when they commemorated the dead and injured of the year before an elderly man approached me and asked who I am. He introduced himself as the owner of a yellow website that attacked me quite a lot. So he asked if I am angry. I said no and we talked, we disagreed, but it doesn’t mean we had an argument. We had a nice chat, he even wrote an article on his website that now he is convinced that I am not bribed by Thaksin, haha. I personally also disagree with several of the red shirts’ ideas. I see my role as a documentarian of this massive social change in Thailand, from the street level. If people like me or not, I go to both sides, I talk to both sides.
One thing Nick, if I may, most other photogaphers have these big and bulky bags full of equipment. Not you. You work with a single small camera.
I would like to have those big bags full of equipment as well, but can’t afford it, haha. Seriously, I like to work with light equipment, not telephoto lenses. 90 percent of my photos are shot with a wide angle lens. Not too wide, just normal wide angle. I like to be close. Still, in a year I have used up two bodies. Gone, destroyed. Two Canon EOS 450D. One died after the early morning attack in the Songkran riots. I was lucky to get a replacement just before the lunch attack started. Then during a small rally at Sanam Luang a massive rainstorm finished up my next body. Now I’m on my third digital camera in a year, the 500D, the picture quality is acceptable enough. I would love a better built professional camera though.
Toys talk. Your dream camera?
One of my favorite cameras these days is a medium format folder camera, a Balda Super Baldax, lovely camera, beautiful photos, weird, strange sometimes. But it depends on the subjects, for protests a digital camera is the perfect camera.
You as a German should be with a Leica, they should sponsor you.
A Leica is a great mechanical toy, but not a great professional camera. I wouldn’t overestimate the equipment one is using anyway. Photography is about heart and mind. Most of my Patpong photos, the best of them, are shot with a snapshot camera. Digital camera for my documentary style is the best, as it’s fast. But just recently I photographed another murder scene, with a film camera, a Contax T3. Still, those are just tools. My work counts. Longterm projects. For me they are the most fascinating. They go beyond what normal journalism is giving you. It is personally incredibly rewarding to really go into a subject, like with this political conflict I’ve been obsessed with it all along. In the beginning people spoke of hired stooges – but I saw a different constellation of Thai society on the horizon. That’s really fascinating. I’m still quite obsessed with what is going on.
So what will happen over the near future?
Difficult to say, it’s been going on for a very long time and every side is beginning to lose patience. I think this year will be quite turbulent. Anything can happen. All sides have used violence, could use it again. There could be an agent provocateur, such as the blue shirts. They turned around Songkran, they initiated the violence. After that the red shirts couldn’t control their people anymore. Today, Abhisit’s public statements about negotiations are quite sarcastic and sound unwilling. As in every conflict, it’s a
question of timing as well. The time for a solution is not yet near. The biggest mistake was the coup 2006. We still suffer from that.
You’re missing the action.
I can very much live without it. Action means people getting injured. Yes, there’s the adrenalin, but it means pain for many people. I am 41 years old, have a wife and a son. I don’t want to get injured myself. I don’t need action to make good photos. The so called action means people get hurt, injured or killed. This is not nice. For example the photo I took in front of parliament on October 7th, 2008, with the leg of a protester cut off, it was shocking. I just didn’t expect this to happen, nobody did. I just saw him sitting there. My hands were shaking so badly. I needed much Photoshop to make the shot sharp again. It was absolutely horrible. It’s a strong photo, but it’s a horrible situation.
You have seen so much pain and blood and death, and yet you can’t just see it as part of your job?
For me it’s still shocking. Every time. Even a murder scene I shot two weeks ago. A 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death in a gang fight situation. The father and mother were completely distraught. For me I was just thinking, when I started taking photos of these murders and underworld violence, this boy laying there on the pavement was the same age as my boy now. Nobody wants this pain. I don’t think that I’m hardened. I feel enormous compassion. There are moments I am in tears, choking. Like the PAD protester with his leg, this is horrible. This is not a nice thing to see. Not a nice thing to photograph. Like in the times when I was out with the Por Tek Tung. Worst are the very bad car accidents with people surviving and indescribable injuries … I have no nightmares, but it’s not always easy. Also after the Songkran riots, that was a very emotional time for everyone. That’s part of the documentary photographer, to catch this emotionality … I’m not a robot just entering and shooting around. If it wouldn’t touch me emotionally one day, I better change the job. Add to this the ethical challenge of this job. Every photographer once in a while oversteps ethical boundaries. Everyone has to find for himself a solution of how to remain at peace with oneself and to stay within ethical boundaries.
You find peace?
My big worry is that as with previous conflicts or threats against the security of the state that Thailand faced over the past decades, after a certain period of inactivity and confusion patience runs out and there’s a violent crushing of the resistance. There are indicators that leaders here don’t care anymore what the outside world thinks, such as their allies, the U.S. They’ll do what they want to do, no matter what. New investment to Thailand will stop in this case. Investment already here will stay and somehow Thailand will remain America’s most important ally in the region. There are dangerous days ahead.
Thank you for your time Nick.
Well done again Dan. You’ve really started the year presenting some very interesting topics.
As much as I don’t always agree with what Nick has to say, he is far closer to what is happening than I am and so has very legitimate reasons for what he says. But more important, his photo-journalism will be remembered forever.
This is a great interview, much better than the others, and presents Nick as intelligent, thoughtful, fully dimensional and engaged – not as some cartoon follower of red or yellow.
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Thanks & well done Nick and Dan.
A question for Nick if I may:
Having spoken to members of both sides, do you see any chance of the rump of the red & yellow groups ever coming together as a breakaway from the more extreme followers and their leadership?
(BD: Nick’s currently up in Khao Yai at the reds’ demo in front of the Surayud estate …)
Yeah, very nice work. Thanks a lot.
But you were helped by your subject (an interesting man).
One of Nick’s sentences struck me:
Indeed. It’s an area I never saw explored by the media before … We had like a few “hints” when Thaksin was turning to China/Burma, when he was prime minister.
And it continues now (trading with Burma continues, even though after the killing of monks, the scandal of the refugees last year with Abhisit, etc.)
Plus the southern problem (with the classic motto: “It’s an internal thai issue”).
There is obviously a “sinonization” of ways of doing politics.
And the U.S. are losing fast their influence in the region (look at Burma, Cambodia, Laos … litteraly “eaten, “consumed” by China).
It’s a rather perfectly normal process. The U.S. is losing its economic power at a very fast pace. Meanwhile, China is getting bigger.
So, yes, I believe also that the “nationalist” idea is gaining weight combined with what I call the “FuckYouPolicy” (see Burma, they don’t give a shit about the talk twaddle of the West. Same in China, Iran, North Korea etc…).
Those people don’t even care anymore to “talk” to the West, to “argue”. They just say : “Fuck you. We do as we want to do. You’re not happy ? We just don’t care.”
I apologize for the bad language, but I can’t find better way to describe this process.
From a geopolitical point of view, Thailand can’t resist the shift in power in Asia. Who is the biggest “brother” in the region? The U.S.? China of course.
Therefore Thailand will follow China.
But China is not a perfect example of “democracy” …
People continue to see Thailand in the position it was in 1975, after the fall of Saigon. Thailand enjoyed a very important and sweet position in Southeast Asia at that time. An oasis linked to the U.S., in the middle of Dark Ages.
Those days are over.
Again, if the U.S. and China were in the same boat, we couldn’t care less: one influence is replacing another one. Fair game.
But again, China is not a “democracy” (in the western sense).
Is it a “democracy” in any sense?
Very interesting read. Excellent.
How do I get in touch with Nick?
(BD: Sent him your contact & request.)
[...] past week he has been the subject of two substantial interviews: one at The Nation and the other at Absolutely Bangkok. There is also a long discussion at Bangkok Pundit where Nick very generously engages with some [...]
Hobby: sure it is.
In a Chinese sense.
In the sense of countries like Bulgaria, Romania that were “popular democracies” 30 years ago … Like east germany was the “Deutsche Demokratische Republik”.
Like the generals in Thailand created the “Council for Democratic Reform” after the coup in 2006.
Like Abhisit who was the boss of the Democrat Party, who lost elections over and over, and who loves to speak about “rule of law” … even though he became PM after a parliamentary coup. etc.
Orwell, Newspeak … the same old and sad story.
Thanks ThaiCrisis – now I understand.
I miss your blog – looking forward to being able to read it again in a few weeks.
Good interview as always. AB.com has become IMHO during the last year one of the premium Thailand oriented websites.
Compared to Nostitz’s writing in his book and this interview, he is here downplaying the fact that the guy had to most of last year have security detail on him because of yellow shirt death threats. I am fearing that he is going to be killed in near future by Thais (most probably yellow shirts) and I hope he is preparing himself and his family for that. This kind of fearless journalists who report the true bullshit behind bullshit are always a target. (Last year was very bad for journalists in the world.)
Anyhow, the FCCT evening where the book was launched showed that people in this country – journalist or not – have to keep their mouths shut on certain big elephants in room. I was stunned though how Nick and Baker that evening did not answer at all issues that are deeply in the middle of the “yellow/red” shirt stuff. Seems everyone is scared to speak the truth. Well after all FCCT whole board is accused of certain crime so …
Yea, Nick says “never seen the Land of Smiles.” I agree. My opinion, this is 3rd world country, and will be so for the next twenty to thirty years at least. Hey, but at least 7-Eleven and BTS distribute religious pamphlets and amulets, so we all know everything is fine and dandy in 21st century Thailand, political unrest or not.
PS: Hobby: ThaiCrisis’ blog is readable through the RSS feed, though the actual website is blocked inside Thailand (if not fancy to use Hotspot Shield for example). Thais are not clever enough to block individual RSS feeds (or not want to), unlike the Chinese government.
Thank you all for the feedback. As ThaiCrisis says, I didn’t do much, it’s all about this interesting man.
By the way I’m on True in Bangkok and ThaiCrisis’s site is not and wasn’t ever blocked as far as I can tell. ISPs seem to act very selectively …
Mr. V:
Sadly we’re all aware of the fact that luckily Nick and Baker and add Thitinan and so many others don’t even touch on these issues in public.
Some of Thailand’s brightest minds are muzzled. Now, does it make any difference to be able to say whatever you want or to trust that people know anyway and are able to think for themselves.
I doubt there’s much difference. In these times one has to be content with little. And then again, don’t forget, as mentioned in the interview, common people today on the street are more vocal than some years ago. Don’t underestimate what’s all common knowledge around here, even though no newspaper or official has never ever even breathed a word about …
BangkokDan
Yep, ThaiCrisis is blocked at my apartment building and at the office, don’t know under which ISP the connections are. As said the RSS feed is open for those who are inside Thailand and under an ISP that blocks ThaiCrisis.
Anyhow, saying that “does it make any difference to be able to say whatever you want or to trust …” is IMHO a blanket statement that in case of academic research for example DOES matter and makes a (big) difference. Academic research and bright minds clashing together and publishing it publicly without fear DOES add value and brings out information that people do NOT “know anyway.”
People being vocal on street does not prove that they “know anyway already,” whatever “side” they are.
Great read, I appreciate reading what photographer witnesses have to say as well as seeing their photos. Thanks, BD and Nick.
Also thank you to Mr. V for trying to help readers access ThaiCrisis more easily. TOT, my apartment building’s ISP (tenants have no choice in the matter), has been blocking TC for a couple months or so. I’ve been going through a free proxy server, which allows me to click through to specific posts to read their comments sections, but to click one step further and post my own comment requires paying for the proxy service.
I just tried the feedburner link Mr. V kindly mentioned; through that, TOT allowed access to TC, but when I tried to click on a post to read its comments, it directed me immediately to the dreaded http://w3.mict.go.th/ website. Grrrrr! So back to the original proxy server go I.
I rely on this site, Bangkok Pundit, and TC for news, humor and analysis of what’s REALLY going on here. If at some point it becomes impossible to read any of these three sites … I surely will go mad!
(BD: There is nothing illegal whatsoever published on this site, I take extra-care to not go out on a limb.)
Wow, since when a link to an internet address that is not blocked inside Thailand needs to be taken down? Please provide explanation? Providing links to sites that are, as said not deemed offensive as they are NOT blocked, there is no need for you to take “extra-care.” My god! Surely ISPS would block the RSS feed if they saw it as bad material to people inside Thailand! DOH! Or you just helping them if they dont have the technical capability to block them? Besides you said yourself that even the WordPress address is not blocked by all ISPs it should be clear that there is nothing worth censoring yourself. Christ. Oh and besides, when ever ThaiCrisis posts here, there is A LINK TO HIS BLOG in his nickname! Surely you should remove those links too? What on earth.
Oh yeah also you have a link to ThaiCrisis blog on your blog roll. So … please be careful not to publish nothing illegal on this website, okay if a link to sites is illegal.
(BD: Sorry ’bout that Mr. V, can’t be careful enough, it’s not your ass on the line, this is not the place to play heroes. Your post is perfectly clear without the additional mention; anyone is perfectly able to find the RSS feed.)
Is it wise for a reporter to so clearly indicate his or her political preferences? It seems to me it might interfere with an ability to do the job since some parties are going to rightly feel that the reporter might be biased against them. Of course reporters are human, but why announce your opinions so publicly?
Questions of Nick’s preferences/partiality are nonsense – he has explained how what he heard at the early yellow rallies was much different than the soundbites given to the western media (and he has been proven correct by events since).
What’s more surprising here is that there are still posters who think the yellow leadership has credibility, and that reporting on the yellows for what they ARE somehow implies impartiality.
Nice Q&A, Dan.
Yes, Nick’s impartiality is certainly up for debate. He wears his heart on his sleeve in a way most journalists don’t – and most journalists shouldn’t.
Still, what everyone must recognize is that Nick is the only Western journalist who gets off his ass, hops on his motorbike and wades into almost every protest. He’s quite valuable as a Thai-speaking, street-level observer for the Western world.
I can think of no other Western journalist who shares his obsession for covering street protests in such fine detail. (Right down to shots of pu yai being handed wads of cash for summoning taxi drivers as protesters – See New Mandala.)
Also, farangs with this silly “victim” mentality might consider some of Nick’s thoughts. We occupy an odd little tier in the Thai hierarchy but, really, the advantages far outweigh the bureaucratic hassles.
Nick’s ability to transcend that hierarchy – by virtue of speaking Thai and, yep, his white skin – is the reason he can so easily float between yellow and red protests. Thais, on the other hand, are asked to declare their team.
“Patrick”:
Thanks, and yes, I am of course aware that my style of writing draws accusations of being partial, etc.
When I started writing my reports, I wanted to present an accurate picture of the street, I wanted to let people feel not just the dry events, but to also convey the atmosphere, and that occasionally includes my own feelings.
This whole crises is an incredibly emotionally charged affair, and everybody has opinions on it. Being “neutral” is almost impossible, especially when you work it on the street. And I am not willing for the sake of appearances to dilute my reports of reality. Even if one lists only the dry facts, one or the other will debate those facts, and accuse the writer of bias. I put more weight on accuracy of the facts I present, and honesty of my feelings. I do try to keep my opinions out though, or at least to a bare minimum.
For almost two years, before I have started writing my reports, I have seen hardly any articles that have brought in these simple street reports. You had mostly dry reports pretending to be neutral (including the obligatory pseudo-analysis), yet without enough facts for readers to get an accurate picture (and I don’t want to talk here of the many articles that have distorted facts completely by using outrageously wrong numbers, omissions of important events, etc.).
Whatever one does, there will be debate. You can’t make it right for everyone. It would be preferable if in addition to me somebody with a completely different style would do what I do, and present a counter position, or an additional view. But nobody does it. I became often the only source of what was going on. This shouldn’t be so, but can’t be changed anymore.
“Hobby”:
If red and yellow could get together one day is a difficult question which depends on many unforeseeable factors. I think it is possible, and has to happen, but not presently. I have seen over the past year certain signs (and one real very emotional incident i write about in my next book, photos included), such as that many of the ordinary yellow shirts accepted that the red shirts are not just paid for stooges but people with political convictions.
But now, with the looming escalation, there is again a clear course of confrontation to see.
“Mr. V”:
I very much avoid the situation that I might be killed. This would be very uncomfortable.
I have made known to all since I started that i am open to conversation. I will talk with anybody regardless of political affiliation. There are also many people who do watch out for me, and advise me as well, also and especially on the danger spots.
Regarding the big elephant – I am simply not in a position to write with any sort of expertise or authority on it, and I do not have the academic background needed to analyze from the distance. I know about the street level, but not the elite levels. If I would write about this, i would just write about opinions based on gossip and rumor, and I believe the last thing we need here is yet another uninformed person sprouting opinions. Therefore i restrict myself to what i do know about.
Mr. Nick Nostitz:
Though you are tight budget photographer, gosh are weather sealed Canons that expensive?
I hope you invest in bullet and stab proof vest, and don’t tell anyone if you have or have not done so. Investigative journalists don’t have it easy anywhere in the world … Just a fact of life. 
Godspeed and thanks for the reports! 
“Mr. V”:
For me even taxis are nowadays too expensive. My financial situation is really a mess. At least K have two digital camera bodies now, I use the 500D, and one of the 450D’s I could get repaired to functioning state, and keep it as a back-up body.
I wear a bullet proof vest in riot conditions, and put it on when the situation is bad. It’s frigging hot and very uncomfortable – after Songkran I had for two weeks at the same time a heat rash that itched like hell and skin abrasions that burned and prevented me from scratching the itch. Argghhh!!!
Thanks Nick.
So how was the Khao Yai rally Nick? A prelude to something?
BangkokDan
Dan:
No violence, all peaceful, lotsa good pics, and I guess I’ll do a report on New Mandala about it, as usual.
(BD: Will tune in to NM then, thanks.)
I just want to say that I am a huge fan of your work.
I first came accross Nick’s work in 2004 while browsing in an “adult” bookshop on Rue St Denis in Paris. This particular shop specialized in photography books of a risque kind and I flipped open Nick’s volume on Bangkok nightlife expecting to see the usual sort of visual titillation. Much to my surprise what I got was a work of raw honesty that documented a Bangkok reality that I knew I was shortly to become a part of. So, in many ways, Nick introduced me to farang low life and the dregs of society in Thailand. I still have the book and the last time I was in Europe I picked it up and flipped through the pages. It’s a remarkable book and should, along with Stephen Leather’s Private Dancer, be on a shortlist of required reading for newcomers to Thailand.
I went to your current book’s launch at the FCCT and listened with great interest to Chris Baker and yourself. The book was slightly disappointing though. The photos are terrific and I know you are documenting history with an eye to remaining objective but I felt that the bare bones narrative of events in the text was too dry and detached. Your reports in New Mandala contain more feeling and seem much more animated in their description of unfolding events.
As a photographer, I think your capacity to empathize with tragic circumstances is something quite special in Thailand. Your photographs are amazing but their presentation in the book limits their impact a bit I think. I am puzzled as to why this publication was in the small octavo format. Surely a large format photo book would reach a much bigger audience and have significant sales in the Thai market. In the past, books of photos of historical events have had huge sales in Thailand. I think the design of the current book has the effect of limiting its readership to those whose English is sufficient to comprehend the text. Perhaps you might consider reprinting in a large format for the Thai audience?
“Jaded”:
Thanks a lot.
Every book is a compromise, and should not end up in a loss for the publisher who has to put up the money. Photo books can be a considerable expense, before one even knows if it sells. I was given the choice of a soft cover A4 book, and chose instead a hardcover A5.
The layout of the book is also a compromise of financial issues vs. beauty. To have the whole book in four color printing would have been just too expensive, so i chose to partition the book in a text part, and a four color photo part.
Any other way the book would have ended up with an unjustifiable high price.
The next issue is of course the market as well. I see the biggest market for this book in Thailand and not in the west. Thailand though is not exactly the best market for books. The west is mostly disinterested in the present political problems in Thailand. I have very few sales of photos in western magazines and newspapers, and very few assignments on this subject. That is also why i have approached White Lotus with the book idea. A western photo book publisher usually has a waiting period of one or two years before a book can be published, and nowadays most photo book publishers want the photographer to cover most of the production costs, which can easily be in the range of 10 000 US$ or more, and is presently about 10 000 US$ more than i can afford.
I also believe that this is a book that had to be published quickly before the issue is forgotten.
As far as i can see the next book has a much higher percentage of street reportage than the previous one. I know that especially the introduction chapters are a slight weak point of the book. The problem though is that i needed to write about this as well, to give a bit of a grounding in the matter. I won’t need to do this anymore with the coming volume, fortunately.
But i have another topic i have worked on since 2000, and that will be one i will approach a western publisher with when it is finished, one day. It is also less documentary in character, where i can be as subjective as i want to.
Good interview, thanks. I am on Maxnet and TC is not blocked, why would he be blocked anyway?
@Chunkton: TOT is definitely blocking TC. Why? Maybe one of the ministry’s minions somehow noticed his website out of the thousands and felt uncomfortable with his incisive analysis. That’s why, even though BD and BP are careful to stay within legal boundaries, I still worry that we’ll lose access to them at some point. Such a block could happen by accident or because of one ministry employee’s interpretation of content – it seems pretty arbitrary and unpredictable.
What a fabulous interview. Thank you both.
I’d like to get in touch with Nick about a specific, though somewhat delicate case – could you please forward him my contact details?
(BD: Done.)