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Muay Thai and Photography
We frequently have photographers at the gym. Usually it’s one or two at a time and nine times out of ten they’re university students. Sometimes we see the photos they take, usually we don’t. It’s a normal thing at the gym, something that becomes background to the day-to-day experience of putting your chin down and working. That said, sometimes one does notice.
In the case of the two photographers we have at the gym right now, the two who shot these images, it is a nice thing to notice them. They have a very quiet and pleasant energy that adds to the gym space. I see them in the periphery when I climb into the ring for padwork, a glimpse of one or both of them pulling themselves up to the other side of the ropes and getting into a rhythm of shooting and peering into the backs of their cameras to check the shot. Unlike most others, they’ve appeared several times, come to my fight, and showed up with prints of some of the photos to hand out to us or sent me a link with high-resolution images of me to keep.
On top of all of that, being nice guys and university students, these two are gifted with good eyes. It’s difficult to shoot action and even more difficult to capture movement and dynamism in still images; these guys capture both movement and stillness with great power.
The first two photos (not including the banner) are by Maestoso Top from Ayuthaya. The final three (and banner shot) are by Piyarat Jeasukon from Nakhon Phanom.
