Exploring Hat Yai’s Famous Night Market with a roll of Kodak Tri-X

Hat Yai is the largest city in Southern Thailand, near the Malaysian border. It’s known for its blend of Thai, Chinese, and Muslim cultures, and for its culinary delights, including the famous Hat Yai crispy fried chicken, fresh seafood, spicy southern Thai cuisine, and Malaysian-inspired dishes. I found myself traveling from Bangkok to Hat Yai for a wedding recently and took the opportunity to do some street photography beyond the candids I shot for the bride and groom. As luck would have it, I was staying at the Lee Garden Hotel, and the streets around the hotel turn into the iconic Lee Garden Hotel Night Market every evening. Famous for its bustling atmosphere, street food vendors, and merchants of all types, it’s an exciting place to explore the local scene through the viewfinder of my Zeiss Ikon ZM.

I’ve found that 35mm and 50mm focal lengths work well for me when shooting street scenes at night. I often start with my 35mm f/2 and begin walking to get a feel for the place. If I do switch lenses, it’s usually after I’ve shot a few frames. As a natural light photographer, the main considerations are light levels—this dictates the film, whether or not I decide to push that film, and whether I need a lens with a wider maximum aperture. For the most part, I prefer using my 35mm f/2 as a good balance between depth of field and light-gathering ability.

Another big consideration is the working distance I have from my subjects, which is usually dictated by how crowded the market is. In very crowded situations, a 28mm works best, especially if I have enough light to stop down to f/4 or more. However, my 28mm only has a maximum aperture of f/2.8, so I rarely have enough light to use it during night shoots.

I’m writing this a few months later, so if memory serves me correctly, all the pictures were shot with my Zeiss Ikon ZM and Zeiss Sonnar T* 1.5/50 ZM lens. My film of choice was Kodak Tri-X pushed +2 stops to ISO 1600. The market was very well lit, allowing me to stop down to gain more depth of field. It also wasn’t very crowded, which gave me the opportunity to be a little more discreet and shoot from a farther distance with the 50mm.

I always enjoy shooting street food vendors at night markets. Lots of interesting things happen: busy vendors expertly preparing their specialties, hopeful vendors waiting for the next customer, and curious vendors watching the crowds go by. I like sampling local street food wherever I travel, but I can only eat so much of it. Shooting pictures, on the other hand, is easier on the stomach and waistline. Feet tired, stomach full, and a roll of film exposed, I was happy to call it a night. Was it worth taking a break from the street food long enough to snap a few photos? I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. Time to buy more film!

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