Photo Gallery: Ilford Pan 400 at the Golden Mount

It's time for another edition of "What's On This Roll of Film, and When Did I Shoot It?"

Life gets busy, and sometimes it's hard to find time to run to the photo shop to develop film. I recently found this roll of film tucked away in my rarely-used big suitcase (which I only really ever take to and from the US), and with a free morning, finally decided to take a walk down to Color Image to get it developed. I had no idea when it was from or what was on it.

When I got my photos back, I was a bit surprised! I thought I had shot this roll of film sometime last year, but there was a picture of my mom in Bangkok! Turns out, I took these photos nearly four years ago when my mom and brother visited me in Thailand. These photos were shot with Ilford Pan 400 on my 1970 Fujica Compact at the Golden Mount in Bangkok.

This photo was taken inside the local photo shop near my old apartment. I think I must have picked up this roll of film as we were heading out to catch the river boat down the San Saep Canal, and snapped a picture of my mom after I loaded the film into the camera.

A claustrophobic scene inside the San Saep Canal river boat. You have to hold on tight to the plastic sheeting to make sure that you don't get splashed with dirty canal water!

Several communities live along the canal - one of the most important commercial waterways in Bangkok. Historically a slum neighborhood, now there are cool cafes, guesthouses, and shop built along the riverside.

Wat Saket, the Temple of the Golden Mount - one of my very favorite places in all of Bangkok.

The Golden Mount is timeless, especially when shot in black and white.

Wat Saket feels like a jungle, despite being located in the heart of Bangkok's Old Town.

From a vantage point partway up the winding spiral steps to the top of the temple, you can look down over the rest of the temple complex.

The towers and skyscrapers of downtown Bangkok stretch out into the far, hazy distance. Even though it's in the city, Wat Saket is quiet and peaceful. It's also one of the very few parts of the city where you can get a wonderful, cool breeze.

A statue of the Buddha deep in meditation sits inside the shrine hall atop the Temple of the Golden Mount.

The temple building atop the Golden Mount offers some of the best unobstructed views of Old Town. It's also one of the best places in the whole city to see the sunset!

Looking out across Rattanakosin (Bangkok's Old Town), one is transported back in time. Here, there are no towers for miles, and the old city is a sprawling maze of low shop houses, temples, and markets.

Sometimes, the city feels infinite. It seems to stretch out forever in the endless landscape of Rattanakosin Island.

The chedi, or stupa, at the top of the Golden Mount is a golden spire containing a holy relic from the Buddha himself.

Temple bells on the way up Wat Saket - visitors ring each one as they wind their way to the top of the Golden Mount.

Loha Prasat - the Iron Castle. This metal spires of this unique monastery were once painted all in black, but have been gilded over the past few years. At first, I wasn't sure about it. I thought that a very unique temple was losing something that made it unique. However, I can't argue against how stylish the new golden spires look.

I climbed up the Loha Prasat and looked at one of the golden spires out of an arched window.

Looking out across a temple roof. Bangkok looks good in black and white. There's a sort of timeless feel to the city, especially in the older parts. But I've been shooting in a lot of black and white recently, and maybe it's time to do more with color. After all, Bangkok is quite a colorful city as well. I'm on a bit of a photography kick lately, so I imagine I'll be posting a few more photo gallery posts before too long.