Seavoy Photo Shoot with Chiang Mai Photo Memories

*All photos were taken by the extremely talented James de la Cloche, of DLC Photo Tours*

Booking with James de la Cloche, of Chiang Mai Photo Memories

When I knew I’d be staying at The Chai Lai Orchid I started doing some research and following them on Instagram. I started to see gorgeous photos of the guests and elephants and I knew I had to book a session when I was there. I reached out to a few photographers and started to chat about my vision for the shoot. Most seemed interested but I kept coming back to James de la Cloche, of Chiang Mai Photo Memories, he was very interested in my vision for educating tourists on ethical and human tourism and his photos were simply stunning. Those factors were a huge reason we decided to work together but another huge one was that James actually lives in Thailand and isn’t just a photographer passing through. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but I really wanted to work with a photographer who knew the area and also because I’ve shifted to working with locals as often as I can when I am traveling. We ended up picking a date for the shoot and the more we talked about it the more I knew I was about to work with not only a very talented photographer but an amazing person as well.

We ended up meeting early in the morning and having breakfast together at Chai Lai Orchid cafe. I learned that James moved from the British Channel Island of Jersey about 10 years ago and has lived in the area ever since. He has worked in many industries and many different outlets involving photography but is now working as a full-time photographer in Chiang Mai and all of Thailand and is willing to travel anywhere for the right shoot. I truly couldn’t recommend James de la Cloche, of Chiang Mai Photo Memories for your photo adventures more, how special it was to work with such a mindful, humble and kind human being and on top of it get amazing pictures like these!

Where to explore with James of Chiang Mai Photo Memories?

I don’t want to limit this post to you booking James at just The Chai Lai Orchid. Simply by typing in Chiang Mai Photography, you’ll see Chiang Mai Photo Memories s is the first to pop up. When you click on his website you will understand how diverse his photography is! I was staying at Chai Lai Orchid for a week and wanted photos with elephants so it just worked out perfectly that he shoots here often but I know the day before me he was in Chiang Mai shooting at the temples and he even had a wedding coming up in Phuket so James is definitely down to travel and always up for an adventure. We even had plans to head to a waterfall after shooting at Chai Lai Orchid, but we got the shots we wanted just walking around with Seavoy in the morning so we stopped there.

Jame’s Connection with Seavoy and Chai Lai Orchid

One of my favorite parts of working with James de la Cloche, of Chiang Mai Photo Memories, was how connected he was with the elephants and staff at The Chai Lai Orchid. When he first arrived the staff welcomed him and he said hi to each and every one of them. When I was getting ready for our shoot he came up to me and said, “I’ll meet you over there in a few minutes, I’m going to go say hi to Seavoy.” I’m not sure about you but when I am working with someone especially if it’s for a few hours it makes it ten times better when you see everyone enjoying their presence and that everyone highly respects them. James wasn’t just here for the shoot, he was here to engage with one of his favorite animals and see his “Chai Lai family.” He believes in what they do and in return they do the same for his work, it truly is a beautiful relationship I feel so grateful to have witnessed.

Seavoy Photo Adventure

It definitely felt surreal when James and Seavoy’s Mahout, Pabo, said to me, “Ok, here is a bundle of bananas just walk with these and she will follow you.”Of course this was my face when they said that…

I have worked with some photographers that are a bit pushy and James is seriously the opposite. He was constantly encouraging me and made me feel SO comfortable in front of the camera and next to this stunning 7,000 pound animal. Let’s be honest though, Seavoy obviously stole the show.

James has worked with Seavoy for over three years now so he knows all of her favorite foods spots and can even catch her making the same face as you!

While we were giving Seavoy a break we even got some great shots on the famous bridge you cross over to get from the main road to The Chai Lai Orchid.

After walking through the forest we made our way down to the Mae Wang river and James said, “Go ahead, splash Seavoy she loves it!” I felt bad at first, what if she doesn’t enjoy it!? Well, these pictures obviously show otherwise and that James was right!

When we first started our shoot James asked what shots I was most interested in. I said I wanted to get some photos of me really close to Seavoy to show that although she is literally a giant, she is also the sweetest and gentle animal I have ever met! I think these photos capture that perfectly.

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Of course I had to be a little basic and get some pictures with me in my cheetah bathing suit, the best part is it ended up matching Seavoy’s unique and beautifu trunk!

A HUGE thank you to James de la Cloche, of Chaing Mai Photo Memories, the amazing Pabo, (Seavoy’s Mahout), Seavoy and The Chai Lai Orchid for working with me and providing me with one of the most amazing experiences of my life!

If you are visiting Thailand I couldn’t recommend a photo shoot with James de la Cloche, of Chiang Mai Photo Memories more. These are photos that I will cherish for the rest of my life and I sure hope I have the opportunity to work with James again someday. As I stated earlier, you can simply type in Chiang Mai Photography in Google and he comes right up or you can click this link to check out his Instagram.

To check out my other blogs about Thailand, click here!