Jittrapon Kaicome is an independent photojournalist based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. His projects focus on countries in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia, highlighting current affairs, environmental crises related to climate change, human rights, animal welfare, and the struggles of marginalized communities including the ethnic armed conflict and displaced persons along the Myanmar-Thailand border.
He has worked with clients and his work has been published inLe Monde, Liberation, The Washington Post, National Geographic Thailand, Al Jazeera, Agence France Presse (AFP), Agencia EFE, The Irrawaddy, Bangkok Post, among others.
He has also collaborated with NGOs such as FAO, Freedom Fund, WWF-Thailand, and World Animal Protection-Thailand.
2023 - Participated in the Visualising Climate Crisis by Noor Foundation, advanced Mentoring Programme in Vietnam.
2023 -Participated in the USAID exchange program for journalists in the US under the theme: Investigative Journalism.
2020 - Participated in the “Southeast Asia Hostile Environment Training bySoutheast Asia Rainforest Journalism Fund.
2019 - Participated in the photojournalism survival kit workshop with Ron Haviv by VIIAcademy.
EXHIBITION
2024 - The Noor Visualising Climate Crisis group exhibition at Angkor Photo Festival.
2022 - ‘River Pulses, Border Flows’group exhibition, traces four rivers in Southeast Asia: Irrawaddy/Dulong, Salween/Nu, Mekong/Lancang, and Red/Yuan. Guangdong Times Museum in Guangzhou, China.
2020 - Salween Peace Park, a group exhibition at Yangon Photo Festival
2019 - Sex Work is Our Work, a solo exhibition highlighting the correct protective measures for sex workers in Thailand, in collaboration with theEmpower Foundation and SEA Junction at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC)
About my photography After I completed my BA, I have been using my photojournalism to speak for my native Northern Thai people.
In 2014, I began telling stories through his photography from my hometown during the annual air pollution crisis in northern Thailand. This sparked my interest in the wider issues related to climate change, with people at the center of the story.
By combining photographic vision with research, journalistic skill, and my background, I'm able to create unique ways to tell stories.
Having grown up in Chiang Mai, a city of many ethnicities, I feel compelled to draw attention to the underrepresented ethnic communities in the region.
Zooming in on transboundary matters in the Mekong region will show how people's lives and activities are connected to the rest of the world.
On my part, I have my ultimate goal to bring out a deep understanding of the human interest story. From the western border down to the eastern part - the SE- Asia's last free-flowing river of the Salween to the cascade of dams in the Mekong River.
These truly are the stories of my time.
At each step of the way, these projects have become more and more a part of me.
It is a never-ending journey, making my life more meaningful to others,
inspiring me to tell stories and discover new places.
Bio
JITTRAPON KAICOME | Photojournalist | Thailand
Jittrapon Kaicome, a Thai photojournalist/documentary photographer based out of Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. His projects focus on countries in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia.