Le Méridien Bangkok and Lonely Planet Magazine Thailand hosted Photography Exhibition ‘The Incredible Journey to the New Horizon’ unveiling a new perspective of traveling from 06 September – 30 November 2012 at Le Méridien Bangkok’s Hub.

Bangkok, 20 September 2012 – Le Méridien Bangkok continued to show its appreciation of the contemporary arts with “A New Perspective on Photography: “The Incredible Journey to the New Horizon”. The exhibition showcases the photography of young talented Thai photographer from ‘The Incredible Journey’ photo contest.
“I am very glad that this photo contest has received a very warm welcome from travelers and photographers. It is a good exposure of the great photography to be exhibited at Le Méridien Bangkok. I hope that we could support young talents and the community to see and learn new angle of both travelling and photography,’’ said the Editor-in-chief, Rathasiam Sinlakhun.

Under the theme “The Incredible Journey to the New Horizon,” Le Méridien Bangkok invited two photographers, Prasit Deesilprakij, The top winner and Ruetairat Puangkaew, Nominee, who participated in the contest to share the new perspective on travelling on the impressive sights through their lenses.

Prasit Deesilprakij, - Work: “Ice Blue Cave”
Ruetairat Puangkaew – Work: “The light in Sahara Dessert”

On 06 September 2012, Le Méridien also announced the opening of the photography exhibition “The Incredible Journey to the New Horizon” at Le Méridien Bangkok’s Hub.

The exhibition of the iconoclastic photographs created by talented photographers will be displayed at the Hub (Le Méridien Bangkok’s hotel lobby) from 06 September – 30 November 2012

#

About New Perspective Event

Le Méridien’s approach of curated experiences in the world of the arts is enriched with the launch of ‘A New Perspective’ signature event series, featuring contemporary culture talks that further transform Le Méridien into a creative hub.

“A New Perspective” event series will showcase LM100 members and local creatives, for an interactive experience exploring a cultural specialty and will allow guests to gather new insights and stimulate dialogue. Jérôme Sans, Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator, is the founding member of the LM100 programme which was created in 2007. The signature series will also feature contemporary artists, art fair partners, and other local artists to bring the arts to life for Le Méridien guests and the local community.

About The Incredible Journey Photo Contest

Lonely Planet Magazine Announces Winners of “The Incredible Journey” Photo Contest To Inspire Travelers to Explore New Horizon

Whenever you set up a journey, you start to gain more experience. To learn new things in life, a traveler has a good chance to record all impressive sights with his personal camera. In fact, a camera is known as a time machine that can take us back to the good old memories. Whenever we gaze a photo, our unforgettable trips seem to be reenacted.
In order to encourage the general public to travel more often, Lonely Planet Magazine Thailand in cooperation with Canon recently organized a photo contest entitled “The Incredible Journey”, which served as an excellent testimonial of contemporary traveling and modern lifestyle as reflected in the major theme of the Lonely Planet Magazine with prizes worth a total of 200,000 Baht. Among a total of 24 final entrants, names of the winners were announced recently at Eden Zone on the Second Floor of CentralWorld.
Rathsiam Sinlakhun, the editor-in-chief of Lonely Planet Magazine Thailand under the management of Media Expertise International (Thailand) or MEI (the copyright owner of Lonely Planet Magazine (Thai Edition), said that the annual photo contest reaffirmed Lonely Planet Magazine ’s strong commitment to inspire the general public to travel more often so as to fulfill their own dreams and make all family members or friends happy. In addition to gaining some fun, all travelers acquired a very good chance to record their memorable experience in a collection of photos that would revive the stories of the photographer now and forever.
“I am very glad that this photo contest has received a very warm welcome from travelers and photographers. There were more than 800 entrants in total. I realized that it had been a great challenge for our judges as there were so many beautiful photos to choose. Especially, each of the 24 final works possessed distinctive features and beauty. I hope that we could join in such a good project together again. I would like to invite all travelers who love photo shooting to submit your photography to our next year’s contest. And please stay tuned and see what we will have to offer to our readers,” said the editor-in-chief.
Sitting in the judging panel with the editor-in-chief were experts and big names in the photography arena including Chiranan Pitpreecha, a writer and poet; Waranan Chutchawantipakorn, National Artist of 2009 (Photography – Visual Art); Athit Perawongmetha, a veteran free-lance photographer for AFP, for example, and “Photographer of the year” of FCCT/ONASIA 2011; Luke Duggleby, a freelance photographer whose photos have been published in Sunday Times Magazine (UK), The Independent on Sunday Review, The Smithsonian Magazine, TIME, GEO France and surely enough Lonely Planet.

Criteria for judging were 25% for creativity, 20% for composition, 15% for light and shadow; and 40% for ensemble components.
And the winners were:
• The top winner was 51-year-old businessman Prasit Deesilprakij whose work entitled “Ice Blue Cave” taken at Jokulsarlon, Island.
• The First Runner Up was 38-year-old freelance photographer Jirachon Chamsang whose work entitled “Sandstorm at Bromo” taken at Mount Bromo Volcano.
• The Popular Vote Winner was 28-year-old pilot Teerawat Sumrantin whose work entitled “The Colors of Salzburg” taken at Salzburg, Austria.

About the LM100 Creative Community

Le Méridien has introduced LM100, a group of cultural innovators of mixed generations and interdisciplinary artistic fields, chosen from the fields of art, architecture, cuisine, and design by Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator. LM100 members will offer their creativity and develop original and interactive programs for Le Méridien hotels worldwide that will transform the guest experience. LM100 members will curate Le Méridien’s interactive initiatives and propose other established or emerging talents that reflect the brand’s core values. Current LM100 members include Le Méridien’s Cultural Curator, Jérôme Sans; contemporary Chinese artists Chen Wenbo, Yan Lei, and An Xiaotong; Indian artist duo, Thukral and Tagra, world renowned artists, Sam Samore, Joan Fontcuberta, Younès Rahmoun, Youssef Nabil; Michael Lin; Hisham Bharoocha, Lucy and Jorge Orta, and Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir of :mentalKLINIK; Founder of the Video Art Channel, Souvenirs from the Earth, Marcus Kreiss, wine expert Linda Grabe; award-winning photographer Ralph Gibson; coffee expert Andrea illy; master barista Fritz Storm; Atelier des Chefs founders, Nicolas and Francois Bergerault; French-born award-winning musician and composer Henri Scars Struck; Le Labo founders Fabrice Penot and Edouard Roschi; up-and-coming filmmaker Kiki Allgeier; renowned furniture designer Nick Dine; and Creative Class Group Founder and CEO Richard and Rana Florida.

About Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts

Le Méridien, the Paris-born hotel brand currently represented by 100 properties in 50 countries, was acquired by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) in November 2005. With close to 80 of its properties located in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Le Méridien provided a strong international complement to Starwood’s then primarily North American holdings at the time of purchase. Since then, Le Méridien has gone through a brand re-launch, which included a large scale hotels product consolidation as well as redefining its brand strategy. By appointing a full-time Cultural Curator – French arts-provocateur Jérôme Sans – Le Méridien transformed numerous guest touch points, thus bringing unique and interactive experiences to its guests. Plans call for dynamic expansion of Le Méridien Hotels and Resorts within the next five years, concentrating in the U.S., Latin America, and Asia-Pacific markets, including destinations such as India, Thailand and China. Le Méridien recently opened new hotels in Istanbul, Coimbatore (India), Koh Samui (Thailand), Taipei, and Philadelphia, and will open in the next 12 months in Bali, Zhengzhou (China), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and Suvarnabhumi (Thailand). For more information, please visit www.lemeridien.com.