Page 16 - Masala Lite Issue 157 January 2024

16 COVERED

SAHIL RATTANAPHAS,
the co-owner and operator of the Turquoise Truck Creative, VIEW VIDEO

brings into focus the creativity and passion that led to his
thriving, and surprising, career.

BY AIDEN JEWELLE GONZALES

Honestly, give me a camera, and I can live,” Sahil Rattanaphas tells me Having grown up in both Thai and Indian cultures, both of whom are very creative
with a laugh when he meets me for an interview, one of the rare few times and have such rich visual elements, what are the ways that your roots have
when he’s in front of a camera rather than behind one. “I think it’s the mark of a true influenced your approach to photography?

creative,” he continues, a little tongue in cheek. “They’re always saying, ‘just give me Both cultures love to eat, right? [Laughs] We only shoot food – 99 percent of my content
my craft, and I’m happy.’” Indeed, as the co-owner and operator of a creation and that I create is either food or cocktail-driven. It stems back to the love for food above
marketing agency called the Turquoise Truck Creative; Sahil, with his effortlessly everything else, in both Thai and Indian cultures. I grew up on Anthony Bourdain
stylish hair, the off-duty-chic look that I’m convinced is the de facto uniform of artists instead of cartoons, and I would watch cooking shows instead of what the other
everywhere, and a debonair air; embodies the 21st Century creative. kids were watching. I always had a vision of how food should look and the emotions

Having gone to the International School of Bangkok (ISB) followed by Monash connected to it. And that’s what we push forward. It’s not just shooting food; it’s trying
University in Melbourne, Australia, where an inside source informed me he showed to capture the essence, the emotion behind it, the feeling that the chef, hotelier, or
up with a backpack, a guitar, and plenty of contagious dreams; Sahil’s approach to whoever is trying to portray.

life is to take it by the horns and chase after his passions, and this has served him Photography, and especially food photography, is a very specific art form. How
well over the years. With nothing more than grit, a love for food, an iPhone, and self- do you make the food come to life in photos? How do you end up capturing that
taught skills in photography, Sahil, together with his brother, Nikhil Rattanaphas, essence you talked about?
started the Turquoise Truck Collective, the origin of which is as intriguing as its name.
“We were in Bali, and we passed this big turquoise truck,” he recalls. “I said to Nickhil, It takes a long time, and you have to create your own style. You start by imitating
‘One day, when we make it big, that’s the truck we’re gonna get, and we’re gonna other photographers and trying to learn technique through that. But then along
put all our equipment in there and drive around Bangkok.’ And he remembered that the way, you figure some things out that other people may do, but not in the same
conversation and came up with the name. While we don’t combinations. Our technique is very bold, not stylised,
have a literal turquoise truck yet, who knows what the structured, and motion-driven. We try to capture the
future holds?” in-between moments, not the finished product. We
focus on different angles that maybe you as a customer
These days, the Turquoise Truck Collective is renowned wouldn’t get to see; it’s what we find interests people.
in Thailand’s food photography scene, with some of the
biggest names in hospitality as their clients, as well as It’s still a bit unusual in the Thai-Indian community to
Michelin-starred and celebrated restaurants. Having start a business in the creative field. Did you receive
checked out their portfolio and been ensnared by the any pushback for not going the more traditional routes
beauty of their shots, which are simultaneously evocative of staying in the family business or going corporate?
and dynamic, I ask him how he knew that his photos would I’m lucky I had incredible support from my family; it was
resonate so well with people. Surely, I ask, it would have insane. I didn’t think I would get that much support but
occurred to him that the safer route was staying with everything I needed, they just delivered. They didn’t question
his family business of textiles. “The family business just me for a second, and they kept pushing me in the right
wasn’t my passion,” he answers easily. “You can live your life doing something that direction. My mum’s an artist in her own right; she sings, she dances, and she used to
you know, be comfortable, do your nine-to-five, and go home. Or you can play every do all my art projects when I was growing up. [Laughs] She got me into seeing the world
day. And that’s what I decided to do. I retired at the age of 30, and just play every from a different perspective, which is almost always more beautiful. She inspires me a lot.

day. And so many doors opened!”
At first, people did ask me, “What are you doing?” because it’s not a traditional career
He admits with a self-deprecating chuckle, however, that the one aspect of ‘play’ that choice. Around 99.9 percent of photographers don’t make their passion into a career.
he’s cut out is eating during shoots. “I used to eat all day, and in five years, I became They’re doing small projects and scraping by, and they do it because they love it, and
20 kilos heavier,” he recalls. “Now, rule number one is not eating during the whole that was the same for me. I just got had some lucky breaks.

shoot.” With a smile he capitulates, “But I will drink a Negroni!” – a sentiment that You’ve now made a name for yourself in Thailand’s food photography scene – your
sums up Sahil’s approach to his work and life in general. Laser-sharp focus, while still clients include Michelin-starred and other renowned restaurants. What would you
leaving room for fun and the joys of art. He tells Masala more.
say was your big break that led to your current success?

You initially had no experience in photography, but you self-taught yourself I still think I haven’t hit my big break yet, to be honest. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
everything you know. What prompted your interest in the craft in the first place? We’re gonna grow a lot bigger than this in the next few years. My philosophy is, the

I had a company that used to export handicrafts from Thailand to Perth when social more you know, the less you know. For the first eight or nine years, I thought I knew it
media wasn’t a big thing yet. While the company was very numbers-driven – it was all. And then by year nine, I realised I don’t know anything! And that’s where I am right
all about hitting our KPIs, engagement rates, ROIs, etc – we still needed good content now, figuring out how to reach an even further point from where I am now. I love what
to hit those numbers. I bought a little camera and started taking photos, and one I do, but there’s so much more on the horizon.

thing led to another.
What’s the most exciting project that you’ve been part of?

We needed to get Instagram off the ground fast, so I tried my hand at it, and it We shoot global campaigns for the Hyatt Group, and it’s the most fun week of the
worked in Australia. When I came back to Thailand, I wondered if it’d work for other year. Once a year, they fly in hundreds of chefs from around the world to Bangkok, and
industries as well, so we tried it for a coconut water brand, then a restaurant, and we shoot them cooking in hundreds of stations for a week straight. It’s not just the
they were both a success. This was back in 2012, and since then, I started making photography that I love, it’s meeting all these incredible, like-minded people from all
more and more content for social media with just an iPhone and my camera. In the over the planet. That’s kind of what photography is; it gives me a route to travel, to be
beginning, I never thought it would be anything other than a side hustle. anywhere while I have my camera.

MASAL A LITE ISSUE 157 - JANUARY 2024