I began my career photographing dance and theatre productions, learning to read movement, light, and how to anticipate the decisive moment. That early instinct was then forged over more than 30 years working as a photojournalist in some of the world's most demanding environments. That combination of performance instinct and field-hardened experience is what I bring to a film set, and it's what gives my work its authenticity.
My film and television credits span productions for Netflix, Disney, Marvel, FX, Sony, Universal, and HBO. Recent work includes Alien Earth for FX, Ms Marvel for Marvel/Disney, and Reckoning for Netflix. Earlier credits include Nomads, produced by Ridley Scott, among others. As Camera Operator, Field Producer, and Field Director on The Forever Prisoner (HBO), directed by Alex Gibney, I received an Emmy® Award. Since 2023 I have served as a judge for the Emmy® Awards in the cinematography and documentary categories.
On set I bring something that is genuinely rare, decades of experience working in some of the world's most demanding environments. Alongside my film work I have spent years as a documentary photographer in conflict zones, humanitarian crises, and remote field assignments, working for organisations including UNICEF, UNHCR, Human Rights Watch, the World Bank, OXFAM, and the Red Cross. That background has sharpened instincts that translate directly to a film set, the ability to read a room, move unobtrusively, work calmly under pressure, and capture moments that would otherwise be lost.
My documentary work has been recognised with two World Press Photo Awards, including First Prize, General News Singles, for my coverage of the Rohingya crisis, three Prix Pictet Global Award nominations, and a FotoEvidence Book Award. My long-form projects Trading to Extinction and No Place On Earth have been exhibited at the International Centre of Photography in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Tokyo, and Visa pour l'Image in France.
My commercial clients include Disney, Netflix, Sony, FX, Toyota, Hilton Hotels, and Johnnie Walker, among others. My photography has appeared in Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, TIME, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, Der Spiegel, and the New York Times.
I am represented by Panos Pictures and based in Copenhagen. I work internationally and am available for film, television, and commercial projects worldwide.
Sun Thapphawut © Red Light Lab
Awards
Emmy® Award
Two World Press Photo Awards
World Press Photo - Picture of the Year nominee
POYi Multimedia Award
FotoEvidence / World Press Photo Book Award
Prix Pictet Global Award nominated 3 times
ASME-Ellie Awards
Clients
Rolling Stone Magazine, The New Yorker, TIME, National Geographic, UNICEF, UNHCR, Human Rights Watch, World Bank, Netflix, Disney, FX, Hilton Hotels, Toyota World Rally Team, BHP, Telstra Australia, Thai Airways
For full CV, see expandable list
Contact
For commissions, print sales and all other enquiries please contact Patrick’s studio:
Editorially represented by
Panos Pictures
Michael Regnier
Archive Sales & Assignments
michael@panos.co.uk
skype: panospictures
Tel.: +44 (0)20 3322 8382