Random project startles commuters

A photographer has been capturing the reactions of passengers after he shouting random words at them on the Bangkok subway.

Benz Thanachart snapped the puzzled expressions of commuters as they were interrupted with words including "Omelette", "Alligator", "Broccoli" and "Mushroom".

Explaining the project, he said: "After staying in New York City for one year, I went back to Thailand in the summer of 2012.

"The biggest thing I noticed was that several people now own smart phones. On the public transportation, they were always obsessed with the little personal space on their hand.

"Everybody was looking down and cut off from the outside world. At that time although I was being in my hometown, a feeling of unfamiliarity gradually emerged. I decided to do something to express that disoriented emotion.

"I got into the subway, shouted out a random word completely unrelated to the situation and then captured that moment.

"It was the moment when everyone was coming out of their small worlds and noticing the presence of public space."