Effing hwangsa…

April 10, 2011 by 16 Comments

So, inspired by this seriously talented dude, I hiked up Mt. Inwangsan on Saturday evening to get a magic hour shot of downtown Seoul.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, as you can see — it was like shooting through pea soup.

Such are the perils of landscape photography in the Korean spring, I suppose.

Anyway, now is as good an opportunity as any to link to some inspirational and informative links (all in Korean) I’ve found over the last couple of days:

  • CK Collection: If you live in Korea, and especially if you have an interest in night photography, spend some time going though Im Chang-kyung’s work — highly inspirational.
  • Some amazing Korean travel photography here… not to mention some great travel destination ideas.
  • I don’t have a fisheye, but if I did, this site would provide me with lots to emulate.
  • This site has lots of photos to ogle, but more importantly, it has tons of useful information regarding photo locations throughout Korea. You have to sign up, but there’s no need for a Korean citizen number, so it’s foreigner-friendly.
Filed Under: Cityscapes, Seoul Tagged With:

  • Pingback: The photo admitedly could be better….

  • dokebi

    I like it. The fog is a very telling attribute of Seoul's atmosphere

    • Robert Koehler

      I wish it were fog. Fog is nice. San Francisco gets fog. We get sandstorms from China and Mongolia. Sadly, though, you're right — in spring, it can be a very telling attribute of Seoul’s atmosphere. Which sort of sucks because when it's clear, spring in Seoul can be quite pretty.

  • http://www.monster-island.net kushibo

    I like it. One problem with photography in Seoul (and in much of northeast Asia) is that the air and sky don't always cooperate. I have some beautiful sunny pictures of the downtown skyline, but if I ever wanted to duplicate them, I might have to wait weeks or months.

    In fact, I go up to the top of Namsan in the background quite a lot (since my apartment is near there), but my pics often look like this.

    Anyway, I have one question, meant seriously: Do you have a special hanbok for climbing small mountains like Inhwangsan?

    • Robert Koehler

      I like it. One problem with photography in Seoul (and in much of northeast Asia) is that the air and sky don’t always cooperate. I have some beautiful sunny pictures of the downtown skyline, but if I ever wanted to duplicate them, I might have to wait weeks or months.

      Amen to that. Although for some odd reason, it always seems so nice out on work days.

      Anyway, I have one question, meant seriously: Do you have a special hanbok for climbing small mountains like Inhwangsan?

      Nope. Same ones.

  • R. Elgin

    I like it too.

    Robert, do you ever take a shot like this and step through settings just to see what happens in such an atmosphere? That's probably a dumb question but it's what I might do if I had such a good camera and more time.

    • Robert Koehler

      Yeah, I do… not that I know what I'm actually doing when I do it, though.

  • Ecorn

    I've used this method in the past to get rid of haze in my photos. http://onlinephototutorials.com/2008/08/03/remove…

    If you want to clean up the one in this post, you can give it a try, though I kind of appreciate the gritty tinge the 황사 gives the image.

    • Robert Koehler

      Thanks for the link. But I sort of like the hazy look, too.

    • http://www.monster-island.net kushibo

      Ecorn, I may try that. Mahalo!

  • Rambutan

    My employer will send you the bill for all of my work time your links ate up this afternoon. I'm not sure they're "inspirational" for me – they make me want to sell my cameras and give up.

    People like that CK guy see opportunities that the rest of us would never notice. Like this shot – if we were nearby we'd likely think, "crappy weather, nothing to see…", but he's making something special from the rain, the glow from the ads on the wall on the people with the umbrellas, the gloomy sky, the lower perspective…

    Who is he, anyway? Pro or amateur?

    • Robert Koehler

      I think he's an amateur.

      And you're certainly right — guys like that see stuff we don't see. It's one of the things I love most about learning photography: it teaches you to see the world differently.

  • Melissa

    Hi Robert!

    I´m Melissa, I was in your seminar last week in the Itaewon Global Village, I didn´t realize that you are the author of my favorite Seoul book, I usually use it when going around and bought it when I recently arrived Korea. Very useful information and great pictures.

    Really looking forward for your next seminar and sign my book.

    Best regards!

    • Robert Koehler

      Well, triple thanks — first for buying my guide book, second for coming to the lecture and third for stopping by my photoblog! If I ever get invited back to lecture, I'll be happy to sign your book.

  • Pingback: SEOUL Weekly: April 12, Issue No. 472

  • Pingback: Mt. Inwangsan