Delivery

I realize its an odd day of the week for a post but hey, have to take advantage of a little window of time when I see it. I pulled this out of photos form Seoul and thought it would make a nice addition to the desktop collection. This was shot in the stairwell of a wonderful shop in Chungmuro called FotoMoru (english) which develops all manner of films and is a great place to have them printed or scanned as well. The guys that run it are trustworthy and know film developing and printing backward and forward, not to mention they have the some of the best prices around. I miss having the resource handy. All you had to do was drop off your film and a day or less later you get an email letting you know your order is ready or, if you had scans made, a link to where you can download the zip file. They will even store negatives safely for you if you would like.

At any rate, on the way down the tiny stairwell I couldn’t help but notice how perfectly this bike had parked just outside the doorway so I took a moment to pull out the 5D and steal a shot. After adding a touch of contrast and a little tint for a pinch of extra drama I thought it was worthy of sharing with you guys. As always, thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

Bloom

I realize spring has come and gone, or at least the peak of spring, but while summer settles in I thought these would still make for nice, light desktop imagery. These cherry blossoms were everywhere as YoungDoo and I arrived back in Seoul after our time in Bali. I always thought it was mostly hype as far as the beauty of these trees are concerned but they really are quite nice as they line streets and cast everything around them in a nice diffused light. The best moments though are the times when wind blows across them and hundreds of tiny white petals fall gently to the ground, I love that. So while these may be somewhat generic lovely flower photos I hope you guys enjoy them, a little something fresh for the oncoming heat of the summer.

Cast Off

Here on the border of day and night things grow fuzzy, less defined, quiet. Colors shift quickly and dramatically and everything around becomes less of a landscape and more of a sketch of what was a few moments before. I love this time of night but it certainly can be tricky to capture depending on the circumstances. In this case these children were out fishing at the end of a hot day in Bali and YoungDoo and I were out photographing the last sunset we would have to enjoy on the island. A perfect recipe for a few nice silhouettes. They all but ignored us and we tinkered with out cameras and enjoyed the view.

While this shot ended up a bit hazy and out of focus I still love it for the movement captured. As soon as the one child leaned back to point at the other side of the pier I knew I had the shot I was waiting for, where the three of them were well defined against the dim light of the coming night so one click was all I had. Still though, despite its technical shortcomings, I knew I had a nice shot because I had finally caught the scene in the way I envisioned it in my mind. Which leaves us with the question, does a photograph need to be technically perfect to be an effective image? This is entirely subjective to the person who created the image.

If your image is able to achieve a successful emotional connection with the viewer then you have done your job. Sometimes this means ignoring the nagging voice in the back of your mind that this exposure may end up a bit dark, blurry, etc. Every aspect involving the art of photography, even intentionally fudging the technical details here and there, is fair game. A technically perfect image is a wonderful thing and is worthy of being proud of, but one which is able to transfer an emotional value can be infinitely more satisfying.

Not only this but it is much easier to discover your voice as a photographer if you let yourself make mistakes. One of the most influential things that guided my style over the years has been the images I really wanted to love but didn’t work out because of a shortcoming in my approach leaving me to refine the idea and try again. At any rate, I hope you enjoy the new desktop. I will do my best to start pushing them out faster.

Tenganan

First thing is first, Bali is HOT. As in, most days are spent soggy with sweat while wandering streets full of bright, unforgiving sunlight. It has not only slowed our pace a bit but also left me not shooting as much on this trip. I decided yesterday to leave the Hasseblad and Canonet behind in favor of the LCA and Holga because I never really come across too many delicate moments to shoot and the LCA/Holga are best suited for nice bright sun so hopefully this switch in pace will lave me more relaxed about shooting in general. We have also been invited to the home of a driver that we have started to befriend so that could be a nice opportunity to get a feel for a more local lifestyle.

Up to this point what I have seen of Bali constantly reminds me of the Disney World backlot where they have neighborhoods of fake houses built for shooting movies and TV. Within the central tourist filled areas the buildings and businesses are built purely to fuel the needs of the mobs of lobster skinned tourists. Signs to resorts and tour packages line the streets speaking of secret locations they can take you to see the “real” Bali. Everywhere I go I hear “Taxi? Transport?” coming from all imaginable directions as anyone with a car seems to offer some kind of tour package. These pleas have all but become white noise along the way and blend, like static, into the hum and roar of the hundreds of scooters, cars, and trucks constantly filtering through every street.

While in a car on the way back to our room yesterday evening we took a few backroads that lead us through areas where I could not spot one single foreigner and the atmosphere completely changed from sweaty tourists and swarms of locals doing their best to take advantage of their potentially deep pockets to a more relaxed, modest speed of life with small food stalls with real local food, cell phone shops, and mechanics. I am hoping to see more of that side of the Island as we continue to explore but it can be difficult without your own car or scooter and hired drivers never seem to understand that you don’t want to do what everyone else usually wants to do. I am almost certain at this point that the best way to explore this Island would be with a scooter and a well updated GPS for when you inevitably get lost.

At any rate, I shot the image above in a small village called Tenganan known for its basket weaving among other things. While we did not stay too long I did find this one lovely lit spot to shoot what I immediately knew would make a great wallpaper image to share with everyone. Moments like these are rare in the blistering sun that has graced most of what we have seen up to now so when I come across them I can’t help but start shooting.

I’m not sure when I will have time to write again, but rest assured that things should settle back into place when I return from my travels and I will start to share more images and stories from my time here and catch up with the world that I have left behind to a certain extent. So until then, all the best, and enjoy the new image!

Dial Tone

Whew, so weddings take a lot of time out of regularly scheduled programming eh? Time has been flying by here in Seoul and I am packing up the last couple of things and getting ready to head down south with YoungDoo to Bali for ten days. This time, however, the trip is purely recreational so I hope to have a camera around all the way through. From what I have seen it’s been raining a bit recently down there so hopefully it’s not going to be too unbearably hot or muggy. I have been shooting where I can the past few weeks and will resume regular posting as soon as I can manage. I will try to post some new desktops while down there, time and internet access willing.

For the time being I managed to get this image together for you guys, nothing too special but I thought it was nice. The late afternoon light called me into the phone booth for it and I figured it would be a nice shot to share. Hopefully the fairly liberal post work doesn’t bother you too much. I tried not to get too carried away with it but it’s all in good fun anyhow. At any rate, the next time you hear from me I will hopefully be happily nestled into my room in Bali. Maybe I can get that post about the new 5D up, it’s all but done, just a paragraph and a conclusion away from posting. Just can’t find the time to finish refining it a bit. Till then, enjoy the new image and I will see you again soon.