As I was fumbling through Flickr, I stumbled upon this one photographer, who, it has to be said, has created some of the most amazing people stills I have seen. His work is remarkable and I strongly recommend a visit to get an idea of just how inspirational it is. You can view Billy Gomez’s work here.
Familiar Faces
March 24, 2008
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Photography Scribblings | Tagged: Billy Gomez, Korean Photography, Seoul | 
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Posted by Gregory Curley
The Moody Realms of Kurt Nielsen
March 24, 2008
I saw some of this photographer’s work in the November issue of Outdoor Photographer last year. Although I’m honing in on Korea, I wanted to share because some of his lighting techniques are incredible. You can view his portfolio at Photo.net here.
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Weekly Jaunts | Tagged: Digital Photography, Kurt Nielsen, Kurt Nielsen Photoshop, Photoshop | 
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Posted by Gregory Curley
Flickr Revamped
March 23, 2008Finally upgraded my Flickr account. Feel free to browse through. As always, I welcome all criticism.
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Photography Scribblings | Tagged: Flickr, Korean Photography, Seoul | 
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Posted by Gregory Curley
Winter Streetscapes
March 22, 2008The eerie late-night winter scenes of Namdaemun Market. It was so cold that evening I’m surprised the camera didn’t jam up on me.
No Comments » | Markets | Tagged: Korean Photography, Market, Seoul | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Seoul’s Fortified Past
March 21, 2008Shim Hyun-Chul, staff photographer for The Korea Times, has a nice photo set in the paper’s weekly Image of Korea series.
No Comments » | Image of Korea | Tagged: Korean Photography, The Korea Times, Shim Hyun-chul | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Naked Soul
March 20, 2008
Pyo Gallery in Beijing is hosting the works of Korean photographer Kim Jungman until March 31. You can view a few sample here. His work is brilliant.
No Comments » | Photography Review | Tagged: Celebrity, Kim Jung-man, Korea, Korean Photography | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Bleeding The Skies
March 20, 2008I have been contributing to Seoul Selection, a polished magazine covering the ongoings of the greater metropolitan area, for the better part of a year now. I pulled this set from my first month out at Deoksugung Palace last spring. I had read a few things on infrared (IR) photography on Ken Rockwell’s site and decided to take a crack at it. This is what came out. Any of you interested in manually converting your images can take a look at his piece here on ‘How To Use Photoshop Tricks’. Scroll down half-way to get to the bit on infrared conversion. As digital cameras are not sensitive to infrared light, there are ways to manipulate the sensor. I’ll save you the lengthy write-up by giving you the link to a fine explanation right here at Photo Tidbits.
No Comments » | Palaces, Seoul Selection | Tagged: Palaces, Seoul, Korean Photography, Infrared Photography | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
A Deeper Shade of Seoul
March 19, 2008Below are a few pics from my co-worker, Mathieu Deprez. He’s been in Korea for two years now working at the Korea Tourism Organization as a writer/photographer. You can see more of is work here. Some nice stuff indeed.
No Comments » | Weekly Jaunts | Tagged: Korea, Korea Tourism Organization, Korean Photography, Mathieu Deprez, Shamanism, Temple | Permalink
Posted by Mathieu Deprez
The Underwater World of Eric Cheng
March 18, 2008A diving enthusiast myself, I was lucky to have found this amazing underwater photography forum. It’s run by Eric Cheng and his work is definitely worth checking out. He also publishes a quarterly online magazine that ties in with his forum called Wetpixel Quarterly. Some of the photography is beyond anything I’ve seen. Amazing.
Korea’s even got some dive tours of their own that head down to the coast of Jeju Island. A pretty popular one is, appropriately titled, Scuba In Korea.
No Comments » | Photography Review | Tagged: Eric Cheng, Shark, Underwater Photography | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Moon Over Bugaksan
March 16, 2008Scaled Mt. Bugaksan yesterday - one hell of a climb up and littered with an endless roll of barbed wire and military watchposts. I wanted to catch the sunset and initially opted for 숙정문 (Sukjeongmun Gate - Seoul’s North Gate) but they lock up the huge wooden doors at 4:30p.m., heightening security measures as it borders 청화대 (Cheong Wa Dae - Presidential Headquarters).
At the summit of Bugak Mountain, there’s towering temple pagoda called 팔각정 (Palgakjeong) with some nice restaurants offering great views of surrounding Seoul - particularly the tall peaks of Bukhansan Mountain.
Now although pagodas are multi-tiered, like Fugong Temple in Japan - a beautiful wooden temple pagoda I found while researching, this one atop Bugak Mountain is quite unique in that it barely passes for two levels. Either way, it fits the description inherent in pagoda architecture which states that the center point of the structure is said to symbolize the divine Buddha, or center of the universe, while its eight distinctive corners that curve skyward represent various Buddhas encompassing the universe.
No Comments » | Weekly Jaunts | Tagged: Bugaksan, Korean Photography, Pagoda, Seoul | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Noryangjin Fish Market
March 16, 2008I love markets. So much so that I’ll be throwing up a series of photo sets from some great markets I’ve been able to visit in Seoul. One favorite is Noryangjin Fish Market. For these below I wanted to arrive early and snap some of the early risers loading their shelves teeming with bulging ice and steaming fish. Well, sadly I didn’t get quite the angle I was looking for and realized that the place is a muscle of activity at ALL hours of the day. Roping in distributors and wholesalers alike, Noryangjin is the one-stop source for all things fishy in not only Seoul and its outlining areas, but for Korea as a whole. It is definitely a place to visit for those that want to get a little closer to the traditions of Korean culture.
No Comments » | Markets | Tagged: Korea, Korean Photography, Noryangjin Market, Seoul | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Jan Vermeer - Famous Wildlife Photographer
March 15, 2008I don’t understand a lick of German, but these shots here pretty much speak for themselves. Snapped by famous Dutch wildlife photographer, Jan Vermeer, and published funnily enough in the German issue of Let’s Go Digital, I was blown away by the sharp contrasts and amazing tones. Taken on a recent trek through Antarctica, clearly Vermeer’s got an incredible eye for the great outdoors.
No Comments » | Photography Review | Tagged: Jan Vermeer, Nikon, Wildlife Photography | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Colours of Korea
March 13, 2008I took this set a while ago. I know many of you may have seen the concept done before, but I thought I’d try it out anyway at the time. I wound up learning a thing or two about Photoshop in the process. The basic idea behind the shots was to have a symbol of Korea jump out from the overall composition. They’re from a few hideaways, namely Insadong, Korean Folk Village, Gyeongbukgung Palace and The Korea House near Chungmuro.
I remember meeting Korean photographer Lee Gap-Chul quite some time ago. It wasn’t exactly a chance encounter. I was at a bookstore in the COEX Mall and lifted his number from the back of one his photo compilations. After speaking with his agent (naturally it wasn’t his direct number), he seemed flattered at my praise and suggested we meet in Insadong at a traditional teahouse. It was an enjoyable time and ultimately forged its way in to a friendship. A second meeting soon after saw me lugging along my portfolio - the bulk of which has this very set gracing its pages. Anyhow, he seemed to like these particular shots more than some of my other snaps that I had converted to sepia (I’ll throw those up at a later time). These will be going in to a book I will be releasing later this year.
1 Comment | Weekly Jaunts | Tagged: Gregory Curley, Korea, Korean Photography, Seoul | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
The D300 In All Its Glory
March 13, 2008
Digital Photography Review just posted a pretty beefy review on the new Nikon D300. It’s been out for more than a month, but this one’s been updated somewhat.
True the D300 sports a hefty 12 megapixels, but funnily enough the last thing I look for in the specs is the megapixel tag. For those of you fixated on megapixel theories, I suggest you take a gander at Ken Rockwell’s great write-up on the ‘megapixel myth’ - the whole gimmicky approach companies are manipulating customers with. I still take out my Nikon 4300 Coolpix (a modest 4 megapixels) every so often and there’s nothing at all wrong with the resolution. In fact, it’s damn sharp.
What does get me going is the fact that the D300 sports an ISO range of 200~3200 (6400 with boost). With that in tow, you can pretty much snap in the dark. Not a huge drawcard perhaps for some, but for those that love shooting neon nightscapes and all things nocturnal, it’s a trusty bonus. Here are few other highlights:
- six frames of continuous shooting per second (8 with battery pack)
- self cleaning sensor (Canon had the leg up on that one)
- a sweet 3″ (922,000 pixel) LCD monitor
- Nikon EXPEED image processor
- new 51-point auto-focus sensor
There’s plenty more. The only deterrent is it’s price tag. A few shops in Namdaemun have it selling for 1.9 million won.
No Comments » | Photography Review | Tagged: Digital Photography, Nikon D300 | Permalink
Posted by Gregory Curley
Good Morning Pyongyang
March 11, 2008A friend of mine snapped these below on a trip through North Korea with a select group of photojournalists and Vice Magazine. I will link more to his huge set when he gets his host site up and going. Some of these shots appeared in a weekly Korea Times photo essay.
1 Comment | Weekly Jaunts | Tagged: Canon, Chris McCarthy, North Korean Photography | Permalink
Posted by C. McCarthy
