Hermit Hideaways

Seoul Selection selected my snap of the changing-of-the-guards ceremony in front of Gyeongbok Palace as the cover shot this month. Needless to say, I am pretty happy about that. I really liked the way that pic turned out. You can view the larger version here. I’ve tweaked it a little. The original is a little more vibrant. I tend to de-saturate my pictures - a technique I may have overused somewhat lately.

You can download the May issue in PDF format. The photo below is from the magazine’s gallery section. I took that at Changduk Palace in a secret garden.

Sheltered at the base of Namsan Mountain are the picturesque grounds of Namsangol Hanok Village. Consisting of a beautiful garden and a seemingly endless series of traditional Korean houses called hanok, the village is a welcoming, and incredibly well-preserved reatreat just minutes away from the hectic pursuits of city life nearby. Of particular interest is the solemn, sturdy architectural design of the hanok housing. Built during the Joseon Dynasty, the houses were moved from their original locations throughout Seoul and completely restored before taking residence at Namsangol.

I 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.