Digital Graffiti

(... continued from the last post)

The following day, I met up with Kelly and Lauren in Chungmuro. Since we all had rolls to drop off, and needed to resupply our dwindling dedicated film ziplock bags. On top of that Kelly decided to get himself a new toy, and one I am very, VERY close to acquiring myself. Nikon's current flagship DSLR, and le Magnifique, the ultra sexy D7000. However, having used my film 35mm for the past... nine, going on ten months, [shooting] film makes it a lot harder to let go. I mean, I think I've created some of my best photographs using my FE2! On top of that, my brotha in Nihon, Ken, recently traded in his D90, some lens, and upgraded to the D7000 as well. I'm nowhere near being a professional photographer, but having played with the D7000, I have to say, it's an impressive work of machinery! I've read pages and pages of reviews, but nothing comes closer than actually having it in your hands, and firing away a few shots, or simply watching the autofocus do it's magic in the live view mode. What to do, what to do... Instead of the D7000, I ended up buying some macro filters (kind of like magnifiers) that you can just twist onto your filter. It acts like a macro lens, but at a fraction of the price.

Anyways, after Kelly bought his new baby, we headed to Craftworks to charge the new batteries for the D7000, and to try their new IPA, called the Jirisan Moonbear. A tad too bitter for my palette. Perhaps IPA's are suppose to have that bitterness, but the Moonbear tended to linger too much afterwards. Heavy in alcoholic content, I had to wash down the vicious aftertaste of the Moonbear with the effervescent, sweet, and banana milk flavored Baekdusan Hefeweizen.

There's something about typography that adds an interesting dimension to photography. The millions upon billions of combinations of words, fonts, and styles makes it a lot more difficult than it seems. I sort of see it as the title, or the caption of the photograph; a direct imprint of my thoughts onto the canvas. It's subtle, yet powerful, directing the viewers to a particularly explicit idea.

For more check these out: Ken, Christina, 12fv.

Roll:
1. Kodak Portra 160nc

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////




















the "Sel-ca"

a newly created word by Korean netizens,
which stands for taking pictures of yourself



pax

A Fleeting Reminder of Spring

Hope you all enjoyed the Ilford Delta 3200! An awesome friend of mine, Beans, whose primary mode of photography is the Holga MF 120, passed along some valuable info regarding the 3200. As a nature enthusiast, and one who is constantly seeking adventure through the urban jungle, his work is an awesome collection of creativity and striking double exposures. Supposedly, the 3200 film's true speed is around 1000. Which means, I pushed the entire roll about 2 stops! For all film photographers, it is definitely worth experimenting with. Next time, I'll try to shoot the roll at 800 or 1600 and see what results I get.

After the final shot of the Delta, I promptly reloaded with a Kodak Portra 160nc to capture the true essence of the cherry blossoms. They're beautiful flowers really, and probably one of my favorites. The morning started off with a hasty bike ride to Yeoido (a small island floating off the southeast side of Seoul on the Han River), because I had to be back in time for work. There was a slight overcast that day, so I couldn't contrast the pinkish hues of the cherry blossoms against the sky blue backdrop as I had anticipated! Nonetheless, I am glad to have seen these flowers in full bloom, unlike last year, where I caught them towards the end of their brief and momentary lives. Imagine if we only "lived" for a few weeks, what would (could?) you (possibly) do during that time? In retrospect to time, we are like these cherry blossoms, a constant metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life. Mortality is what makes us human, but what of the soul? Isn't that what lives on forever? The soul immortalizes us all. Just something to think about. Anyways, the last few photos from this roll were taken the following morning. It's becoming an interesting habit.

enjoi!

Roll:
1. Kodak Portra 160nc

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Cherry Blossoms in Seoul, 2011


















감자탕 (pork bone soup) & incredibly delicious.


another fe2 shooter in seoul.


one day...

... i'm going to have an M6


pax