Seoul Zoo

One of the things I'm excited about most with my new SLR is animal photography. While snapping shots at the zoo is certainly cheating to the purist, it's a good place to start. It's also a frustrating way to learn that you're going to spend $1,500 on a fast telephoto lens sooner than you want to. Who knew the pelican was so fast?

Everything shot with the Nikon D90 and 18-55mm lens with a circular polarizing filter. It was beyond foggy and I figured it was the only way to get usable shots. If I could have got closer to the lions and tigers and bears I would have been happy.

Happy Anniversary!
ISO 320, 44mm, F/5.3 @ 1/20 sec
I cranked the saturation all the way up under VIVID picture control (maybe a little too much...) to counter the creeping fog in the afternoon. We spent so much time with the birds we forgot about the elephants. Idiots.

Spit Shine
ISO 320, 40mm, F/5.3 @ 1/100 sec
Thank God for active D-lighting. I'm not savvy enough with my exposure readings yet to change on the fly as much as I should, but with a simple press of a button I was able to light this guy up to the right levels. Just before he spit in my eye.

Gator Country
ISO 320, 30mm, F/4.5 @ 1/5 sec
I forgot to read the sign so I don't know where these guys are from, but they are still pretty scary. Notice the amateur dummy reflected in the water. Silly.

Sad Stripes

ISO 320, 18mm, F/2.5 @ 1/15 sec

Korea is often an exercise in disturbance, but this might take the cake. Two fish huts pushed together featuring the skulls and hides of endangered animals. Kev is not impressed.

Pride
ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/125 sec

I'd like to say that right after this photo a brutal battle kicked off... but the lion on the left just strolled through and the rest hugged it out. This illustrated just how bad I want a telephoto lens - I was tempted to get in there with these big sissies.

Goat Mountain

ISO 320, 29mm, F/4.5 @ 1/160 sec

It's impossible to capture just how cool goats are in photographs. Any animal's physiology that drives it to climb to the highest peak it can find for no apparent reason is A-OK in my book. We watched an ancient, broken down old goat who could barely walk ascend near the peak with moves so lithe all the ballerinas in Russia wretched in jealousy.

Watchdogs

ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/30 sec

Something about these animals is just cool. I guess you have to be pretty hip to live on with the awkward q-tip of the animal world, the giraffe.

Peace

ISO 320, 45mm, F/5.3 @ 1/25 sec

If anyone can tell me what function these silly horns serve I'll give them a dollar. a fat, awkward animal with horns that are too long to do any real stabbing deserves to be fed to the lions. The female lions.

Earn Those Stripes

ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/25 sec

I shot a majority of the day in BW, for a number of reasons. First, everything is either brown or gray in the winter and nothing stands out. Second, it's a zebra. Why would I need more colour?

Grand Entry

ISO 320, 55mm, F/5.6 @ 1/40 sec

We rode the lift from the park entrance to the zoo. Why? Because walking is for suckers.

The Palace Series

I've had the chance to visit three of Seoul's four ancient Joseon palaces (I think the fourth is still on fire) in three different seasons. The contrast makes for a nice little set of photographs.
All of these were taken with point and shoot digi cameras - an ancient but trustworthy Canon Powershot A70 (ye of 2,000 Cancun photos of yesteryear) and a cheap but effective only-in-the-light Fuji Finepix J10. For all those pocket-sized adventures.

Powershot A70, ISO 100, 5.4mm, F/5.6 @ 1/320 sec
Interior lake at Gyeongbuk Palace and Surak Mt (I think) In the background. I shot this late in the summer when the flowers had already started to turn, but I think the greens are still quite lush.

Powershot A70, ISO 100, 7.8mm, F/5.6 @ 1/80 sec
Palace ventilation system near the exterior wall. I have a feeling this isn't 700 years old, but you never know in Korea. Santa needs to slip in somehow.

Powershot A70, ISO 200, 6.6mm, F/5.6 @ 1/15 sec
Tomb of the Dragon Emperor... or not. That's all I've got. Urn or BBQ pit? You just don't know.

Powershot A70, ISO 100, 11.3mm, F/5.6 @ 1/640 sec

Gyeongbuk Palace main gate. One day I'll see the changing of the guards. And swing a mighty sword. Until then, this will suffice.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 10.7mm, F/3.8 @ 1/220 sec

Deoksug Palace is the Joseon equivalent of the awkward guest house. You know, the place you send the drunk uncle on Christmas Eve after he ruins dinner by outing cousin Dane and pissing in the crisper.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 7.6mm, F/3.1 @ 1/250 sec
Deoksug roof tiles. Authentic 1309 Jeoson Dynasty, or 1997 Home Depot DIY? We'll never know. Unless we check the receipt.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 12.8mm, F/4.2 @ 1/280 sec

Flaming buckets without flame. Not as exciting as their deadly counterparts. Deoksugung doesn't have it all. Not these days.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 6.2mm, F/2.8 @ 1/220 sec

He was intimidating for three minutes. Then we found out his beard was fake. It was like the time your dad ran down the Easter bunny with his truck, and you found out that he was filled with blood and guts and not Cadbury cream eggs. Dark days.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 6.2mm, F/5.6 @ 1/200 sec

If you could choose one place to be memorialized, why not here? Or Arlington. Same dif.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 9mm, F/3.4 @ 1/60 sec

Baby Steps. A bit of a rare moment in Korea - a solitary, reflective man who is not pushing, shoving or spitting his way through the throngs. A thing of beauty.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 6.2mm, F/2.8 @ 1/150 sec

Changdeokgung's Secret Garden is likely more impressive in the spring or summer, but I like to take it in during the frozen moments. Little known fact - Wayne Gretzky skated here in 1988. True story.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 6.2mm, F/5.6 @ 1/210 sec

Upwards, not backwards, forwards, not upwards, and always twirling, twirling towards freedom! Or something.

FinePix J10, ISO 100, 6.2mm, F/2.8 @ 1/340 sec

Changdeok Palace, interior gate. I went early in the morning on an overcast and frigid January morning and caught a few decent snaps through the grounds. I liked the fact that there were hardly any people and I was only pushed over twice. A new record for Seoul.

Test Drive

These are a few of the test shots I took during week one of my DSLR voyage. I think some are a little more successful than others - I even managed to get away from Auto on day two. Word.
Osan International Hotel

ISO 200, 26mm, f/4.2 @ 1/10 sec

Shot in BW with the camera's monochrome function and set through a red filter to add a little more contrast. I think the left side of the tent and the junk in the bottom right could have been a little lighter, but it gets the job done.

Bunny Balloon Ride

ISO 800, 18mm, f/4.0 @ 1/60 sec

One of the balloons inside the Yongpyong (Dragon Valley) Ski Resort lounge. The balloon is yellow in real life but was washed out by the ceiling panels so I made a change to orange and turned up the volume.

Stacked

ISO 640, 55mm, f/5.6 @ 1/25 sec

I did my best to keep the focus on the turtle on top and soften all the guys around him. I shot the original in colour and ran the image through Lightroom's Selenium Tone without making any other changes.

Lonely Planet

ISO 1250, 48mm, f/5.6 @ 1/50 sec

I shot this guy from a few different angles and this one came out great through the glass. Even at ISO 1250 there's virtually no noise with the D90. I'm not exactly sure, but I think this is a tortoise. I also think they are endangered. Crazy Koreans.

Blue-handed Bandits

ISO 250, 55mm, f/9.0 @ 1/320 sec

Brian and Bill getting some time in on the ice. I cropped this from a larger image that showed too much dead space - the sky was overcast and it caused the ice to show up a little gray.

Charlie Brown Christmas

ISO 200, 32mm, f/4.8 @ 1/40 sec

This tree was put up two weeks after Christmas out front of a new restaurant down the street from my house. I have no idea why. But just short of sundown this sad little bugger really pops.

Men on Wire

ISO 200, 55mm, f/9.0 @ 1/320 sec

Korean construction workers (or workers from anywhere, I suppose) rarely agree to have their photo taken without throwing a hammer first. That's why I didn't give these guys a chance to complain. I shot this before sundown with the light coming in from behind and cranked the blacks in-camera to silhouette. And then I ran.

Big Smiles

ISO 200, 34mm, f/5.0 @ 1/20 sec

I turned the WB to 7000K to add a little glow under the harsh florescent lights and moved in close for this one. No cropping, no post.

The Cone

ISO 200, 55mm, f/11 @1/125 sec

There's nothing fancy about this shot, but I like it. I managed to get the needles and the snow in the foreground out of focus just enough to capture the pine cone in all it's static, boring glory. Yawn.

World on Fire

ISO 200, 35mm, f/5.0 @13.0 sec

One of the first things I did was set the camera up for a little rudimentary light painting. I aimed a laser pointer through the gap for about 8 seconds with the shutter open. It might not be the grand canyon, but it's a start. Dave Black, eat your heart out.

Because Facebonk just doesn't cut it

So I've decided to take up photography as a bit of a hobby, and since Facebook has the shadiest photo application in the world I figured I'd start posting my (bad) photographs right here. Makes sense, right?

I took in the Seoul International Photography Festival last month and managed to wait a full three weeks before running out to get my hands on an SLR camera. That's an impulse purchase record for me. So after much pointless banter with the vultures at Yongsan, I came away with the Nikon D90 and 18-55mm lens. I wanted the 18-200mm but couldn't justify the $900 expense since I really don't have any idea what I'm doing just yet. Maybe one day...

Anyway, here are some of my first attempts at "real" photography in an around my town of Osan. After four hours in the mud, ice and dirt I have come to the conclusion that I really, really need a tripod. And clean pants.

That name again is Mr Plow.

ISO 320, 20mm, f/3.8, 8.0 sec shutter speed

It took about 20 attempts to get this shot, flat out on my belly in the dirt with a cardboard box as my shooting surface. Not to mention that it was 11pm and pitch black. I think I destroyed a kimchi plantation.

The big O

ISO 320, 18mm, f/7.1, 15.0 sec shutter speed

This handheld shot was as crooked as an English smile, but I corrected it in camera. This is also why I want an ultra-wide lens - oh, what could have been.

Sleepy Hollow

ISO 320, 44mm, f/5.3, 8.0 sec shutter speed

This is my favorite shot from the night, and not only because I fell down the hill on my ass trying to get it. The light came from the Osan College Station sign about 100 feet away. I maxed out the WB to 10,000k and fired.

The Stairs

ISO 640, 18mm, f/3.5, 1.3 sec shutter speed

I. Want. A. Wide. Angle. Lens. What you see here are the stairs and the stars. What you don't see is the drunk Korean jerk who got into the second shot and shoved me for taking his picture. Prick.

The Lights

ISO 640, 18mm, f/3.5, 1.3 sec shutter speed

My first shot of the night (around 10:30) and I think it turned out alright, for being one shaky-handed bugger and all.