# Back in Korea



## thereyougo! (Aug 27, 2012)

Korea is a country I spend a lot of time in, and as being a place with fantastic food, it is a beautiful and fascinating country.  I was involved with an event in the coastal city of Incheon at the weekend and one area, Song-do has had a huge amount of work including a skyscraper and many interesting apartment buildings.  They are all built around a man made inlet with filtered sea water having been pumped in.


Pentax 645D FA 35 at 1/50 f/11 ISO 100





Incheon-apartments by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Same camera and lens:


f/8 1/60 ISO 100





Incheon-building by singingsnapper, on Flickr


f/8 1/60 ISO 200





Central-Park-Apartments,-Incheon by singingsnapper, on Flickr


f/8 1/60 ISO 200





Early-evening-light-in-Inncheon by singingsnapper, on Flickr


f/16 1/60 ISO 200





Here's-Incheon-Canal-at-just-before-sunset by singingsnapper, on Flickr


f/8 1/100 ISO 200





Evening-at-Incheon by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Traveled down by KTX bullet train to Ulsan or Hyundai town as it's popularly known. Had a tour around the shipyard, unfortunately photographs not allowed there, although many interesting subjects, not least the newly completed tankers that are nearly a quarter of a mile long. the engines are massive and 9 million bhp! Incredibly the shipyard builds 120 ships like this a year!


Afterwards went down to the shore and took a stroll. The lighthouse is influenced by dolphins which make a regular appearance here:


Pentax 645D FA 35 f/11 1/50 ISO 250 converted in Silver efex pro2





Ulsan-Lighthouse by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## Jaemie (Aug 27, 2012)

Nice photos!

What is "filtered seawater" and why filter it?


----------



## Xpertss (Aug 27, 2012)

Excellent photos!


----------



## Denon (Aug 28, 2012)

Great photos! Seems like a interesting place to visit(and great photo opportunities as well)


----------



## dalex100 (Aug 28, 2012)

I really like the : "Here's-Incheon-Canal-at-just-before-sunset". I love the fact that the sun is between the two buildings. Wonderful!


----------



## thereyougo! (Aug 29, 2012)

Took a stroll around the centre of Seoul, including visiting a fascinating Henri Cartier Besson exhibition at Seoul's Sejong Centre.  After we left we took astroll along the very long traffic island which has a statue of the Emporor Sejong who was responsible for giving the Korean people their language and freedom from the Japanese influence at the time.


The Sejong statue:


Canon 5D mk III EF 24 - 70 at f/8 and 43mm 1/125 ISO 125





Sejong by singingsnapper, on Flickr


We took a stroll in an area where a river has been restored by removing the road.  On a warm day it was very popular with people relaxing.  It might have little aesthetic value but took this shot with a view to converting to Black and white.  While I endeavour to get things right, decided to experiment with triangular shapes in a high contrast area:


f/5.6 24mm 1/40 ISO 800





Seoul-bridge-abstract by singingsnapper, on Flickr


A different bridge (both converted in Silver efex)


f/11 25mm 1/30 ISO 100





Seoul-city-river-bridge by singingsnapper, on Flickr


On our way back to our hotel, the sky gave some colour as sunset approached:


f/11 58mm 1/250 ISO 400





sunset-over-Seoul by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Aug 30, 2012)

Another shot of the modern 'old' bridge:


Canon 5D mk III EF 24 - 70L at 34mm and f/11 1/125 ISO 100





Seoul-modern-old-bridge by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Aug 30, 2012)

Some night shots from the Gangnam area of Seoul.  Was hoping to make use of the wet weather to capture reflections in the road, but as things turned out after a wet day with another typhoon due to blow through tomorrow, it stopped raining and on a warm evening the road dried up with 30 minutes.  


I have done a shot here before with the Canon and a macro lens.  This time I have used both my cameras with wider lenses.


Pentax 645D FA 45 - 85 at f/16 at 60mm





Gangnam-traffic-trails-in-Seoul2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr







Gangnam-traffic-trails-in-Seoul by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Pentax 645D FA 45 - 85 at 45mm f/16





Gangnam night shot by singingsnapper, on Flickr


There is a large exhibition centre and one of the largest shopping malls in Asia called Coex and this is on the corner


Pentax 645D FA 35 f/11





coex-sign by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Sep 2, 2012)

Spent some time in Young-Wo in the Eastern part of the Republc of Korea (South) and took a trip to the top of a mountain at night to see the view of the stars from the observatory.  No chance of star trails as the full moon is fully out, so decided to use the light of the moon to make the best of the magnificent scenery in front of me.


This one is when the observatory roof was opened for us to see the sky and after a short talk we were allowed to take photos.  I brought my tripod with me and balanced it a little precariously on the edge of a metal wall.


Canon 5D Mk III Carl Zeiss 35mm f/5 30 secs ISO 320





A-View-from-the-top-of-Dang-Gang-observatory by singingsnapper, on Flickr




A Panoramic from a balcony at the entrance to the observatory 


Pentax 645D  FA35 f/5.6 91 secs (4 shots) ISO 160





Moonlit Panorama from Dong Gang Observatory by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 5, 2012)

Some from Pohang on the Eastern Coast of South Korea.  had a tour around the country's largest steel works where the mill makes sheets of steel 2km long.  Unfortunately no photographs allowed there.  


This is just along the coast - 


Nikon D800 Nikkor 24 - 70 at f/8  38mm 1/80 ISO 200





Pohan-coast-lighthouse by singingsnapper, on Flickr


A casual portrait taken from a little distance:


Nikkor AFS 300 f/4 at f/5.6 1/320 ISO 1600





korean-girl-on-seashore by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and a colleague of mine taking her self portrait on her iPhone - the hand represents outreach and was built for the new millennium


Nikkor 24 - 70 at f/6.3 and 31mm 1/80 ISO 400





It's-behind-you-Jeein! by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## PlanetStarbucks (Oct 5, 2012)

I must have missed part of this thread last month.  I was scrolling through it thinking, nice, ok, ok, nice, and then I got to the shot from the obsevatory.  BOOM...That's an epic shot from above the mountains.  Just wanted to say, "nice shot, bro" albeit late I suppose.


----------



## jaguaraz (Oct 5, 2012)

The first set and the shot from up in the mountains are spectacular!  I love the lines of the non-straight buildings; almost made me dizzy...


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 6, 2012)

Thanks guys:

Out and about around Pohang in South Korea and took the 300mm f/4 for a good workout.   A lot of shots got deleted for missing focus as I was panning, and one lesson learned is to push the ISO up a little more- Jetski's are hard to capture below 1/500th.


A lot of fhishing boats were out and some were heading in


(All with Nikon D800 and Nikkor AF-S 300 f/4)


f/8 1/640 ISO 200





Fishing-Boat-bringing-its-catch-in_ by singingsnapper, on Flickr


converted in silver efex 2:





Fishing-Boat-bringing-its-catch-in-bw by singingsnapper, on Flickr


A couple of boats dragging their nets in


f/11 1/640 ISO 400





Pohang-fishing-boats-pulling-nets-in by singingsnapper, on Flickr


A young couple walking along the beach


f/11 1/400 ISO 400





Korean-couple-at-Pohang by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Some jetskis and their riders


f/8 1/640 ISO 200





Jetski-at-Pohang by singingsnapper, on Flickr


f/8 1/1000 ISO 200





Jetski-at-Pohang-1 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


f/8 1/800 ISO 200





Jetski-at-Pohang-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 7, 2012)

Today in fine weather we went to Seokguram Grotto and the nearby temples in the mountains above the town of Gwanju in South Korea.  


The view over the valley:


Nikon D800 Nikkor 14 - 24 at f/8 and 14mm 1/125 ISO 100





looking-across-gwangju-valley by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Looking from next to the grotto itself (we weren't allowed to take photos of the buddha - some temples allow it but these specifically ask you to refrain.)


nikkor 24 - 70 at f/8 and 38 mm 1/200 ISO 100





looking-from-the-top-of-the-temple-over-gwangju by singingsnapper, on Flickr


The large bell at the lower temple - the higher one you could pay 1000 Korean Won (about $1) to strike the bell with the hammer - this meant there were too many people around it to photograph it.


Nikkor 24 - 70 at f/8 and 29mm 1/60 ISO 200





The-bell by singingsnapper, on Flickr


The bridge over the small lake


Nikkor 24 - 70 at f/8 56mm, 1/125 ISO 200





bridge by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 8, 2012)

Toured the Hyundai motor factory today in Ulsan - the largest single factory in the world - The single building we were in viewing the assembly of Hyundai i30's for Europe and the Elantra for North America produces 80 cars an hour for 20 hours a day.  The plant is 80% manual 20% robot operated.  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photographs.  We drove 4 hours along the east coast of Korea and stopped at a service area with what would be frankly disgusting toilets in the west, but what is fairly normal in the far east.  There were steps down to a rocky beach and we were there close t sunset time.  The weather has been glorious and there was some nice light.  Here are a few shots all handheld with the D800 and Nikkor 24 - 70:


1.  24mm f/8 1/50 ISO 400 





Gwangeung-coast by singingsnapper, on Flickr


2.  Same settings





Gwangeung-coast-1 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


3.  24mm f/11 1/40 ISO 640





Gwangeung-coast-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


4.  24mm f/13 1/40 ISO 640





Gwangeung-coast-3 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


5.  24mm f/8 1/50 ISO 640





Gwangeung-coast-4 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 8, 2012)

I am staying in a slightly strange, but luxurious place.  It is at the easternmost point of South Korea, and the hotel is kind of a cruise ship but built on a small hill above the sea.  


Nikon D800 Nikkor 14 - 24 at 14mm f/8 10 seconds ISO 100





boat-hotel by singingsnapper, on Flickr


I woke at 0545 this morning to catch the light before sun rise and the sunrise itself for all of these I used photomatix to merge several exposures.  


Nikon D800 Nikkor 24 - 70 36mm and f/16 ISO 50 15 mins before the sun rose





Before-sunrises-at-the-Easternmost-point-of-Korea by singingsnapper, on Flickr


As the sun rose: (a bit of flare was unavoidable as I was shooting directly at the sun)


same FL and settings:





wider-here-comes-the-sun by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and at 60mm and f/11





Here-comes-the-sun by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## jfrabat (Oct 9, 2012)

There are some REALLY nice images here...  Some of the shots of the buildings look like architechtonic renders!


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 9, 2012)

More from Korea.  Today I went to a farm in the North East of South korea, and we were driven to the top of the range at 1500m.  We met quite a few different characters on the way:


This is Jeff - an English sheepdog brought out to Korea to move sheep.  Korea isn't big on sheep - it produces great Beef, although not as famous as the US or Japan, it is very succulent and well tended.


Nikon D800 Nikkor AFS 80 - 200 at 200mm f/6.3 1/1000 ISO 500





Jeff-the-english-sheepdog-in-Korea by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and here he is in action:


same camera and lens: 200mm f/8 1/1250 ISO 500





sheepdog-trial by singingsnapper, on Flickr


This is Mr Ha, the best shepherd in Korea and the only shearer in the country.  He spends time in the UK and NZ keeping his skills up to date.  It sounded slightly strange hearing "come- by" in a korean accent!


same set up: 200mm f/6.3 1/800 ISO 500





Mr-Ha-the-shepherd by singingsnapper, on Flickr


At the end day this little guy was running around the yard and not sitting still for very long.  Unfortunately I went for a wander with just the camera with the 24 - 70 attached.  My other lenses were packed in the car, so I've had to crop this down a fair bit I had sprayed and prayed a little and he stood and looked at me for 4 seconds about a foot or two away. Unfortunately as sod's law would have it, I was waiting for the buffer to empty and missed the shot:


nikkor 24 - 70 @ 70mm f/6.3 1/160 ISO 800





Do-you-think-it's-Alvin- by singingsnapper, on Flickr


At the very end of the day we went to an excellent beef restaurant where you buy your meat first in a supermarket that is part of the restaurant and then they put the charcoal BBQ in and you cook it.  Delicious.  The best restaurants in Korea often don't look much to look at, but the food is fresh and tasty:


I only had my iphone with me so processed the shot in CS5


The settings chosen by the iPhone 4s were: 1/30 35mm equiv 35mm f/2.4 ISO 50





Korean-beef-restaurant by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 10, 2012)

A couple more from yesterday and a few from today in various parts of North Eastern South Korea.


this is from the highest peak within Samyang Ranch at 1300m.  Converted in silver efex pro2.  I suspect I've overcooked the sky a little as originally it was fairly innocuous.


Nikon D800 Nikkor 14 - 24 at 14mm f/11 1/200 ISO 100





view-from-Samyang-hill-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


There are a fair few windfarms up there and I thought I would make the most of the wide end of my 14 - 24 to get some interesting perspectives:


Nikkor 14 - 24 at 14mm f/11 1/320 ISO 100





Electric-windmill-Samyang-ranch by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Nikkor 14 - 24 at 20mm f/11 1/160 ISO 100





ultrawide-windfarm-from-side-in-colour by singingsnapper, on Flickr


The Autumn colours are in full swing here, with deep golds and even reds.  This is at the base of the ranch


Nikon D800 Nikkor 24 - 70 at f/8 1/160 ISO 100





autumn-leaves by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Today we went further North, (our hotel is within 35 miles of the North Korean border) and took a cable car part way up seoraksan mountain.  At about 1600mm there were a few fingers of rock around.  The climbing isn't the hardest, even so there are people speaking words of encouragement from a megaphone on the summit to get people to climb to the top.  Before I did, I found an interesting angle between some rocks:


Nikkor 24 - 70 at f/11 24mm 1/60 ISO 100





cloud through the rocks by singingsnapper, on Flickr


converted to B/W in Silver efex pro2





cloud through the rocks bw by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 10, 2012)

One more before I go to bed - it's 01.30 am here - here's one from our drive to our hotel in Yang Yang which is famous for my favourite vegetable, the mushroom.  We had crossed one river bridge and I saw a stunning view with the light getting better and better.  However there was nowhere to stop and it was a busy road without a pavement.  Thankfully there was another bridge with a similar view where there was a pavement.


Nikon D800 Nikkor 14 - 24 at 20mm f/16 1/4 ISO 50





looking down the valley in sokcho, Korea by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 15, 2012)

More from the last few days in Seoul.  This was the evening we went to the Jazz club.


Waiting to cross the road to Bongeun-Sa temple


1.Nikon D800 Nikkor 24 - 70 at 24mm f/14 1/125 ISO 400





Gangnam-street by singingsnapper, on Flickr


A few inside Bongeun-Sa Temple:


2. Nikkor 24 - 70 at 24mm f/11 1/30 ISO 250





Bongeun-Sa-Temple by singingsnapper, on Flickr


3. 24 - 70 at 24mm f/11 1/50 ISO 500





Bongeun-Sa-Temple-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


4. Nikkor 14 - 24 at 14mm f/8 1/60 ISO 320





Bongeun-Sa-Buddha by singingsnapper, on Flickr


5. Looking back towards Gangnam from the back of the stone


Nikkor 24 - 70 at 24mm f/8 1/60 ISO 400





Gangnam's-high-rise-buildings-reflected-in-the-floor by singingsnapper, on Flickr


6. Looking through the trees towards the Seoul World Trade Center


24mm f/8 1/50 ISO 500





Looking-past-temple-and-tree-to-Seoul's-World-Trade-Center by singingsnapper, on Flickr


7. The last light was in the sky as I returned to my hotel:


29mm f/4 1/60 ISO 800





Gangnam-square-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


8. 24mm f/7.1 1/40 ISO 1000





Gangnam-square by singingsnapper, on Flickr


9. And my view from the car in Seoul on our way to the Jazz club.  Seoul's roads typically jammed with traffic:


Nikkor AFS 50 1.8G f/3.5 1/50 ISO 1000





Seoul-traffic by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Oct 16, 2012)

Some more from my recent trip to Korea.  We climbed part way up a 5000 ft mountain, and the going was quite steep in places, but the views were great.  There were a lot of people climbing too and it was fortunate that it was dry as the rocks would have been like ice when wet.  


Here are some of the people heading up:


Nikon D800 Nikkor 24 - 70 at 24mm f/11 1/250 ISO 100





People-on--their-way-up-the-mountain by singingsnapper, on Flickr


Here is the view from the top through the AFS 300 f/4D lens: I have used the high pass filter to grab detail out of the haze:


AF-S 300 f/4 at f/8 1/400 ISO 200





View-from-the-top by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and much wider view:


Nikkor 14 - 24 at 14mm f/8 1/125 ISO 100





View-from-the-top-of-the-mountain-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


and converted to BW in Silver Efex pro2





BW-View-from-the-top-of-the-mountain-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------



## thereyougo! (Jan 8, 2013)

Looking from U-do Island to Jeju Island, South Korea


Pentax 645N FA 33 - 55 





Looking-to-Jeju-from-U-do-Island by singingsnapper, on Flickr


----------

