PIK OCTOBER

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

P I KP H O T O G R A P H E R S I N K O R E A

OCTOBER 2013ISSUE 1

[ ]+

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

Four Venues in South Korea During the 2013 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk Saturday 5 October 2013 is the date for the 2013 Scott Kelby World-wide Photo Walk

Last year there were three separate photo walks in South Korea howev-er at the time of this posting there are four walks scheduled for this year Two new comers to this international event will be hosting walks in Seoul while two returning veterans will again host their walks in different cities in the southern part of the country

There is still plenty of time to join the walks but a photographer must register to participate and to receive the perks and prizes offered this year

Here is a list of the walk leaders and their locations

1) Zelri Coetzee is new to the Scott Kelby photo walk scene in Korea She will be leading her walk in Seoul

2) Another new comer is Matthew Theron and he also will be leading a walk in Seoul

3) As he did in 2012 Joe Wabe will be leading a walk in Gwangju in Jeol-lanam-do

4) Also returning to lead a walk is Jason Teale His event will be held in Ulsan

Good luck to the walk leaders and to the participants

Four Venues in South Korea2013 Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk

2012 Grand Prize Winner

Photo By Lars AnshelmLund Skane lan Sverige

By Mark Eaton

4

PIK is an online photography magazine featuring contemporary photography from established and emerging photographers living in Korea One of the aims of PIK is to contribute to the development of the scene in Korea and help connect local and international talent within and outside the peninsula

PIK publishes in-depth exhibitions tips reviews and interviews and care-fully curated imagery with the goal of helping to showcase lesser known but significant photographers and bring their originality creativity and style to a wider audience

It is very difficult to find the right words to describe which photographs we prefer in PIK magazine However we look for those photographs that can easily be connected to a certain artist as they carry their personal and recog-nizable mark We hope to share your unique and successful photographs not only with Korea but with the world

P I K[ ]+

Joe Wabe

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

P I KOUR TEAM JOE WABE founder design amp art directorLORRYN SMITchief editor JORDAN VANHARTINGSVELDTpress sub-editorRELJA KOJIC photograpy columnist contributer JOHN STEELE photography editor amp consultantMARK EATON photography expert JASON TEALE photography editor amp consultant YELUC KCAZ film photograpy contributer

WE RECOMMEND READING PIK IN FULL-SCREEN MODE IF YOU ARE ON A PC ALTHOUGH NONE OF OUR CONTENT COULD BE REGARDED OFFENSIVE IT DOES CONTAIN NUDE PHOTOGRAPHY MINORS SHOULD READ UNDER ADULT GUIDANCE

ISSUE 1

p h o t o g r a p h e r s i n k o r e a c o m

Joe Wabe

cover by aoife casey

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AOIFE CASEY JORGE TORO IIZE L SCHLEBUSHIRELAND USA SOUTH AFRICA

2416 20

Featured

[ [ [

p i k p h o t o g r a p h e r s i n k o r e a c o m

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

IIZE L SCHLEBUSH

USAHECTOR KIM

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PI

K[

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Featured

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p i k p h o t o g r a p h e r s i n k o r e a c o m

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photogwangjuplusJaypee Capiral

G+ PHOTO COMMUNITIESEDITORrsquoS CHOICE

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

photogwangjuplusJaypee Capiral

Roy Cruzkoreanphotography

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Getting The Right ColorsA number of non- and amateur pho-tographers have asked me recently ldquoHow do you get such nice colors in the sky The sky is always white and boring in my picturesrdquo The answer is quite simple ndash shoot during the right time of day My aesthetic preference occurs within the lsquoblue hourrsquo which takes place during the twilight hours of morning and night More specifi-cally the 30 minutes or so leading up to sunrise and the 30 minutes follow-ing sunset During this time there is neither complete daylight nor dark-ness and the quality of light is at its best to attain some magical sky tones If you are shooting a city landscape

at sunrise many of the city lights re-main on from the previous night and if at sunset the lights will be switched on for the upcoming night These will add beauty to your image

Another factor to bear in mind is the weather Check the forecast (httpwwwkmagokr if living in Korea) and wait for a day with strong sun low dust levels high visibility and in-teresting cloud formations to ensure optimal shooting conditions Dust levels and high visibility are especial-ly important if shooting subjects far in the distance Letrsquos take a look at two examples of a recent photo trip

John Steele is an American landscape photographer based in Seoul Korea

He has been living and working in Korea since 2002

wwwjohnsteelephotocom

11

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

Getting The Right Colors

that I took to Songo in Incheon In both examples the compositions are basically the same but the first pic-ture in the set was taken before twi-light when the sun was still strong and the second was taken during blue hour after the sun had just set Note the difference in light quality and sky tones

These files are straight out of camera (RAW-gtJpeg)

And below are the post-processed images snapped during blue hour They are much easier to work with because they contain more color out of camera

I hope these tips help you achieve beautiful tones in your pictures Of course there is nothing wrong with shooting landscapes during the mid-dle of the day In fact I do it all the time looking for bright blue skies and isolated puffy clouds But if you are looking for deep rich sky tones ndash the reds oranges purples and deep blues ndash try shooting during blue hour when the weather conditions are great I would also advise getting to the location 30 minutes before twi-light to set up and take some test shots to get some compositional ideas before twilight takes place so you will be ready when the magic happens

12

effective compositionIn many landscape or cityscape shots you see a vast ocean or something in the foreground with the horizon line sitting on one of the ldquoaccepted posi-tionsrdquo to which a photographer must put a horizon line Those ldquoaccepted positionsrdquo usually follow the ldquorule of thirdsrdquo and thus creates a balanced and appealing frame or does it

Using the foreground effectively can create stunning images in areas where your eyes would normally just skim over If you are on top of a roof it can also give a great sense of place especially when coupled with leading lines

Often we focus on the largest objects in our viewfinder and believe that this will complete the image Many times something more compelling sits but a few meters from our camera This also doesnrsquot mean putting the hori-zon at the top and hoping whatever is in the foreground will do You have to choose carefully

Jason Teale is a Canadian photographer specializing in HDR

photography He has lived in Ulsan South Korea since 2003

wwwjasontealecomblog

13

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

effective composition

Break Up the Pattern

If the foreground elements are repet-itive enough that they form a pattern you may want to look for elements within the pattern that donrsquot fit as they will add more interest It makes This will give your eye a few more points of interest to look at instead of just focusing on the horizon line

Leading your Eye

ldquoLeading linesrdquo is a well-known compositional technique but used as a foreground element it creates a powerful way to draw your eye to the main subject or even just to the horizon These can lead straight to the horizon or across the frame but what ever you see you know that it will add to the interest of the overall image

14

The ldquoS-linerdquo

If you have lived in Korea long enough you will probably snicker a bit at this name but the technique does work You eye naturally follows this line through the frame A river or winding road in the foreground makes a great element to add to the image

When to Use these Elements

Obviously if you have a dramat-ic sky or something that you really want to draw peoples attention to you will want to leave these elements out However there are times when the sky is just ldquomehrdquo or there is not enough in the overall frame to hold peoplersquos interest Also note that at times when our eyes see something great and dynamic our camera may not capture it Thus checking the foreground while you are shooting may save a shot from being just ldquomehrdquo

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

Stepping it up a Notch

If you are looking to really make use of this technique try a couple of ver-tically oriented shots Coupled with a wide-angle lens this will increase the amount of space the foreground ele-ments have and will make the image a lot more powerful Think of it a bit like giving the foreground elements a shot of steroids as the distortion of the wide-angle lens with create an ex-aggerated view of them

16

[ Aoife Casey ]

As an Irish artist that moved to Korea seven months ago I have a varied artistic background with a degree in Fine Art a diploma in painting and Permaculture as well as qualifications in textiles and fashion

The Natural Beauty Project

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

Over the years I have experiment-ed with various mediums including sculpture paint installation perfor-mance photography print and fash-ion I have exhibited in Ireland and abroad both in a group capacity and as a solo artist My work over the past couple of years have been explora-tions of sensorial experiences with-in social cultural architectural and environmental spaces Before leaving Ireland I worked to find a correlation between the recession in Ireland and its effect on environments specifical-ly the social awareness of the people experiencing it To this end I took pictures of models in environments such as derelict buildings decom-missioned factories and rubble yards

After moving to Korea I noticed the massive social pressure on people to meet a certain standard of beauty One in five Koreans have had some form of plastic surgery as compared to the one in twenty of the United States I decided to investigate what everyday women in Korea felt in rela-tion to the topic by interviewing and photographing 50 Korean women who had not gone through with plas-tic surgery Now four months later the work is almost complete and the first showing will be on the 1st of Oc-tober 2013 at the Anni Gallery in Anguk Station in Seoul

The Natural Beauty Project

18

I was surprised and am delighted by the enthusiasm with which people became involved in this project I feel it has opened dialogue about some-thing that has become readily accept-ed as part of life here It also raised questions about the plastic surgery industry as a whole and the inabili-ty of Koreans to accept themselves These questions only lead to others concerned with gender and equality

I want this project to send a positive message one of hope perseverance and acceptance I feel I have achieved that and hope that everyone contin-ues to spread the positive message with an open heart

19

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

I want this project to send a positive message one of hope perserver-ance and acceptance I feel I have achieved that and hope that everyone continues to spread the positive message with an open heart

Faceboook Project LinkExhibition LinkArtist WebsiteArtist Blog

ldquo rdquo

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[ jorge toro ]

I bought my first digital camera when I was teenag-er At the time I was leaving for France on a student exchange program and took pictures while aboard when I went away to college and when I eventually came here to Korea in 2010

My Seoul Photography

21

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

During that time I took pictures of various things which grabbed my interested without learning much about photography After breaking another point and shoot in the winter of 2010 I finally decided to invest in a Nikon DSLRFollowing the camera purchase I continued to take pictures as I ex-plored my new home here in Ko-rea My inquisitive nature led me to quizzically stare at all the buttons knobs and dials on my camera so I spent most of 2011 learning my camera researching the fundamen-tals of photography and developing my own style The more I learned about photography the more camera equipment I invested in and eventu-ally decided to become a professional photographer

My Seoul Photography

22

I encountered nightclub photog-raphy and it quickly became the bread and butter of my photography business In my opinion night club photography epitomizes low light shooting When I compose a shot I usually cannot see my subjects clear-ly due to darkness filling most of the space Each and every night club event poses a unique challenge The heart-pounding music intoxicated patrons and inescapable fatigue do not help the situation However I have been fortunate enough to meet people who have granted me many opportunities to not only showcase my skills but also improve them since I never had any formal training in photography Each new event is a chance to learn something different and hone my craft

The more I learned about photography the more camera equipment I gradually bought and decided to become a pro-fessional photographer

ldquo rdquo

23

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

When I walk into a nightclub I al-ways note the height of the ceiling This is important because the viv-id lights approach the camera from above the subjects This differs from other types of photography because people tend to use either direct flash or bounced flash to highlight the sub-ject itself I usually lock my setting in so I donrsquot have to fidget with the dials and knobs on my camera when I take each shot I shoot around ISO 4000 at f56 and with shutter speeds that range from two seconds to 1100 of a second depending on the look that I want to achieve with each shot

I am comfortable with the progress I have made as a photographer and take pride in the growth of my busi-ness However I must forge on with networking and growth both in my trade and in my life in order to be truly happy with my photography This is only the beginning of My-SeoulPhotography and I hope to be fortunate enough to do this for many more years to come

httpmyseoulphotographycom

24

[ iize louw schlebush ]

Irsquom a portrait photographer who also teaches English in Korea Irsquom also a typical farm girl from the beau-tiful Western Cape in Southern Africa My husband and I first moved to Korea five years ago where I have been able to eat breathe and live photography

Love for Real Moments

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

[ iize louw schlebush ]

I got my first DSLR camera here in Korea 5 years ago and I was in-trigued by what it could do So I got a 50mm lens and started shoot-ing experimenting and carrying my camera everywhere I went To go out and just shoot is the best way for me to learn and at that time I was only shooting for myself I wanted to see exactly what my camera and one lens could do so I went all out I tried ev-erything and which led me to know-ing exactly what I like and what I donrsquot But most importantly how it all works

The more photos I took the more I realized I love having a person in my pictures and so I started focusing on portrait photography

I love eyes And I love the story peo-ple (or one person) can tell by captur-ing them in a snippet of time

Love for Real Moments

26

My first shoot here in Korea was for a fellow South African whose little girl turned one year old so I did the birthday party photos From there I just got more and more enquiries from expat families living in Korea Right now I photograph babies tod-dlers couples and families over the weekends which gives me the oppor-tunity to travel all over the place

I also love doing individual portraits So I got in contact with a few models to work on some personal projects I have Another secret passion of mine is whimsical still life photography I love making a piece of art with my camera and the creative post process-ing afterwards is kind of soothing to me

I love real moments not perfect photos Irsquom crazy about a shallow depth of field negative space in a photo and working with my Lens-baby lens

The best part of photography to me is the memories it brings back Long after you have forgotten ev-erything I love the stories you can tell through it but mostly because of it

httpilzelouwcoza

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

I love real moments not perfect photosldquo rdquo

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[ hector kim ]

I have long been a curious wanderer and traveling has thus been a big part of my identity and lifestyle

The Curious Wanderer

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

[ hector kim ]

From the penguin colony in Simonrsquos Town South Africa to the heavenly island Samosir in Indonesia I have spent many years of my life pho-tographing mesmerizing beauties around the world And the people that I have met on my journeys have given me a different set of eyes each and every time

The compilation series ldquoImagined Nostalgiardquo is a reflection of my on-go-ing artistic pursuit of both memo-ry-collecting and memory-making Life is a journey full of memories We find meanings in not only re-calling some from the past but also making some for the future Neither the memories from the past nor the memories-to-be are any less precious I am grateful that I can share some of my memories as well as those of the viewers through photography be-yond time and space

The Curious Wanderer

30

ldquoWe find meanings in not only recalling some from the past but also making some for the

futurerdquo

ldquo rdquo

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

Hector Kim is a Korean-born Amer-ican fine art photographer who now shares his time between Seoul Bang-kok and Stockholm Born and raised in Seoul Kim moved to the US as a teenager Along with his first car a 35mm Asahi-Pentax (which Kimrsquos father had used for forensic photog-raphy) was passed down to the young Kim The three soon became best friends and traveled across North America which later shaped the years of Kimrsquos life as a nomad artist

Until leaving the US for graduate school in Europe and round-the-world journeys Kim enjoyed his ca-reer as a commercial videographer photographer Kim filmed and pho-tographed many celebrities in Holly-wood including the Dustin Hoffman family Don Henley of the Eagles and the Katzenberg family of Dream Works and he also created promo-tional films and online contents for fortune 500 corporate clients like Samsung Canon and NBC

httpwwwhkimcom

32

I recently had the opportunity to photograph a couple of images for GAP

I was given a camera and a 50mm 14 and was expected to make magic happen at noon on a clear day I was also asked to incorporate my very en-ergetic dog into the images A rook-iersquos nightmareI decided to use the architecture in the park to provide interesting back-grounds (and in some cases shade)

I continuously shot at an aperture of f20 so that only the modelrsquos head and torso were in focus and I switched between shutter speeds of 12000 and 12500 of a second be-cause of the harsh light I also chose backgrounds that would absorb some of the light in some way and every-thing turned out just like I had envi-sioned

Lorryn Smit Photography

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

34

Photography in Korea

The Current State ofF i l mBy Zack Cluley

35

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

When people think of Asia and pho-tography all roads inevitably lead tothe camera capital of the world Ja-pan

This is understandable as Japan is home to a majority of the major players in the photography world--Nikon Canon Sony Fujifilm--and numerous lesser known companies Well as one might imagine Japan is the mecca of the world for photo-graphic tools especially in regards to second-hand shopping and analog photography

However many people never seem to consider Japanrsquos next door neigh-bor just over the water South Korea Donrsquot be mistaken itrsquos far from rival-ing Japan in any considerable way but what many people never realize is the market for film photography is alive and well over here And itrsquos a major player compared to the analog worlds of the west

Now film isnrsquot quite as hip in South Korea as it is in Japan but over the last couple of years there has been a noticeable rise in the number of film cameras in the hands of hobby-ists From the plasticky never know exactly what yoursquore gonna get trend of Lomography to the classic SLRs

Photography in Korea

The Current State ofF i l m

36

TLRs and rangefinders of the 1900s film doesnrsquot seem to be on its way out on this little isolated peninsula Con-sidering Koreansrsquo passionate care for their public appearance itrsquos not a stretch to say analog photography might catch on again as a popular trend in the next 10 years and with Korearsquos current situation Seoul is al-ready prepped for takeoff

One of the biggest perks of shooting analog in South Korea lies in the costs for processing The prices to develop and scan film at the best profession-al labs costs at most half that of the labs in the western world However considering the hobbyist market is where most analog photography-re-lated companies stand a chance of earning any real profit in the future lets look there

Most hobbyists probably donrsquot feel the need to use a pro lab when cheap-er options are available I know in the US some of the cheapest developing options for C-41 and E-6 process films (machine-based processes) are found at 247 places like Walgreens or membership based wholesale stores like Samrsquos Club Yet various labs such as the ones at E-mart or the smaller ones in Chungmuro provide the same service for as low as 1500W (less than USD 150) Even more and something unrivaled in the west is that some labs will process non-chro-mogenic black and white films (must be developed by hand) for as cheap as 2500W (app $225 USD) a roll a substantial 75 cheaper than most places in the west

Prices such as these not only reveals

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

that a living market for analog shoot-ers still exists but if you were ever in-terested in giving it a go South Korea maintains affordable costs to do so This is big news

Especially for the hobbyists whorsquove always wanted to experience a taste of what the film days were like for pho-tographers before the DSLR era or for the Lomo and expired film lovers who enjoy the simplicity and unpre-dictable results that can be achieved without breaking the bank As long as the market holds out in its cur-rent state while various signs point to a growing niche market for analog photography in the world I find it hard to believe film will be dying off anytime soon

With such a low-cost barrier for entry therersquos little reason not to at least give analog photography a try Besides Irsquod go as far as saying most photographers hobbyists and profes-sionals alike still have a profound ap-preciation for film and all the images created with it that are still idolized today

Although analog photography may never exist on a scale as widespread as towards the end of the 20th cen-tury the durability of analog cameras hints at the idea of analog photogra-phy continuing to thrive as a niche market next to Vinylrsquos for the fore-seeable future

38

There is only one question to answer when contemplating a lens Do you own a DX format camera If yes then buy this lens The year and a half that I have spent with this lens has led me to recommend it to anybody that asks me what his or her first DX lens pur-chase should be Allow me to break it down

The best thing about this lens for me is its small size Thatrsquos actually the first reason I even considered buy-ing it Up until that point my regular walk around lens was the 24-70mm f28 I can attest that the moment I felt the flighty weight of the 35mm my wrist thanked me Beyond the weight though this definitely is one of the smallest DX lens that is avail-able to Nikon shooters Which means that it can always fill that odd empty space in the camera bag

The small size means that it is remark-ably unobtrusive I draw less atten-tion to myself using the 35mm than I do using my 77mm filter threaded beasts This means that I seem far less threatening to anyone on the street and I can move comfortably close to subjects instead of being lsquothat creepy guy with a giant lens pointed at me from across the streetrsquo

In terms of optics the 35mm offers a lovely wide aperture at a shorter focal length meaning that it is ide-al (especially in this price range) for capturing low light subjects With an equivalent focal length of 50mm and a steady hand I can ensure cam-era-shake free images at as low as 130 sec Of course shooting with the lens this wide open does show off

its apparent softness and nervous bo-keh I tend to find however that a few nudges on the sliders in Lightroom can recover whatever I feel has been lost In all honesty I actually spend most of my time with this lens at around f56

But thatrsquos because it has turned into my go to lens when Irsquom just going out for a walk and donrsquot know what I will encounter Typically I enjoy shooting landscapes and the 35mm is an amazing location-scouting lens but it is extremely sharp at smaller apertures Now donrsquot misunderstand me and assume that I think this lens

is soft wide open This lens will out perform any DX zoom lens available to new camera owners and is sure to stun with its lovely shallow DOF

Now to wrap up this lovely tiny pack-age is the price At approx 200000 won this lens is a steal for all the great new opportunities it presents to new shooters Nikon does offer 50mm primes at this price range but I have always personally felt that is too tight for how I like to shoot Go and try them both out and see for yourself

WonderThe Little

39

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 2013

Wonder

Relja Kojic began shooting in the wake of the Van-couver Winter Olympics In that short time he has gained an incredible amount of experience and friends in several jobs

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P I KP H O T O G R A P H E R S I N K O R E A

p i k p h o t o g r a p h e r s i n k o r e a c o m

[ ]+

To participage in [ P I K ] send an emailwith samples of your work for consideration