One Year

(Olympus XA, Fuji Sensia 200 cross-processed)

Early last year, I started taking photos with some film that I meant to double-expose. In my quest to get images that were as amazing and whimsical as these, I was super picky about what I shot (so silly!) and as a result it took me a year just to finish the roll.

The upside of me being such a slow-poke is that this roll accompanied me on my travels to Malaysia, Vietnam and Korea. It was fun trying to spot the bits that were taken at each location.

My conclusion: double-exposures taken using the method I chose (take photos, wind film back into canister, take more photos) can't be planned, so it's best to just snap away with abandon. I'll probably stick to regular photography for the most part, because I like having some control over the pictures I take, but I'll definitely try this again some time.

P.S. more double-exposure photos can be found here, if you're interested.

May days in Seoul #3: Seoraeseom

Seoraeseom (서래섬), a mini-island found along the Han river, had fields full of yellow rape flowers in full bloom when we were there in May. We chose a really grey, overcast day to visit, which might explain why all the photos are underexposed, but the flowers were so bright and cheery that the weather didn't matter. For some strange reason, there were also white statue-people and random mascot characters who wandered along the dirt paths, giving visitors heart attacks (statue-people) and posing for photographs (both).

May days in Seoul #2: Myeongdong

Canon AE-1, Fuji Superia 400

It's these little things that make Myeongdong endearing, despite its crazy crowds and duplicate cosmetic shops. (The fact that I love shopping doesn't hurt either.)

Happy Monday, friends!

May days in Seoul #1

Canon AE-1, Fuji Superia 400

Photos from my trip to Korea two weeks ago! My AE-1 continues to surprise me and it seems kinda strange that these four photos came from the same roll of film, because the first two and last two have such a different feel to them. The photo of the ahjussi on the subway is one of my favourites from this roll, because I actually got the focus right!

Places pictured here: Insadong, the Secret Garden in Changdeok Palace, Samcheongdong and the subway

More to follow!

Square-format Seoul

For the first time, I went on a holiday armed only with a film camera - and survived! I used to have the mindset that because film is so precious, it can't be wasted on mundane, normal things. This always results in me walking away from an outing or event wishing I'd captured more of it on film. I'm slowly learning that it's alright to snap away freely sometimes even when I'm shooting film - that not every shot has to have a super interesting subject or perfect lighting.

In the mean time, while the photos get developed, here are some instagrammed shots from my phone. Click through if you want to know more about them! I brought my family around to all the usual places like Insadong, Samcheongdong and Sinchon, and we also explored new areas like Seoraeseom, which is a lovely little islet along the Han river.


And here are just a few lovely things I've come across recently:

Am in love with these photos of Kurashiki, shot by Hiki from jollygoo.

Just discovered our.city.lights, where Diana blogs about her cool collection of cameras and other fun things.

Some dreamy photos from abby try again.

Listening to this song by Vodka Rain on repeat.


Have a happy weekend, friends!

Monochrome mountain

Here are the last few black & white photos from my trip to Korea last year. They were taken on Mt. Seorak, in Chuncheon and during Grand Mint Festival 2010. These photos bring back so many amazing memories! Photos are the best souvenirs sometimes.

Potted plants and, possibly, a protest

More photos from my previous semester in Korea. The graininess of the film makes the photos seem older somehow, don't you think? I'm missing the food and people there a lot right now, and I really hope to go back someday soon.

Anyway, sorry for the lack of posts this week, I've been simply swamped with work! Hope your week has been better than mine. In any case, we are one day away from the weekend, so hang in there everyone! 힘내요!

(P.S. I've got a colourful Friday Film Fav post lined up for tomorrow, so please look out for it!)

shapes in the sky

patterns spotted around Korea!

i'm back in Singapore with a huge backlog of photos and many wonderful memories. i'll try to slowly work my way through and blog about all the places i've been and things i've seen in the weeks ahead.

sentimental

as we sailed past the lights along the han river, i realised just how much i'll miss korea

two more days in 대한민국, making every minute count.

listening to this.

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

wednesday was a snow day! in the afternoon i spent half an hour looking out of my window, just watching the snow fall, quietly, furiously, beautifully. photos don't do it justice at all.



it snowed heavily again that night, so we hid in a cosy little cafe in anam that serves pancakes. their banana pancakes were scrumptious, but their chocolate pancakes were heavenly! each bite is full of drippy dark chocolate that melts in your mouth. i couldn't take a photo because we ate them up so quickly! this definitely goes on my 'things to eat again before i leave korea' list.

yay, the weekend is here! 주말을 잘 보내세요~

청계천을 보고 싶어 (missing cheonggyecheon)

korean is a fascinating (and sometimes, frustrating) language to learn, because a single word or phrase can have multiple meanings.

the phrase '보고 싶어요' literally means '(i) want to see (something/someone)'
but it also means '(i) miss (something/someone)'

i can't wait to take a walk along cheonggyecheon again. i know it's man-made, but there's still something magical about this stream, that was buried and then revived again. also, the last time i was there, i had the chance to view some lovely art that was being set up (possibly for the hi seoul festival), which was a bonus.

______ 보고 싶어요! (fill in the blank with something or someone you miss!)

have an enjoyable december's eve :)

travel: chun cheon (춘천)

a few weeks ago, i headed to chun cheon with a few friends and over the weekend there, we:


ate FANTASTIC dakgalbi.
chun cheon is the birthplace of this dish, so it's no surprise that they serve the best dakgalbi ever!




visited gugok falls.
the viewing area was small and very crowded, but the scenery on the way up was very lovely and made it worthwhile.




another spot worth visiting is the place along soyang river where a maiden statue stands. the view there is beautiful, with the bridge reflected in the calm green water and layers of mountains in the distance.



random things seen around chun cheon (more photos can be found on my flickr)

there wasn't a great deal to see or do there (as we'd decided to avoid the more touristy areas) but chun cheon has a laid-back small-town feel that's really nice. and because i love food so much, once the dakgalbi there won me over, i was pretty much sold! if you ever get the chance, chun cheon is definitely worth a visit!