PIK ISSUE #7 APRIL 2014

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4월 ] PHOTOGRAPHERS , APRIL P H O T O G R A [ PPIK H E R S IN KOREA I N| ISSUEK6 O R 2014 E A

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Vibrant colors and reckless blooming of nature.

Spring in Korea, what an amazing experience! Nature is back to life. A wide range of beautiful flowers appear from everywhere and colors are painted all over. In this issue we’d like to embrace spring and let it embrace you. We have collected more amazing work that truly represents the wonders of this season.

We hope you find inspiration in the vibrant colors and reckless blooming of nature. Enjoy #7

Joe Wabe

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ISSUE

CONTRIBUTERS JOE WABE

founder, design & art director

LORRYN SMIT

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chief editor

JORDAN VANHARTINGSVELDT press sub-editor

RELJA KOJIC

photograpy columnist contributer

YEOUL PARK translator

JOHN STEELE

photography editor & consultant

cover by Jessica Berggrun

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

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

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Aaron Choi

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Marco Devon

Greg Timlin

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I S S U E

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Damari McBride 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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Korean Photography [ #JasonTeale ]

When Google plus came out with the concept of “communities” I thought it was a really good idea. A community is a lot like Facebook’s “groups” but a little better organized. I originally searched for a community that focused on Korean photography but, there was none at the time. So I created the community and hoped that it would bring both expat and Korean encourage you to make one as it is a great way to get into contact other photographers together. photographers around the world.

At the moment, the community sits at about 2,180 members from all over I organized the categories within the world. The idea was to generate the community into popular cities more of a dialogue between photog- around Korea and common topics to raphers here in Korea and also to give more focus to the photos rather share our awesome shots. The most than just making a space for people common posts these days are pho- to dump their images. So, when you tographs from around Korea by ex- post I generally would like you to pat photographers but also with few choose an appropriate category rathKorean photographers adding to the er than just using the default “Genermix. With so many members there al Photos of Korea” option. are always new posts each day.

In the future, I would like to see more Joining the community is simple, es- interaction with the Korean photogpecially if you are a Gmail user and I raphers. I feel that the high amount believe your Google account is linked of English used within the commuto Google plus already. Once you log- nity is one of the barriers. However, in into your profile, all you have to do I think that as a “community” we can is click on “communities” and then find away to communicate with evsearch for “Korean Photography” eryone. Stop by the Korean photogand join the community. If you don’t raphy community on Google plus toalready have a Google plus profile, I day and show us your view of Korea. [ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

hol Photo by Scott Rotzoll

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

Photo by Marc Potgieter [ #ScottRotzoll ]

While long being quite a big deal in India, Holi is now in its fourth year in Korea, and it’s becoming a sizeable event here as well.

Bringing expensive camera gear – or any camera gear, for that matter – to an event like this can create a pit of anxiety in any individual who dares.

We expected utter chaos in the form of colorful dust and sand explosions, and splatters of mud flung in every direction. I, myself, thought that sticking a camera in peoples’ faces just makes you even more of a target.

I was (mostly) wrong.

The coordinators were well-organized and made regular announcements about where the food was, what time the event would kick off, and where everyone should be once that time came. Booming Bollywood-style music helped make the atmosphere more authentic, and got people moving in the spirit of the occasion. Everyone wore white, to accentuate the splashes of colors that would soon be a part of fashion that day on Haeundae Beach.

We tried to capture some of the best moments we could. It was fairly easy to stay away from the majority of the colorful mess, at least for the first hour or so after it started, but once the powdered colors ran out, liquid paint began to pour over some of the event-goers’ faces, so most of us high tailed it out of there.

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Photo by Keith Homan

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Photo by Nathan Rivers Chesky

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

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with Jessica Berggrun

1. Best thing about doing your work in Korea?

Opportunity & Convenience. There is still a lot of art, ways of creating and diversity that has not yet been fully explored in Korea. It’s nice to share and exchange a different process of creativity. Seoul is also incredibly convenient for working in this industry! The entire country’s talent is pretty much in one place, and that’s here! I don’t have to go far at all to get involved in some very interesting projects.

2. How do you get yourself inspired for a photo shoot?

3. What does it take to be where you are?

First just become aware of what is truly the most exciting thing for you to create. Then just do whatever that is. Shoot it again and again and again.

Make each one a little bit better than the last. Step out of your comfort zone, stay there, and be really consistent. That’s where I’m at. Surrounding yourself with the dreamers and the doers helps a ton too!

4. Funniest thing that has hapMy inspiration for shoots generally pened at a shoot? starts with the fashion. I see a design/ outfit/garment and think, “What character would wear this?” and then figure out how to create this character in its entirety. From there hair/ makeup inspiration, location, lighting, posing, subject’s energy, etc. follows - where fantasy meets reality.

Lots of funny things happen with the language barrier.

5. There’s a fire. What piece of gear do you rescue?

Computer and external hard drives!

Can always reproduce the equipment, but not the lengthy project files and archives.

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

[ Aaron Choi ]

Suddenly, everything jumps back into the reality with the hyper quick, synchronized motion of the shutter. Photographers all know and cherish that magical transformative moment when they capture and preserve a tiny slice of time. The whole process is fascinating and I am glad that it is a part of who I am.

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The split second when time freezes and all the motion around you melt into thousands of pixels‌

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

Everything from hardware and software to the business aspect became very interesting and intriguing for me. In the course of searching for my own magic and identity as a photographer, I have found confidence and appreciation for the art of photography. It wasn’t that long ago that I started taking photography seriously. If you had told me three years ago that I would be waking up at four in the morning, hiking up a mountain in the dark to take photos of the sunrise, I would have probably called you crazy. I had always thought photography was an unnecessarily expensive hobby especially in a time anyone could nearly produce the same shots on their phones. The realization of photography as an art didn’t really occur to me until I first saw HDR photos.

I was mesmerized by a selection of Trey Ratcliff ’s photos that had surfaced on my Google Plus feed. As soon as I set my eyes on Trey’s colorful HDR photos, I put my cursor over the image and yelled out, “I wanna do that!” I spent hours and hours researching photography and teaching myself how to utilize basic compositional tools. Finally, I bought a Sony NEX 6 mirrorless camera and excitedly headed out, thumping out autobracketed shots with crowds of ahjummas and ahjussis with DSLRs hanging around their necks. I idolized Trey Ratcliff and began to imitate his workflow. The sole reason I purchased a NEX camera was because Trey had high praise for them.

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As I began to familiarize myself with the world of photography, I started to build my own workflow while adapting various elements from other photographers. I still appreciated Trey’s work but I wanted my photos to stand out amongst the thousands of photos online. I felt that finding my own way of photography would make my photos stand out. Once I became very comfortable with handling my camera and using an array of image editing software, I started on a path of defining my photography.

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Photography can range from the likes of William Klein’s shots of gritty New York to simple selfies. Finding my own identity in this vast world of photography composed of millions of photographers worldwide seemed rather bleak, so I decided to go out and be constantly shooting.

Through reviewing multitudes of my shots and watching my progression, I would be able to find patterns and see what kind of compositions that I found pleasant. During the weekdays, I delved into various forms of street photography after being influenced by famous street photographers like William Klein and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Since I was using a small mirrorless camera, I was able to shoot freely without attracting much attention. I found that street photography helped me build pace while out shooting about and taught me to blend into the surroundings. It also allowed me to practice various compositional elements and develop an eye for spotting them.

During weekends, I traveled into the countrysides of Korea in search for landscape and nature shots, learning to work with various weather pat-

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terns and sunlights. I discovered that spending time to review my shots was as important as going out and taking them. So I spent many nights and spare moments during my downtime at work post processing my images and watching Youtube videos on editing photos so that I could better achieve the look that I wanted. Even after months of shooting nearly everyday, I still had not felt confident in my photos.

It wasn’t until I spent two and half weeks in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany doing nothing but photography that I finally gained

that confidence. Not having to worry about work or studies and purely immersing myself in photography helped me cement all those months of practicing out in the streets and countrysides of Korea. With the newly gained confidence, I even started making money through winning small prizes in competitions and selling a few prints online.

All of my photos started to revolve around certain style and elements. I found myself fascinated by the surreal elements that one can achieve through different compositions and

processing methods; I identified myself with these kinds of shots.

I know that my search is not over yet and I still have to swim around in the vast pool of photography. Nevertheless, photography has turned out to be a very rewarding experience, opening my eyes to the beauty that I would have otherwise ignored. I think many photographers out there would agree that the way our perception of the world changed when we first decided to call ourselves photographers. And that change might be the real reason why we are so enchanted by photography.

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

[ Marco Devon]

My name is Marco and I originate from somewhere on the southern tip of Africa. I`m of an age that I would rather avoid disclosing as I am nowhere near where society expects me to be in my journey through life.

Inspiration behind every a

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- the nurtured life force artist. [ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

So basically, I was born somewhere, grew up, had experiences along the way and eventually mustered the confidence to venture into photography.

The last few years were nothing short of exciting. My life seemed to have taken a detour which might have been a blessing in disguise, but the jury is still out on that. Why am I telling you this? Because experiences in life shape how you interpret reality.

Because emotion is as much a part of photography as a lens is to a camera body. It’s impossible to separate the two.

I picked up my first camera in October of 2012, a month after settling in South Korea. I remember looking at photographs by other photographers for many years before deciding to be a photographer myself. I enjoyed the escapism that I felt when looking at pictures for hours on end. I figured I could contribute to the world by making photographs. Sure, I`m not curing cancer by sending my photographs out into the world but if it makes someone feel something, then by all means.

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Looking at my photography, I think I could say that street photography has been a starting point for me. It’s been a good starting point because of what I`m able to get out from it - emotion. I`m able to capture the emotion on people`s faces or body language as they participate in whatever it is that they`re doing.

It can literally be anything, anywhere and anyone. I like people watching. It’s a favourite past time. I look at people and wonder what they`re thinking, how they`re feeling and where they came from.

Photography has had a tremendous impact on my life. It’s been my saving grace while living abroad. It comforted me when I needed comforting. It pushed me to explore more in this world. It taught me to be more observant. Most of all, it taught me to be present.

While I think capturing and “reporting” a scene is undoubtedly fulfilling, I`ve started a new venture into portrait work and am very excited about it. I`d like to move onto being able to elicit emotion while being able to make someone look their best. Its fulfilling to start a session with someone and have them share their personal insecurities about their appearances. Its fulfilling in the sense

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that you`re able to see them overcome it and feel a lot more confident by the end of the shoot. I`ve dabbled in fine a bit too but I am allowing my mind to adjust to the process first.

Inspiration - the nurtured life force behind every artist. In my opinion, you have to feed your mind with the right influences in order to expect your subconscious to spit something back at you that is worthwhile. It needs time. It needs space to breath too. It comes from everywhere you want it to come from. For me, its energy in natural things. Rain that’s falling and influencing the behaviour of people. The smell of soil after it rains. The cold feeling of damp soil.

The smell of the ocean. The smell of a polluted city. The sound of cars, trucks and motor cycles in a city and the calming sound of chickens early in the morning on my way to work. I also obviously draw inspiration from fellow photographers too. I was able to befriend a few photographers here in Seoul over the last few months.

To conclude, I absolutely have a tremendous passion and respect for photography. I enjoy working with people and exploring new things with it and am thus excited about my future. I have a Facebook page - Marco Devon Photography(www.facebook. com/marcodevonphotography). So feel free to follow my work. I can also be contacted via the page too.

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

[ Greg Timlin]

I think beauty is everywhe the passage of time, in ou

My name is Greg Timlim and I’ve been taking pictures since the early 90s. My first ambition was, in fact, to be a movie maker – I had dreamed for ages of making documentaries.

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ere; on the streets we walk everyday, in ur daily activities.

[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

After graduating from Film and Media Studies in the early 90s, I gathered what belongings I could fit in a rucksack and finally left my home country (Canada) to fly to Japan, Southeast Asia, and then on to Nepal. But when packing that single bag of life necessities, I found that the video equipment offered then (in my price range) just wouldn’t fit. Cameras were big and clunky, batteries were the size and weight of bricks, cassettes were as big as mystery novels (and I’d need tons of cassettes). It was then that I decided to buy my first SLR. I still thought that film-making would be my thing. I figured that a movie is a long strip of photos (with sound). So learning how to take pictures would help me learn, to some extent, how to make films. But plans, as they are wont to do, evolve and change. The first stop on my intended journey was Japan – 6 months, tops.

But I stumbled into a great job, and that 6 months became 5 years. It was during this period that I had a revelation about photography. My company sent me on a trip with 101 Japanese company “freshman” to New Zealand and Samoa. I was chosen for this duty partly because they wanted to document the process these recruits were going though for promotional purposes. I was provided with new fancy digital cameras (gen 1 stuff!) and I brought my SLR as well. It was such a wonderful experience and I was honored to be capturing it. But something became clear: when I was using the video camera, I felt apart from the action. I had to be still, quiet. I focused through the view-finder and found that I was 30

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watching the events before me as though they were on TV. But when I had the SLR, I could immerse myself in that time and place. I could be in the middle and interact or observe from afar, capturing just the moment I felt important. Now this is just me.

I’m sure there are many videographers who would think differently.

But I also felt, in the end, I like the open-endedness of a picture. There’s no voice-over, no music – perhaps no knowledge of what took place in the moments before or after the image was captured. So the viewer makes of the image what they will. I like this.

Film photography is the medium I began in and really never wanted to leave. But access to darkrooms became scarce, and the costs of photographic paper and chemicals rose as their overall use decreased.

Changing over was just economics.

But I found the transition to digital daunting, given my initial discomfort with computers in general. We don’t like each other. Over time, however, the powerful tools, cost-savings and share-ability of digital have helped ease me into the modern era (although, given the chance, would love to be in a real darkroom again).

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I think beauty is everywhere; on the streets we walk everyday, in the passage of time, in our daily activities.

I’ve come to find over time that I’m not too concerned with documenting how these things actually are, but how they make me feel, how they are finally internalized through the filter of my lens, my eye, and my mind.

Ironically, despite my initial intents and experiences, when I look back on my most recent images, I feel a certain amount of isolation apparent in them, or introspection. But photography motivates me to explore at the world around me. And the world around me continues to inspire me to try to interpret it.

Greg Timlin (originally from Ottawa, Canada) Flickr link: http://www.flickr.com/ photos/62569052@N06/

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[ Damari McBride]

I treat every shoot as i a motion picture.

Hailing from the U.S., I am an amateur photographer living in Korea. I first started photography in college, but nothing too serious, just photos of random things that would just be lying around.

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if I were the director for

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In my first year in Korea I heard of Dylan Golby’s photography courses and attended them. That got me started in learning more and more about the world of photography and I came to realize that photography is what I wanted to do with my life.

I’m inspired by cinematography, which is what I try to merge with my photographs. I treat every shoot as if I were the director for a motion picture. Storyboarding and scouting is an important part of the thought process and I try to make sure that every shoot tells a story.

My goal with photography is to mix it with philosophy. My desire is to translate different philosophical theories through photography. I hope that this will get people thinking, and 36

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also explain why philosophy is of extreme importance to the world. I plan to start my MFA in photography next fall.

I have also launched an interactive photography project titled “The Surrounded Project.” It focuses on taking time out of our busy lives to reflect about the people in our lives and how they have impacted and inspired us.

For more information or to submit an entry you can visit www.thesurroundedproject.com.

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HDR lord of the

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[ #JimmyMcintyre ]

HDR tends to have a bad name in the world of photography. Type the words ‘HDR photography’ into Google Images and you’ll get an idea why.

Florescent colours, softened pixels, noise, and blinding halos jump out at you as you scroll down the search results. Yet HDR techniques, be they tone mapping or digital blending, can help to create stunning images if used correctly.

non-HDR fans is the often over-thetop cartoony colouring that seems to come with tone-mapped images.

There’s nothing wrong with strongly coloured images. The shot I used at the top of this article shows how fond I am of powerful colours. However, knowing how to control the colours in our image to increase their impact is at the heart of all colour photography.

I don’t like to consider myself a snob.

When it comes to HDR, I love surreal and realistic images and remain as open minded as possible in terms of workflows and processing methods.

As artists, there is no such thing as a useless tool – we just haven’t discovered a use for it yet.

With that in mind, I hope not to frame this article in a way that limits your creative juices by saying ‘don’t do this’. Instead, I’m going to leave you with a number of suggestions that have been vital in the development of my workflow and imagery which you may, if you choose, adapt into your own style.

Often, the culprit is the Saturation slider in HDRsoft’s Photomatix.

When you choose the Default preset, the saturation slider sits on 45. Despite this being its default setting, for me it is far too strong. I never move the saturation slider beyond 35.

After this (or before, depending on your workflow), we HDRists then have to colour correct in the same way that other photographers do.

Colour Control in HDR One of the biggest complaints from

This could require a workflow unto itself depending on the scene and how it was shot. But for those of you who have NIK’s Color Efex, there’s a nifty slider hidden under the Pro Contrast filter called ‘Correct Color Cast’ that often does an incredible job of removing colour bleeding and restoring natural colouring.

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Another important colour correction method for those of you without Color Efex is to establish white points in Photoshop. This video tutorial can show you how.

Keeping Shadows and Highlights to Increase Mood and Energy HDR, by its very definition, serves to rescue highlights and darkened parts of a scene. Our goal is to create a range of light much closer to that in the real scene than our camera is capable of catching in a single frame.

The trend, therefore, is for HDR photographers to avoiding clipping at all costs. Ultimately, shadows within our images begin to dwindle and our shots sometimes lack highlights.

Here’s the thing, shadows are absolutely paramount in creating mood – strong bursts of light allow our images to explode with energy. In the end, without these, we can be left with flat images that simply don’t move people.

Maintaining Proportional Luminosity Values There are some incredible HDR programs available today. With a simple click of a button you can blend multiple exposures to leave you with an image that far surpasses a single exposure in terms of range of light. But, this software isn’t perfect. It doesn’t know the difference between the sky and a car, for example, so it can’t process images in terms of specific objects or areas. It is your job, as the master of the sliders, to control how that image is rendered. A very common ‘mistake’ in HDR images is [ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

to have the sky darker than the foreground, or shadows the same brightness as the midtones, or midtones brighter than the highlights. This fits in with our last point but it is relevant in every aspect of the image.

Photomatix Easily the most popular and easy-touse software, Photomatix renders images in an absolutely unique way to any other software. Its tone-mapping develops textures beautifully, leaving us with a slightly surreal, floaty feel.

On the other hand, it can absolutely destroy images by introducing multitudes of noise, halos and completely softening sharp pixels.

In HDR programs, there is usually a slider that changes the emphasis of light. In Photomatix it’s called Lighting Adjustments. Slide it to the far right and it will create a natural distribution of light, where the highlights, midtones, and shadows are correct- Digital Blending Using Luminance ly placed. Slide it to the left and the Masks highlights darken, while the shadows Luminance Masks, otherwise known brighten. as Luminosity Masks, are an adA rule I follow is this: if the sky is vanced selection process in Photobrighter in the original images, then shop where we can isolate specific arit should also be brighter in HDR eas based on luminosity and replace image. The same holds for midtones them with areas of more preferred and shadows. I never create an image luminosity from a different exposure. where the luminosity values are al- This is the most advanced exposure most reversed because when people blending method around which does see the image, it simply doesn’t fit cor- not alter the colour, sharpness or rectly in their minds. If it’s a beautiful noise of your image in anyway. If you sunny day but the sky is a dark grey want to create natural HDRs, this is and the shadows are glowing, our the way to do it. This process can be minds usually won’t feel good about more time consuming than anything looking at that scene. It doesn’t fit our else, but it is also worth the effort. On logic. Now, there may be counter-ex- the other hand, it also may be a quick amples of this, although I’ve yet to process depending on the scene. find one. But it is one of the very few Ultimately, the process you choose can greatly determine the style and ‘Rules’ that I follow.

Knowing the benefits and uses of dif- mood of your image. However, on many occasions I have combined ferent methods and software Not all HDR processes are equal. I outputs from both processes in orregularly employ two different mea- der to get the best out of best of both sures to blend exposures. Which worlds. method I use depends solely on that image. On some occasions, I com- Summary bine multiple blending processes to I hope this article has helped you in achieve the maximum affect, as I see some way, large or small. In truth, the four it.

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[ PIK ] PHOTOGRAPHERS IN KOREA | ISSUE 6 , APRIL 2014

“Unremembering Stories :

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: Photographing Shelter Dogs” Shelter dog project – Hayne Kim I thought this was a good way to leave Korea: I would help shelter dogs get adopted by taking their pictures with my fancy DSLR. Dogs with attractive pictures, like people, are more frequently adopted over ones with subpar pictures. I would feel good about leaving after finishing each project.

I imagined a sunny day with a nice spring breeze and well-behaved dogs.

Go, take pictures, come back, edit, and send them off to the shelter managers.

Then I met with reality. The day I chose ended up being 32 degrees Fahrenheit with snow flurries (twice), 55 dogs that were just happy to be out of their cages and running around playfully, and lots of tears on my part. And this would only be the first of three shelters. Hours later, I finally realized how daunting the task was.

Each dog has its own story. How it got there. The mistreatment. The disabilities. I tried not to remember its name, the look on its face as it ran out from its cage, the way it had to be dragged back on its way in, knowing the stress that awaited back behind the bars. I tried not to remember Jinnie, the dog with a crooked neck, whose owner abandoned it at the shelter in its cur-

rent state. Jinnie was beaten for supposedly eating a neighbor’s chicken.

There was also the beautiful, blind malamute. I begged and bribed the other dogs with treats, squeaky toys, anything to get them to look towards the camera. One of the shelter managers told me she had no interest in toys – noise or otherwise. He suggested I cajole her with a treat – but, remember, she’s diabetic, so I can’t give it to her afterwards. She gingerly made her way over to me and stared in the direction of the smell – my fingers gripping it near the camera lens. I got the shot. It was a good one. People always talk about the ice blue eyes of Arctic dogs but the way she stared straight into the lens, unseeing yet seeing… I don’t think I can ever forget that moment.

I came home. Exhausted. Cold. Five hours outside with only a thin jacket had taken its toll on my body. I shuddered to think that I had ignored this project for the three, nearly four, years I had lived in Korea. And it made me sick. I was sniffling and feverish as I sat down to edit the photos the next day.

As a digital photographer, the moment you open up Lightroom and import all the photos from the previous day, is like the moment you step into the darkroom. The files download. Images appear. The good ones stick out at you and you curse the moments you were less careful with blurred motion, focus on the wrong spot. And then the tears start to fall.

Jinnie. The blind malamute. Nellie, the dog I would love to call my own, with its beautiful markings and gentle spirit.

There was nothing else I could do for them except edit away and hope my photos did their stories and spirit justice. I hope it inspires other photographers to get out there and volunteer their time and effort for the dogs. I’m warning you, it’s a dirty job.

You crawl and squat and get back up and run for however many hours it takes. But for every home each dog finds, for me, the sacrifice and tears will have been worth it.

Link: (haynekim@yahoo.com)

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INTERNATIONAL PHOTO STUDIO IN SEOUL

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