I probably watched about five hours of Lightroom tutorials today, and I’m not even halfway through the series.  I’m learning a lot, but it’s just really time consuming.  I started working through a batch of photos I had uploaded to Lightroom before leaving for the Philippines, so that’s finally done.  It was our staff Christmas party in Suwon in December.  You can see the entire album here.

Speaking of Suwon, I’m heading there to immigration early on Tuesday morning to renew my visa.  I was told doors open at 9am, so I’m leaving here at 8am, even though it’s only 4 subways stops away from me.  Waiting at immigration is like waiting at the post office or DMV, you know you’ll be there a long time, so you might as well get there early if you can.  Hopefully I’ll beat the rush, but if not, at least I’ll be near the front of the line.

We arrived in Kangneung a little later than expected because Readon woke up late, and we were behind schedule by about two hours. One we arrived on the East coast, we made Seorak-san our main excursion for the day. Our first stop was some temple on the way to Yangyang. As you can see, I’m not good with remembering things.

[Check out the entire Flickr album HERE.]

After a short stop there, we made it to a small lighthouse on the coast. Lo and behold, what did we see along the path?!

A few years ago, a photographer snapped this photo of us at the Yangyang Salmon Festival, and it has been used ever since for advertisement for the festival.

We then took the backroads to some “famous” restaurant for lunch. By the looks of it, I’m on a dongdongju binge. By binge, I mean 2-3 cups.

Unfortunately, Ras didn’t fully understand what we were having for lunch. Cold noodle soup is actually one of the few Korean foods he dislikes. It tasted good, but I personally prefer hot soups too.

Outside the restaurant were beautiful rice fields. It’s harvest time.

I had forgotten my lens cap in the restaurant and ran back inside to retrieve it. While I was gone, Ras snapped this photo.

“Oh no! Raswan, watch out! The creepy serial killer in the back seat is about to slit your throat!!!!”

Continue reading »

I was walking around taking pictures today in Seoul, when I came up this frame below.  Notice anything different?

Now, I’ve seen naked babies before as advertisement for a photo studio, but I’ve NEVER seen this:

Wow, I couldn’t believe it.  I moved in a little to make sure it was real - it was.  I had to cover up his little gochu, or else we’d be entering the realms of child pornography.  Look at how cute he is, with his clenched fists!  Don’t you wish you were that happy peeing?

Yesterday, Ras and I went to Namdaeumun to go lens shopping for my Canon 400D (Rebel XTi).  I picked up this bad boy.  Now I feel like I’m entering the realm of the big boys, but not truly knowing what I’m doing yet.

I’m excited to use it on my travels this winter, even though I’m not sure where that will be yet.  Brandon has also used this lens, and I hope my photos turn out half as good as the ones he’s taken in Indonesia.

By the way, if anyone’s looking for Halloween gear, you can find plenty here.  [Click picture for a larger version.]

Nathan’s party on Friday turned out to be fun and surprising.  Honestly, with him being a single guy, I wasn’t expecting much food at the party.  I mean, my Korean name is “Mi Hung-ri,” after all.  I made sure to eat before getting there, and we brought our own alcohol.  We met up with Bart near E-Mart and pre-funked a little before heading to Nathan’s in Sanbon.  There were eight people there, including Dave and Peter, two of our co-workers.  The first thing I noticed, was the table full of FOOD!  And good food at that.  I immediately went for the salmon and cheeses, then helped myself to a fruity cocktail.

There were plenty of drinks for everyone’s tastes - juice, wine, beer, soju, bek seju, gin, vodka, kahlua, Jagermeister, etc.

If a good host provides enough food, drinks, and makes sure guests are having a good time, then Nathan’s definitely a good host.  Good times were had by all.  By the time I left, there were around 25 people there.  Nathan even gave out prizes for the best ajumma and ajoshi costume.

Unfortunately I didn’t win the best ajumma costume, but I’m sure I would have some in second!  Ras, Bart, and Dave tied for best ajoshi.  They had to share the ajoshi prize: Ras got a cassette of “trot” music, Bart got soju, and Dave won a pack of cigarettes.  There was a fourth prize, and the guys had to “rock, scissor, paper” for it.  Dave won and became the lucky winner of Korean Chinese porn!  Look at how happy he is!

See the rest of the photos from that night in my Flickr account.