Photo Gallery: Seoul

Original Post: http://michaeldesrosiers.blogspot.com/2017/04/gyeongkokgung-palace.html

These photos were shot with my 1970 Fujica on Lomography Color 400.

 

Honestly, one of the reasons that I like shooting with film and posting these Photo Galleries months later, is that it lets me take the time to remember my trip and re-experience it all over again. I had about six rolls of film sitting around my apartment for months, and I had no idea what they contained. I really couldn't remember! It's a fun surprise to get around to developing them.

This roll of film, it turned out, was a collection of color photographs shot on my Fujica camera on my way home from Thailand to the US about a year ago. I had a short layover in Seoul, and on a windy and chilly morning, I paid a visit to the Gyeongkokgung Palace.

Shooting with film also gives me a lot more practice experimenting with color and composition. I end up being more careful with my film photos, but I also usually take shots that I wouldn't consider taking on digital.

It was a cold, quiet morning, and there weren't many people around. A few old men with fancy cameras and tripods were taking artistic pictures of the palace. I tried to blend in with them, but I could tell they took their hobby really seriously!

This is a photo of the colorful rafters inside one of the palace buildings. It's actually sideways, but I think it looked cool as it is, so I didn't rotate it.

I didn't even remember carrying my camera with me. That's why I like film! Looking back over these pictures really brought back a lot of fun memories.

The palace is actually right in the middle of downtown Seoul, surrounded on all sides by tall buildings. It's in a huge financial district, but the grounds were beautiful and peaceful.

This camera is especially good for depth. I shot a similar photo to this one of cherry blossoms with my phone. Although my phone camera is very good and the colors were better, the depth on this photo, shot on 35mm, is much richer. The colors are less predictable, though.

I really like the bright colors of the palace. Everywhere you look, the wood was painted bright greens, yellows, and reds.

You know, I've been to Japan twice while flying back to the US, and I got the chance to travel around and explore both times. I've also been through Korean twice, but neither time really gave me any chance to travel around.The most I've ever seen, in fact, is this palace.

Looking back at these pictures really makes me want to visit Korea for real. I hope that I'll get the chance sometime soon.

I also hope to practice my photography more. I haven't had much of a chance lately. I was really pleased with this roll of  film, though, as nearly all of the photos came out really well! I'll have another post soon about the second half of this roll of film, and I have a few black and white rolls to develop, both of which will be surprises to me. I have no idea what's on either!

(I really like this photo because it makes the day look so cold, which it was!)