Day 116

I bought myself a new toy. It arrived on Saturday, and I delightedly opened it and attached it to my camera only to discover that it didn't work. WHAT? I didn't get too upset though, figuring that I was probably doing something wrong. I had the whole of Sunday to work it out, however, and still didn't manage to find a solution. In a bit of a panic, I posted onto some photography websites asking for some advice and was told that there was nothing wrong. I didn't believe them! I had seen what this toy could do! I did receive one piece of advice that I took to heart however. "Get closer," someone said. It turns out that this person was exactly right. As soon as I got close, everything came into focus, and I am pleased to say that I have finally figured my toy out. So today's picture was taken with my new set of extension tubes!! JOY!! You may notice that there is no aperture. That is because the camera could not communicate electronically with the lens and could not detect the aperture. It didn't stop me from taking this pic, however!

Shutter speed: 1/50
Aperture: f/00
ISO: 2500
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 115

Yesterday ended in a bit of a lame shot once again, this time of the cutesy mousepad that I bought from Artbox awhile ago. I must say, I do love Artbox and the cutesy things that they have! If I had unlimited funds, I am sure that I would be their best customer. I intend to make another purchase there tomorrow in fact, of a travelling bag this time for my trip next week! More about that later though :)

Shutter speed: 1/50
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 100
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 113

On Saturday I attended my first ballet performed by the Korea National Ballet. It was a rendition of the Christmas favourite - The Nutcracker, and it was wonderful! I didn't quite know what to expect from it, and for a 30,000 won seat, I wasn't expecting to see much, but I ended up being in a perfect position, and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Though cameras were technically not allowed, I did snap a few shots at the end of the applauding, and thought that I would share one of those. I don't quite know how I feel about the photo that I have chosen. It has been edited, adding rather a lot of shadow, and I like how that enhances the backlighting, though I don't like how it cuts some things off. In any case, here is the cast of The Nutcracker.

Shutter speed: 1/50
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 125
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 114

Sunday was another quiz night, and tonight's photo is of my fellow Saffa, Mr. Roger Murray. He was on my team for quiz, and though we lost (and he is most certainly going to blame the other members of his team), the night wasn't a complete loss as I did manage to take some photos. I don't know what it is that draws me to this one. It isn't technically the best that was taken, but I love it in any case. Thanks for obliging, Roger :)

Shutter Speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/1,8
ISO: 1250
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 112

I decided that today's photo had to be of the snow. I could have put one up of the snow falling that was taken from my school, but instead I decided to put up this one of the little snow covered zen garden and bonzai tree up the road. There is reason for the high ISO - it is called silliness. I raised the Aperture to cut off some of the overly bright sunlight that was coming in, but forgot to change the Shutter speed and ISO. Thankfully, I think it still turned out okay.

Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: 9.0
ISO: 3200
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 111

After my shoot of the fan on Wednesday, I decided to do something similar on Thursday, but with the fan that I was given way back in July. The symbols are Chinese and the message on the fan reads something like 'All the world is an ocean" or something. *Shrug*

Shutter speed: 1/25
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 100
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 110

When looking around my room on Wednesday for something to photograph, I remembered the fan that I bought in the summer and decided that would make a great subject. So here is the fan that I haven't had to use in months.

Shutter speed: 1/25
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 100
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 109

I went to the Indian restaurant for dinner on Tuesday night. I love taking pictures here because everything is just so colourful! Anyway, today's photo is really simple, but I absolutely love it!

Shutter speed: 1/25
Aperture: 1.8
ISO: 1000
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 108

Walking home from school on Monday it was so cold that when it finally came time for me to go to dinner, I made a decision. I knew that this time would come eventually, but I was dreading it. Yes, that's right. I have finally resorted to taking out the outer-coat of my jacket and am now walking around looking rather alot like an eskimo. So, today's photo is of the inner and outer, together at last.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 200
Lens: Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II

Day 107

I brought my camera with me to quiz on Sunday as I had yet to take a photo, and towards the end of the night, I took it out to snap a few pics. Angelina was kind enough to provide me with this picture of her (hopefully feigning) annoyance as I snapped a quick pic.

Shutter speed: 1/25

Aperture: f/1.8

ISO: 3200

Day 106

After spending a day skiing on Saturday (I didn't want to risk bringing my camera onto the slopes, though I am sure that some amazing pictures would have been taken) Amy and I headed out on Saturday night to celebrate Geri and Maria and their aging processes! Any celebration of aging generally involves at least a little alcohol, and these were the poisons of choice for Amy and I.

Shutter speed: 1/25

Aperture: f/1.8

ISO: 100

Day 105

Today's photo should really really be of the museum that we visited as part of a cultural experience for the Guest English Teachers. And don't get me wrong, I took tons and tons of photos of the museum. But none seemed to compare to this photo that I took of Chanel saluting the American flag at the entrance to the museum. There was a giant G20 summit space surrounded by the flags, and I just loved how this pic turned out. So today's photo is of Chanel. I hope she doesn't mind ;)

Shutter speed: 1/100

Aperture: f/2.5

ISO: 160

Day 103

Wednesday was another day of shopping, and though it started snowing in the middle of our trip and I really wanted to put up a photo of that, this one of Jess ended up being my favourite of the night.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/1.8

ISO: 100

Day 104

Amy, Jess and I ended up going out for sushi on Thursday. It wasn't what I'd had in mind for a winter meal, but it was truly delicious and the chefs were lovely and friendly. I will be going back there very very soon for another meal!

Shutter speed: 1/30

Aperture: f/1.8

ISO: 100

Day 102

Today was another fail for me. I could say that I was sick again, but it would be a lie. What was I doing instead? I am embarassed to admit that I was... playing WoW. Yes. I am a WoW addict, and it has finally come in the way of my photography. So today's pic, instead of being one that I took, is of my character in all of her level 40 glory! I need to get her up, but what with photography, school and my social life, I have been struggling to find the time. Say hello to Keillan!!!

Day 101

Today's is another self-portrait. On Monday night, I went shopping with Amy and she managed to convince me that what I need in my life is a hoodie. Not just any hoodie either. I need a hoodie with ears. And so I bought this wonderful kitty-cat hoodie which is super warm and lovely, and today's photo is of me wearing it. Kitty-power FTW!

Shutter Speed: 1/15

Aperture: f/1.8

ISO: 160

Day One Hundred!!!

I finally made it to day 100. Unfortunately, today's photo is not quite as special as the day itself. A couple of months ago I bought myself a book in which I intended to write stories, thoughts, lists and other such things. I totally intended it to be a daily thing, but it has fallen by the wayside a little. But, to renew it just a tad, I took a photo of the book and my writings. That is today's photo.

Shutter speed: 1/15

Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 100

Day Ninety-Nine

Saturday, I was still sick as a dog. Not wanting to do too much, Amy and I had planned a day of watching 90's movies with friends, and we did just that, indulging in classics like The Adams Family Values, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Clueless. After watching a couple of movies, a game of cards ensued, and though I didn't participate in the playing, I was there clicking away with my camera, taking in all of the action. My favourite from the night has got to be this shot of Amy's friend looking all innocent.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 125

Day Ninety-Eight

I returned to work diligently on Friday, and brought my camera with me this time, not wanting to have another photo-less day. Unfortunately, nothing of excitement happened, and today's photo is of the pens at my desk and the focus is on the multicoloured pencil that I bought and love!

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 100

Day Ninety-Seven

Thursday came to find me diseased once more, and unfortunately this was the one day that I couldn't bring myself to leave my apartment or even take a photo inside it. After taking the pills that I got from the doctor, I was passed out by 9pm, and there was to be no waking me. Not until around 2am anyway, when I woke myself and spent the rest of the night rolling around in feverish agony. Fun times!

Day Ninety-Six

On Wednesday, Amy, Jess and I trundled ourselves off to Chungdae for some Chinese. When I say Chinese, it is not the typically greasy Chinese that you would get back home. It is still a little greasy, but we had lamb kebabs, vegetables and some potatoes that were all lovely and spicy and divine. At the end of the night, this photo was taken of Amy setting things alight from the leftover coals. Who knew that she would be such a firestarter?

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 250

Day Ninety-Five

Tuesday night saw me going to Hungry Eyes for dinner. One of the things that I love about the restaurant is the decor. There isn't much to it - just a couple of lanterns, some colourful tableclothes and some art across the walls, but it is enough to make me smile everytime I go there (as if their curries weren't reason enough.)

Shutter speed: 1/25
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 250

Day Ninety-Four

I woke up on Monday morning feeling like death, but not enough so to justify skipping school. Instead, I rolled myself out of bed and prepared for a long day. As I shuffled out of my apartment, something caught my eye, and I ran back into the apartment and returned with camera in hand. Yes. That's right. SNOW!

Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 250

Day Ninety-Three

Sunday was what my friend Amy refers to as her Australia Day. It was our celebration of the day that Amy was adopted and brought to Australia, and back home she usually celebrates it by going out with her family for Korean food. Since she is in Korea, she decided that a reverse effect would be appropriate, and on Sunday night she invited some of her close friends to share a dinner at Outback Steakhouse. Of course, the dinner had to include wine, and this Australian bottle was the one that ended up being shared by the table.

Shutter speed: 1/30

Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 1600

Day Ninety-Two

As I said in my previous post, Saturday was spent lens-hunting, and I managed to find one lens for a decent price. So, I ended up adding a Canon 50mm 1.8 II to my lens collection (which now consists of two) and I spent Saturday night playing with my new toy. This is one of the random shots that I absolutely loved, taken of the curtain that separated our table from the next one at the Hof that we ended up drinking at.

Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 500

Day Ninety-One

So I forgot to take a photo on Friday. I had so much to do (cleaning my room) and it completely slipped my mind. But to make up for it, I spent a large portion of Saturday on a lens hunt. So, I decided that today's photo(s) would be my practice shots comparing three lenses: a wide angle, an 18-55mm and my own 28-80mm.

This was me playing with a wide angle lens. I never got the exact details of it, but it was pretty and I wanted it. Unfortunately, for 690,000 won second hand, there was no way I could afford it. BLEAK!

This second picture is of the second lens that I tried. When Grant and I bought the camera, we decided to get a lens that was slightly better than the kit one, and opted for the 28-80mm rather than the 18-55mm. When I went to the store, the owner tried to convince me that this 18-55mm is one that I need to have. It was very very tempting and he offered me a good price, but I had my mind set, and buying two lenses would definitely have led to some buyers remorse.

This final picture was taken with my own lens. It was a rushed shot, and not the best quality evidently, but I was standing in the same place as I was with the 18mm, so it shows the contrast between the two. I never would have thought that 10mm made such a big difference. I suppose I will probably add a lower zoom to my lens collection soon enough, but the one that I bought will do for now. Check the next post to see what lens I ended up buying and one of the photos that I took with it.

Day Ninety

Thanksgiving! As a South African, I have never celebrated it. But a lot of my friends here are American, and one of them invited me to join in her celebrations. From what I hear, Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and friends and love and just being thankful for what you have. Even though there was no family to be spoken of, my Thanksgiving day was spent with friends, and we all had a great time. I think that is what really matters after all - being with people who you love and enjoying each other's company. But I could be wrong. Either way, today's picture is of three of my friends having fun and just enjoying being together on the day of giving thanks :)

Shutter speed: 1/20

Aperture: f/3.5

ISO: 800

Day Eighty-Nine

Those of you who knew me back home probably knew of my fondness for jewellery-making. I have a rather large collection of jewellery here, some of which I have crafted myself, some of which I have bought, and I decided that today's photo will be of them. It is not a particularly exciting photo subject, I know, but it was all I could find in my state of sickness and not wanting to leave the house. I apologise profusely.

Shutter speed: 1/10

Aperture: f/5.6

ISO: 800

Day Eighty-Eight

So I am behind on uploading again, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been working hard and taking tons and tons of pictures. Unfortanately, I am running low on subjects once again and have been scouring my room for something to take a photo of. What I decided on for today was the guitar that has been in the corner of my room untouched for months. When I got here, I decided that I needed to do something for me, and decided that something would be learning to play the guitar. Since then, I have taken up a number of other pastimes that are just for me, photography being the main one, and my guitar has been placed on the sidelines. So, today's photo is of my guitar, dust-covered and forlorn.

Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200

Day Eighty-Seven

I hardly ever take my camera with me to Taekwondo classes, not wanting to drag it around with me. But yesterday, Cara convinced me to bring it along. Unfortunately, she ended up being too sick to go to the class, but bringing the camera ended up not being a total disappointment. I managed to get this lovely shot of our female master.


Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 2500

Day Eighty-Six

When Grant came to visit me from South Africa, he did not come empty handed. He brought me a gift that he had commissioned an artist in New Zealand to draw. I have been very homesick recently, and looking at this picture tends to remind me of what I am going back home to in three months time.


Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 160

Day Eighty-Five

Cara is leaving! This makes me uber-sad. Saturday night was spent saying goodbye to her and two of my other friends, Jacques and Sheelagh. While I am upset to see Jacques go, I know that I will probably be seeing him back home in the next few months. I have never been particularly close to Sheelagh, and while we have shared some good times together, the person that I am really going to miss the most is Cara! That is why today's photo is dedicated to her. This is her and her friend Josh at Pearl Jam, saying goodbye.


Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200

Day Eighty-Four

I decided to go out with some friends on Friday night. Photography in clubs proved to be rather more difficult than I had anticipated, especially when I was not all that keen to use my flash. However, I did manage to get this shot before I decided to put my camera away. I quite like the light reflecting off the glass even though the ISO is far from perfect and makes the photo rather noisy.


Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200

Day Eighty-Three

The sun has been beautiful over the last few days. I think that it has something to do with the cold weather, but when it comes time for sunset, it glows a brilliant orange. This makes for some beautiful sunsets, and I managed to capture one with the flags near my house flowing in the wind on Thursday.


Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100

Day Eighty-Two

Having really struggled to find photograph subjects over the last few days, I came across these lanterns outside a restaurant near my house and decided that they would just have to do.


Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100

Day Eighty-One

It has been absolutely freezing recently, particularly at night. What this means is that when you walk outside from the warmth of heated apartments and schools and such places, you can see your own breathe. I thought this would make a good photo, and Amy agreed to help me attempt it. It didn't work out quite the way I had hoped, but I did get this rather fun photo of Amy putting in her best effort.


Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO: 200

Day Eighty

When I don't know what to photograph, I tend to find things around my apartment to photograph. On Monday I looked around and saw the deck of cards that has been plaguing my existence (basically I keep standing on them). Whenever I see cards, I think back to my high school days when Alain, Rachel, Richard, Gina, David, Natasha, Hayley, Greg and I used to sit around in the Hebrew classroom during breaks playing President and basically acting like the insane people that we were. So today's photo is of cards.


Shutter Speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/5.0
ISO: 100

Day Seventy-Nine

I am a looooong way behind with my photo updates, and while I was very tempted to just shove them all into one blog, I have decided to divide them up purely because it is the simplest way to do it. So here we go, starting with not last Sunday but the one before.



On Sunday I went to dinner at Neil and Geri's house. While I could have taken photos of the marvelous meal that I had there, I neglected to bring out my camera during the meal and was forced to find something photographic on the way home. I stumbled across this gate with the street lamp and neon signs reflecting off its surface and decided that it would have to do.

Shutter speed: 1/10
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 3200

Day Seventy-Eight

On Saturday I got an early start and was out of the house by 7am to get on a bus to Jeollanamdo. Some friends had invited me to join their church group on a trip to Mt Kangcheon and the Bamboo Forest nearby. Not wanting to give up on what would probably be the last photogenic opportunity of the Fall, I grabbed my camera, layered myself silly and climbed on the bus for the three hour trip. I took tons and tons of photos on the day, but this is the one that has gotten the most praise. I wasn't all that impressed with it myself, and I did a lot of playing with it - darkening shadows, adding highlights and finally adding some saturation. This is certainly not the most natural shot of the bunch, but as editing is a part of the photographic process, I thought that I would be completely honest about how it was made. So here it is:

Shutter speed: 1/200
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 800

Day Seventy-Seven

I teach an after-school class once a week on a Wednesday, and while I used to dread these classes in the first semester, I have been thoroughly enjoying them this one. The last lesson went so surprisingly well (they were learning grammar, so I expected the students to be completely disinterested) that I thought my week couldn't get much better. Then I go a card, a picture and a chocolate heart from one of the students in my class. It was the sweetest thing, and so today's picture is of the note that she wrote for me. For more about the note and why I got it, check out the blog that I wrote today here.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/8.0
ISO: 200

Day Seventy-Six

I decided to go out for a drink and some dinner with a friend of mine last night. We ended up at Pearl Jam chatting to some of the older locals that I have never met before. By local, I mean that they have been here for a good five years at least. We had some good food, some good drinks and some good conversation, and tonight's photo is of my new American friend, Kurt.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 3200

Day Seventy-Five

I got home from Taekwondo tonight and decided to wander down the streets for a few minutes. I remember something that I read right when I started reading photo blogs, and that was that if you cannot find something to photograph, look up. I did this when I found myself under a tree, and this was the photo that emerged. I quite like the streetlamp in the background actually and think it adds something to the photo.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 2000

Day Seventy-Four

Once again, I was stumped for a picture today and it was way too cold to go outside, but I am determined not to let this photo project pass by the wayside, and ended up taking one of me with my glasses. Hardly anyone has actually seen this phenomenon because I hardly ever wear my glasses, but things have been getting a little blurry lately, particularly when I am at the computer, so I have taken to wearing them at home. So, here is today's photo of a bespectacled me.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 1000

Day Seventy-Three

I love visiting my friend, Amy. She has the most fascinating collection of objects, and on my visit today I was shown a hand-painted bottle of Saki that she had brought back from Japan for her boyfriend before he stopped visiting her and she had no choice but to dump his unappreciative ass. In any case, the point of this story is not the stupid Korean boys, but the Saki. I thought that the bottle was amazingly beautiful and had to make it today's photo.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 640

Day Seventy-Two

While Saturday's photo showed the beautiful Autumn colours, the more obvious aspect of Autumn is often ignored. Autumn marks the end of Summer, the end of warmth, the end of the green lifeforce that is nature, and while the season tries to hide this by luring us with beautiful oranges and yellows, if you look closely you will find the more morbid death of plants at the same time. I have been walking past this plant for a week and it's leaves are starting to look freakishly like clawing hands desperately trying to grab hold of the people passing them. It's a kind of freaky image, I know, but that's what I get from it, and so that is what today's photo is of.

Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 160

Day Seventy-One

On Saturday, I was in a taxi on the way home when I looked out of the window and saw the rows and rows of beautiful trees lining the street. So I asked the taxi to pull over and got out right then and there and started to walk the rest of the way home. It wasn't far, but it was well worth the small amount of effort that I put into it. I got some beautiful Autumn shots, and this is the one that I have chosen to share as Saturday's picture.

Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 200

Day Seventy

Last night I went out to dinner with my friend Jack and his friend Inny and after dinner, when we were looking for something to do, Inny suggested getting a photo taken. Now, I am used to the kind of photo machines that we have back home, but this was something else entirely. You choose six themes, some backgrounds and then, once the six photos have been taken, you go around the back and graffiti them in any way you like. Then they are printed onto sticker paper, sealed and you can cut out and share them between you. So, the photo for today is of last night's photo taking experience.

Shutter speed: 1/15
Aperture: 5.0
ISO: 100

Day Sixty-Nine

A couple of months ago, my friend Mel was doing a self-portrait week/month in her own 365 day project. She took this photo, and this week, when I had no clue what to do for Thursday's photo, her effort inspired me. And so, this photo was born. Kinda risque, but I like it.

Shutter speed: 1/100
Aperture: 7.1
ISO: 3200