A
bit of personal site building history here. Six months ago,
Pusanweb was getting less than 10 visitors a day and the internet cafe
it was originally designed to promote was in terminal
condition. I planned to abandon the site and started to think
about finishing my contract and finally getting around to my long
delayed learning excursion to Guatemala. Then, I visited my folks in
NH and gave them a Casio QV100 to celebrate the renewal of
their vows. As I got to know that camera, I knew I would have
to have one of my own. (2013 Note: That QV100 was cutting edge - capable of taking
320x240 pixel photos)
I returned to Pusan on a steamy August
day. Those of you familiar with the scene here know that there is
always a lot of coming & going that time of year.
That particular night we were bidding farewell to one of Pusan's most
colorful residents, Nick.
Out came the camera and the era of being known as "the guy with the
camera" began.
The response from people
(mostly partiers and their parents) was enough to re-energize my sense
of potential for this site and to awaken me to the amazing
possibilities of combining the latest multimedia recording technologies
with all this internetting going on. An old school project,
Worldbridges, returned to life in the form of an internet based
multimedia broadcasting network dedicated to exploring cultural
diversity. So, six months after planning to abandon the world
of website creation, I now plan to make it my life's work (at
least for the foreseeable future) and I don't think this
would have happened without the camera. Once again plans for Guatemala
have been delayed but I'll get there eventually and when I do, you'll
probably see it posted somewhere on the Net.
Since that night at Nick's,
I've taken over 3,000 pictures. A lot of them have been too
dark, or too blurry, or just not that interesting, but some of them
I've grown quite fond of. Here are my favorites - some for
the sake of aesthetics, others for the sake of remembering the moment.
Lots of others are in the Pusanweb Photo Section.
Thanks to all those who have participated in creating and
sharing these moments.
-Jeff
My Very
Favorites
OtherFavorites
Came out of the health club one day and
these adjumas were banging away on some drums and dancing wildly. I was
later told that this was a traditional Korean exorcism.
A
clown overwhelmed with reaction to his own creations. Hmmm,
that has a familiar ring to it. Taken at Pusan's premiere event of
'97, PIFF.
Kwangju &
Yoon Hee are the English Dept. secretaries at
Sungsim, where I work. They have a been a great help in many
ways. This was taken in back of a bus on our way to visit
Dave, an injured coworker.
Just a perfect Ron and Liane picture.
I wouldn't be where I am without Ron's camaraderie in dweebness or
Liane's social helmsmanship.
Christmas '97
I'm not exactly a churchgoer, but the energy and warmth of this service
truly filled me with the Spirit of Christmas.
Although Mondo Pepper has faded from
the scene lately, they provided some of 97's best music, fun,
and photo ops.
What
a mix - Dried squid (the movie munchie of preference here), the Golden
Arches, and a fallen soju soldier.
Granted, this was a posed photo, but it
captures a victorious moment of connection with this student after a
somewhat depressing midterm conference.
Looking at life through a soju glass -
part of the Pusan experience.
The beer cases of Happy Marts have
probably heard a lot of interesting conversations.
Never pour your own. Receive and pour
with your right hand, two hands if you're younger.
Vinnie is going to be a star.
I think the Expatriate is
going to do pretty well for itself too.
Ritualized
Demonstrations are part of the social fabric here. I don't
pretend to understand all of the dynamics involved, but they make
for some very interesting photos.
Typhoon Bolaven swept by Korea today (Aug. 28). Busan was only touched by its outer edge, but the stormy seas made a good photo opportunity during a morning stroll around our neighborhood.
It's been a long time since I've fallen in love with a camera. First there was the camera that changed by life, then the SuperCamera Era. Since that fateful piece of birthday cake, there have been a series of mediocre camcorders, none of which took crisp photos or particularly great quality video. As the time to get another video camera was drawing near last fall, Nicki showed me her Canon at one of those awesome Busan Veggie group potlucks. A few months later, I had purchased a Canon Rebel T3i DSLR online and picked it up during my trip to the States in February. I chose the camera for its video abilities, but along the way, I have rediscovered the joy of trying to capture a moment with a photograph. I'm never going to be a guy who can talk about the finer points of aperture and iso or who spends more on a lens than would on a new suit, but this camera can take some fine photos on Auto and provides me with as many options to fiddle with settings as I'd ever want. The swivel viewscreen allows for some stealthiness which definitely helps in trying not to spoil the moment. The photos are sharp enough and hi-res enough, so that I can do some serious cropping and still have a decent image. It even worked pretty well as a makeshift slide scanner.
As I was in the past, I'm still drawn toward faces, but enjoying 'outdoor activity' this session with our trainees has provided plenty of other scenes and dishes to shoot as well. Below are some of my favorite pix, a couple of galleries and a 'beautiful day' slideshow. More to come...
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