I wanted to capture the clouds in this scene more than anything....

West From My Rooftop by damiengabrielson.com on Flickr.

This was taken at a temple just outside of Busan. This temple offers a view of the ocean along with some great architecture. 
The post processing was a little complex. I used an adjustment layer to creat a monochrome layer and then merged that. After some level adjustment I decided to use a sepia tone filter at 100% density to add an aditional effect.

Dawn this morning was just another blah sunrise with the sun buried behind the clouds. Then about 7:30 the gray changed shape and the storm started forming. It got darker and darker until it was blacker than the night. The lightning started and a video of me trying to catch a shot of it would have been hilarious. I finally got a frame but I have new respect for those that film this evasive event.

I wanted to capture the clouds in this scene more than anything. This building looked interesting enough to be included. This was taken with my film camera with Fuji Pro400H(notice the nice grain?). The only down side is the softness due to my old crappy scanner. A bit of post processing in photoshop to accentuate the depth.

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How I loathe thee these days.

All the music that comes from you is unoriginal.

Boring, Dull, Repetitive.

I’m not liking you anymore.

Maybe my ears have changed.

Or we’ve both changed.

Come back to me when something good gets churned out.

Sincerely,

CrazyFilledMind?

2NE1- IM THE BEST MV FINALLY OUT!!!!!

I keep your love locked down. by Kelly West Mars, on Flickr.

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If you have ever seen my previous photo, I am sure you know what they are imitating. Will you imitate the statue if you were there?

love is in many colors

This was taken during the Anlaw Hu festival and these kids are at the base of the stage just hanging out. Their elders came up to the edge to take a bow, that’s when I got this shot.

Those of you who followed my trip there may recall that the area is very poor and the majority are farmers. For some of the girls, marriage comes as early as 12 when their parents find them a husband in exchange for a dowry of P10,000 - P20,000 (approx $200 - $400 USD).

Swag around the world. Germany to South Korea.

Yonsei University: the ENT hospital (and Dunkin Donuts) :D

http://www.fpif.org/articles/ending_south_koreas_child_export_shame

i just read this article titled “Ending South Korea’s Child Export Shame” (click on the link above) on the Foreign Policy in Focus website.  It talks about the history of international korean adoptions but focusing on the new bill being proposed to the korean government. this bill will allow for revision to the antiquated and illegal/appalling processes of adoption (forcing birth mothers to sign illegal documents while the child is still in their womb, allowing adoptive parents to adopt without a criminal background check, etc). Also, it will include “a court process for adoption, a cooling off period for child surrender without duress, and the documentation of identities, among other provisions.”  I am particularly interested in the documentation of identities since I am still unclear the background of my true identity.  

here are some key quotes that i found to be extremely poignant:

Turning a child into a paper orphan violates her/his basic right to identity as outlined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

Despite promoting domestic adoption since 2005, South Korea remains a top five sending country to the United States accounting for almost 13 percent of all 2010 overseas adoptions. Adoptions from South Korea generate $35 million annually with a single overseas adoption today averaging $15,000. By contrast, the Korean government provided an unwed mother in 2009 with only 50,000 won (about $48) per month to care for her child. The money from one overseas adoption would pay an unwed mother’s family subsidy for 25 years of her child’s life. 

When birth mothers have asked for information about their children, agencies have refused, claiming that doing so violates the adoptive family’s privacy and telling birth mothers to wait until adoptees turn 18. However, there are no laws sealing or regulating adoption files, which are technically agency private property. The agencies could burn the records if they wanted. 

it is quite tough at times to read facts like these and know that i am part of this ongoing social struggle. but reading something like this also makes me proud to be part of a pioneering generation for south korea. to create some sort of reform so that the future children and mothers of this country can have a choice and the basic liberty of human rights. 

Seoul time lapse

There is Starbucks ALL OVER in Korea, especially Seoul.

But it’s expensive… And they only have two sizes. Small and extra-small.

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In September, 2003, Busan Korea was hit with a massive typhoon. For most of the people living on the coast, we were unprepared. 
I took this photo a few days after the storm. This ship was used as a floating hotel (“The Flotel”); equipped with kareoke rooms, a patio bar and hotel rooms. Fortunately the night of the typhoon, it was evacuated. Today, it still sits eerily in the same position, I guess a reminder to us all that sometimes mother nature can be a real bitch.

Here is a picture of a manican with a carrot and bunny ears. The business men in the background made this unusual site seem not so unusual.

Oh my goodness look at them go.. I like this practice video better than their actual performance on stage :/
I still love them and all their foreign-ness. Big bang. 
G-dragon looks so un-amused in all his dancing (the blond one with the purple scarf) 

"Operation Nukorea":

digital literature piece by Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries

a gruesome piece detailing an imagined, yet highly plausible preemptive strike by North Korea upon South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. (discretion is advised)

more of Young-Hae Chang’s work can be seen here:

http://www.yhchang.com/

W-mall

Apgujeong neighborhood, Seoul

A land of high-tech and ancient traditions, big cities, green mountains and beaches, the wealthy South Korea has a great deal of things to see and do, from shopping to spas, beach holidays to trekking, and from golf to one of the last present Cold War zones. South Korea may not be a world-famous tourism destination, but it is popular among the Japanese and Chinese visitors. There is also a significant amount of domestic tourism in South Korea.

This casestudy is really something. Because they take the analogue behaviour of South Korean people and integrate their smartphone use to help Tesco become No. 1 in the market. Helping people solve one of their everyday problems, and at the same time make Tesco their grocery store. What I really love about this as well is that it is just another print ad space, used in another way. Pretty much opening a store in a billboard.

See the movie and read the Adverblog article here.

Korean Pride Baby…Lee Chung Yong

Apgujeong neighborhood, Seoul

Apgujeong neighborhood, Seoul

???? - do not enter

photocredit: @kimdeborah

This day in HIStory: 25 June 1999

Michael gives one of the two charity “MJ & Friends” concerts at Chamsil Olympic Main Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. Pictured here performing You are not alone.

Apgujeong neighborhood, Seoul