Join me for A quick just under 24 hours trip to Seoul, where I decided for Ilford HP5+ shot at ISO 800.
We were only in Seoul one night, landing quite late in the evening and leaving the next day in the afternoon. However, I still not only managed an early morning run (sorry no Leica shots for that) but a full roll of Ilford HP5+ during the day. I opted for ISO800 as I had a very brief evening stroll downtown and figured the extra stop would help any handheld shots. I find shooting at ISO 800 even during the day can deliver some quite interesting shots too.
Park downtown somewhere. Actually Seoul is enormous, this was near one of the shopping areas of Gangnam district (yes, that is the famous South Korean song!).
Outside a rather large mall. The architecture in Seoul is quite interesting, quite modern in places and then surrounded by rather large apartment blocks. I am always fascinated to watch people go about their day to day business in different countries.
I didn’t quite get the composition right here, but I found the shapes very interesting and I like the contrast.
Just a random pig on the street that caught my eye.
I really like the top right photo of the police station! Otherwise pretty empty streets and lots of cables everywhere. It was a public holiday so not much going on.
Talking about cables…!
I liked this composition and the word pork stood out to me for some reason!
I can imagine these shopping and nightlife district streets are very busy during the week or on a Saturday, but for us they were really empty (and it was hot!). Nice contrast from HP5 film @ISO800 in this shot.
It’s funny how a different alphabet becomes mandatory to take a photograph of, and I didn’t even notice the traffic cone, but it works quite well in the composition!
More empty streets.
Actually some very good running opportunities in downtown Seoul when it is a public holiday and empty. I had a great run around the palace and past the “blue house” (president’s house), which I remembered from the Netflix series ‘Designated Survivor: 60 days) (South Korea’s take on the original ‘Designated Survivor’ series, and it is excellent).
I am getting lazy saying empty streets, but the photographer in me just can’t help some strong straight lines and fewer people in the shot!
I quite liked the Korean alphabet on the road. Also at traffic lights they have a very long verbal explanation about something for a good 20 seconds, it certainly sounds more than “please wait”.
I like this shot, I will probably print it.
These are all nighttime shots.
Part of the Seoul Outdoor Night Library, a really cool initiative where there are baskets containing books all along this nice river running through town. People take advantage of the deckchairs and small reading lights and read books whilst enjoying the atmosphere. Far fewer people on mobile phones than you would think.
I am quite happy with how these turned out, as ISO 800 is not that high to deal with handheld and such dark scenes.
My first view of Seoul at night after leaving the hotel, I was immediately drawn to the different alphabet painted on the road.
Overall observations
A quick less than 24 hour visit to Seoul did not really do it justice, although we still managed to get a lot done including Seoul nighttime library experience, an early morning run around the palace, a visit to multiple shopping districts and large malls, and even some traditional korean food for lunch.
I’ll definitely come back to Seoul - it has a really cool vibe to it. I found it very different to Tokyo, very modern on one side but quite grungy on the other and with a rather large river running through this close to 10million population city.
Also, for those travelling with me, you know I never miss a good opportunity for a plane shot. One below taken on telephoto 135mm lens at ISO 800 on a bright afternoon - grain galore!
