Transitions?

This blog tends to change format every time my life goes into transition and I'm starting to feel the need to move my life around a bit. That and I realized some of the features of my old template weren't really working for me.

But changing this blog around has once again made me think about it's purpose, I mean really, what am I doing here? Over the last three years, it's gone through a few looks being a place for my adventures in Korea, a place for my photography, a journal of my backpacking trip, a place for me to just sit down and talk (hence the couch on my last template), and now... what?

As I sit here and contemplate the struggles I've had over the last year and my feelings about the options I have for the next year, I find myself honestly ping-ponging between depressed and ambivalent--not excited. What I miss is the adventure, the excitement, the unknown and the surprise of everyday life--of living truly in the moment.

I feel a bit sad that at 25 it feels like my adventures are ending with a 9-5 job and a moldy apartment but I'm not going to give up because the journey isn't over yet. I'm in love with the most wonderful man and together we're carving our way through international waters, living life and loving each other. We have plans and dreams and we're going to get there! And my photography! Things are going well and I've got some great references and amazing pieces to show for my hard work. It might feel like I'm at the end of the road but I'm really still somewhere near the beginning.

So, this blog--The Journey of a 21st Century Nomad--whether it's written from an exotic location or the comfort of my couch (favorite writing location), is about walking that road of life and love and learning as I go. Adventures of a different kind? Perhaps. I hope a bit of the exciting laying with tigers sort of stuff is in there too but primarily, this place is about dealing with life as it comes at you--not looking back, but always moving forward.

The Power is in Your Hands: Composition Part 2

A Sense of Scale

I'm sure that at first glance you can't see the tiny man but he's there! He's a little black vertical line in the bottom right corner. Of course, at this size he's too small to give you a sense of scale but at the original size of this photo, you definitely get a sense of how BIG the pyramids are!

If you're photographing something big, try sticking something in the frame to help your viewers put the subject in perspective like a plant in a big window, a squirrel next to a giant tree--use your imagination!

Sports/Action Shots

To be a good spots photographer, you have to learn to anticipate your photo. For repetitive activities like kicking a punching bag, mentally count how quick their movements are and take your photo accordingly. And get to know your shutter speeds! Become familiar with what kinds of speeds you need to get certain shots. Obviously if your shooting a runner, you'll need a quicker speed. 

These taekwando photos didn't turn out so well at first but after a little while I got the hang of how fast they were moving and learned to anticipate their actions. This one in particular wasn't super fast, just super high. By the time he reached this height, his momentum had slowed significantly so it was actually pretty easy to anticipate this shot. I think I got it in just the right place! But if you recall a photo I posted recently of an apple exploding, that was an extremely fast shutter speed (and I should mention, an extremely lucky shot!). Of course, it took me several times to get it right. They were kicking apples left and right so I had time to practice my timing. You might not always have that chance to practice but you'll get the hang of it sooner or later and then you won't need so many practice shots!

Symmetry

Symmetry is one subject split in the middle so that one side mirrors the other. This was the best example I could find from my own work of symmetry.

Why is symmetry so captivating? I think it's because very little is symmetrical in nature--thus it's so eye catching! We find ourselves looking at symmetrical things and wondering why we can't look away; what is it that makes it different? In fact, I've heard it said that some of the most successful models have very symmetrical faces (a rarity among humans).

Radial Composition

The idea behind radial composition is that there is one central point from which everything moves out from. 

Another great example of radial photos? Try photographing a ferris wheel with blurred movement but make sure to keep your frame tight around the subject!

Going Somewhere & Coming from Somewhere

One great way to capture the sense of a journey is to use tracks--they are great and lead your eye right through the photo (front to back or back to front!). 

Other tips: try photographing people from behind to get the sens that you're following them or to get a view of what's ahead. You might also try playing with the size of your subject and the placement of them in the frame. Obviously big and in foreground will give you a sense that there is something beyond your subject, where as small and in the background will give you a sense of what's behind them.

Depth of Field (DOF)

Depth of Field refers to the sense you get that something is far away or close by which is easy to achieve by blurring portions of your photo but leaving your subject sharp and in focus. This can be achieved by either moving in really close so that all things in the background are blurred, or by increasing the f-number (decreasing the aperture diameter) will increases the DOF.

This is a pretty typical and standard photographer's tip which will definitely make your photos stand out from the rest.

The Power is in Your Hands: Composition Part 1

There is a lot to be said about how to compose your photos so I've decided to split this subject into two posts. However, before we start talking about composition ideas, let me just say that there are a few cardinal rules about composition.

1. As yourself what you want to photograph and photograph it and nothing else. Anything extra in your photo should enhance the subject and never draw attention away from it. This is a common problem with "tourist" shots. People want their photo taken in front of the waterfall or the church or the statue to remind them that they were there. Well, actually, if you have the photo then that is the reminder. If you put your face in front of it, you draw attention away from the most important part: that amazing place you visited. Spend your time focusing on the magnificent beauty you're beholding, not on how your hair looks in the last 10 frames.

 

This is a really good example of the awkward "we were here!" photo. The giant Buddha was cool but we really didn't need another photo of us together. We knew we had been there. Not to mention we just look awful!

2. Fill your frame. Forget this whole "in a land far, far away" thing and fill your frame with your subject. If you got to a tennis match and your favorite player is up, zoom in! Get close and put that person in the photo! If your frame is too far back, you'll lose the magic. A good rule for portraits, no face should ever be smaller than a nickle no matter what size of print it is.

Here's a good example of where I should have filled my frame:

I love this picture because this old Vietnamese woman is trying so hard to row against the rain and wind in the storm in her little boat while all the bigger ones are safely anchored. But the photo is so far away that the focus is a bit lost on her. She's a little too small and it's easy to be distracted by the other boats. If I had actually used that zoom of mine, it would have been much, much better!

Okay, the good stuff! With those two cardinal rules in mind, let's talking about composition ideas and styles.

The Rule of Thirds
This is your classic photography rule. Basically, the idea is that if you draw two lines in equal measure across your photo horizontally and vertically--splitting your photo into three sections of equal siz, anything under the four intersecting points will naturally draw the eye.

As you can see, the top right intersection is perfectly placed on the forehead of the woman as is the top left intersection on the woman in the background. But more so, that top line connects all four women which allows the eye to easily move between them and makes the photo feel more connected.

The Middle

My old art teacher, Dan Rice, used to say never put anything in the center unless it's really important because the center is a powerful and confronting place. In many ways Dan is right. A centrally placed subject can be very confronting and will always grab the viewer's attention.

This photo is of the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Eternal Flame in Yerevan, Armenia. It is a very solemn place where visitors are compelled to hold their breath in silent honor for the dead. I took a lot of photos here and sure, many of them were off-center, but it was the center one that worked best. Why? Because these slain Armenians demand our attention and should be the focus of the photo.

Of course, you can do whatever you want--rules were meant to be broken! But just remember than the center is your special place to make a statement so choose wisely!

Reflections

Reflections are a great way to make an ordinary scene abstract! I've taken lots of photos this way before using monorail windows, mirrors, picture frames, windows--you name it! Perhaps the most over-used example is the sunglasses (but I still like it anyway).

Patterns

Everything in nature has a patter be it the buds on a fern or the veins in a feather. But artificial things have patterns too! Any pattern will capture the viewers attention. And remember, symmetry in patterns isn't necessarily a requirement!

Sense of Movement

Are you watching a dance? At a sports came? Or maybe you're just on the beach and looking at waves? Movement is all around us and just because your picture is a still doesn't mean everything has to be still! Lengthen your shutter speed to blur the moving parts and put some action into your shot!

The Moment

When I was a kid I used to be fascinated by light switches and I would flip them over and over, trying to slow things down enough that I could find the exact moment when the light switched on. I really wanted to know what happened between on and off! I think most people have are curious too about that moment and capturing it on film will definitely capture your viewer's attention!

This is one of those moments! Even though the balloon is actually behind the minaret and a long way off, the silhouette makes them look level with each other and just about to collide! It's that tiny sliver of light in between the two that catches people's attention!

Vanishing Points

Have you ever stared down a long, straight and empty road and wondered how far it went? Or stared across the ocean and wondered where the end was and why you couldn't see it? That's vanishing points in a nutshell: the subject leading away from you until it simply vanishes.

Okay, so this photos was taken with a fisheye lens which helps a bit but really, you can do these kind of photos with any lens! All you need is perspective!

Look Up or Look Down

Sometimes we get so pre-occupied looking ahead that we forget there is a world above and a world below! Looking up or down can sometimes be just the thing you need!

This was actually a big art installation piece on the beach and by chance I looked up to find these amazing patters and shapes around me which made one awesome photo!

Where the Action is
Never forget that as a photographer, you are looking for the height of every moment--the point where excitement, tension, passion, movement can go no further!

This was taken at the city festival in my old town Jeomchon, in Korea. At the festival, my girls were yelling a song and flashing their jackets as they went. This of course, was the height of the moment after which they rolled their hands and flashed in the other direction--sweeping from side to side. So I waited for them to open their jackets again and yell, and there it is! The moment! That's where you take your photo! Patience and practice will teach you to anticipate those moments.


Want more? Come back on Wednesday for part 2 of composition!

P-p-p-published!!!

Hey readers! Did I mention that I contacted the Korean Times recently about writing an article on Mungyeoung, my old home in Korea? Well, that was about a month ago and today they printed my piece on page 11 in the travel section!

To read the article, click here: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/04/135_65111.html.

I'm so excited! Even though I have lots of experience as Editor in Chief for my university's newspaper, The Talon Journal, I've felt a little self-conscious about writing since I left. Probably because I left The Talon an absolute wreck and needed counseling afterwords! Also because as an Editor, you never get to write what you want to write. You only ever write what no one wants to write or what never came in, so everything I put out was either a. something I wasn't proud of, b. too rushed to have been good, or c. nothing really worth bragging about.

But this is worth bragging about! I really needed a confidence booster and wow, I am so grateful! Not only is it my first submission, it was published! And not only was it published, it was published by a national paper! And not only is it a national paper, it's in the travel section (a notoriously difficult field to break into)! And to add to all my joy, they also published TWO of my photos!

I am beside myself with excitement! Pride is a word for lesser forms of joy!

And I'm determined to get more published! So what's next, you say? Some top secret stuff has been piling up on my mental list for a book and I aim to be 50% through it by January next year so I can pitch it to agents. I'm also working up a pitch for Lonely Planet to write their Washington section. Having been out of Washington for a while, I've realized how much I love the place and what a deep connection I have with the people and the land. I really want to share that with the world and help people find Washington's hidden gems because there's a lot of them and the current guide doesn't do it justice. I've also got several article ideas in mind and I'm planning to start submitting photos to magazines.

I can't wait! New motivation, new vision! I'm published! Yes!! This girl is going to make her dreams happen!

The Power is in Your Hands: Controlling Light Outside Your Camera

Besides controlling the light inside your camera, there is a lot  you can do outside your camera. First and foremost, before you take your picture, ask yourself, "Where is the light coming from?" Remember, all that light is powerful and it can easily blow out a picture, leaving everything too bright. So move yourself around and find a way to make sure that the light you are using--whatever the source is--does not detract from the focus of your photo.

Below is an example of some really strong light. I was at my sister's house and taking photos of my beautiful baby nephew Max (who is no longer a baby but still beautiful) and I just loved how soft and peachy his skin was and the pure cobalt blue of his eyes. He was stuck in his high chair next to the window at the dining room table and I really wanted to catch that moment of wonder on his face. However, the light from the window was really hard and really bright--too much for me to take his photo straight on. So I kept calling his name, making his head turn as I moved around, until I saw the light reflect off my shirt and onto his face which made it so the side of his head didn't blow out the rest of the picture with extreme highlights and leave the rest of his face in the dark.

Another thing you can do is make a silhouette. Silhouettes can be very powerful images because quite literally, opposites attract! Color versus no color put into one photo is eye catching because the negative shape forces our brain to think about the contents of the photo and wonder what the detail really was. It can also bring out the detail of the edges like the fur sticking out of this monkey's brow. To make a silhouette, you need to face towards the light and put an object between you two so that the brightest point of your light source is directly behind the object.

Here is a really good example of the unintentional silhouette. 

Backstory: I was camping on a remote island in Thailand called Ko Lao Lieng when the Thai Navy showed up to look for drug smugglers. Armed with their AK47's, they walked around our camp and the neighboring fishing village looking for drugs (thankfully none were found!) but were cordial and quite friendly through the whole thing. Being the outgoing person I am, I asked if they would take a picture with me and they were delighted. This is one of my favorite memories from the trip and one I really wish had turned out on film.

What happened: We were all standing under a tree which put us in shadow while everything behind us was illuminated by the mid-day sun. Because of our position, we were turned into silhouettes. 

How to avoid this: Now, I am pretty anti-flash. In fact, I really had a hard time finding any photos at all for this post where I used a flash, and so I decided on a photo where I should have used one. If I had turned on the flash, the photo would have come out better because it would have filled the dark places and left the background light. The other way this could have been fixed: if the person takign the photo had walked around to the other side of us so that our light source was shining on us and not behind us. We still would have been dark but not as dark.

C'est la vie. You don't always need your flash (in fact, I would say 95% of the time you don't) but sometimes, being aware of your light source will make you more aware of your needs and hopefully you won't lose a moment like this because you were too stubborn (like me) to turn on the flash!

One cool way to light things is through them. Bubbles are a great example of this. Anything translucent can be made interesting. Try experimenting with bubble wrap, tissue paper, condensation on a glass, glass blocks, frosted windows, or, like my friend Beth did, with objects in soda water! The photo below is of a glass paper weight with bubbles inside that I left in the window sill.

You can use anything as a light source. Be creative! Think of watches illuminated in the dark, a magnifying glass with a light on it, the glow of a computer, candles, lit gas from the stove, anything from the window sill, light breaking through leaves, reflections--you can use it all!

In the photo below, I used a simple bulb on a line (from Ikea, meant for lanterns) in the bathroom with all the lights off. I actually composed this self portrait for a photography class to show that the photographer is the master of light.

Fog is also great for lighting because it helps spread light more evenly. It also creates these amazing halos when a direct light source is in the fog and it can sometimes make it's own vignette when done properly like the example below.

Always keep your eye open for the temperature of different lights. This one below is rather warm where as the first photo in this post is quite cool. In general, blue tones equal cool, yellow tones equal warm. Warm lights can make photos feel more intimate and often leave the viewer feeling like they are a part of the moment. It's also good for conveying warm emotions like happiness and love.

One tool you most definitely need is a tripod. I would put this before a flash every time. If you're going to do photos in dark places, it's essential. Camera shake from your hands can be a real problem as it makes your images a bit blurry. Sometimes you can substitute a great flat surface like a table or balance on a railing (if the shutter isn't too long) but nothing can substitute a good tripod. And yes, I mean a good one. Don't buy a cheap one. I did and the legs are always slipping during photos. The one below was taken in a cave with a long exposure (I think it was 30 seconds) on a tripod. I think I bumped it though which made it a little blurry and unfortunately, I didn't see it until I got home.

And for my last trick... Use something to block the sun if the light is too strong and too direct. Here I used the structure to partially cover the sun because 1. a fully covered sun left everything too dark, 2. a fully exposed sun make everything too bright, and 3. a half sun left neat little sun rays peaking over the edge of the wall.

Really, light is your friend. Everything in photography has to do with light and finding ways to control it naturally (changing positions, holding something up, etc) or artificially (aperture, ISO and shutter speeds) will dramatically improve your photos. Remember to always find your light and use that source to your advantage!

My next post will be on composition and how to make your photos stand out amongst everyone else's!

The Power is in Your Hands: Lighting and How it Works Inside Your Camera

If you're going to understand anything about photography, you should first understand how your camera works because a photograph is nothing more than burning light onto something. Inside every camera is a light sensor (obviously, some are bigger and better than others) and that light sensor is exposed to light every time you click the button on your camera. When you click that button, three things happen.

First, a little mirror inside you camera which allows you to see out of the viewfinder flips up and exposes the sensor (that's why you can't see anything while the shutter is opened after you click the button--because the mirror has flipped up).

Second, light enters your camera through the glass at the end of your lens and travels down the tube to the sensor.

Three, the sensor gathers the light and all the information about how the light was received and records it as data on your memory card.

Film cameras were a lot easier to understand because the light literally burned an image onto film based on how much light radiated or reflected off whatever object you focused on. But that's another subject for another time!

So, you're probably wondering why all photos don't come out looking like one big white nothing from all the light. That's because we control the light using three things: aperture (also known as your F-Stop), ISO and shutter speed. I'm not going to go too far into what those things mean because a basic understanding is really all you need.

You aperture determines the size of the hole at the end of your lens when you push the button and let light in. The bigger the whole, the more light. The smaller the whole, less light. Obviously, if you're in a dark restaurant, you would want a bigger hole and if you really were in a snow storm, you would want a smaller whole.

To illustrate the sizes of your lens opening.

The ISO refers to the light sensitivity of your film or in the case of digital photography, your sensor. Higher ISOs equal more sensitivity which will bring out a bit more detail in your photos if shooting in a dark setting, but it will also add a lot of grain or noise (little specks all over your photos when you look at them closely). Lower ISOs equal less sensitivity which means your photo will be darker which is useful if your shutter is open for a long time to create a blur such as in the case of waterfall photos.

ISO 200. Photo by K. W. Sanders

ISO 1000. Photo by jdebner.

The shutter determines how long that hole stays open. (That little button we've been talking about, the one that takes the picture? That's the shutter button.) You can set the shutter for short periods if you want to capture a moving object and make it still such as someone running. You can also adjust the shutter for longer periods if you want to capture the movement of something like the light trail of a car.

4 Second shutter. Taken by me.

1/40 Second shutter. Taken by me.

For most people and for most of the time, the auto focus function will do everything you need. But one day, it won't do enough and you'll want to try something cool that someone else did. I learned by trying to emulate other people and so will you! Don't get overwhelmed by the technical stuff--let it come naturally.

Lighting is such a big topic in photography that I couldn't possible cover it all in one post. So I've only talked about how it works inside your camera and what you can do to control it with your tool, but lighting outside your camera is important too and I'll be writing about that in my next post.

The Power is in Your Hands

Pretty much everyone has a camera (whether it's a point and shoot or a DSLR) but most people are completely clueless when it comes to using it. There are a lot of photos out there that look like this:

(To be fair, I'll only be using my own photos in this post.)

Why is this photo bad?

1. There is a giant bar running down the middle that distracts the eye from what's important and dissects the frame in an unnatural and obnoxious way. Now, if this bar were lined up right in the middle and completely vertical, it would dissect the photo evenly and create symmetry which naturally attracts the eye. It might also be used to frame two different things happening like a man looking at food on the left and someone paying for food on the right.

2. Every head is cut off at the shoulders. This is just bad cropping on my part. When cropping photos, you must think about good places to crop because right now, every person in this photo other than the lady selling food looks like a giant, floating t-shirt blob. Try not to crop people period but if you must, crop them just a little bit above their joints. Cropping at the joints often leaves a bulge and cropping below the points often leads your eye away in the wrong way--the eye sees a knee and follows the line of the lower leg right off the photo instead of moving away and back to the point of the photo.

3. What is the point of this photo? The point is actually the food: the strangeness of it and the unique way in which it is sold (in big red bowls of water). So why is everything else in here? The woman selling it doesn't really matter nor do the people buying. This photo illustrates one of photography's classic rules: to fill the frame. When a photos is so far zoomed out and not focused on the subject alone, everything is lost and the viewer is distracted. I should have decided what my focus was and then zeroed in on it.

4. The flash. Do you see how that bar is really, really, bright? It's unnaturally bright compared with everything around it. The way a flash works is that light goes out from your camera and bounces off whatever it's nearest. The bar is nearest, therefore the bar is brightest. This is a major problem with a lot of "snapshots" from your average Joe--they don't know how to turn off their flash or what would happen if they did. Another problem with the flash is that it's made everything nearly the same tone which is what happens when light fills dark spaces in a flash and not gradually from an angle. There is no contrast in that food which means it's far less interesting and far less vibrant. With no contrast, there is little to draw our attention to it when that is exactly what we want.

But you don't have to take photos like this! You can have amazing photos! That tool--that camera--you have, it's a powerful one! Do you realize that with just a few clicks you can stop time and capture a moment on paper?

Ask yourself, what do you remember about that moment? What did you feel and what did you see? Those are the things your photos should convey--and you can do it too!

The first step to take good photos is to realize it's not so much about the camera you use (though that might help). Have you ever seen someone who has all the hiking gear to climb Everest but only ever take long walks when they put it all on? My good friend Courtney calls them 'gapers': they're the kind of people who take pride in the things they possess and not the things they accomplish.

Well, camera people are sometimes the same way. In Korea, everyone had a DSLR--whether they knew how to use it or not. Owning a DSLR was the 'vogue' thing to do but I saw a lot of crappy, pointless photos from people with pretty fancy equipment. Don't be a gaper. Don't invest your entire paycheck in all the glory of photography without giving some thought on how to use it. A better camera may give you more options but it won't make you a better photographer. Better skill will make you a better photographer.

To be a skilled photographer, you have to know, understand and execute the following principles. Photography is essentially three things: lighting, composition and editing.

Over the week, I will be posting on what each of those three things mean and together we will see what they look like when applied to your photography and run through a camera.

The Korea I Remember: Part IV

This is Part IV in a series of photos from Korea. To see the first set, click here.

This is one of the traditional characters of Korean folk lore. I saw this cute little puppet at the Mask Dance Festival but things like this were everywhere. To read more about life in Korea, click here.

I found this boy at the Mask Dance Festival too and right after the shutter snapped he jumped and ran away! It was pretty funny but the picture came out lovely anyhow. Click here to see more photos of Korean people and what your average Korean city looked like.

Stark, just like this photo, is the mood of Seodaemun prison. Here, Koreans were tortured and imprisoned during Japanese occupation in order to silence an uprising. To read more and see more photos of this little known concentration-like prison in the middle of Seoul, click here.

Korea is a beautiful place where being outdoors is simply a joy. Just like my good friend Courtney, I too loved sticking my head out of the window as I traveled down country roads. To read more about country life and see how the farmers live, click here.

Norae bang (literally "sing room" in Korean) is an institution! These two crazy guys are a couple friends of mine who took me out for Christmas Eve so I wouldn't have to be alone. It was one crazy and hilarious night! To read more about how Koreans do karaoke and see more colorful photos from the night, click here. To see one video of these guys singing karaoke, click here. To see photos of me from earlier that night singing Christmas carols on the street with a full brass band, click here.

Koreans are masters of beautiful doors. This random shot comes from a temple door at Jiksi Temple in Gimcheon. To see videos of more random Korean stuff (fish eating the skin off your legs as a spa treatment!) click here.

 This beautiful photo was taken at Bong Eunsa Temple in Seoul. To see more photos from the templ and read about my first adventure out on my own in Seoul, click here.

Blurbbles.

We need more people like you.
Today I learned that one of the guys at work used to be a director at Coca-Cola in Australia and was making $300,000+ but gave it all up because the job didn't make him happy, didn't challenge him and the money wasn't satisfying. His words: "There was no where left for me to go in the company and I don't need that much money--no one needs that much money." So he works for himself now and he does what he enjoys. Not many executives would turn down that kind of pay these days. The world needs more people like Joseph. He is a white rhino in a sea of cane toads.

Expanding Your Horizons
I actually went to a corny conference in 4th and 5th grade under this title that aimed to encourage young kids to excel academically and take every opportunity offered to them. In truth, I can't remember anything other than that I made a friend from another school and that I really liked the t-shirt they gave us. But today I think my horizon got a little wider. I sent off an application today for a presentation program assistant at the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) in their television division. I think I'm a good fit for this job and I'm more than qualified to do it (it's also a good "in" for me as the ABC is a very reputable news source here akin to the BBC). Keep your fingers crossed for me because I need something more challenging that what I'm doing now. And I need full time work. If I get this job, it's completely possible that I pay off ALL my student loans in the next 6 months--yeah, um, it's that good of a job. Will the sun set or the sun rise on my horizon? Keep watching this space to find out!

My Biker Boyfriend
Actually it's a road bike but I like flattering him. Jeremy got a new bike last week. We had been talking about a new bike for sometime now and looking at this particular one since November, but ultimately decided to leave it until we got ahead on loans and stuff. But plans changed. Last week, while Jeremy was riding home, he lost his shifter which is kind of like loosing the clutch on a truck--riding is still possible but it makes for one horrible ride to work. So we dug into our savings--again!--and put a bit towards a new bike. It really was inevitable though as his old bike was pretty old and nothing on it could be salvaged. Luckily the price had gone down $300 since the last time we looked at it which made things a lot easier to swallow. He's very happy though. All he can talk about is how fast it goes! It's adorable.

Put 'yer money in a jar and bury it!
It seems like saving money is always two steps forward and one step back. Aside from the bike purchase, we also had to put down a sizable loan payment recently in case I run out of temp work before the new visa is approved. And in addition to the loan, I also had to invest in some better clothes because even though Thomson Reuters doesn't care if I wear t-shirts and capris to work, sooner or later I'm going to find myself working some place that does care and I'm going to look like a real bogan. Plus, my t-shirts are all getting holes these days. So we put $400 into my wardrobe which sounds like a lot to anyone in the US but here in Australia, that's like 4 shirts, a belt and a pair of pants (even when you're bargain hunting!). Geeze, life here is expensive! Sometimes I really wish I could just bury my money so I wouldn't touch it! But while we're speaking of savings, we're hovering just around the $2,300 mark which means we can pretty much buy tickets to fly home now. However, we're limited by my current visa situation which doesn't allow me to leave the country until my application is approved. So... No trips home anytime soon. We'll have to wait for the visa to be approved before we buy tickets (just to be on the safe side). In the meantime, we continue to save. Hopefully we'll have an extra $1,000 to go home with (wishful thinking, maybe?).

Take a picture--it'll last longer.
Not much happening on the photography front these days. I've been busy temping which has left me short of time to put together projects and job ads. Plus, my main focus these days is to concentrate on getting a website put together so that when I get residency I can immediately get my business license and start making this photography thing happen. I'm not really a computer person (not like Jeremy, that is) and all of the information out there is blowing my mind. I'm having a really hard time just trying to find a free web template that I like and then deciding which CMS system to use. I started investigating Joomla! the other day but was so overwhelmed after 10 minutes that I had to walk away. And then, to use flash or not? To incorporate a blog? What about indexing and SEO? How often do I need to update and change my gallery collections? How much is too much? Do I sell prints directly from my site? If so, which ones? And choosing a good host company! My brain is melting just talking about all this!! Small goals first, right? This weekend my goal is to find a host, purchase a domain, and find at least five photographer websites that I like. Tips from fellow web buildings would be appreciated in the comments section of this blog.

For Ryan and Lindsey
Monday is Anzac Day in Australia and though the day is meant to commemorate the sacrifice of Australian men and women who've given their all to the military, I'd also like to make a shout out for my cousins Ryan and Lindsey. Both of them are/where in Afghanistan fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others, the rights of women to determine their futures, world security, and freedom from religious extremism. I am so grateful for their live and their selflessness to move across the globe and offer their lives for people they've never known. It's a beautiful thing. And I also want to send out a big thanks to all the Australian troops deployed overseas too who don't know me but fight for my rights too. Happy Anzac Day everyone! 

The Korea I Remember: Part II

This is Part II in a series of photos from Korea. To see the first set, click here.

At the Sunrise Festival in Yeongduk, we all put little papers with wishes written on them into this tree which was later set on fire so that our dreams may go to heaven. My wish actually came true and I'll be writing about it in the next few weeks! To read more about the Sunrise Festival, click here.

I would often go on little photo walks in Jeomchon just to see what I would see. Down the street from my apartment was a bounce house set up for the neighborhood kids and they were all so excited to let me take their photo--especially this one in the middle. Isn't she adorable?! Check out my other photos from my day out by clicking here.

Mungyeong SaeJae is a provincial road and gate system through the mountains near my home. A river runs through the park and on one occasion I happened upon a group of young people splashing in the water. The sun was hitting the water just right and it was photo magic! To read another story about hiking at Mungyeong Sae Jae, click here.

More photos from out and about in Jeomchon. These kids were so cute. I always loved that about Jeomchon and Korea in general--the people were so nice. To read more about the people in Jeomchon, click here.

At the end of the year, my girls school went to the Sae Jae for a sports day where we had all kinds of competitions and they all dressed up. It was so much fun and a really great way to wrap up my year of teaching. Read more about it here.

This is one of the many beautiful water feature/fountains that pour spring water for hikers at Jiksi Temple in Gimcheon. Read more about the temple and see more photos here.

Hiking in Mungyeong Sae Jae is wonderful. This is the last of three provincial gates up through the mountains--a long hike but worth it! To read more about Mungyeong Sae Jae, click here.

 I used to pass by the beautiful green home every Monday and Friday when I walked to my boys high school. One day, I was out taking photos of my city as part of a photographic tour and I decided to peak over the wall and take some photos of my favorite house. To see more of what a provincial Korean mountain town looks like, click here.

Galavanting in the Eastern Suburbs

Easter in Australia is a 4 day weekend and since we didn't have the money to leave Sydney, and since Jeremy's birthday was on Monday, we decided to spend the weekend in Sydney--as tourists! First stop: South Head!

South Head is the southern end of the Sydney Harbour mouth where it opens up to the Pacific Ocean and along the cliffs are numerous parks, trails and lighthouses. Now, if you remember, we attempted South Head once before but gave up in the face of 40C weather and on account of being lost (of course, this time around, we had no problem finding the very large sign marking the trail head) and so we felt it appropriate to give South Head "another go" as the Aussie's say! We even decided to tack on an extra lighthouse I read about on Wikipedia: Macquarie Lighthouse.

So, kicking off the trip at Macquarie Lighthouse, just above Watson's Bay, we settled in for a tasty picnic of goat cheese, wine, grapes and chicken sandwiches with avacado!

It was such a beautiful day! Not hot, not cold, a light breeze and a few clouds! For the first time in a long time Jeremy's head didn't get burnt when we went out!

Macquarie Lighthouse was the first one built in NSW. Before it's construction, the only guidance sailors had towards the harbour's mouth was a pile of burning wood! Unfortunately, many people died because of that pile of wood--one ship wrecked on the rocks just below the cliff killing more than a hundred people. The lone survivor went on to be the lighthouse keeper at Hornby Lighthouse (on the edge of South Head) where he later helped save several other people in a situation very much like his own.

Isn't it a lovely lighthouse? I just love the brilliant white! Makes me think of Greece.

From Macquarie Lighthouse, we walked down to Watson's Bay for some ice cream and then continued on to Camp Cove and the trail head for South Head and the Hornby Lighthouse. Along the way, we had many beautiful views of Sydney Harbour with the city in the distance.

We also found this crazy big cannon along the trail which was shipped here from Britain to help defend South Head against the Americans and the French. And here is Jeremy riding that rather large cannon like Dr. Strange Love.

It wasn't a very long walk from Camp Cove to Hornby Lighthouse (maybe just 20 minutes or so) but should you make the journey yourself, I should warn you in advance that you pass by a nude beach called Lady Bay Beach which is rather well known destination for old gay men looking for a one night stand. It's definitely not your European nude beach... You have been forewarned.

Hornby Lighthouse is absolutely breathtaking though and will quickly make you forget the anatomical tragedies you just witnessed. It pretty much has all the drama a girl could dream off: stripes, sheer cliffs, jagged rocks, thundering waves, green grass, a covered look out, and ocean as far as you can see. It's no wonder we saw so many couples making out!

But South Head has more than just a lighthouse. There used to be a large fort here once upon a time (hence the cannon) and many of the old trenches and artillery rounds are still accessible. In some places the tunnels even go under ground though never very far as they've all been sealed up. But it makes for some interesting adventures in between the major sights!

So we had some good times just lazing around in the sun. We drank a little more wine, rolled in the grass, talked and talked, and watched the sun go down. It was perfect and I couldn't have asked for a more lovely day out!

Six months ago it was my birthday and this super cute, infinitely sweet guy did everything he could to make that birthday special. So I tried my hardest to return the favor.

We both had a lot of fun that day out on South Head but the birthday/Easter adventure weekend wasn't over yet!

So we took the ferry back to Circular Quay and I started planning day two! For more pictures of our day at South Head, click here.