Following up on my last article detailing the beginning of my journey into photography, I’ll share from the beginning of 2015. I didn’t really make any great strides in the world of photography at this time. I was learning things here and there, but referring to and reviewing my collection from the first eight months of the year; I mostly took photographs of my two-and-a-half-year-old son.
We took our first trip as a family of three back home to Canada to visit my parents and friends. We thoroughly enjoyed that. Then, we made an extra trip to Orlando, Florida. I was happy to take our son to Disney World. Most of these images will remain private for now, as they are mostly family-related.
Back to South Korea
My photography journey really continues after returning to South Korea. In August 2015, I returned a few times to the Gwanghwamun area in Seoul, where I captured a few photographs here and there. Here are some of them:
Learning a New Trick – Light Trail Photography
Around October 2015, I was reading articles and watching online videos to learn about new skills. I stumbled across some interesting effects that I thought were really cool and interesting. That involved taking long-exposure photographs at night to capture streams of light.
If you’re new to photography and interested in learning night photography, capturing light trails is something you will likely find very fun, as well as fascinating. At least I sure did! So, to give you the short of it, basically, you are shooting a long exposure photograph, keeping your shutter speed open for a long time. It could be a second, and it could be several seconds or longer. Now, this interesting thing happens. When light enters your frame, it will stay in the image, even if it is just for a short period. So, what happens to moving lights? The trail of the light will be captured for the duration of the shutter. This means that if a light object, like car lights, were to enter your frame from one side to the other while your shutter is open, you will get this trail effect.
I learned about this effect, quickly bought myself a cheap tripod, and began experimenting. These are some of my first practice tests near my home:
Though not yet perfectly honed, I took this new skill to the city to photograph light trails in the early morning before the sun came up near Gyeongbokgung Palace. I continued shooting long-exposure photographs after the sun came up at Cheonggyecheon Stream. These were more experimental than anything, but I was really excited and enjoyed the results at the time. Looking back on them now, I can tell I was really green. I was new to photography in general, not to mention this new technique. But I’m glad that I was out there learning and experimenting from early on. The following are some of the results of my early morning adventure.
That is a wrap for this article. I will share more of my early journey in photography in the next article.
January~October 2015
Photograph(s): #1186~3564
Join The Photography Mentoring Program
I want to take just a moment to share my Photography Mentoring Program with you. I got started in photography about 9 years ago. I’ve learned a lot and feel I’ve come a long way as a person and artist. I’m hoping to continue my journey, but at the same time, I’d like to do my part in helping and inspiring the next generation of photographers. If you’re learning photography or looking to continue growing and improving your work, consider signing up for The Photography Mentoring Program. I will personally help and assist you in your photography journey to the best of my ability.