While I was in Seoul, I checked out some of the more interesting spots that I saw online.
All the library books are accessible on the lower shelves. The books up high are decorative, like this book about one of my favorite things
There’s the big Christmas Tree. You can see the starfield on the ceiling.
This is a library which is in the center of a very large mall in Gangnam. It’s called the COEX Starfield Library and it’s a place where you can take a breather from your shopping, relax and read a magazine or a book or have a cafe style snack. Lots of people here during my visit and people were respectful of each other. And as the linked article says, people hang out there for a brief time and then leave. Great people watching spot. In San Francisco, homeless and druggies would camp out here permanently and soil everything. Glad this isn’t there.
South Korea, Seoul, Gangnam District, Yeongdong-daero, 513 스타필드 코엑스몰 B1 Google Map
Henri Cartier-Bresson was an influential photographer from the post WWII period. You have probably seen some of his work without knowing who took the photos or how he did it. He was a pioneer of street photography and also a war photographer in France and in China (before and after 1949).
This is one of his most famous photographs, Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare
He was interviewed many times about how he composed his photos. He didn’t edit his photos; he would compose them in the viewfinder and wait until everything was right and then he would release the shutter. This was, of course, before the time of digital where film and film developing was expensive and most importantly, time consuming. Nowadays, you can frame a photo and fire off 20 versions of the same scene and choose which ones pass muster and delete the rest. And even with that, you can always take the images and post process them so they look even better than when you took them using your Mark I eyeball to compose the shot.
From what I’ve read about Bresson, it was all about waiting for everything to come together. The light, the color of the sky, the subject matter co-operating with you and the camera. The Decisive Moment. I’ve always found it harder to photograph people than still life. Still life doesn’t complain when the picture doesn’t get their “good side”. Still life cooperates and can be more predictable than people.
So I took this from my room at the Grand Hyatt Incheon.
On approach to ICN
90 seconds before this shot formed, I saw how the sun was setting and how it looked with the clouds. It’s a play on emptiness, with the foreground of roads, parkland (that’s supposed to be landscaping) and the sky. It’s not a completely devoid scene, you can see people walking in the foreground and the sprinklers going off. And an airplane on approach to ICN. I cheated and took two shots. The shot before has the airplane blocking the sun. At this distance, any effect that would have with the photo would be minimal. What it would do would be to mute the scene of vibrant color even more. I like this one because the plane breaks up the emptiness; a metal tube full of people who will soon be reunited with loved ones or beginning (or ending) an adventure or a journey.
One of the great joys denied to travelers now is the simple act of wandering around Tokyo and soaking it all in. Like this from a previous visit in a Tokyo Metro station…
070903tokyo
…or attending a matsuri while you’re in town. This is from the Koenji Awaodori which happens in late August…
9 months into this partly manufactured “crisis” and the travel and hospitality industries have taken the biggest hit. Travel will never be the same as it was before corona. Usually at this time of year, I’m in Singapore doing the Friendsgiving thing. Not this year. Let’s take a look back at the joy of travel. Because the journey is just as important as the destination.
Business class lunch. I believe I eat better when I’m traveling than when I’m stuck in the states.
This was a fast trip, to be ended with an early morning in Tokyo. It made more sense to get my ramen fix while I was in town, as opposed to being in transit.
Shinagawa. Going from the Keikyu Line to JR.
This is how transit looks like in Tokyo. The trains are color coded and queueing is orderly. However, it’s a huge crush even at 0700 in the morning. Thankfully people here have a good sense of hygiene. But you don’t have ramen for breakfast here. Yet.
I was in Hong Kong for several days so I decided to get my ramen fix there. Many of the major ramen chains are there including Ichiran.
Magic cubiclesJust a curtain then…Tah-dah!
Ichiran is (in)famous for it’s attitude towards it’s ramen. Instead of tables where you can occupy space for hours, yakking with your friends, their ramen is served individually in cubicles so nothing gets in the way of the ramen. Then when you finish, you leave. Your bowl is customizable. The softness of the noodles, the intensity of the broth and as many (or as little) toppings as you’d like. As it should be.
Hard noodles, rich broth with scallions and red oil. YESSSSSS
The aftermath after one serving of kaedama.
Since the Singapore leg of this trip was going to be busy, I’m glad I got my fix here.
Another one from the BMW Museum. The engine in the foreground is the first M engine that powered the M1. The display also had headphones so you could listen to how each engine sounded up to redline.
I came across some photos in my Google Photos account that were initially thought lost (yay cloud storage). My last visit to Beijing in 2014 which was also my first ride on CHR. I don’t know where those photos are.
One rite of passage of all Beijing visits are black boogers. However, despite being smogged when I arrived (you could even see the smog in the parking structures, like an awful fog), the next day was blue sky and glorious sun. Also, the air cleared out because of a front that blew through overnight.
I arrived at 1900; this was the morning’s forecast for the next day
Being a Sunday, everyone had the day off. And this being the first clear day in months, the entire city went outside. Although I didn’t really think about it because my hotel was in the Financial District, which was blissfully quiet. I went “outside” to where everyone else seemed to be, Tiananmen Square.
The best shot I could get; it was just that crowded
And when you get to the square, the obligatory Mao on the Tiananmen Gate photo.
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