Welcome back to my 2024 Year in Review series. In this post, we’ll be taking a look at some of my sessions from spring and early summer. If you’re visiting at this time of year, it should give you a good idea of what to expect from the weather here. Most years, it’s one of the nicest times of year as the weather is warm and the light is beautiful.
April – Family, Proposal, and Event Photography
April is when we finally start to see the first signs of real spring in Seoul. The weather is finally warming and the leaves are starting to bud. It is the time of year when families begin emerging from the long winter and enjoying the outdoors. I started the month with four sessions in quick succession. To kick things off, a session with Melanie and her family in Seoul Forest. The following morning, I had another session with Cynthea and her family at Changgyeonggung. The cherry blossoms had just started to bloom in both spots and the trees were about 30% full. As always, these little blossoms bring everyone and their dog out to play, so we had to quickly get a few shots with them and move along. Nonetheless, there were some beautiful moments to be made!
The next day was a big one for Benjamin and Yun Rong. Benjamin had been planning with me for quite a while in the hopes of having cherry blossoms as the background for his proposal. As the blossoms were still patchy, the original couple of locations we’d selected were not going to be viable and we had to make a last-minute change to get the most blossoms we could into the frame. Only a couple of trees in the whole of Seonyudo Park had begun to blossom. Even so, I was able to find a spot that Benjamin liked the look of and we planned it out via text message last minute!
The next morning, I had a family photoshoot at Gyeongbokgung with Frederique and her family that was filled with fun and play. Then, I had a few days of rest and post-production before the storm of the following week.
The next week was not a week I’d usually take on, but a lot of things came together to make it an exceptionally busy one. Initially, I had a family session with the Lee family planned in Seoul Forest park and then a flight down to Jeju Island for Daniel’s proposal to Lucy that evening. However, at the last minute, a family I had worked with in the past had their first meeting with their second son scheduled. One rule I have is that I’ll move Heaven and Earth to be there for adoptive families. So, as my fun-filled session with the Lees came to an end, I jumped on the train and made it to the Saunders’ meeting with a takeout coffee in hand. As that wrapped up and I bid them farewell, I jumped on the train for the airport, headed down to Jeju, rented my car, set up for Daniel, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset with them. What an emotional rollercoaster this day was! At times, the efficiency of Korea’s public transport really does make all the difference and takes the stress out of getting things done.
It was then time for a few days off again before a run of consecutive shoots that started with our regular work for Foot Locker. Then, I had a session with Heather and her family before flying down to Jeju Island once again for Phil’s proposal to Cindy and then straight back to Seoul to work with Pierre-Yves and Melodie on their pre-wedding photos. In that session you can see the stark difference a couple of weeks makes in Seoul. The sparse, fresh greens of the beginning of the month are gone and the deep greens of summer have arrived. This change is extremely quick and if you blink, you’ll miss it.
To wrap up the mayhem of April, I spent two days with the Australian Embassy Defence Division covering their activities for ANZAC Day. Honouring the veterans who served their country to fight for the freedom of those they hadn’t met is a special time for me each year. Without their sacrifice, I would not be living the life I do now. This is my small way of repaying that debt. Lest we forget.
Just for good measure, I then hopped on a bus out to Yangyang to complete the most taxing gran fondo I have ever taken part in and then got convinced by Chef Manu of The Xef to join him for another gran fondo the following day in Hongcheon. Who needs enemies when you have friends? Both were absolutely worth it for the spectacular views, but I definitely needed a sleep in the following day!
May – Proposal, Family, and Event Photography
To start the month of May, I worked with Austrade for their presence at Bio Korea for a couple of days before heading down to Jeju Island for a beautiful sunrise proposal with Andrew and Bianca. This was one of those mornings when the emotion and light came together to make it all worth starting the day without coffee for everyone involved. Now, if only we could convince Korea that coffee shops need to open early!
Heading back up to Seoul, I had the opportunity to work with the Teyema family for some updated family portraits, the Saunders family for a post-custody family shoot in the park, and the Grant family for their first moments as a family before flying home to Australia. I look forward to sharing full blogs for each of these sessions over the coming months, but for now, here are a couple of favourites from each session. May is the time for gorgeous, clear light and lovely fresh greens before summer’s heat kicks in. There’s a reason it’s known as the “family month” here in Korea.
Next, I had a few couple sessions in a row. The first was on Jeju Island with Chun Yuen for a lovely proposal in the hydrangeas we get for a few weeks here in summer. We entered the park just as they opened to beat the rush of group-tourism and the couple got a short few minutes to themselves for this precious moment. Then, I hopped on a plane back to Seoul to work with Grace and Winston, whom I had a session scheduled with in April but their trip was delayed. In the end, it worked out beautifully as we had the perfect weather for the shoot. Then it was back down to Jeju Island for one of the most emotionally charged proposals I have photographed to date with Travis and Isabel. The gorgeous May weather held up for all three sessions and I’ve got plenty to share in upcoming blogs.
Jetting back up to Seoul again, I had a session with Austrade for their presence at the Seoul Education Fair before meeting up with my old friends, the Brown family, for a coffee and some updated family photos. It had been years since I last saw them as a family back when they visited for the adoption of their little sister, Nell. I wasn’t quite ready for three teenagers to step into my midst, but it does make you realise how quickly time passes. After coffee and photos, we parted ways and it wasn’t until 5 minutes later that I realised we never got a photo together and chased the family down like a madman through the streets until I finally caught them in the subway station. It was worth every additional heartbeat!
To wrap up the month, I photographed a couple of events. The first of which was a South Australian wine promotional event for the South Australia Government office here in Seoul. The second was the annual KGCCI Asparagus Dinner. This German tradition brings together the German community here in Seoul as well as locals with connections to Germany for an evening of imaginative dishes put together with white asparagus specially imported just for the event.
To complete the month of May, I enlisted the help of the ever-well-connected Chef Manu to pull together a large group of cyclists in Seoul and together we hosted a fundraising ride for World Bicycle Relief. A big thanks to everyone who participated and donated to make this ride such a big success. Also, thanks to Aaron for this selfie of the crew!
June – Editorial, Family, and Event Photography
To start June off, I was contracted to make a portrait of Dave for his role at SurrealDB. It was a simple, casual portrait that needed to fit in with the existing portraits they had for their staff all over the world; nothing too polished, nothing too stiff, but still with a level of polish.
Next up, I had a couple of family sessions with the Cook and Kim families before the summer weather began to roast us all. At this time of year, the sun is already high in the sky by the time Seoul’s palaces open, but we can always find some corners to work in where the light is nice for our images.
Samcheok Gran Fondo
Following these sessions, I had a couple more events for the Australian government, one for Trade and Investment Queensland’s promotion of Queensland food imports in Korea and one for Austrade’s presence at the Seoul Food show. Directly after that, I had a quick shoot for Foot Locker and then headed down to Changwon to photograph a new machine for Volvo Construction Equipment. Photos from those coming once the embargo is lifted!
To round out this quarter, I had a couple of family photo shoots and an editorial for Mining and Construction Magazine that I’m excited to share once the embargo is lifted. For now, here are some of my favourite moments from my time with Sharon and her family, and my good friends, the Tooze Family. Sharon wanted to have half of their session in hanboks and the other half in regular clothing, so we began the session in hanboks to make the transition smooth and easy. Not only that, but hanboks gained them free entry into Gyeongbokgung, making getting inside before all the other visitors even smoother. The Tooze family wanted to have their portraits at Yeouido Park, as it was one of the first places they spent time as a family. Thankfully, we got one of the nicest days we’d had all summer and it made for some really lovely images. Look out for that full blog soon!
Thanks again for joining me on this second piece of my 2024 activities. I’ll be back again soon with the third installment in this series. Take care, everyone!