Here we are, at the end of 2018! It’s been a fun year and I hope you’ve enjoyed this photographic journey through it with me. In this last installment, we’ll look at some family photography, a few more corporate sessions, a couple or two, a Halloween photobooth, and some more of Seoul.
First up this quarter were the Ataalla family on a cool morning in Seoul Forest. We had one of the most energetic sessions I’ve had all year, but it was a great time. You can see more from that session in the full blog.
The annual Commonwealth Chambers joint event was up next, followed by the opening of Amazing Brewing Co.’s new bar in Kondae. After shooting the interiors for Amazing, I covered their opening party for a couple of hours. The moody interior made for a great place to shoot some promo materials for them.
Something that I don’t do all that often, but really enjoy, is model portfolio shoots. It’s great to work with a team of creatives and make something beautiful happen. This shoot with Mimi was an extremely different afternoon for me and we made some work we’re all proud of.
It was also the time of year for creating Dwight School’s annual student image. This time, we even got the mascot out for the shot!
The Ashcraft family also joined me for a fun morning out during their visit to Korea. There isn’t much more fun than a couple of cute little dudes who get along really well. Here’s a pair of frames from that session as well.
For the next couple of days, I would spend my time with the students of Deutsche Schule Seoul International for their annual portraits. It was such a diverse shoot with children from all over coming in one after the other. We had a blast and are looking forward to doing this again next year!
Then it was back to the Dwight School with my good friend Greg Samborski to cover their annual Dwight Night in a slightly different fashion. We offered the idea of having a roaming photobooth for them and it worked out a treat. With the creativity in costumes, the great venue, and pleny of alcohol to go around, the photographs were refreshingly different!
No rest for the wicked in this season, I was straight off to make some pre-wedding portraits for Charlotte and Namou. We decided on an urban theme and spent an evening in Yeouido together working on some beautiful golden-hour-through-blue-hour shots. Here’s a couple from the session. The full blog will come early next year.
Continuing on, I had the opportunity to work with Brewdog Itaewon again for their Halloween party. We organised a simple photo booth for their guests and had a great couple of days!
Finally, it was time for a couple of days off and I head out into some of the nicest light I’ve seen in Seoul for a while. Clear skies and low pollution levels made for some great geometric shots at the DDP.
These gorgeous days weren’t to last, though. Soon we returned to our regular programming of smog and soft light. Here’s a couple from the following days.
Following these couple of days, it was back to work with ANZA for our annual photo booth and coverage of the Melbourne Cup festivities here in Korea and a quick alumni event for Simon Fraser University during their visit to Korea.
In early November, while there were still a few leaves on the trees, I had a great session with the Kruger family. They were in Seoul to take custody of their fourth! We spent an hour together at Changdeokgung and the area around it to make a few portraits to celebrate their new addition.
This was the beginning of a few weeks of shooting all around the country, which, unfortunately, is still under my editorial exclusivity contract. So, we’ll get to take a look at that stuff next year! Surrounding it, though, I had the chance to work with the Feruglio family during their first meeting with their son, Jeong. I also, of course, did a little of my own personal work on my trips around the country, so below are a couple from Busan and Jeju. You can check out some more about those images on my YouTube channel.
Then it was back to Seoul for a day to work with the Smith family during their visit to pick up their son before heading back down to Gwangju for an editorial portrait, and back to Seoul to fly over to Tokyo to assist my good friend Andy Faulk on a commercial job and make some portraits of his family. I’ve tossed in a couple of street shots from Tokyo as well. You can see more of those here.
Back in Seoul, it was time to cover the end of year parties for the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce and the German Club.
Then it was time to enjoy the winter with the Mangahas family. December is a cold time of year, but we braved and and were rewarded with some fun family pictures for them to remember their time here by.
Another cold family session with the DeVitos was to follow. We had beautiful afternoon light and they persevered through the freezing temperatures, only stopping for a ginger tea for a few brief moments before heading back out and continuing our session. Much more from this session coming soon!
Right after this session, my good friends Kidoo, Bruce Percy, and Marco Clarkson hit the road to check out some of the rock formations on the east coast of Korea. After 4 hours of driving and a quick bite to eat when we arrived, we snagged around 3 hours sleep and went out to shoot the sunrise. A couple of those results are below.
Next up, I went from Gwangwondo back to Seoul for a quick couple session with the Christmas lights in Myeongdeong and my good friends Tony and Mimi. Then it was straight out to Nami Island for a family session. Meeting up with the Lee family at 8am for a session on the empty Nami Island was chilly but beautiful. Nami is one of the only nature-related locations I recommend during the winter because of the beautifully geometric avenues of trees. Check those out below. More to come from this session.
Next up, the Feruglio family were taking custody of their son and I would join them for that. I arrived a little early from my morning shoot on Nami Island so I decided to explore the area around my next location. I found an interesting new shoe shop that I wouldn’t normally pay much attention to. But, the characters out front made the shot! Then it was in to meet with the family, a quick ride back to their hotel, and some fun moments with Jeong.
We also headed out less than 48 hours later to capture a few moments with the family before they flew back to Australia. Here are a couple of those. More to come from this session!
And one final session to wrap out the year. Winter light is so gorgeous! If only it weren’t so cold and more people were willing to go out! Thanks to Hannah, John, and the kids for a fun session on Christmas eve!
So, there it is. Thanks so much for joining me on this long journey. Have a great end to the year, all, and much love in the new year. See you all soon!