Another year has come and gone. As I write this, there are only a few days left in 2023. Interestingly, the past year seems to have gone by both slowly and quickly at the same time. I recall the long shoot days, thousands of kilometers traveled, as well as hours upon hours of editing and preparation, and I feel like “yes, it was quite a slog”. But then I take a second look and see all the images I’ve created with so many great clients and think to myself, “damn, where did the time go?”
That being said, it is time once again to make ye olde Year in Review. As I’ve done in previous years, this is a chronological look at the projects I was fortunate enough to be a part of during the past year. In this post, we will look at the first half of 2023.
As usual, January was pretty slow in terms of client work. Most people are out for winter holidays and not much is really going on. This is a great time to travel with family and make some personal images. This year, we decided on a family trip to the northern part of the country, defying instinct and heading straight into the cold. Our destinations included Everland (for my daughter, of course), Nami Island, Gapyeong, and Danyang. We were planning to drive all the way to the east coast and make our way back down south through Gyeongju, but unfortunately, the girls were hit with the old C19. I had just had it the previous month so I guess I was a bit more resistant to the virus.
The first month of the year wasn’t totally devoid of client work. Our regular shoots with global sportswear retailer Foot Locker were still in full swing and we continued to make product and model images for their online store every month.
I also had the pleasure of having my work featured in the January issue of Digital Photographer magazine in an article discussing long exposures.
February rolled around and we had a bit more client work scheduled. The first event of the year was with Asia Society Korea, whom I also work regularly with. They held a dinner at the Lotte Hotel Seoul to celebrate their 15th anniversary.
I also had the pleasure of working with Maranda and Denis for their post-wedding portraits at Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung Palaces. It was still a bit cold, but they were troopers and we were able to make some memorable images.
Later in the month, I got to work with Heather and family for some late winter portraits. Fortunately, the cold weather had started to make way for the spring at this point.
My own family also managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Pohang, perhaps to kind of make up for the previous month’s trip that got cut short. This trip resulted in some fun images.
March came around and the busy season started to ramp up. The month started with our regular Foot Locker e-commerce shoot.
I’d also like to take this moment to give a shout out to the whole team: our amazing models, make up artist Gene Goh, and multi-talent producer and stylist Jeehe Choi. And of course the two ajeossi’s behind the camera, Dylan Goldby and myself. 😀
Up next was another event for Asia Society Korea, a Women’s Day Forum at the Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul.
After that, it was a few days back and forth to Jinhae for some cherry blossom portrait sessions. First couple was Michele and Chris. This was a really fun session because we were able to get clearance to shoot at the base where they were residing. Not only did we have access to an exclusive location, but it also had very pretty cherry blossom spots!
A couple of days later, I had the pleasure of working with Paolo and Ojelle at the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival. We started at the Gyeonghwa train station and then moved to the Yeojwacheon stream area.
That same afternoon, I went back on base to work with Thao and Jed. They are friends with Michele and Chris, and also decided to take advantage of the fleeting cherry blossom week. As expected, the landscape had already changed quite a bit from a few days earlier (cherry blossoms fall and disappear very quickly), but we were still able to find some great spots!
April rolled around and I headed back up to Seoul to work with the Australian Embassy for AusTrade’s investment seminar at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Then it was off to Gyeongbokgung to work with the Park family. Those familiar with Korea’s weather know that things can get sketchy in April. It was an uphill battle with cold drizzles and incorrect forecasts, but we were still able to get some nice portraits.
After that, I was off to Busan to work with the Son family at Dalmaji Gil Road. Fortunately, the spring weather was excellent on this day.
Then it was back up to Seoul the next day for The Legal 500’s GC Summit at the Westin Josun.
A couple of days later, I spent the day exploring Seoul with Mark and Bora, who were visiting from Australia and touring Korea with their extended family.
Then it was time for another event with my venerable colleague Dylan Goldby. This was our second year doing the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KGCCI)’s Ausbildung graduation event, which is always a fun challenge. This year, we ended with an especially picturesque evening on the terrace of the Banyan Tree Hotel.
Another notable event in April was my personal timelapse project from a few years back (Good Day, Tongyeong) being featured on a popular Korean TV show, Freehan 19. They had a segment about my Korean home town of Tongyeong and wanted to use parts of my timelapse as part of it. It was a great reminder of how purely personal work can cross over into something more commercial at times.
May quickly rolled around and the schedules got even crazier. Flat lay and model shoots for Foot Locker, three event shoots for Dulwich College Seoul (also one of my wonderful regular clients), portrait sessions in both Seoul and Busan, (sometimes back to back days between the two cities!) and a massive multi-day event made me very ready for the upcoming summer break.
The aforementioned massive event was for USANA Health Sciences. Around 10,000 (yes, ten thousand) attendees from the Asia Pacific region attended the USANA Live event at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang, and I was brought on to document the event. Fortunately, I was not alone as they also brought along a couple of awesome in-house photographers that I would be working alongside with. It was quite a memorable few days and one of the largest events I have photographed to date.
I also had the chance to work with some lovely families in Busan. First up was Jia Xin and family at the Gamcheon Culture Village.
My second Busan family session for that month was with Wei Yan and family at the picturesque Ahopsan Bamboo Forest.
Then it was back up to Seoul to close off the month with Rui and Jarel for an engagement session at Yongmaland, an abandoned theme park in Seoul.
Before I knew it, summer had rolled around. My first shoot for the month of June was once again with the Australian Embassy/AusTrade. This time, it was for the Seoul Food exhibition at KINTEX, where exporters from various regions in Australia showcased their products and met with potential clients at their booth.
Then it was off to the Grand Hyatt Seoul to work with the British Chamber of Commerce in Korea (BCCK), whom I also have the honor of calling a regular client. In past years, they have held the Queen’s Birthday Dinner, but this year it was to celebrate the birthday of the recently-crowned King Charles III.
After that, we headed to the south with Asia Society. As part of their 15th anniversary celebration, they invited distinguished guests and members of the Asia Society community on an adventure around Busan, part of which was held on a ship. Of course, a big event like this isn’t to be handled alone. Much like Asia Society works in the spirit of international partnerships, the Filipino and Australian duo of Cruz and Goldby teamed up once again to document this event.
Of course, we always try to mix in some fun shoots to balance out the work as well. Late spring and early summer is a great time to go cycling. As mentioned before, it’s an activity that I took up during COVID and it has become my primary mode of exercise. It has really helped to improve my health. This month, I also started taking along a real camera regularly on my bike rides (as opposed to just a phone). Here are some shots from various cycling adventures, as well as some photo walks when it was too rainy to ride.
The month flew by with some more shoots for Dulwich College Seoul and Foot Locker Korea, and before I knew it, I was down to my last 2 sessions for the first half of the year. The first of the two was with the Walker-Kim family at Changgyeonggung Palace. I met Lucinda Walker through BCCK, and she wanted a family session while her parents were visiting from the UK.
Finally, on the very last day of June, it was time to work with Lavinia and family. The weather was quite hot by this time so we decided to rent a studio in Yongsan. It proved to be a good choice as we stayed cool and our youngest subject was able to crawl around freely and comfortably.
And that is about it for the first half of 2023. I’ve realized that it has turned into a pretty long post after uploading all the images, so I thank you for coming along this far!
Check out Part II here!
Cover photo by Dylan Goldby
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