My Top 10 Photos of 2023 – Travel, Landscape, and Street Photographer in South Korea

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” 

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

To be honest, I was having a hard time starting this blog post, so I tried searching around for a great quote related to the new year. I found the above words from Ralph Waldo Emerson very inspiring and quite beautiful. It’s such a great attitude to have. I was initially going to leave it at that, but I also found later parts of the text inspiring as well. He goes on to say:

“Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities, no doubt crept in. Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely…”

As we say goodbye to 2023 with all its ups and downs, its triumphs and facepalm moments, I will definitely look to begin 2024 well and serenely. 

But before closing the book on 2023, I will take one more look at my personal images from the past year and pick my 10 favorites. I’ve been doing this for several years now (this is actually year 10!), and it’s still so much fun to look back at the photos I’ve made, recall the stories behind them, and see where I was photographically that year. As mentioned before, it’s a totally subjective list. The choices can be based on aesthetic qualities, the circumstances involved in making the image, or even just how I felt at that moment. Hopefully some of the stories behind the images will be interesting and informative.

Now please join me as we go through my Top 10 Photos of 2023, in chronological order:

Space Walk at Sunset
Pohang, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + XF 10-24mm f/4
ISO 400, f/8, 1/250s

This photo was taken during a family trip to Pohang in late February. The city is home to Korean steel giant POSCO, which makes this 317-ton steel art installation a fitting addition to Pohang’s attractions. We got there right before sunset, which was a great time because the crowds quickly thinned out as closing time drew near. I like the human element in my photos, but not too many humans. 😂 I wanted to find an angle that would incorporate the Space Walk’s most interesting curves with the city skyline and setting sun. I’m glad I brought my 10-24mm lens with me, as this was a very wide shot. I composed with leading lines in mind and used the loop as a frame within a frame. I also timed the shot so the peoples’ silhouettes were clearly defined with no overlap. I got a few shots in and was asked to come down.

Market Boys
Pohang, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + XF 33mm f/1.4
ISO 400, f/1.4, 1/320s

We were just about to leave Pohang when I spotted a cool-looking market. We quickly stopped the car and went to explore. The market turned out to be Jukdo Market, one of the biggest traditional markets in the province. It is home to hundreds of seafood restaurants and vendors, and I was able to get lots of interesting photos during our walk. This particular photo is my favorite of the lot. It has some great elements: colorful Korean signs, reflections, and even rising steam to set the mood. However, the star of the show is the two nonchalant, maybe even bored-looking gentlemen leaning on the sign having a chat. My friend Sam said it looks like a scene from a buddy comedy, which I absolutely love.

Blue Hour Corner Store
Seoul, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + XF 23mm f/1.4 WR
ISO 800, f/2.8, 1/50s

I came across this scene as I was walking home from a portrait session at Yongmaland. The sun had just set and the blue hour was upon us. Amidst the sea of cool, bluish light, I found this corner store with its products just popping with color. Moreover, the “mart” looked like it had been around for decades (none of this modern CU or GS Mart stuff 😉) I said ‘hello’ to the owner, bought something to drink, and hung out for a few minutes to get my shot. I always like to put a human element in my frames, so I tried to get people walking through the scene, blurring them ever so slightly with a slower shutter speed.

The Other Side of the Harbor
Tongyeong, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + XF 23mm f/2.0
ISO 125, f/4.5, 1/500s

Every location has the usual angles that people take photos from. For the Tongyeong Bridge area, the favorite shots look out to the sea, with the canal leading out to the far off mountains and ocean. It’s a pretty scene. But of course, it’s always good to find more uncommon angles and have a different take on an often-photographed area. I found this spot during a morning bike ride. Instead of looking out at the ocean, it looks back at Mireuk Island with its apartment buildings and docks full of small boats and fishing implements. Some would get turned off by the “mess”, but I think it’s a nice mess and very characteristic of a seaside town like Tongyeong. The light was quite nice that morning and at just the right angle for this scene. The wispy clouds around Mireuk-san were also a nice addition. I couldn’t stay long, but I lucked out as this gentleman, probably an owner of one of the boats, walked through to give me the crucial human element.

Under Familiar Skies
Los Baños, Philippines
LG V50
ISO 50, f/1.9, 1/125s

There’s no place like home, and I always try to get back to Los Baños as often as I can. This photo was taken at the beginning of a bike ride with some childhood friends (you’ll see a pattern forming with me and bike rides throughout this post 😀). Midday is quite hot in the Philippines, so cyclists often go out at the crack of dawn when it is a bit cooler. Our meeting spot was the oblation statue, the symbol of the University of the Philippines. The sky was absolutely gorgeous that morning, so I pulled out my phone, set it to RAW mode and took a few shots before we set off. Photography-wise, it’s a simple silhouette but quite meaningful to me (and probably many others who graduated from this University). The statue among the palm trees will always be a reminder of my younger days and formative years, and the epic sky makes it all the more impactful.

Full House
Robot Land, Changwon, South Korea
Fujifilm GFX 50R + GF 55mm f/1.7
ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/3200s

This photo was taken at the Robot Land amusement park in Changwon. I’m not a huge fan of rides, but I have a daughter who is. So I find myself at the amusement park from time to time. To keep myself amused, I bring a camera along. This particular scene pretty much speaks for itself. The primary draw for me was the bright, contrasting colors and pattern of the tables. However, it’s the irony of the name versus reality that completes the photo.

Points of Light
Chuncheon, South Korea
Fujifilm GFX 50R + GF 55mm f/1.7
ISO 4000, f/1.7, 1/100s

I took this photo during an impromptu evening walk through Chuncheon-si. I had a family session scheduled earlier that afternoon, but the shoot got derailed by a rainstorm that came out of nowhere (it literally started pouring as I was about to take the first shot!) So we decided I’d stay an extra night and postpone the shoot until the next morning. During the hunt for dinner, I decided to take a long walk and found that the area around Gongji stream (공지천) and Bukhan river (북한강) are really cool areas for a photo walk. Korea does it’s walking and bike paths very well and this area is no exception. There are lots of interesting lights and passageways to photograph along the way. It was also a good chance to test the low light capability of my recently acquired GF 55mm f/1.7 lens. This was my favorite shot from that evening. The fairy lights in the trees made for some nice foreground elements, enhanced by the “bokehliciousness” of the lens. The leading lines of the path cutting through the shadows was a perfect frame for people passing through the scene.

SeouLiteral
Seoul, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + XF 23mm f/1.4 WR
ISO 125, f/8, 1/200s

I took this photo while documenting an event for Asia Society Korea. The event was held at a conference room at the Lotte Hotel Seoul. Being a Lotte property, they are of course inclined to promote their crown jewel in Korea, the Lotte World Tower. The conference hall windows had some stickers reading “Lotte World Tower” on the corner glass facing Jamsil, pointing out to visitors where the massive tower is located on the horizon. However, there was another tower visible from the same window. Namsan is about 2 kilometers away from the venue, and I found a composition where the “TOWER” stickers framed the N-Seoul tower, almost like a graphic design element. Wrong tower, but it worked! It was just kind of a funny novelty idea at first, but since the afternoon light was falling on the scene quite nicely, it became a pretty decent photograph, especially in black and white.

The First Century
Seoul, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8
ISO 125, f/8, f/200s

As mentioned before, I did a lot of cycling this year. My good friend and fellow photographer Dylan Goldby encouraged me to get into the sport a couple of years back and I’ve been hooked ever since. Dylan has remained my personal bike guru and he has also continued to encourage and push me to ride harder and farther. This photo was taken during our ride together between jobs in December. I was super reluctant because it was going to be much colder than what I was used to. However, since Seoul’s bike paths are so much flatter and longer than what we have in Tongyeong, there was a chance that I’d be able to finally achieve my goal of doing a metric “century” ride (100 kilometers). Dylan finally convinced me to bring my bike up to Seoul and we proceeded to achieve the said goal. Since this is a photography blog post, I should mention that Seoul’s bike path has some of the most epic photo spots in the city, such as the one pictured here. To Dylan: Thank you my friend, for lending me your lens,  letting me draft on this epic ride, and most of all forshowing me what’s possible even if I’m hesitant or doubtful.

A Rare Snowfall
Tongyeong, South Korea
Fujifilm X-T5 + Viltrox 13mm f/1.4
ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/60s

This shot pretty much fell into my lap, but I’ll take it! I woke up one morning and found my daughter excitedly taking photos on the balcony. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and realized that it had been snowing overnight, resulting in the most snowfall that Tongyeong has seen since I moved here in 2008. It may not be much for the people who live in the north, but it was a pretty big deal for us southerners. I quickly got my camera and a wide lens and proceeded to shoot the snowscape. The initial photos felt like there was something lacking, so I put a speedlight on the camera and started popping the flash. That was the ticket. The light from the flash lit up the snowflakes and completed the image. I literally have dozens of photos of this bridge, but I was gifted with a pretty unique image on this day. The snow melted after an hour and who knows when it will happen again.

And that’s about it for my Top 10 Photos of 2023! 

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pull together 10 images this year. It was such a busy year for client work that I didn’t have much time to shoot for myself. Usually, I’d have to narrow down from at least 15 to 20 images. But this year, I opened my 2023 personal folder and literally asked myself, “is this it?”. Fortunately, after taking a closer look and recalling the stories behind the images, I can say that I’m happy with this set of photos. However, that initial reaction was definitely a wake up call. As Emerson said, tomorrow is a new day, and I will make more of an effort in 2024 to go out and make images for myself.

Thank you for joining me on this journey and I wish you all the best for 2024!