Korea and Vietnam with the E-P1 and 1:1

[dreilly]

I recently had a chance to travel to Korea and Vietnam for work. I decided to take my E-P1 with the Panny 20. I think I had a 12-50 4/3 lens and adapter, too, but I rarely used it. I kept the camera on 1:1 mode and had a blast with it. It was like shooting with a rolleiflex, and it was fun to compose in squares after all this time with digital rectangles. I shot JPEG and was very pleased with the E-P1's image rendition.

All in all, it was a superb traveling companion. Easy to stow and fun to shoot.

you can see more of them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/xenar/collections/72157625294438253/

 

[oftheherd]

Thanks for sharing these. I really enjoyed them. I liked the ones you posted on your flickr account too. Nice to see how they restored Nam Tae Mun in Seoul (it was set on fire a couple of years ago by a deranged man and esentially destroyed). I was surprised to see some sort of canal where young people congregate. What and where is that? There was nothing like that when I was there.

Your Saigon shots were nice too. It doesn't seem to have changed that much, or at least where you were. Did you see the new bridge there? How many Pho places did they have. Apparently a lot. When I was there, Hiu Tieu (pork) was the southern specialty, and pho (beef) was in the central part of what was then South Vietnam.

EDIT: Sorry, I was going to let you know that the writing in your room, and the drawing, are Korean. The woman is playing a Kayagum, a stringed musical instrument that is plucked. I could only understand the first word of the first two lines, which is "wait." I would only guess it is a poem or ditty.

 

[dreilly]

Thanks for the hints on the writing on the wall...now I'm even more intrigued! I appreciate your comments.

My host on that walkabout in Seoul was Soyun, a Yonsei student who studied at my college last year. She told me that there was a small underground river running through downtown Seoul and for the longest time it was covered by a street. Recently they uncovered it and landscaped it really nicely, putting in a walk and many bridges. At times it is very modernistic with giant geometric stepping stones and waterfalls, while other stretches are more naturalistic with vegetation like bamboo, other grasses, and trees. It's quite lovely!

Lots of Pho places indeed. I ate it at least once a day in both Saigon and Hanoi. Cheap and delicious! I was in Saigon only a few days and so I really didn't see much. I didn't get downtown very much and saw none of the must-see sights, though I did drive past the famous cathedral. I'm not much of a tourist, anyway, preferring the back alleys and common places to the big attractions. So in Saigon I saw the little quarter where our students lived and took a walk with them to an orphanage for blind children.

I have a strong desire to return to both places, but especially Korea since it was a shamefully short visit. I'd love to see the rest of the country, and hike!

I had more time in Hanoi, which did include some of the sights. But honestly I liked wandering around the student quarter of Bach Koa much better than the famous French Quarter. A bit more real feeling.