Film cameras in Seoul - 1.

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The main area to find secondhand camera gear in Seoul is a narrow band of shops which stretches from just northwest of Chungmuro station, through the back of Myeongdong, and along to Namdaemun. The band of shops is interrupted here and there by main roads and fashion malls but essentially one can spend a whole day (at least) browsing the camera trail.

Some shops are high end, such as the many Leica specialists, and some cater more to the collector of odd old film cameras. There's even a large format specialist with a dazzling range of gear from 4x5 to 8x10 and beyond.

One of my favourite shops is Jang-shi Camera in the Howhyun underground shopping centre between Myeongdong and the Shinsegae Department Store. They sell mostly high end gear: Leicas, Contax, and also have Mamiya 7 lenses. Their website is at www.j-camera.co.kr

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Film cameras in Busan

Busan doesn't have as many film camera shops as Seoul but there is a small concentration of them in the Nampo area.

I made just a quick reconnoitre there today - will go back again soon. I saw some nice cameras though. A Nikon F - first model with a Photomic prism; Leica IIIf with an Elmar lens, another with a Summar; Leica IIIg - a real beauty with a Summaron. Also M3, M6 & an ugly duckling M5. Also a CL and a Minilux. Contax T2… and that's just the 35mm stuff.

I won't even tell you about the Fuji 6x17 and a lovely heavy Rolleiflex SLR. The students I saw buying boxes of Velvia 4x5 however rate a mention. Two young girls bought a box each. I tried to engage them in conversation but our mutual knowledge of each other's languages didn't quite mesh. good to see interest in large format.

Whew! There's lots of film activity here! Can't wait to get to Seoul.

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That Ansan panorama in full...

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Ten years ago today - Ansan landscape #korea #urban

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B&W Film processing in the tropics. #filmphotography

Twenty minutes ago I took a one litre bottle of fixer out of my fridge. It was about 4 degrees C. I sat it on top of the fridge to warm up while I went and mixed up the developer and loaded the film on a spiral, reminding myself in the process how much I dislike 35mm film - give me 120 any day.

I just checked the fixer. It is now 25C. A 20 degree Celsius rise in temperature in just 20 minutes just in the ambient air.

I think I should be processing C41...

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10 years ago today - Seoul teahouse

Tea and clutter...

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10 years ago today - birthday party

7th February 2002. It’s hard to believe this is a decade ago. This school where I taught for a while in Shihwa used to have a party each month for the kids that had birthdays that month. The kids would sit there in their hanbok, wearing crowns, surrounded by treats like pizza and fried chicken while we sang Happy Birthday to them. 

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10 years ago today - Myeongdong crowds

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Ten years ago today.

A trip to to the Yongin Folk Village in Korea.

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I had an amusing and slightly disturbing encounter last time I entered Japan.

 

It was at Fukuoka, getting off the ferry from Busan, South Korea. I was the only non-Asian on the boat except for an  overweight American woman who seemed to be traveling with a mountain sized sumo.

The Customs official, after going through my suitcase meticulously, even opening my tube of toothpaste and looking incredulously at the rolls of film I was carrying, (Why you use film?". "To take photos."), asked me to take off my jacket. He then turned out the pockets and found a small seed of something. It had been there for ages and was nothing in particular.

He then proceeded to dismantle my suitcase, taking out the liner, checking everything again. Checking all my pockets. Turning out my wallet and examining the lining with a magnifying glass.

Then he asked me - "You are from Australia. Do you know Nimbin?"

Me - "Yes"

Him - "Have you been to Nimbin?"

Me - "Yes"

Him - "When did you go to Nimbin?"

Me - "On the 24th of October 1986."

Him "How long did you stay?"

Me - "47 minutes."

Him (still not batting an eyelid) - "Did you buy marijuana?"

Me - "No"

Him - "Do you like marijuana?"

Me - "No"

Him (leaning over and prodding me in the stomach) - "Do you like beer?"

Me - "I think you are getting a bit too friendly now. But, yes, I like beer."

He then became very friendly and spoke about Japanese beer. He recommended I try Yebisu beer and lamented that I was traveling on from Fukuoka almost immediately and would be unable to have a drink with him. As if I would...

He kept me more than 30 minutes. The area which had been packed with people arriving, was now empty. I went out and found my friend Bill waiting for me. He had been wondering here I was.

No-one else had been delayed or searched.

 

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Ch-ch-ch-changes... teased out.

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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes... David Bowie's look through the years

I found it here - http://www.cherrybombed.com/2011/09/the-ever-changing-fashion-of-david-bowie/

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