Muse, News, and Reviews

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Zeppelin Jazz & Rock LP Bar: Ilsan, South Korea


Zeppelin LP Bar: Outside

Review:
The little lady and I have been frequenting Zeppelin LP Bar in Ilsan since we arrived in Korea in 2008. Mr. Kim and his wife serve up an awesome selection of songs on vinyl (if they don’t have the song you’re looking for this time, they will the next time you come back!), foreign beers, cocktails, and yummy roasted nuts in this small (10 chairs or so, so get there early) LP bar. Here's a quick breakdown on why we love the place.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Grand Hilton: Seoul, South Korea


Grand Hilton: Night

Review:
Headed to the Grand Hilton in Seoul over the New Years Eve weekend with the little lady. Let me tell you, that place is swanky. This is the view from the balcony of our real hotel room at the Hilton Grand Suite just across the way. Our building shared all the amenities of the Grand Hilton, but for a fraction of the room cost. Score for us! Even though we were on meds and couldn't drink, we still had a blast. Okay, we were really pissed we couldn't party the year away. It kind of sucked. But we tried to have fun. And sometimes, we did!

Friday, January 8, 2010

2009 - My Year Captured in Facebook Statuses


Facebook Profile

News:
So I saw an application on Facebook that was similar to this but without the flexibility that I wanted in order to share it with all my friends, so I rigged this together myself -- my 2009 presented as a collection of every Facebook Status Update! The year started off pretty slow, and in the third-person. But things picked up as the summer came to a close. Updates include love, hate, quotes, observations, music, movies, sports, opportunity, desperation, joy, sorrow, political ranting, shameless self-promotion, and even bodily functions. Does life get any more meaningful than this? Hopefully. Is it worth your time to read, absolutely not. Well, maybe. You'll see at the end. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Happy Holidays!


Santa Snow Sculpture: Jeongbalsan, Ilsan

Muse:
I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating the holiday with friends, family, and loved-ones. Just wanted to officially wish you and yours a fantastic New Year! The little lady and I are heading out of town for some much needed R&R, and although we can't celebrate with cocktails (we're both on meds at the moment... :( boo!) we'll be enjoying all our luxurious hotel has to offer -- a bathtub (serious luxury item in Korea), a pool, masseuse, 24 hour room service, amazing restaurant, casino and nightclub.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Help-Portrait: Hwasung Baby Home, Seoul

Printed & Framed Help-Portrait Photos -- Photo by Dylan GoldbyNews:
Waking up at 6:50am isn't something that I do on a typical Saturday, but December 5th wasn't my typical Saturday. I'm about an hour northwest of Seoul, in Ilsan "The New City," so meeting the guys at 9:00am took me a little extra time to get up and ready. By the time I was on the subway at 7:45am, I was cleaned, clothed, and carrying my gear -- cup of coffee included! The Hwasung Baby Home orphanage in the Wangshimni neighborhood of Seoul was my final destination and where the Seoul Photo Club's Help-Portrait project took place.

A shift in thinking... Help-Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate this holiday season. Founded by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, Help-Portrait is a community of photographers, coming together across the world, to use their photography skills to give back to the community.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Metro Project

Jinchuk Station: SunsetNews:
I've been out working on another photo project. This one's the brainchild of one of my SPC buddies, Shawn Parker, aka Flash or Parks. The gist of the project is to creatively capture each stop of the Seoul Metro Rapid Transit system and the immediate outlying areas. There are 436 stations over 14 lines. I'm splitting the 3 line (orange line) with fellow member and head of SPC, Aaron Raisey. We each have have 20 stops to cover. I know Aaron's hitting a few more stops on another line, but 20 is more than enough for me. Shawn wants us to shoot with the theme of "Différance" forefront in our minds.

From Shawn: "Think of the interpretation of signs. They don't mean what they really mean (stay with me). Meaning is "deferred", altered, changed, shifted as it is transmitted from source to receptor (in big bold print: WE ARE THE RECEPTORS). This never ends. This occurs with all things. The established meaning in one space, in one place and time may not mean squat to someone engaging a sign for the first time."

Leave it to the professional writer to confound me with words! :P I'm just focusing on trying to create / find unique moments at each one. In the end, we're supposed to pick the most important frame and write a short essay. It's really a lot harder than you would think. When all the stops are completed, we're putting everything together and publishing a book. I'd like to see an exhibition as well.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Help-Portrait




News:
I'm very excited to be part of the Help-Portrait project. Some of the guys from the Seoul Photo Club I belong to and I are looking to help by photographing kids at an orphanage near Seoul. One of our club members, Dylan, is organizing everything and has rallied us together. This is an excerpt from what he wrote in the SPC discussion forum:
 
Aaron Brown Photography © 2008 - 2009