As 2018 comes to an end, I'd like to take a moment to look back on this years captures. As I do I can see my own progress as a photographer and that gives me so much excitement and motivation for 2019. Already I can feel it's going to be a good year of incredible photography. Watch out! I'm going to conquer the world, just me and my camera one shutter at a time!
Er yeah...so let's take a look back at 2018.
The beginning of the year saw me saying goodbye to my Nikon D7000 camera and multiple lens kit. My D7000 had given me some fantastic shots, but I was ready to make the jump to full frame.
My purchase of a Nikon D750 full frame camera gave me a whole new motivation for photography. (And a much lighter bank account) I now had a Pro camera, and it was time to start shooting like a Pro!It took me a few months to get to know the D750, and it was during the summer when I took a trip to South Korea's biggest Island, Jeju-Do, when I really connected with my gear.
Circling Jeju Islands coast I faced incredible summer heat, a typhoon and a fractured foot but the images I came away with were a breath of fresh air to me. Literally...no air pollution down in Jeju!
This trip reminded me of the intense joy photography gives me. I had previously been stuck in a rut, and had become so desperate at the weekends when I was not teaching to go out and shoot something while expecting myself to produce show stopping images. The pressure was sapping the joy from what I love doing most.
Jeju gave me the inspiration to explore landscapes and enjoy it. I came away from that trip with some of the best images I had produced in months. (Ha! Go me!)
As Summer rolled into Winter (all too quickly) I made more of an effort to visit the parts of South Korea I had not yet touched. As I live in a rural town, it meant weekend trips with many hours of travel time to reach another province. The traveling time does reduce my shooting windows alongside the early winter sunsets.
This recent trip was to the historic town of Gyeongju, Southeast coast of Korea in Gyeongsang Province. Filled with ancient tombs and temples the journey took 7 hours on 3 buses and a lot of music playlists. I was able to snap images of rolling hills and temples.
And of course it wouldn't be a complete year without hauling myself up various mountains. Autumn hiking is my yearly tradition here in Korea; this years choices were Jirisan and Naejangsan. I also conquered Seoraksan for the second time this year in a challenging hike through snow.
So what will 2019 bring? Well January will see a two week trip to Japan followed by some time off from teaching in February, where I’ll be back to Jeju. I have some unfinished business with Korea’s largest mountain. Mt Hallasan, I shall get pictures of you this time!As summer time rolls around it’s a trip to the UK and I am dreaming of a cheeky trip to Iceland while I am that side of the world.
So there is my photography year in review. I have high hopes that next years review will see even better captures. In fact I hope next year I struggle to write a yearly review, because I’ll have been such a good photographer that how on earth could I choose my favourite images?! I look forward to continuing to make progress with my work and advancing my photographic skills.
Thank you for reading. Make sure to follow me on Instagram @talkie_travels for new, weekly photography! Happy shooting and Happy New Year.