Cherry Blossoms!!

 

The buzz these days especially on the tourism side are the cherry blossoms that are slowly popping up around Korea. I personally love this time of year because of the flowers. Nothing against the awesomeness of Korea, but down here in Ulsan things tend to get a little drap and then all of a sudden BAM!! you are surround by Color!

Of course the big question is where is the best place to see the blossoms? Well, that depends on the shot that you are looking for. To me, the flowers are peaceful, fragile, and give me a sense of calm. So battling the crowds in Jinhae for their yearly festival has never been quite what I wanted for my shots.

However, if that is what you are looking for then here is some information on how to get there and what to do. First pop over to Waygook.org to get a great rundown on the festival and what people are saying about it. Then head on over to Discovering Korea for some really helpful information on the festival. Look closely at the bottom because he gives a great tip about taking the bus. Traffic at the festival is hell and taking the train is so much better

Finally, check out Jinhae’s tourism site for that details about the festival. They will give you some great sites for checking out the blossoms. If you are looking for a fun festival then Jinhae is a great time, but the crowds do get tiring after awhile. Also if you are planning to stay overnight, know that most of the motels will bump up their prices to around 80,000 won a night for the festival.

For regional festivals, check out Brian in Jeollanam Do for information on festivals in that area and some really nice shots as well. Also take a look at the map for the blossom times or  check out the Naver map for the best times across the country.

The things that I am scoping for this year are the tree lined paths and roads that are covered in blossoms. There are a few great place around Haeundae that are great. Also traditional sites that have the blossoms. I think that those would be great as well.

Now, when photographing the flowers, I find that shooting in raw is essential for the simple reason on white balance. You can do it the “auto” way but I find that it makes the blossoms look a little too brown. You can also try and use a cooler setting but it is best just to adjust it later using camera raw or something like that.

The other thing that you may want to think about is composition. There are millions upon millions of photos of close-up cherry blossoms. If you want close-up why not make it interesting and go macro? There are also many shots of just festival shots with the trees in the background somewhere. I really don’t like those shots at all and I am sure that I have taken hundreds of them.

The best advice that I can give is to have a clear direction for your shots. Try to show the feeling and whatever else strikes you when you are there lingering the beauty of the landscape. Don’t just fire away because you are there. Wait and then shoot. Recompose and then shoot. Wait for the wind to blow and the people to leave and then shoot.

I also find that shooting in the early morning is also optimal because the light generally is a bit cooler and this will reflect better in the shots. The cool light will bring more of the white out of the flowers, rather than the warmer light of the late day that will cast a yellowish hue.

That’s it for today! Now get out there and shoot!!