Foreign [Music] Today sometimes people ask me to refer Them to whatever course I used to learn Photography which I take as a lovely Compliment the truth though is that I am Totally self-taught although admittedly A photography course or two would have Sped up the process years ago back when I was 10 years old my father dug out my Grandad's old SLR film camera so that he Could teach me enough to get me a Cubs Count badge in photography when I was a Bit older he bought me a second-hand Minolta dynax camera and I started Experimenting with that too but the cost Of shooting on 35 millimeter film was Prohibitive for me as a teenager so Photography remained a bit of a pipe Dream hobby I came to live in Wales did A degree in film studies became a Christian and worked in cafes and Restaurants like the biggest piring film Director was at the time I was having a Nice time living in Cardiff with my Friends but not really getting anywhere Interesting and as I was young free and Single at the time when a friend asked Me if I'd go with her to South Korea on An adventure to teach English I was like Heck yeah I've never lived anywhere Outside the UK and my whole life let Alone somewhere as different as Southeast Asia
While it was exciting I was hit in the Face by culture shock the moment my Plane landed especially as I couldn't Read or speak Korean at first so many Things immediately struck me on getting To Korea the cloud-covered mountains Seemingly everywhere interspersed with Rice paddies and high-rise apartment Buildings where almost everyone seems to Live the humidity in the summer was like Nothing I'd experienced before in the UK Weighing down heavily upon you the way They'd dress up their little dogs that Almost everyone seemed to have the Unbelievably gorgeous autumn colors Caused by sunny weather that you don't Get at that time of year back home the Food was incredible of course with Communal cooking and dining at almost Every restaurant most of all though I Was excited by the nighttime life and Light everywhere shops stay open until 10 or 11 at night in Korea so everyone Can go shopping after work or sing Karaoke at Norway Barnes or catch a Movie together at a DVD bong as someone Who struggles and the morning but wakes Up more in the evening that was great For me little did I know that all this Brand new tough and exciting Beauty Would contribute to making this one of The most amazing countries on Earth for Me to learn photography and there's Always something about living somewhere
Totally new which makes everything Deeply fascinating back home we would Laugh whenever we saw Japanese tourists Wandering around London taking pictures Of absolutely everything they possibly Could from pavement slabs to post boxes Well soon I'd be one of them but in Korea I soon settled down and started Enjoying teaching English although I had Absolutely no past experience of doing So I'd have a lot of fun with my Students including making up reading Comprehension stories where a character Named Chris would play tricks on his Friend Jim Bob which always left Jim Bob Needing some kind of hospital treatment Sometimes psychiatric I had new friends From countries around the world and for The first time in years a rewarding job And flexible income then one day on a Trip out and about a co-teacher was Showing off her Canon digital SLR camera I had no idea such things even existed And had little understanding about Camera lenses but I couldn't believe the Narrow depth of field she was getting in Her images it was like nothing I'd ever Been able to capture before on a rubbish Little compact cameras I'd been using my Interest in photography for my childhood Was reborn and I spent every moment I Had not teaching on dpreview.com Watching videos by Gordon Lang and Reading reviews by Brian on the
Digitalpicture.com I almost immediately Became hooked absolutely fascinated with How camera lenses worked particularly Which apertures would work to get the Best possible image quality out of them I bought my first camera a Canon 550d Mainly because it was the first Affordable digital SLR camera that could Also shoot 1080p video which brought to The old film student and Me Back To Life Again finally I could shoot detailed Good looking video with that filmic Narrow depth of field which was Something I'd wanted to do since my First days of film school all those Years ago I got myself a Canon 50 Millimeter F 1.4 lens to go with it Which I still have to this day it's Virtually worn down from years of use Though and you know how I learned Photography with it I just played with It every day trying different things Different actors different effects Looking up random videos seeing what it Could and couldn't do curious about each Different setting on the camera that it Had and taking pictures of anything and Everything I could see around me the key For me is that I just enjoyed playing With that camera and fooling around with That lens it was such a huge step Forward from anything I'd shot with Before in every conceivable way I put Together videos of each trip I went on
With my friends with my favorite songs And classical pieces is background music And people would watch them on YouTube To see what the latest Canon cameras Were capable of inspired by Gordon Lang's videos I started to put together My own reviews of camera lenses and Eventually the 60D camera which I Upgraded to and while my reviews were Absolutely terrible still my YouTube Channel began to grow a little bit and I Started to learn so much more just by Doing I didn't even realize I was Learning at the time I was just enjoying Myself which was coincidentally my Strategy for teaching English to my Students at the time to help them learn Through playing singing But ultimately Having fun with that first digital SLR Camera and 50 millimeter lens I made Videos for friends and family by running All that lovely footage through Windows Movie Maker and I'll put links in the Description below to a few of those Videos if you're interested I had fun Discovering how to play with a narrow Depth of field with my Canon 50mm F 1.4 Lens that was the most eye-opening thing At first Then my pastor helped me to get hold of A copy of the lovely Canon 10 to 22 Millimeter lens and I was delighted to Discover the world of ultra wide angle Photography which is particularly
Amazing in South Korea where powerful Landscapes and tall buildings stretch Across almost every inch of the country After that I got hold of a cheap and Cheerful tripod and discovered the fun Of nighttime photography and then it Started snowing and I discovered how to Use exposure compensation then the Summer came with its blue skies and I Discovered how to use polarizing filters Which got me a bit overexcited and I've Had a slightly irrational love for them Ever since I already seem to have a bit Of an eye for composing an image perhaps For more my film studies training years Before perhaps because I'm from a family Of artists on my father's side so once I Figured out technically how my cameras Worked there just wasn't much stopping Me so that's it really that's how I Learned Photography in South Korea by Going to an amazing new country with Incredible sights to see everywhere Picking up a cheap digital SLR camera But with an interesting lens and just Playing and playing and playing trying New things and taking it places with my New friends who mostly seem to Appreciate having nice pictures taken of Them as mementos what a wonderful way to Learn photography and I really commend Doing that to just about anyone if You're feeling adventurous I'll make Another couple of videos soon with a
Little landscape photography tour of Some of the most beautiful places in South Korea it really is an absolutely Stunning country with some of the most Beautiful people in the world and I Can't wait to take my wife and daughter There someday this is one of the monthly Videos for my supporters over on patreon But I share every 10th video I make over There with all my YouTube subscribers to Encourage you to check out my patreon Page take a look at it down in the Description below ciao for now everyone
