davidsmeaton.com

wow … 2008 was a hell of a year. for me, it was probably the busiest and craziest year of my life.

the year started with a bang. first came the big d, followed by quitting my university job and starting work at an adult education school. i really missed my university position. it was such a fun, cruisy job. moving to the adult school was hell on earth. i spent the entire year waking up at 5.40 am, having to be at school by 6.20 am. i began classes every day at 6.30 am.  the school had its ups and downs. the schedule was terrible, but my students were always fantastic. the management was moronic, but the actual classes were fairly easy … overall, however, i’ll be very glad to leave that school … worst. job. ever.

i’ve saved a lot of money this year … a bi-products of working like a dog. that’s definitely been the biggest highlight of the year, since it has opened up a lot of doors in terms of future options. it’s hard to believe that i worked four jobs this year. i had money coming in from everywhere. just when i thought i couldn’t get busier, i’d pick up a job editing a thousand page textbook, or some other assignment which would keep me up late at night, make me tired and grumpy, but keep the bank account ticking along nicely. i have to be honest and i can definitely say that i know now how it feels to be korean - working long hours, getting very little sleep, having no social life, and focusing on the money … it’s a terrible way to live, and i definitely couldn’t do it forever.

this has also been a good year for photography. i picked up a few odd jobs, made a little bit of money, bought some lenses and gear, started a photography club, published columns in korea’s english newspaper, made a bunch of friends and taken heaps of photos. i’ve learned a lot and had a lot of fun with photography this year. i think i’ve improved and i can take away a lot more skills. but i’ve still got a lot to learn, especially with editing, but there’s plenty of time to work on that.

i bought my first leica this year. my film camera was so much fun … and just what i needed to mix things up a bit. i got to play with film, as well as do some printing and developing. the leica is going with craig back to australia. hopefully he’ll get some use out of it for the next few years.

my website has done well. i’ve started getting traffic and making a few friends. the site has been through a few redesigns as i try and find my style. the design that i’ve got now is hopefully the design that i will keep for a while. it’s fantastically minimal. i bought a few domains and played around with internet stuff.

i don’t usually talk about my relationships on my blog, but i did have a good relationship this year. i know i have not always been a perfect guy, but i’ve learned a lot from my mistakes.

i started reading books again, which was nice. i tried to learn the ukulele, but gave up. i tried to learn korean and spanish, but gave up. i tried to spend more time learning php and css, but gave up too. i attribute my failures to a lack of sleep and lack of time, rather than a lack of willpower!

liverpool had a good year. despite the lack of trophies, they fought hard and played well. the signings of torres and keane have been huge for the club. liverpool finish the year on top of the table, for the first time in 12 years. here’s hoping that they can hold on until may and take home the league title.

rubberchicken winging his way to korea in december was the cherry on the cake. i hadn’t seen my little buddy in three years, so it was good to hang out with him. happy new years mate!

the year will finish tonight and now i have to look forward to 2009.

my resolutions are to travel, take more photos, learn spanish, work as little as possible. i’m not a big ‘resolutions’ person, and 2009 is a difficult year to make promises, but i’m hoping that it’ll be a good year with much more fun and much more freedom.

to all my friends and family, happy new year. i wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.

this probably sounds like an ego post, but it’s not intended to be … i occasionally google my name to see what pops up. as usual, there’s quite an interesting mix of sites and links to my photos, posts and other stuff.

the results show that i’m having a small impact in korea, in terms of being recognised as a photographer, and i’m also getting some notice from abroad (as acknowledged by emails and work offers i get from overseas).

top results:

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidsmeaton/ (#1 google, #2 yahoo)
• http://www.davidsmeaton.com/ (#1 yahoo, #2 google)

others:

• http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Smeaton/1235201144
• http://www.trekearth.com/members/david/
• http://www.lightstalkers.org/david-smeaton
• http://photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=2190284
• http://photos.vfxy.com/photoblogs/4831
• http://www.modelmayhem.com/588835
• http://www.dpchallenge.com/profile.php?USER_ID=57981
• http://www.mavmuse.com/musical_reviews.asp?MusicalID=116

some shouts from other sites:

• http://www.lotuseaterphotography.com/pixelpost/index.php%3fx=about
• http://www.ilovephotoblogs.com/australian-photographer-david-smeaton-may-22-2008
• http://roboseyo.blogspot.com/2008/10/back-from-damyang.html
• http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/deconstructing-korean-womens-changing-attitudes-to-lingerie-bikinis-and-their-bodies-in-the-2000s/
• http://www.zclyw.com/2008/11
• http://www.zenkimchi.com/FoodJournal/?p=387
• http://www.proazn.com/ProAzn_forum/computers-gaming-electronics/24519-ability-geotag-photos.html
• http://www.korea4expats.com/news-korean-hanbok-design-contest.html
• http://shelooksjustlikethatdeadgirl.blogspot.com/
• http://kissmykimchi.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html
• http://www.seoulsteves.com/2008/02/13/the-seoulsteves-wine-tasting/
• http://www.myhq.com/public/p/h/photo/
• http://www.radicalcontrapositions.com/left_flank/2008/08/12/todays-korea-photo-7/
• http://www.itwillbelikethisforever.com/

weird stuff:

• http://cq-pan.cqu.edu.au/felix-culpa/Vol-1_No-6/Three_plays.html (can’t believe this is out there!)
• http://www.engrish.com/2008/04/i-love-myself/

i’m even listed on amazon’s bookstore (and other book sites):

• http://www.amazon.com/Korea-Up-Close-Craig-White/dp/8991913180
• http://www.seoulselection.com/shopping_book_view.html?pid=1312

finally, there was that one cross cultural fight i had online about my blog, which emanated here:

• http://mannoya.egloos.com/903945 (not linking this one)

pretty cool … and it makes me very easy to find. also, i left off the list a lot of links to my name that i’d put up myself, in the form of posts and comments on other sites.

the world is a horrid place. western countries are fighting over billions of dollars, obesity and celebrity tabloids. while the rest of the world is dying of preventable diseases.

james nachtwey is a world renowned photographer and he’s captured some brilliant photographs of the real threats of a drug resistant tuberculosis. it’s preventable and curable, yet 1.7 million people died as a result of tuberculosis last year alone.

thanks to the boston globe for it’s regular awesome photo essays. this week’s photos are of nachtwey’s photos of tuberculosis from different countries.

i’m completely obsessed with boston globe’s new feature called the big picture. this is a regular photo gallery of large, high quality photos focusing on world events. the last three have been hurricane ike, north korea, and observing ramadan.

the big picture represents the best of photo journalism and photography in general. the photography is absolutely brilliant.

ibuddha.org has received a face lift, and a few extra photos. the site now has a 100 photograph, horizontal scrolling gallery. yay!!

i really like the new look … however, be warned, it takes a while to load.

oh, speaking of web stuff, i bought a few domains. i noticed that davidsmeaton.org and davidsmeaton.net were still available. so i bought them … might as well own the lot.

it’s not often that i’m in front of the camera … but i do like to be the subject occasionally.

I love black and white photos. So I’d like to learn how to improve my black and white photography. What can I do to make my photos look better? - Kwon Eun Sil, Daegu

 Black and White photography is beautiful when done well. However, it’s also one of the hardest effects to achieve. Many people make the mistake of thinking that an ‘average’ photo can look much better in black and white, which is simply not true.

 The first mistake people make is using the black and white setting on their digital camera. Although cameras can shoot black and white, they do a terrible job of making the photo look good. Especially, photos lack contrast which is crucial to good black and white photography. This is why I strongly recommend always shooting in colour, then editing to black and white later.

 There are certain things that always look good in black and white. So it’s important to choose your topics carefully. Lines and repetition, faces and portraits, landscapes, cityscapes and dramatic skies make for great subjects.

 The important thing is that there’s lots of variation in tone and contrast. If you’re serious about black and white, then it’s a good idea to invest in some filters. Colour filters help improve the contrast, especially regarding complimentary colours (colours that look the same when converted to black and white).

 Red filters are good for clouds, as well as brightening reds and yellows. It’s very dramatic, but not suitable for low light photography, since red is a dark filter, reducing the available light by around 3 stops. Yellow filters are the most popular for black and white. Yellow darkens skies, creating good contrast between the sky and clouds, which looks great in landscapes. Orange filters achieve a similar, but darker, effect.

 Surprisingly, a polarising filter is also handy, because it too creates useful contrasts. Many professional black and white photographers think that stacking a circular polarizer and a yellow filter is the perfect combination. However, you need to beware of vignetting!

 Regarding camera settings, it’s always better to shoot in colour and use RAW files if your camera has them. It’s also best to use lower ISO settings. Some people argue that black and white photos look great with lots of grain (achieved through high ISO settings). While I agree, I also think that it’s easier to add grain later (during editing) than try and remove it if the grain looks ugly. It’s the same reason why shooting in colour is better, so that you can make the important decisions later.

 Finally, if you’re going to play with black and white, then don’t rule out other monotones. Sepia (brown) and blue, for example, can produce some wonderful photographic effects. So consider how you can make the most of other colours, not just shades of gray, when editing your photos.

 Train your eye to look for shapes, tones, textures, repetition, nice lines or good contrast. I think this is the key to black and white. It’s these features that become the subject of your photo.

 Happy shooting!

 David Smeaton

I bought a digital camera and I love digital technology. However I noticed that a lot of people are still photographing with film cameras. Is there any reason why people still shoot with film? Garam, Seoul.

I suppose film is to digital like records are to CDs. Many people just like the old ways. As in all things, some people will argue that film is better than digital, or visa versa.

To be completely blunt, neither film nor digital are superior, because both have their benefits and drawbacks. However it’s easy to see why so many people use digital nowadays, especially because of the instant results and feedback with each photo. Digital is instant, highly editable (thanks to photoshop and similar programs), highly portable, and best of all free. Once you’ve outlayed for a digital camera, you can shoot as much as you want and it costs nothing.

Film has been around since the late 1800s. Even before then photography was possible using various methods, including copper plates and chemical paper. Film had a long run of success and even with the
advent of digital technology, film cameras are still popular.

The biggest benefit of film is the quality. Digital may be useful, and even quite high quality, but the print quality of film is still much higher. It’s true that digital will overtake film quality, when digital cameras are around 32 megapixels, but it’s still nice to look at the quality of a film photograph and marvel at it’s detail. Some digital cameras are higher quality already, but this is only in limited areas. Generally, film is still superior in terms of resolution quality.

It’s important to remember that digital photos still require an analogue capture. An analogue image (through the lens) is captured and digitized. High quality scanning of a film print can be, effectively, the same as a digital photo. So film isn’t that much of a disadvantage, especially if you want to print a digital image and put it on your wall. Once digital is enlarged beyond its optimal size, the quality goes downhill fast. Film doesn’t suffer the same side effects, the print quality is only limited by the size of the print paper.

Many experts argue that film still has much better range and tone than digital. But digital photos can be edited much more easily, and without expensive, messy chemicals.

The final argument is that digital has less noise. While software is improving all the time, I don’t thing digital handles noise particularly well. The size of the pixels in the electronic sensor are directly related to the signal-to-noise in the image produced by the camera. This means that the results vary from camera to camera. Film however does have very low noise film stock. 100 ASA film is particularly good for making images without any noise or grain.

The ace up digital’s sleeve is that all of these features (particularly ISO/ASA) can be changed on the fly. Film photographers have to choose their film stock and leave it in the camera until the roll is finished. The only remedy for this was to carry more film bodies, each loaded with different ASA films. Digital can change it’s
ISO at the push of a button.

Film has become the ‘old school’ approach to photography. Anyone using an old rangefinder or slr is someone who knows their way around cameras. Many people are still developing their own film too, despite
the increasing costs and need for space to build a darkroom. And although digital is instant, there’s nothing more exciting than getting a set of prints back from the film store and looking through your photos. It’s just as much of a thrill, even though you don’t get the chance to go back and re-shoot the shots you messed up.

Film is becoming more expensive too, but despite digital’s popularity, film will never die. Ultimately,
each will always have a following. Personally, I love photographing in film just as much as I love my digital camera. Both cameras are used regularly and I love getting rolls of film developed. I think, too, that the old ways can be the best ways. Since digital does everything for you, photographers may become lazy or forgetful of the importance of manual focus or manual shooting. It’s a good lesson and reminder to
have to do everything yourself.

Besides, there’s nothing more satisfying than the solid ‘click’ that comes with a film camera’s shutter.

Happy shooting!

David Smeaton

i’m really looking forward to weekends … it’s the only thing keeping me going at the moment.

last week was busy, but fairly productive. i banked a full month’s salary and there’s another salary and $760 in extra teaching to come. i’ve picked up a 4 hour lecture at a training institute which will be fun. last night i went out with some students. we drank sake and kiwi soju. we talked and laughed, then headed to a singing room. it was really funny to watch everyone sing and dance. i didn’t get home until 2am, which is all good cause i slept until nearly 1pm! lol

i got in contact with a cricket club in korea. they practice most saturday afternoons and play most sundays. so next weekend i plan on heading out and roll the arm over in the practice nets. i might see if i can get a couple of games … ought to be fun.

today i’ll probably stick close to home. i might head to the pc room and play warrock for a while. it’s more fun to play at the pc rooms (so i’ve discovered). tomorrow i’m meeting a friend from the hanbok fashion show. we’re having lunch together and i’ll give her the cd of images from the event.

aside from that, nothing much is planned … clean my micro apartment, chat to senor culo, shoot koreans, sleep, count down the days.

thanks to gary, i have a bag full of nice clean clothes. today i went to his place and did some washing. gary has a really big house … lucky bastard!! LOL … so while his family is on holidays, we’ve been having some fun. i headed over in the afternoon. we drank coronas and talked about photography, editing, things and stuff. i caught a cab home just before midnight, feeling a bit pissy from all the beer. gary has got a lot of really good shots from the nude shoot yesterday, so we talked about how to edit them. i also spent time transferring my 10 gig of pictures to my umpc. it took over two hours, slow ass computer, but we had plenty of other things to occupy our time.

stupidly, i left my phone behind. so tomorrow i have to go back and pick it up. of course, that may result in a few more beers and a chat before i go home. but i have a promise to make a phone call at midnight tomorrow, so i have to be home by about 11pm.

suddenly, moving into town, i’ve become a lot busier … it almost feels like i have a life! lol

thanks for the clean clothes, dinner and beers mate!!