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I went back home to Korea this summer and took some nice photos. Man, the place is full of great photo-opportunities. Lot’s of photographers with nice cameras everywhere as well. It’s been way too busy for me to edit and organized these, but finally here they are – the highlights… I suggest you watch the slideshows to get the full benefit.

Seoul City Hall:

Full Set | Slideshow

Gwanghwamun:

Full Set | Slideshow

Pimatgol:

Full Set | Slideshow

Deoksugung:

Full Set | Slideshow

Gyeongbokgung:

Full Set | Slideshow

Samcheongdong:

Full Set | Slideshow

Bukchon Hanok Village:

Full Set | Slideshow

Heyri:

Full Set | Slideshow

Yeouido:

Full Set | Slideshow

Samcheok:

Full Set | Slideshow

Yongin:

Full Set | Slideshow

The rest of the city of Seoul and some older photos:

Full Set | Slideshow

That’s it for now KTHXBAI!!1

More Governors Island photos | Watch the slideshow

Perhaps it was the weather, perhaps it was the economy that made this place so attractive… or perhaps this place simply offered something many city folks desperately needed: a quick getaway from everyday chaos.  The place was (at least felt) bigger than I expected, and I only got to see half of the island.  Nonetheless, here are the highlights.  Perhaps this will help you decide why this place is so special.

For most of us, the only way to get to Governors Island is by the free ferry service.  From Manhattan, this departs from Battery Maritime Building right next to the Staten Island ferry (South Ferry Station):

Expect this line (especially on weekends), but don’t worry too much. Once the ferry arrives, it moves really fast.  You won’t be waiting more than 20 minutes, I would say:

If you are coming with a bike, you can bypass this line and go to the bike entrance. No wait there, nice huh?

I noticed some cars on the ferry, but as you can tell they are just official/emergency vehicles:

There’s a security checkpoint (it’s quick, don’t worry) and some other stuff.  Don’t pay too much attention here, just move on so you can finally say “I’m on a boat!”

You will go through this dark alley and onto the brighter side.  It will feel like Blade Runner: “a new life awaits you in the off-world colonies…”

So, you’re on a boat finally!  It’s quite spacious inside, but on a beautiful day like this?  You want to be outside of course:

The ride itself is very short: about 5 minutes.  Then you’re off to Governors Island:

There’s a visitor center nearby.  I wanted to take a guided tour (also free) but didn’t have enough time.  There’s also Building 140.  It has a post office, bathrooms, and ATM:

Behind this building is where the Bike and Roll rental center is located.  I highly suggest you get a bike if you want to see the entire island in short amount of time.  They have some fun-looking bikes.  More info on Bike and Roll here.

Speed limit is 15 MPH, if you care:

If you decide not to get a bike, that’s fine too.  There’s a free shuttle going around, just wait by one of the stops.  It’s basically a stretch-golf cart.  Drivers tend to have some (odd) sense of humor:

There’s plenty of green fields, shaded areas, benches, and other places for you to relax if that’s the reason why you came here:

You can find some food carts and tents, but the food situation is not that great overall.  Some vending machines did not work:

They offer some free activities from time to time, like kayaking:

Next to the kayak place happened to be Pier 101. This is where the Brooklyn-bound ferry operates (also free of course):

There are so many art installations, performances, historic sites, buildings, etc.  This is where I got distracted and failed to finish the whole island, basically:

You may find lots of oysters, well… oyster shells that is:

For some buildings you may be asked to sign a waiver, because the building might collapse on you.  Like this one:

At around 5:30 PM, they prepare to close the island.  You can still walk around, but the shuttle service will stop shortly, and you’ll be denied access to half of the island on bike.  Just walk around and enjoy many beautiful views from all directions:

Oh yea, there’s also that Water Taxi Beach… not sure if I’m a fan of this (as opposed to real beaches) but people seem to like it:

Then it’s time to go, which means… lines again!  Don’t worry: it moves fast, but be sure to check out the ferry schedule.  On this day (Saturday) last ferry out the island was at 7 PM.  You probably don’t want to stay overnight there.

Coming back to Manhattan, if you are on one of the last ferries, might be a little more crowded. You may also feel like you’re in Saving Private Ryan:

Another short ride and we’re back, to the chaos that we all love. Who needs tanning-salon really?

For more information about Governors Island, visit: http://www.govisland.com
For more information on many of the arts featured here, visit: http://www.creativetime.org

Update: Governors Island is 2.0!
Official Blog: http://govislandblog.com
On Twitter: http://twitter.com/Gov_Island

Note: this trip took place on Saturday, Ausgust 1st, 2009.

More Underwear Run photos | Watch the slideshow

I found out about this about 30 minutes before the event on Twitter. It sounded ridiculous and sort of gross, so of course I decided to go!

It’s basically an annual pre-triathlon celebration. Here’s an excerpt from the official website, they put it best:

The Central Park Underwear Run is a 1.7 mile fun run that takes place every year on the Friday before the New York City Triathlon. No transitions, no timing chips, no expensive race gear, just 500 strangers running around in their underwear. Another typical summer evening in New York City!

They were trying to break the world record (most people in underwear running together, something like that), so they had the sign-in post set up:

Today on their website they announced that they did break the record with 300 sign-ins, congrats.

In addition to the run, they also had a Jamaica themed costume contest where the best costume wins a trip to – you guessed it – Jamaica. There were a lot of Bob Marley themed costumes of course:

Not sure if they’ll announce the winner in public but I hope this Jamaican bobsled team wins. They were great, and they actually finished the run like that with everything still intact:

The run was open for everyone, not just for grown ups or humans or land creatures:

The “mayoral candidate” Naked Cowboy was the official starter of the run, and people really ran once it started. It wasn’t like a slow parade:

First finish was at around 9 minute mark:

The weather was hot and sticky (which was quite appropriate for this run). Yes, it was a hard run and was exhausting for many. But at the same time, it also gave another reason to smile and celebrate for many:

Note: this event took place on Friday, July 24th, 2009.

More High Line photos | Watch the slideshow

Arrrg can somebody please stop the rain? The rubber grip on my camera lens almost came off because of too much water, seriously.

The High Line, despite all the ugliness that the weather had to offer, was quite amazing and pleasant. It’s pretty remarkable what they have done so far. Things look beautiful, and in some parts I could still smell the fresh cut woods from boardwalks, etc.

I was expectedly interrupted by many plain-clothed officers with umbrellas and iPhones:

But that didn’t stop me from taking so many bad photos as usual. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience even with all the rain. Visit www.thehighline.org to find out how to get there.

More Roosevelt Island photos | Watch the slideshow

I heard about the Tram shutdown a while ago and was still under the impression that it happens in June. I’ve never been to Roosevelt Island, and never been on the Tram. So I decided that this was the right time to visit.

Turns out that they actually postponed the shutdown till September. Nevertheless I had an opportunity to meet up with some nice folks and tour the island on a beautiful day.

Thanks to Ingrid Spangler @AdoramaPix for organizing this tweetup/tweetwalk. She’s amazing.