Shooting a Concrete Jungle, Part 2
Jon Hill, October 2004

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In Part 1 of this series, my title indicated my feeling about the new country I find myself living in. The words "concrete jungle" make me think of confinement and survival and bustle. The word "jungle" alone makes me think of diversity and survival and stillness. Both sets of words are largely innacurate, but I feel what I feel. And feeling is what I try to bring to photographs.

This month I continue to explore the concrete jungle, but something new has struck a chord with me. It is the numbers of things. The number of people in and around Seoul equals 20 million. Those 20 million drive millions of cars. Those 20 million have houses and visit buildings covered in millions of tiles. Those 20 million eat with millions of chopsticks. Those 20 million have millions of daily needs that must be met. I'm amazed it all works, but it does. Those millions of objects must be arranged, and often the arrangements are in repetetive patterns. I feel there's some lesson about all this and Asian culture... maybe someday I'll be able to articulate it. For now I'm just taking photos.


Ebony and Rosewood Chopsticks for sale in Insadong
Nikon D2H, Nikon 12-24mm DX lens


Clay Pots Waiting for Glaze
Nikon D2H, Nikon 50mm lens


Incense in Insadong
Nikon D2H, Nikon 12-24mm DX lens


Korean Pantheon (Antique Figurines)
Nikon D2H, Nikon 50mm lens


Rice Wine Bottles
Nikon D2H, Nikon 50mm lens


Wall Tiles
Nikon D2H, Nikon 12-24mm DX lens

My series of photographs this month has zoomed in on patterns in Korea. As I reflect on my work in the past weeks, I see that I have zoomed right past the humans. That's not entirely true, as I will include some recent people photos in my next article, but my level of comfort with, or maybe my level of understanding of Koreans is not yet to the point where I can photograph them and feel like I'm getting the real person. That might never happen. Language barriers and the color of my own skin might always hinder my efforts to capture the essence of Korean people, but I'll try. Check back next month and see how I've done.

Afterthought: Somehow the thought of a million chopsticks just overwhelms me in a way a million leaves does not. Yet which creation is the higher form, more deserving of my attention? Which creator more deserves my admiration?


Ginkgo Leaves at the Start of Autumn
Nikon D2H, Nikon 80-400VR lens

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