Starting Fresh in Seoul

[Xander202]

Yes! Wonderful, the mark iii is looking razor sharp!

[ChiTownCity]

I just don't know how you do it! Thread for thread, hit for hit, you continue to out do your last set each and everytime. Insanity!

On a side note I've been saving up to get a Mark II, but these shots with the Mark III looks like it may have an advantage over the mark II with the low light (or it just may very well be your awesome photography and PP skills). Would it be a better investment to just go straight to the Mark III?

[SignalHillHiker]

Just beautiful. So many technically difficult shots, so many artistically beautiful shots. Love it all! Very inspired.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Fantastic stuff! Your photography skills are amazing

[shakman]

Simply amazing. Thanks for sharing!!!

[giallo]

After years and years of having zero interest in ever visiting Seoul, it's starting to grow on me. Your thread, Okayyou, might have just been the tipping point.
Excellent.

[Okayyou]

ChiTownCity - Thanks. I never really used the mk II so I can't vouch for its performance. I don't know what your price point is, but maybe check out the upcoming 6D. I think it should have some of the new bells and whistles that aren't on the mk II (gps, AF, wifi). The lowlight on the mk III is a big step up from my 7D. I think iso 1600 on the 7D is equivalent to iso 4000ish on the mk III. I did apply noise reduction to some of the night shots.

giallo - If you have a few free days I think Seoul is worth a visit. I didn't find it as interesting as Shanghai but there is plenty to see over a weekend. Hell, the Korean bbq is worth the trip alone.

Thanks to everyone else for the comments.

[Hed Kandi]

Great photos, but certainly not somewhere I'd care to visit anytime soon.

[pallo]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

Great photos, but certainly not somewhere I'd care to visit anytime soon.

WHY NOT?

[heyerdahl]

Beautiful photos- what they have done with the expressway is amazing. I love how they created a step that acts as seating right at the water level.

[hauntedheadnc]

Do you ever get bored taking so many fascinating shots? I mean, does it just get to be sort of old hat after a while?

[muppet]

stunning series. Your pics are inspirational, as always.

I always heard Seoul (second biggest city in the world), feels like THE biggest, bigger than Tokyo, not the other way round?

[Tiger Beer]

I love Seoul! I lived there for 8 years, and miss it at times!

[KevinFromTexas]

Beautiful stuff. And that's funny, you weren't kidding about everyone being plugged in. That shot of the teens on the staircase in the shopping mall, not watching where they were going, had me expecting them to come tumbling down to the sound of bowling pins. Ha.

[Rail Claimore]

Originally Posted by muppet

stunning series. Your pics are inspirational, as always.

I always heard Seoul (second biggest city in the world), feels like THE biggest, bigger than Tokyo, not the other way round?

The development in Seoul is more constrained by geography. While the two do have similar population densities, I believe Seoul's definition includes a lot of undevelopable land and even a national park (to the north). Residential midrises and highrises are also more ubiquitous, though not to the same height and level you'll find in Mainland China.

Seoul is also built a bit differently from Tokyo: Tokyo is centered all along its rail hubs that radiate in 120+ different directions to the suburbs. The road network relies on a lot of arterials that should be neighborhood streets or collector roads, and is clearly secondary. Seoul is the opposite: while it has a high-enough population density to support lots of rail lines and other transit, it also has a huge surface roadway and expressway network where 6 and 8 lane arterials every kilometer are the norm. This is especially true in the Gangnam district and surrounding areas south of the Han River: the flashy, tony newer part of the central city. Seoul looks a lot like Los Angeles on steroids: wide roads everywhere, 5X the population density and the resulting development, but still with enough of a neighborhood feel in its commercial districts to be intimate like Tokyo or any other urban city.

So yes, to a lot of people, it will feel bigger and more intense than Tokyo. But what gives Tokyo its edge is that it's spread over 2X the land area that Seoul is.

[Robert Pence]

Captivating set. I love the dense, rich colors and the elaborate decoration of the old temples.

[SHiRO]

Originally Posted by muppet

I always heard Seoul (second biggest city in the world), feels like THE biggest, bigger than Tokyo, not the other way round?

Now you made Jakarta mad...

[Austinlee]

Originally Posted by muppet

stunning series. Your pics are inspirational, as always.

I always heard Seoul (second biggest city in the world), feels like THE biggest, bigger than Tokyo, not the other way round?

I've never heard that. Having been to neither but looking at many photo threads of each, I think Tokyo is the CLEAR winner in overall density. Definitely not tallest buildings but much denser and consistent. And without those huge ugly ass commie block zones.

I love both cities. Tokyo is already living 200 yrs in the future from most other non-alpha world cities.

[muppet]

yep Ive been to neither either, but peeps saying it's about the size of the buildings, and the straight roads in Seoul, that just go on and on.
In Tokyo - which has the biggest buildings in the world in terms of average floorspace - hasn't so much of a gridplan so many of the giant blocks
are obscured from view, not just by smaller buildings but overhead wires, elevated rail and road etc, plus there are so many initimate alleyways
and human scaled streets right in the centre to lose yourself in. Also far fewer giant commie block complexes, or vistas.

Also Seoul is the densest of the world's developed cities, 3x that of Tokyo and 8x that of NYC, even despite the fact there are several mountains
in the city limits. It absolutely crams its 26 million inhabitants in a fraction the space of any other city.

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/engli...al/393438.html

Seoul - totalitarian capitalism




commie block heaven













compared with Tokyo, which has far more lowrises and midrises, a bittier skyline, and an intimate feel.

[JHikka]

Unbelievable photos. So excited to be moving to this city.