Sprrrrrrringtime for Hit- .... well... Hongcheon

The other week started the blossoming of trees and flowers!  I happen to be lucky enough to snatch a few pictures of spring that day.  Check it out!

Cherry Blossoms!

BIRDS!

That's all for now, but still spring!  Can't get enough of it!

This is Hongcheon... or Michael's new camera

So since I've been traveling, I've come to appreciate the value of a good camera.  Since my additional classes with Seoseok High School have given me a bit of disposable income, I finally broke down and got myself a DSLR camera.  I hopped on a bus to Seoul last weekend and found myself wandering through Techno-Mart.  I meandered through the massive shopping complex until I came across a vendor sporting the model camera I was searching for, a Nikon D3100.  Paying him a moderate sum I became the camera's owner and even got my first lens and camera bag from it!
Needless to say, I no next to nothing about DSLR photography.  Though I had enjoyed using a DSLR while in Thailand, I'd known I wanted to take up photography as a hobby.
Thankfully, my buddy Daniel located a DSLR workshop for rookies like me coming up in May.  Needless to say, I'm eager to learn all the functions on this fantastic machine.
Yet, not knowing all the ropes isn't an excuse to not enjoy a new camera!  Hence I took the new girl out for a spin around town!  So here's a look at my little city of Hongcheon, enjoy!

Oh, so Korea is rife with these little exercise machines in public areas.  Almost every community I've encountered has some  Just don't ask me what they're supposed to work out, most of them don't make any sense at all!

Spinning wheels works out... arms?

Playing with shutter speeds on my new camera.  This is a high shutter speed.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand a slow shutter speed!  Pretty cool!

And whose devilishy handsome shadow is that? Shadows, always dressed in their best!

Here's a creepy culvert for you!

I'd read you what the monument says, but... yeah.  I'm a bad language student... the irony...

 Fishing is a rather popular past time in Korea.  In fact, the guy on the far left I actually know!  He's a local Hagwon owner, nice guy, just don't let him drink you under the table....

 

River rocks, because sometimes bridges are just laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!

If you hadn't noticed, I have a fancy for taking shots of falling water

The busiest intersection of Hongcheon... this is actually rush hour....

Good ol' "Buhsuh Terminn-al"

This is my supermarket/gym (the gym is upstairs).  I like that it makes not excuse not to work out, now I have to exercise if I want to eat!
Or I just go to a different grocery store when I'm lazy....

Ok, street dancers.  For some reason, when people open new businesses or want to support a cause, they go out in public with signs and sashes and dance.  This group was playing music and speaking to passerbys, of what I have no clue.  It's one of those uniquely Korean things that occur rather regularly around here.

Spring is almost here bitches!

Random water wheel...

Pretty purple posies for an awesome alliterative attribution! YEAH!

Perhaps the most significant coffee shop, because it's how I find the Office of Education (it's across the street!)

The bank

Everybody loves construction!  It's a pretty common sight to see streets and sidewalks torn up for one reason or another.  This town is constantly under repair!

A random street corner!

Another coffee shop!  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I've become rather interested in using reflections as subjects in photography.  More of these to come I'm sure....

It's been breezy lately if you couldn't tell

So there you have it!  A quick tour of my town (or at least the section of town I visit on a regular basis).  More photos are apt to arrive as I get the chance to play with my cool new hobby!  With Spring almost upon us, I'm sure there will be plenty more to come!