October 13th, 2006 : Drifting Culture - Japan

I must confess I have been a little envious of my good friend and fellow photographer Dave Harvey for being in Japan and having the opportunity to photograph so many major motorsporting events- like the Porsche Carrera Cup, Japan LeMans, WRC Rally, D1 Pro Drifting, just to name a few that I would've loved to attend.  Thankfully during my visit there, Dave(and Erin) being hooked on the drifting scene managed to get us tickets to a drifting event at Ebisu Circuit.  It was great being there experiencing Japan's car drifting culture.  For the competition, points are awarded to the drivers for style, guts, and technical driving.  For the paired races, each driver is given at least one opportunity to lead and the trailing car has to keep up or try to pass the leader.  I took a lot of photos on the track and have put together a small gallery of a few favourites from the day's event.  Drfiting...it's so much more fun when you can do it sideways at over 140km/h!   

October 12th, 2006 : Five nights in Japan

After months of putting it off I finally had a chance to visit my good friends Dave and Erin in Japan during Korean Thanksgiving holiday.  Travelling with another close friend(Jason Teale) from Korea, we flew into Narita airport on Tuesday(3/10) and hopped on the bus to Dave and Erin's place in Utsunomiya.  For geographic reference, Utsunomiya is about 100km north of Tokyo.  Our host took good care of us by offering us a place to stay, feeding us breakfast every morning and making sure a good dose of quality home-brewed coffee was on tap.  We had a blast catching up with them about life in Japan.  They even took time off work to show us around the entire time we where there so thanks a lot guys!  Overall, I had a great time in Japan.  The photo log should give you a snapshot idea of the places we went and things we saw.  Though I would've like to spend more time photographing all the different facet of life in Japan, I had to return to my obligations back in Korea.   Maybe one day I will return purely for the photographic expedition I so long for. 

September 10th, 2006 : Trail Racing - International Motor Show (EXCO) Daegu, Korea

I love riding bikes and equally love watching them ridden by professional riders.  This Sunday, Sept. 10th, I was offered the opportunity to attend an International Motor Show at the Exhibition and Convention Center(EXCO) in Daegu with a close friend of mine.  Upon arriving at EXCO we were greeted by heavy crowds and hundreds of motorcycles parked outside.  There were the usual trick riders doing endos and wheelies on the street, customized bikes showcasing huge engines and fancy mods, exhibition halls with the latest shiny new bikes and racing girls posing on them, and a trial racing event outside next to the convention center.  Overall we had a great time and I would rate this the best Motor Show I've seen in Korea to date.  The best part of the day was covering the trial racing event which featured some pretty good riders taking to the pavement with their crouch rockets ranging from 600cc's to 1200cc's.  I like to fantasize the idea of shooting motorcycle races every weekend in Korea, but unfortunately my life style and work schedule disagrees with me and prevents me from fulfilling this prospect.  Oh well, life goes on...

June 24th, 2006 : A World Cup morning to remember - Ulsan, Korea (Korea VS Switzerland)

World Cup fever has swept Korea by storm once again.  After a memorable and successful showing at the 2002 World Cup, the nation is back on their feet supporting their football team in this years big event in Germany.  Deciding to join in the fun, I ventured to Munsu Stadium to check out the final and deciding game in the group stage match between Korea and Switzerland.  Being a 4am(Korean time) scheduled match, I had to force my sleepy self out the door and hopped on my bike armed with my camera gear and a pack of caffeinated gum.  After a breezy ride through the empty streets I arrived at the stadium around 3:10am, greeted by heavy traffic and thousands of people dressed in, you guessed it, RED.  Pre-game ceremonies were already on the way with Korea red devil supporters chanting their favourite Korean football anthems and banging their 'Janggu' (korean double-headed drums).  Upon entering the stadium the thundering roars helped shake away the sleepiness in me.  As the stadium filled up across from the big screen TV, I said to myself, "I'm sure glad I decided to come!"  The atmosphere inside the stadium was electrifying.  After battling through the sea of red, I found a seat and spent the first half watching the game with some friends.  During the half-time break I decided to get up and take some more photos. Strolling around I found another stage area setup with two big screen TVs just outside the stadium.  I spent the second half watching the game here and felt right at home with my big lens hanging off my neck as I stood on the stage alongside other press photographers and news camera crews covering the event.  All said and done the game ended with the Korean team losing to the Swiss, sending supporters home on an emotional low.  Regardless of the loss, the one thing I felt and experience this early Saturday morning was the iron-clad spirit of the Korean people.  ...Korea Fighting!             

June 10th, 2006 : Foreigners go for a ride - Ulsan, Korea

Ulsan Hell’s Ajummas Scooter Inferno, an annual event which brings riders out for a day of rally racing, sight seeing and partying.  Initially started in 2003 by a small group of scooter-riding foreigners in Ulsan, Korea, the Inferno has grown into a household event with new riders showing up each year.  In fact there were a lot of new faces this year and most of these people have never ridden a scooter in their life.  Luckily there were no crashes or major injuries during the day-long ride.  The previous Infernos were held in Gyeong-Ju, but this year we stuck close to home and had the rally race in Ulsan.  For more information about the race you can visit this site.  On a personal note, the excitement and spirit just wasn't there for many of us old-timers so we decided to be a little un-inferno like this year.  The minute "START THE RACE" was announced we rode straight to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and coffee, unlike previous years when everyone scramble off haphazardly trying to win the event.  Throughout the day we pretty much took it easy and escorted the new riders around.  If you are wondering about the semi-naked photo in the gallery, well, it is part of the day's competition and fun.  Each team had to take a photo of the scenic places they visited as part of the race and extra points were awarded for creativity and special features.  The photos in my gallery are not part of the race, as I said we were being un-inferno like.  They were just candid photos from the event.  On a closing note, thanks to the organizing team and sponsors for their hard work and support for this year's event.