Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

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StevenPA
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p.1 #1 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

[Forgive me if this post is better suited to the Landscape Forum, but as all of this is with alternative lenses, I thought it would be of more interest to members here.]

I work too much. Of course there are the weekdays, and then I also try to make time on the weekends to get word-related stuff done at the computer. That whole professional development thing, right? Well, in some ways my health has really suffered because of working to much. Since the summer, however, I've been trying to tone it down a bit and make more time to do the things I like to do. And that often involves photography.

Last weekend, I took a 5-hour bus ride out to the east coast to hike up 1500m Taebaeksan (Taebaek Mountain) in South Korea's most scenic province, Gangwon-do. Me and a buddy, who was crazy enough to agree to my itinerary, left Seoul at 9pm, arriving in Taebaek City at 2am. A 2-hour hike, flashlights in hand, brought us to the top by 4am. It was about 5°C at the top, and windy. Good thing I packed some winter stuff!

All with 5D and all stopped down to f/8 or 11 unless otherwise noted.

Voigtlander 58/1.4, 22 minute exposure. First time to try this.

As the first signs of light started to appear, so did the vast pools of mountain mist.

OM 21/3.5, 30 seconds

Sunrise is about to break.

OM 21/3.5

By this time, about 6am, we weren't alone anymore as more people came up to see the sunrise.

OM 21/3.5

Looking away from the sun, the mist was simply magnificent.

Contax 80-200/4

By 7am, we had decided to pack up and start the second part of our hike across the mountain peaks.

Contax 80-200/4

As we made our descent, the skies became a vibrant crystal blue.

Voigtlander 58/1.4

Our last treat was a forest garden of rich fall colours...

Contax 80-200/4

...with a stand of tall pines towering over colourful maples and at the trail head.

OM 21/3.5

OM 21/3.5

The hike was about 11km long and took just shy of 9 hours from 2am to 11am.

My kit for the trip included a Gitzo 1540 with Markins Q3, 5D with cable release, OM 21/3.5, Voigtlander 58/1.4, Contax 35-70 (not used - doh), and a Contax 80-200 all packed in the sleeping bag compartment of a 38L pack (tripod strapped to the side). I've search for a long time for a landscape kit that I'm happy with, and I think my selection was pretty good this time. I almost sold the 80-200 a while back, and I'm so happy I didn't sell it. It's the perfect landscape telephoto (light and compact), and the optics are fantastic, as expected, very Zeiss. More pics: http://www.pbase.com/stevenpa/taebaeksan

As a final note, any criticisms about composition, exposure, or post-processing are welcome.

Oct 15, 2008 at 04:18 PM

Jman13
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p.1 #2 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

These are spectacular. Especially love the first two, the last shot and the sunrise photo.

Oct 15, 2008 at 04:42 PM

StevenPA
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p.1 #3 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Thanks, Jordan.

I'm glad you liked them. It certainly was a lot of fun taking them!

Oct 15, 2008 at 04:49 PM

Paul Yi
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p.1 #4 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

I hike almost every weekend, but never got a chance to hike at dark.
I guess I'll have to do it sometime....at least if I want to take a sunrise picture.

I envy you....beautiful pictures BTW, but I bet there is nothing like seeing it in person.

Oct 15, 2008 at 05:03 PM

StevenPA
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p.1 #5 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Thanks, Paul. I strongly recommend hiking Taebaeksan at night. In my opinion, it's way better than hiking it in the daytime. This was my second night hike at this particular mountain. And the best season is winter although the fall is really pretty too. Make sure you go up via the Yooilsa Entrance. It's the safest and fastest.

Oct 15, 2008 at 05:13 PM

Rob-Bob
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p.1 #6 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Outstanding series, complemented by excelent narritave, and nice to actually see what al lyou took. Thanks for all that.

The shots all look wonderfully exposed, and framed. Processing very good also.
The startrails, and espically the sunrise siloutte are splended, but I think that the last two, straight-up, of the trees- are definatly picks for my favorites. Espically the last, with the maple(i believe) leading up, up away into all those huge trees.

Just gotta love seeing far off lands. The map/rooute is a huge bonus. Good thinking to include that!

My only crit- is that on the 7am shot, of the hillside and mountains, having the top cut off that one towards the left edge really draws my eye out of all the wonderful detail of the foliage.

Great stuff, though.

Thanks again, Bob

Oct 15, 2008 at 05:23 PM

cogitech
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p.1 #7 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Terrific series, Steven! Thanks for sharing.

Oct 15, 2008 at 05:45 PM

Dark_
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p.1 #8 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Yup very nice series! 1 & 4 are just great.

Oct 15, 2008 at 05:48 PM

Jeffrey
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p.1 #9 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Regardless of lenses used, this is a landscape post. But, PLEASE, don't put it there with this many images on one post. Try a maximum of two and spare the viewer.

Oct 15, 2008 at 06:11 PM

cogitech
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p.1 #10 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Steven, leave it here and "spare" the viewers of the landscape forum.

Us Alt guys like lots of photos.

BTW, Jeffrey, unless you are a moderator I don't see much point in your post. If you don't like it, just move along. If you are offended by it, then report it. I have no doubt that Fred would agree that it is Alt related. An excellent display of what the little Zuiko (an Alt lens) is capable of in good hands.

Oct 15, 2008 at 06:36 PM

rachp
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p.1 #11 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Beautiful series and great commentary! I think the 1st is my favorite.

Is that the new Voigtlander 58/1.4 SLII? How do you like it? Is it a Nikon mount and what adapter are you using?

Oct 15, 2008 at 06:43 PM

Alex
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p.1 #12 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Great pictures, Steven!

I'm wondering if 80-200/4 needs any mirror shaving on 5d.

Alex

Oct 15, 2008 at 09:03 PM

PeaktoPeek
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p.1 #13 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Beautiful series, Steven -- 1,2,3,5 and 9 are my favorites. Looks like a very productive trip showcasing some very capable lenses. Its nice to see some shots in this part of the forum that aren't just boring test shots, nice work.
Paul

Oct 15, 2008 at 09:53 PM

RandomLetterz
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p.1 #14 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Excellent series Steven

I only made it out to Taebaeksan once during my time in Korea and am now regretting that I didn't go out there more

I don't think Iewas able to got any good pictures out of it, actually I wasn't even sure if I had been there until I saw the coal museum on the map

If I can find anything half as good as what you posted I'll throw it up here as well

Edited on Oct 16, 2008 at 01:02 AM · View previous versions

Oct 15, 2008 at 10:47 PM

ISO1600
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p.1 #15 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Steven! It looks like you're finally figuring your kit out! I'm glad you ponied up for an awesome tripod, i know you've wanted it for a long time. I can't see the pics at work, but i'll make sure to check them once i get home.

Oct 15, 2008 at 11:26 PM

StevenPA
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p.1 #16 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Rob-Bob wrote:
My only crit- is that on the 7am shot, of the hillside and mountains, having the top cut off that one towards the left edge really draws my eye out of all the wonderful detail of the foliage.

Thanks for the kind words (not quoted), Rob! About the 7am shot, you can see how focused I was on the foliage and not the rest of the composition, eh?

Thanks for confirming my initial suspicion that I need at least the mountain tops and some more sky in the pic.

Oct 16, 2008 at 12:40 AM

StevenPA
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p.1 #17 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

cogitech wrote:
Terrific series, Steven! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks very much, Paul, for both posts.

Dark_ wrote:
Yup very nice series! 1 & 4 are just great.

Cheers, Dark_.

rachp wrote:
Beautiful series and great commentary! I think the 1st is my favorite.

Is that the new Voigtlander 58/1.4 SLII? How do you like it? Is it a Nikon mount and what adapter are you using?

Yes, It's the new F-mount Voigtlander with a Kindai adapter, which matches perfectly with my 5D, no infinity or mirror issues at all. I'm still getting a feel for it. The colours are surprisingly saturated out the box, the sharpness across the frame stopped down is biting, and wide open performance is better than my OM 50/1.4. Of course the ergonomics are excellent: soft rubber grip, smooth focus, etc.

Alex wrote:
Great pictures, Steven!

I'm wondering if 80-200/4 needs any mirror shaving on 5d.

No, no mirror mod is needed. Just plug and play.

However, no amount of dreaming is going to grow a tripod collar for this lens, and I think it would probably benefit from one, but that's a minor concern. Seriously, I love that Zeiss look, and the 80-200 did not disappoint in that regard.

PeaktoPeek wrote:
Beautiful series, Steven -- 1,2,3,5 and 9 are my favorites. Looks like a very productive trip showcasing some very capable lenses. Its nice to see some shots in this part of the forum that aren't just boring test shots, nice work.

Thanks for the kind words, Paul.

ISO1600 wrote:
Steven! It looks like you're finally figuring your kit out! I'm glad you ponied up for an awesome tripod, i know you've wanted it for a long time. I can't see the pics at work, but i'll make sure to check them once i get home.

Yes, I'm slowly getting there, for a hiking/landscape kit anyway!

The Gitzo has been by far the best addition to my kit in a long time. The first time I did this hike (last winter), I had the Manfrotto strapped to the side of my pack, and it was bulky, awkward, and tiring to use and carry. The 1540 compacts nicely (4 leg sections) and is plenty stable for the kit that I have, and the Q3 is a fine piece of craftsmanship. I regard this particular tripod and head as an essential piece of kit now.

Oct 16, 2008 at 12:56 AM

StevenPA
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p.1 #18 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

RandomLetterz wrote:
Excellent series Steven

I only made it out to Taebaeksan once during my time in Korea and am now regretting it

I don't think I got any good pictures out of it, actually I wasn't even sure if I had been there until I saw the coal museum on the map

If I can find anything half as good as what you posted I'll throw it up here as well

Oops, I missed thanking you for your post! Yeah, we skipped the coal museum. By that time we had been up all night trudging across the mountain and wanted to relax with some beer.

Is the coal mine worth a visit?

Oct 16, 2008 at 01:06 AM

RandomLetterz
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p.1 #19 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

StevenPA wrote:
RandomLetterz wrote:
Excellent series Steven

I only made it out to Taebaeksan once during my time in Korea and am now regretting it

I don't think I got any good pictures out of it, actually I wasn't even sure if I had been there until I saw the coal museum on the map

If I can find anything half as good as what you posted I'll throw it up here as well

Oops, I missed thanking you for your post! Yeah, we skipped the coal museum. By that time we had been up all night trudging across the mountain and wanted to relax with some beer.

Is the coal mine worth a visit?

If you've got decent Korean it might be worth a stop. I'm not sure if the displays had English with them or not, but even then the English at places like that is always pretty iffy

(I'm sure you've been around the block enough times to know how that goes though

) If I remember correctly it only takes an hour or two to run though the whole thing. Up on the second or third floor in one of the hallways there are some huge blowups of pictures that were taken of the the coalmining village that is in the area. I think the only reason we went was because it was cold and my girlfriend didn't want to tromp up and down the mountain

Oct 16, 2008 at 01:15 AM

StevenPA
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p.1 #20 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

I *might* have enough Korean to get through one of those information signs, but I certainly don't have the patience!

I'd like to see those old pics though...

Oct 16, 2008 at 01:22 AM

RandomLetterz
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p.1 #21 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

StevenPA wrote:
I *might* have enough Korean to get through one of those information signs, but I certainly don't have the patience!

I'd like to see those old pics though...

You should be fine as long as you can clarify the more suspect parts of the English translations

I tell you what though Steven, I only been gone for about 2 months but I'm starting to miss Korea something terrible

I never thought I would say it, but it's funny how things change

Oct 16, 2008 at 01:29 AM

pdmphoto
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p.1 #22 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Great series. Very well done, all with alternative lenses

I have to agree about the 7AM shot. It could have been as nice as some of the other great ones. You made very good use of the Zuiko 21/3.5 along the way.

"vast pools of mountain mist" - you should have a blog

Oct 16, 2008 at 04:02 AM

ISO1600
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p.1 #23 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

Steven would have you believe he's too busy for a blog, but in fact he's just lazy

Oct 16, 2008 at 06:31 AM

StevenPA
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p.1 #24 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

pdmphoto wrote:
Great series. Very well done, all with alternative lenses

Thanks, Paul.

I have to agree about the 7AM shot. It could have been as nice as some of the other great ones. You made very good use of the Zuiko 21/3.5 along the way.

Okay, that settles it. If ever there was a reason to take this weekend off too, it's to redo the 7am pic!

"vast pools of mountain mist" - you should have a blog

Yeah, maybe I should, if for no other reason than to have a record of the precious few eloquent nuggets that just happen to fall out of my head.

Oct 16, 2008 at 07:05 AM

StevenPA
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p.1 #25 · Taebaek Mountain (11 pic series)

ISO1600 wrote:
Steven would have you believe he's too busy for a blog, but in fact he's just lazy

Umm, Chris, stick to commenting on the photos, please.

Oct 16, 2008 at 07:07 AM


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