Aline Smithson Presents One Week of Korean Photography at Lenscratch

Over at her blog, Lenscratch, Aline Smithson is presenting a week of Korean photography.  The photographer Hye-Ryoung Min will be curating this project.  I have enjoyed Ms. Min's photographic work for a few years now, and I am very interested to learn which Korean photographers will be featured during this week long event.

Hye-Ryoung Min starts off the week by explaining the state of Korean photography, and by showing some of her work.  To view her article and her work, go to the Lenscratch blog here.  

I hope everyone has a great week!

The People of the Mud Volume 2

Not too long ago I published Volume 2 of The People of the Mud at my website.  The People of the Mud is but one of two parts of my longitudinal study of Suncheon Bay.  You may recall that the other component of the study is comprised of The Boats of Suncheon Bay.

In Volume 2, I wanted to present a sense of vastness, size, and perspective.  Suncheon Bay, and its mudflats that are exposed during low tide, is an excellent venue to show those qualities.  

  Perspective and Size XIII

© Mark Eaton

Because many of the fisheries on Suncheon Bay are distant from the shore, it is often difficult to determine if a harvester is working the nets or the traps or not.  By way of example is the photograph below at the composition titled, "Kneeling in Front of the Trap."

Kneeling in Front of the Trap

© Mark Eaton

At the apex of the fishery in the photograph above is a harvester kneeling in front of a trap.  In fact, the harvester is on hands and knees retrieving seafood from the trap.  A casual glance out onto the bay most likely will not allow a person to even realize someone is working a fishery.  A determined and systematic look onto the bay can allow a person to see some sort of dark figure and/or movement at a fishery.  Harvesters don't lollygag while working, hence movement will be detected sooner rather than later. 

To view this edition of the project, please visit my website:  The People of the Mud Volume 2.

Construction of a Fishery on Suncheon Bay

Any person who has taken the time to get to know me, an arduous task I do admit, will come to understand that I do like being in, on, under, and around water, the ocean, and the sea.  I am fortunate to live in the peninsular country of South Korea, because the seas are not all that far away from just about any location in the country.  I feel even more fortunate that I live so very close to Suncheon Bay, because while it is peaceful and serene, it is simultaneously a dynamic and energetic place.  Suncheon Bay is an important and essential habitat for many different species of animals, and it is also an important fishery.

I witnessed on several occasions this spring the dynamic nature of the bay.  While visiting the village of Waon, which is located on the eastern pincer of Suncheon Bay (appropriate since the bay is very well known for its crab population), I saw the construction of some fisheries.  Some were constructed very close to the main dock at Waon, while the others were a distance from the shore.

As part of my longitudinal study of the people of the mud,  I wrote this at my website about my experiences and observations:

"On makeshift factories atop barges that are moored to shore, the women quickly built the fences made of bamboo and nets. Meanwhile, the men sledded to the locations of the new fisheries to erect those fences made by the women."

 공장

© Mark Eaton

Constructing a Fishery

© Mark Eaton

Various species of seafood will be trapped and harvested at these fisheries.  To see more of my photographic study of this construction, please visit my website:  The People of the Mud.