A few weeks ago I posted about the gigantic International Fireworks Festival in Busan, and had a lot of interest in a tutorial about how to shoot fireworks. So here I am today, delivering on promised goods! We're going to have a short and sweet lesson on how to get the most out of your firework pictures. Let's face it. We've all been to that amazing fireworks show, just to come home, take a look at our camera roll, and realize we shot jack squat for pictures. Well I'm here today to teach you how to capture those fireworks in a way that makes them look just as amazing (or better) than they did at the show! What you need: -A camera that has a manual mode (fully adjustable aperture, iso, and shutter speed) If you have no idea what I'm ... Read More
Search Results for: fireworks
Busan International Fireworks Festival
This past weekend we finally went to something I've been patiently waiting a year and a half to go to. We went to the Busan International Fireworks Festival. Here's the deal. It took me TONS of convincing to get my husband to drive up to Busan, where over 1 million spectators would be fighting us for a prime spot to see the show. I may have let it slip earlier this month that this particular festival was the only one I've ever really wanted to go to, and it would be the PERFECT birthday present. If you don't know by now, you should probably know I have an obsession for fireworks. I explain all about it here. Somehow my birthday present thing worked on Derik. Or maybe my husband is just super stellar and would wait around for 8 hours ... Read More
Fireworks + friends = epic
A couple weeks ago we were soooo excited to have Ethan and Sandra down for the weekend! As you may already know, we met Ethan and Sandra in college, and have kept in touch since. We were so elated to find out they were moving to Korea last August...and have spent as many opportunities as possible to hang out with them, including a Christmas trip to Vietnam. We also are blessed to have Jared and Amber (we also met them at CofO) here...and they were excited to see Ethan and Sandra too! Over Lunar New Year Amber and I had the brilliant idea of buying 32 Chinese sky lanterns to use for an 'epic' beach adventure. We then found out that E & S were coming down a few weeks after that, so we decided to save our 'beach adventure' for when ... Read More
New Years Eve in Sydney Harbor
This is technically my first post of 2015. The last 8 posts or so were pre-written pretty much in the same 24 hours, before we left for our vacation, and I appreciated being mostly technology free for three weeks. Actually no, I didn't just appreciate it, I loved it. Our cruise was wonderful; I can't tell you how amazing it was to be able to have a vacation without having to worry about the little unknown aspects that comes with traveling in unfamiliar territory. The last three weeks were, if I were to put it in one word, refreshing. I feel so revived and ready to start 2015 with a bang, I'm just bursting at the seams to share it all with you! I'll be writing about the cruise, places we visited, and travel tips for the next several ... Read More
New Year’s Eve Events in New Zealand
New Year's Eve celebrations are kind of big thing in New Zealand. I guess it would be similar to a holiday like the 4th of July in the U.S….we're talking about great summer fun: concerts, BBQs, road trips, beach parties, and ocean outings. Derik and I won't be in New Zealand for New Year's to experience all the fun because we've decided to take a cruise around the South Pacific islands and then bring in 2015 Sydney, Australia style. There's always next year. If you're living in New Zealand now, or have plans to come visit over the holidays, here are a few events you might want to consider attending. Britomart Beach Party -Auckland (North Island) This event has been sold out the last two years, and it's coming back in epic style! ... Read More
10 Things to See and Do While Visiting South Korea
We lived in Korea for 2.5 years, and made sure we set aside time to explore our surroundings. Korea is a little country, but packs a punch with festivals, landscapes, and historical places to visit. Sadly, we never made it to Jeju Island, which I'm sure would be on this list if we had gone! If you ever happen to be in the area, you'll have to be sure to visit a few of the 10 places I list below. Some of them are pretty touristy, where others are a bit off the beaten path. Cherry Blossom Festivals are held every Spring, usually in April. The cool thing is they're in a bunch of different areas of the country, but the most famous flower festivals are in: Jinju, Gyeongju, and Seoul. Not only will you feel like you're in a magical ... Read More
Steel Wool Photography Tutorial
We all know I'm a pyro at heart. I also have a huge love for night photography. When the two combine, it's like magic! I've had my eye on steel wool photography for a while, and of course I procrastinated participating in the art until last minute. Thankfully I had a wonderful friend to spend 4 hours on the beach with me around midnight on Friday the 13th, and we had an absolute blast! I'm here to share my fun pictures (some are kind of flops, but I still like them), as well as teach you how to do it too! WHAT YOU NEED: -Camera with a manual mode setting -Tripod -Remote timer -Kitchen whisk -Shoestring -Steel Wool (grade 0 to 0000) -Clothes that cover your body (aka no shorts, tanks, t-shirts) CAMERA SETTINGS: In most ... Read More
What I Miss About Summer in the USA
There isn't another place that can do summer quite like the good ol' USA (sorry, I'm quite biased). As a matter of fact, when someone asks me to describe my ideal summer day in the USA, I see myself driving on a wide open highway, windows down, hair blowing in the winds, and the music blaring. Obviously I'd be singing at the top of my lungs, and I would be in the company of some of the most amazing friends a person could have. Man, I miss those days! Now that we're into our third summer out of the country, I miss certain things more than ever. Family reunions on the lake: It's been years since I've been to a family reunion, but I have fond memories of the times my family did make the long drive up to Minnesota to enjoy a weekend ... Read More
Pros and Cons of Living in Korea
I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with Korea today. These moods go on and off throughout the months, but I feel like today it's especially warranted. Yesterday Derik was T-boned by a driver completely not paying attention to where he was going. As you all know by now, road laws in Korea are more of a suggestion than actual laws. Because of this we have to be extra careful drivers to avoid stupid accidents. Yesterday Derik was driving down a main road when someone pulled out quickly from a side road and rammed straight into the back quarter panel of Derik's car (yes I know what a quarter panel is…thanks to my year of working for ERAC). Thankfully the man wasn't going that fast, and they were both not injured. If that ... Read More
