Category: Sunday Photo

This is my last weekend in the Seoul area before I move back to the countryside with my family.

Something I’ve been wanting to do for a while before I go was too see the sunrise from the top of Gwanak mountain, so last night I hiked to Yeonju-dae and spend a chilly night in my tent waiting for morning.

A thick fog came in during the night, so I wasn’t sure I would even get to see the sunrise, but it just managed to shine through.

In the top photo, if you were to follow a trail past the broadcasting towers, then up and down (or around) another small mountain, you can actually come out not far from Hanmaum Seon Center.

clicking on the photos will open them in higher res.

July through September is lotus season in Korea.

In the south-wesern tip of the peninsula is a famous lotus pond that cultivates them for their root and also makes delicious lotus leaf tea.

The lotus they grow is originally from India, but this pond is said to have the largest lotuses in Asia.

This Buddha is carved into the granite cliff near the top of the mountain behind Bomun Temple, on the small island of Seongmodo. Along the thin platform a small group of people were doing 108 bows in the summer heat.

The really interesting thing is when you follow the path around and on top of the mountain, you can look across the hazy sea and see North Korea on the other shore.

I found this technique for making 360 panoramic landscape images but decided it would be a great tool for making mandalas.

I made about 70 of these using different images from Hanmaum and chose this one in the end. It’s made from the first image I used for Sunday Photos here, so thought it was a good choice.

Clicking on the photo will link to the gallery, there are some really neat ones of the nuns circling the courtyard pagoda and some of just the pagoda as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Here’s a seaside temple for Evelyn ^_^

I tried to to merge these two pics together but couldn’t get the sky to match very well… but thought it gave a better idea of the setting. (just ignore that ugly line, if you can!)

Hyangil Hermitage is a famous spot to watch the sunrise. There are little guesthouses below the rocky path to the temple. I heard they’ll lend you a flash little for the walk up.

Vanavaccha

The color of blue-dark clouds, glistening,
cooled with the waters
of clear-flowing streams
covered with ladybugs:
…those rocky crags
…refresh me.

I shared this poem on my own blog on Friday, but loved it so much, I’d like to share it here as well.

It’s taken from the Theragatha, a collection of 264 poems in which the early monks recount their struggles and accomplishments along the path to enlightenment.