Giant pillars of granite towered over me as I walked along the path to the 500 Generals Gallery at the Jeju Stone Park in Gyorae-ri, Jocheon. I felt like I was in some ancient amphitheater, and the atmosphere put me in a contemplative mood. I have a confession to make: I had been asked by The Jeju Weekly to write a review of the Koh Young Il exhibition but I knew very little about this famous local photographer or his work. But this was my intent as I wanted to view it without any preconceived ideas about what I was going to see.
It was dark inside the gallery, with soft lighting throwing a warm glow on the modestly-framed photos. Seeing his work for the first time, I was immediately struck by the crisp black and white tones and the abundant grain and I knew right away that I was looking at the work of an “old-school” photographer. The images were raw, composed and exposed in the field and developed in the darkroom.
I gazed across the wall of photos and was introduced to a Jeju that no longer exists. No cars, no telephone poles, and no paved highways, the distractions Jeju’s landscape photographers have to deal with today. I also quickly came to realize that stones are an important element of his images. Stone walls, stones in fields, stones on mountains.
His work is good. High-contrast images with splashes of light placed just right on each of his subjects. His composition is equally as good. He was adept at placing his subject matter strategically throughout the frame.
Not only was he compositionally sound but he was a master of light as well. There were many photos taking advantage of the early morning and late afternoon “golden hour” light so prominent in today’s landscape photography. But, I also saw a photographer who bravely challenged the rules of his craft and took chances with the harsh, mid-day light that most photographers stay away from today.
However, it was not until I made it half-way through the exhibition that I saw what made him a truly great photographer. One stunning image after another they came. A woman selling traditional Jeju rice cakes as her son sleepily presses his cheek against a bag of rice beside her. An old man crouches and rests against his cane under a tree on what looks to be a hot, sunny day. And then I came to one of his strongest images: a group of mischievous boys playing in a field in late afternoon sunlight, Seongsang Ilchulbong as the backdrop. The expressions on the boys’ faces as they dance around the field are unforgettable.
His strongest images are simple. A rock wall and bending trees. A fishing boat and a rocky coastline. A woman and her daily chores. He followed the mantra “less is more.”
The exhibition is a homage to a time when film was king. There were no digital camera LCDs to help check exposures, white balance, and composition. There was no massaging of images in Photoshop. While digital photography has changed the game in many ways, a young photographer could learn a thing or two from viewing this fine collection of work.
I went outside, inspired by the richness of Koh Young Il’s work, and as I made my way back to my car, I saw a long row of traditional Jeju stone figures. Their textures and shapes caught my eye, and I took a few pictures of them. Then, almost by instinct, I checked the exposures on the LCD on the back of my camera before heading home. Sorry, no film... <Jeju Weekly>
<Douglas MacDonald contributor@jejuweekly.comⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>
