It’s Friday, September 25th 2015.

I come dashing out of school to catch a train for Chungmuro. In a few hours, most camera stops will be closed for the next four days thanks to the Chuseok holiday weekend. That means I need  to get that new “toy camera” TODAY! My plans are to take photos of Hanboks (Korean traditional clothing) throughout the holiday weekend using film. However I wanted to add two conditions:

1. It has to be a toy camera
2. It must be shot on 120 film.

After going shop to shop looking for toy cameras (yes, I know they have a Lomography store in Hongdae, but it was out of my way), I found a shop selling a Holga 120 CFN. I paid for the camera and got a few rolls of 120 film. I was officially ready for the weekend.

Hanboks before digital 1

My new toy for this Chuseok weekend, loaded with some Portra 400 film.

I had never used this type of toy camera before and thus a new world was opened for me. I spent most of Saturday and Sunday in Gwanghwamun Plaza and Gyeongbokgung taking photos of Hanboks. Most of the time was spent chatting away with random strangers and bringing some smiles to their faces. Here are the results:

Hanboks before digital 2

You’re bound to find some shots that are double exposed and you’re a bit brainless like me.

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Hanboks before digital 3

After taking some selfies with these Vietnamese girls, once again, I forgot to advance my roll.

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Korvia Hanbok - 04

These middle school kids posed along with a rare find…a male wearing a hanbok.

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Hanboks before digital 12

Sometimes you get these flaws in your photo and wonder what the hell it was that “enhanced” the photo.

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Hanboks before digital 6

This young girl stands beside this statue like a soldier in front of Gyeongbokgung.

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Hanboks before digital 08

A foreigner braves the stares by wearing this beautiful Korean outfit.

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Hanboks before digital 07

These girls showed me three different styles of hanboks.

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Hanboks before digital 5

A couple of foreigners prepare for a day of photo taking.

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Hanboks before digital 9

These girls were exhausted from the countless amounts of photos taken with tourists…it was a long day.

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Hanboks before digital

The ladies of this family looking their best on Chuseok.

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Hanboks before digital 11

Nothing beats a traditional hanbok and a traditional stroller.

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Hanboks before digital

This was my favorite photo from the weekend and she did deserve all the high fives I gave her.

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