It has been an exciting year for me here at Jason Teale Photography and The Sajin Blog. I have learned a lot and taken a few pictures along the way. So with today being December 31st, I thought that I would take a look back at the year and show some of my favorite pictures along the way.

Business

One of the biggest lessons that I learned is to make a brand for yourself and stick to it. As we first get into photography, we take shots of everything that we think looks nice. As I turn the corner in my path as a photographer I have learned to focus on what I do well and work hard at improving myself in those areas. In the past year I have found myself returning to old locations to “re-shoot” and further fine tune images that I have taken before.

Upon selling them, I have realized the scary realm of pricing. While you might not think that your photos are good enough, you have to give them a fair price. The one time I dropped prices to be a part of an Art Fair, I was flooded with sales that spun off a series of later sales, it was all because I was charging a ridiculously low price. People were interested because of the quality but were only motivated to buy because the prices were so low. Lesson learned, set standard prices for your work and your events.

 Photo Walks

I met a lot of great people this year thanks to being a part of a few photo walks and clubs though out the year. For so many years I would only focus on going out myself, but as I work towards having a yearly event for photographers in Korea, these photo walks have connected me to a great group of very talented photographers. It doesn’t matter the camera that you have but the location and the group of people that you are with. Half the time I was not really even taking any photos as I have a small problem of talking too much or when taking photos, talking too little. At any rate, I enjoyed getting to know everyone this past year.

Ulsan also hosted Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk. It was a great event and one that I think had up to 20 people at one point in time. That may not be many but for this humble photographer it was a great thing. While there was a scavenger hunt going on at the same location and same day, I am happy that people chose to come out and get some shots with us. Hopefully next year’s photo walk will be even better!

 Jobs and Events

2012 was not without its share of photo jobs as well. It started off with the St. Andrew’s Charity Ball held in Ulsan. It was a great night that kept me busy shooting hundred of well-dressed people and hoping that I could win won of the many prizes that they had collected to raise funds for charity. I am happy to note that this year will start off with the same great event this on January 26th at the newly renovated Hyundai Hotel.

I also ran around Busan getting photos for different buyers. This also built my reputation and since getting the shots from around Busan a few more buyers have contacted me and I am pleased with that. The biggest challenge for me  in this realm is living in a city that is not really on the map for much beyond industrial shots, which make up the bulk of my sales for Ulsan. So for the coming year I am looking to expand my library of photos to include more shots of Busan and other major cities in Korea.

I also had the chance to speak recently to local photographers here in Ulsan. It was an interesting event as I have never spoken in front of so many people about my photography before. It was a huge learning experience for me. I got a bit of press from it and made a bit of money… which was kindly asked to be donated back for next years event… LOL

Finally, my photos are also hanging in the Old Foreigner’s Compound in Ulsan. This is one of the places built for the families of the foreign engineer’s that work with Hyundai Heavy Industries. I am pleased that my photos are hanging there because I have always enjoyed the events out at the compound and the positive family environment out there.

Publications

This year has been a great year for getting published. From blogs like Mark Eaton Photography, I am grateful that people think that my photos are worthy enough to appear on their sites. A few magazines have published some of my work through out the year as well. Seoul Magazine used my photos of Gyeongju for a great on the area. Groove featured me in their “Capturing Korea” section back in October.

Also I was very happy to get an article published with the wildly popular HDR One Magazine and a photo used as their featured photo. All of these publications and blogs have put my name out there and I have noticed a steep increase in not pnly page views on my blog but interest in my photography as well. For that, I give you all my deepest gratitude.

Looking Towards the Future

As I look towards 2013 I can only feel that it is going to be a great one. I feel that with the great photographers that I have come into contact with and the commitment that we’ve all made to this passion that ALL of us, not just I, will see some amount of success in the coming year. For myself, I am hoping to get a DMZ photo walk started. I will be going on a sponsored tour at the end of this month and negotiations for the  photo walk will begin then. Things are looking good for this little idea. Other than that, I have a few other projects up my sleeve  for 2013 that I know you all will enjoy but I will keep them a secret until my partners are I are ready.

So with all that being said, we are just minutes away from 2013 and I just want to thank you all for supporting me in the past years and for coming by my blog. I appreciate all the kind words that have been written and the likes, +’s and retweets. Thank you all and Happy New Year!!

Finally here are some of my Favorite photos from 2012… Enjoy