Sunset Over the Yellow Sea

Photo taken by PJ Brez, a 28-year-old man who lives in the South Korean countryside. He has experienced depression, loneliness, homesickness, and feelings of isolation. He teaches English conversation at a university in Korea, but photography is his passion.

About this photo: “I was out on Korea’s west coast doing some solo camping when I took this shot. It was taken in a place called Anmyeondo. I was really drawn to the area because the beaches were vast and vacant, had beautiful sights, and I could rest, relax, and do some introspective reflection. I set up my tent right on the beach, and went to scout out some ideal areas for taking some photos. I came across this particular spot after trekking the beaches for a few hours. I arrived shortly after noon, and I knew I’d have to come back for sunset. The location was perfect, for it was atop a small bridge and had an elevated vantage point of a tributary being fed by the Yellow Sea. When I came back at sunset, I decided to try to take some experimental photos. I combined a pinhole camera with a neutral density filter, resulting in very long exposures. Since the exposure was so long, it would yield a very soft, dreamy image. I had only tried this one time before, so I wasn’t the slightest bit confident that I’d get a decent photo. I ended up taking two pictures, the first of which can be seen on my site. The photo displayed here is the second I took. The exposure time was about 11 minutes and the first photo was about 7 minutes, meaning I gazed at the sunset over the yellow sea for roughly 20 minutes. This was exactly what I wanted – an escape from my digital grind. A weekend camping out free from Facebook, emails, cell phones, and texting was superb. I wanted to reconnect with nature and capture it in the most primitive way possible – with a pinhole, lensless camera. I’d like to remind everyone how therapeutic nature can be. Turn off your tvs, shut down your computers, and try to explore your surroundings with fresh eyes.”

____________________________________________________________

**Visit Broken Light’s main gallery here. Currently accepting submissions.

*Like us on Facebook & Twitter. Follow below for e-mail notifications.