words . youngdoo

John sent me a Yashica Electro35, an old rangefinder, for Christmas last year. It took me a little while to get used to the idea of rangefinder but I’ve been having a lot of fun carrying it around and snapping away! I know film photography can get expensive however there’s something very attractive about it and I’m learning to appreciate it better now. I like to share some of the better shots I got with the handsome old rangefinder. The last photo is the Yashica Electro35 itself.

While I was walking around in Chungmuro with John, we found this random toy camera shop called Toy Camera. Since the store is off the main street and also on the third floor on a rustic building, it might not be easy to locate if you don’t try hard enough, however, you’re good to go as soon as you see this door with a Lomo sign.

I’ve had a few toy cameras around but never had one I got super excited about. Diana+ was close enough but I never got to learn how to take decent shots with it. Then I thought I would give a try to Holga GCFN, the one with a glass lens unlike most of the toy cameras with plastic lenses. I was quite excited when I learned this shop had it, and had to go back to get one a few weeks later.

This shop has an extensive list of toy cameras as well as some nice films at good prices. If you’re into photography and look for some toys to play with, go to Chungmuro and check out this store. Definitely worth a try. The marketing manager of this shop, Justin, is a friendly guy and he speaks fairly good English as well so you will be fine even if you don’t speak Korean.

The address is 3F, 58-2, Chungmuro 3-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul and the phone number is +82(2)2285.5640.

John was kind enough to let me use his Hasselblad while he was visiting Korea. I finally managed to scan my very first roll with Hasselblad yesterday. The entire experience of holding Hasselblad, looking through the amazingly beautiful view finder, and hearing the loud but complete sound when the shutter is pressed is something else. Now I see the result of it, I can’t wait to get one for myself someday.