Mulhyanggi Arboretum

Last Thursday Tristan and I ventured out to a beautiful arboretum with the photography club that I'm a part of here.  There are several members that are experienced photogs, so I was really excited to get their input and advice on all sorts of things!  I love my camera, but I really need to get it off auto mode and learn how to use all the different features and know what all the different terms mean. 

We all met up at the train station and took the subway to Osan-si and walked a short distance to the arboretum.  This was Tristan's first "train" ride since we've been in Korea, though it wasn't as thrilling as I thought it might be for him as I forgot that he has taken it several times in Chicago and at several airports.  Oh well - it was a fun experience nonetheless.

Tristan and Michael waiting for the train 

Here it comes! 

They had some beautiful plants and flowers there, and I really want to go back when even more things are in bloom!  Right now all the cherry blossom and magnolia trees are in bloom, and the azaelias were beginning to bloom as well.

Not that I'm a botanical expert by any means, but I had no idea there was more than one kind of magnolia tree, or that they came in such beautiful colors!

I'm thinking we might head back for Tristan's 5 year old pictures in June.

Cherry blossom tree - they have the prettiest light pink flowers!

Love these orchids.

We had a really fun day, and beautiful weather for our adventure too - something that is quite iffy these days in Korea!  I really enjoyed playing around with my camera and trying to learn the ins and outs of shutter speeds and ISO.  I also learned about NOT putting your main subjet matter in the center of the photo - something I always did because I didn't want there to be a question about what I was taking a picture of.  Turns out that with the right focal point, your subject matter can be anywhere in the picture.  I look forward to learning a lot more from these ladies!