Korea Herald 20091201

18 COMMUNITY

TUESDAY DECEMBER 1, 2009

Expat Living is a section dedicated to the daily living of expatriates. It is printed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. To share stories about your life abroad, send stories or story ideas to Matthew Lamers at

[email protected] Submissions may be edited for length or clarity.

In focus: Some portrait advice Six tips to improve your skills The Photo Challenge is sponsored by Hyosung Camera (English: 010-7203-9599) and Babo Shirts (www.baboshirts. com). Winners of the weekly competition receive a 50,000 won store credit at Hyosung Camera and a Babo Shirt. To take part in the competition, simply upload your photo at w w w. f l i c k r. c o m / g r o u p s / seoulphotoclub — Ed. By Dylan Goldby Portrait specialist

Portraits are one of the main reasons photography is so popular — and the reason families keep album after album of embarrassing photos. They are one of the hardest kinds of photography to master, but there are a few things you can do to improve your portraits. Probably first thing you can do is to choose your locations and backgrounds more carefully. A background that compliments or contrasts your subject or mood will work best. Be sure that it has some kind of relationship to your image so the shot holds together well. This could be color, shape, or even something the subject is touching. Everyone shoots their friends standing in front of the palaces in Seoul, but how often do people find a quiet corner, pose against a wall and use those long sweeping rooves and lines of the palace walls to draw the attention directly to their subject? As this is a portrait of a person, another thing to try is to isolate your subject. Find a way to make them the only focus. There are a few ways to do this. Have them wear a blue shirt in a field of orange flowers, for example, or use a large aperture to blur out the background, or simplify the background until the details of the image are held only on the subject. Choice of equipment is also really important when shooting a portrait. Unless your goal

is to distort facial features, be very careful with wide angle lenses (or the wide end of your point and shoot camera). These focal lengths tend to make objects that are closer to the lens appear larger than those distant, thus distorting your poor subject disproportionately, which I can assure you, most do not appreciate. So unless distortion is your goal, longer lenses are the key here. One of the best things you can do while taking portraits is to make sure the subject isn’t bored. Don’t spend a lot of time changing lenses, checking your settings, or looking bewildered; this is where it can go wrong. Start shooting and if things aren’t working out, don’t stop — change things as you go. Just keep the momentum going; change it up! Shooting with the frame vertical? Change to horizontal. Subjects’ hands are on their hips? Have them hold something, place a hand on a wall, create some interaction with your scene. Finally, and most importantly from a technical standpoint, is light. Always be on the lookout for nice light. This could be warm evening light, or a patch of shade on a bright sunny day — try to avoid direct sunlight if you can. It makes people squint and causes dark shadows. Move into the shade, or better yet, read up on strobist techniques and make the light your own. It is always a daunting task to approach someone and take their portrait, but being forearmed with a bit of knowledge will give you a little extra confidence. Check out how some of the best expat photographers in Korea do it at the Seoul Photo Club on Flickr. ([email protected])

Daniel Scannell and Jeong Bae get ready for another busy day at their restaurant Amistad, in Costa del Sol, Spain. Photo by Eoghan Ryan

When adventure becomes business By Eoghan Ryan and Matthew Lamers

COSTA DEL SOL, Spain — You’ve fantasized about quitting your job, moving to the tropics and starting a business. Everyone has at one time or another. But what sets Jeong Bae and Daniel Scannell apart from most is that they actually went through with it. Amistad is the Spanish word for friendship, and so an appropriate name for an expat bar on the Costa del Sol. Expat bars on the Spanish coast are ten-a-penny, but there are not too many that are run by the likes of Scannell and Bae. “I got sick of working for other people and wanted a creative outlet. The beauty of Spain, the culture and life by the sea were all incredible influences and I felt this was a viable way to showcase my life experiences and talents,” said Scannell. Scannell, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, immigrated to Korea in December

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“Everyone who has tried our food has sung its praises, but a lot do just want their English breakfast, Sunday roast or Spanish tapas. We offer a unique alternative on the Costa del Sol,” he said. Bae said they are trying to create a multinational, relaxing environment that people of all places can mesh, relax and enjoy. “We feel we have a young, artistic, creative feel to our food and atmosphere and try to introduce people to new things in our culinary, art and even music offerings,” she added. Her husband said from a business perspective, it’s a clean, inviting, relaxing place to chill with good food, a large selection of drinks and a comforting atmosphere. “The biggest thing for us and most our clients, however, is the people. People of all nationalities, ages and walks of life,” he said. “Although we have had only one Korean visitor, we hope to have more.” Costa del Sol is so beautiful, it

is often compared to a Picasso painting. “Look at a Picasso, Goya, Dali — there is some thread that holds them together. The clear air, stark sunlight, Mediterranean sea. Iberico Jamon, Manchego cheese, Rioja wine — there is a lot to love,” said Scannell. Away from work, Bae, an artist herself, “adores the crisp sun and colors the landscape provides,” she said. Malaga, which is nearby, is the birthplace of one of Spain’s most famous sons, Pablo Picasso. “The way the light, sea, mountains interact are very inspiring. At the same time, it is a bit stark in contrast to Korea’s diversity of flora and weather,” Bae said. The language barrier and the bureaucracy of the Spanish system have provided some frustrations for the couple, but with the business up and running, they are over the worst and Scannell hopes they will get to grips with the language, too. For Bae, leaving Korea was a

natural progression for her adventurous spirit, but she admits to missing, “rain, mom’s food, family and good friends.” Scannell hopes that with the success of the business and their integration into Spanish culture that the Amistad adventure will be a long term one. For Bae, her hopes away from business relate to her art, and so far she is finding Spanish life inspiring. “From Korea, we miss the convenience of things and safety. Living and running a business in a resort area, you find most people are transient and relationships come and go too quickly. Still, in our short time here we have met and made some really good friends,” the couple said. To contact Scannell, e-mail [email protected] and go to www.amistadbar.com for more information on Amistad.

guava. The Camembert beurre had a smooth savory note and the chocolate cake, although it sat in a rich caramel sauce had the accentuating note of salt in the foam. A meal here is culture; it’s education. By eating at this restaurant you can understand how a world-traveling artist can unite cultures. And let us not forget that Gagnaire has put the spotlight on Seoul. His restaurant moves Seoul into the culinary top tier. He is also taking Korea to the world by using Korean ingredients such as hanwoo, omija, and black garlic in his other restaurants.

Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul is on the 34th Floor of Lotte Hotel, Myeongdong. For reservations, call (02) 317-7181. The restaurant is open Monday-Friday from 12-3 p.m. and 6-10 p.m.; Saturday from 6-10 p.m.; closed Sunday. Reservations are recommended. Lunches start at 80,000 plus VAT and 10 percent service fee. Dinners start at 250,000 plus VAT and service fee. English, French, and Korean are spoken.

To contribute a story idea to Koreans Living Abroad, e-mail [email protected] — Ed.

Pierre Gagnaire in Seoul By Daniel Gray

“The International Hub of Podcasting”

2006, where he met and married Bae. Although his background was primarily in hospitality, like many, he came to Korea as a teacher. His plan had been to make enough money to open a restaurant in the United States, but then fate intervened in the form of love and marriage, followed by the mortgage crisis in the United States. With Bae on board, Scannell was not about to let a little thing like a world financial crisis slow him down, so they looked at alternative options. Bae spent some time in Malaga a few years back, and so the couple packed up and headed to Spain. With Amistad, the couple has adopted for a fusion approach to their cuisine, which in one sense tailors to the diversity of their clientele, while at the same time offers something unique to the area. So far things are going well, although Scannell hopes that some family will visit from Korea soon, as he is struggling to find the right ingredients for his Korean dishes.

Seouleats

With all this talk about Korean food globalization, it’s important to consult those who would know best. The international chefs in Seoul are the ones that will take Korean food to the world. They will use Korean ingredients and techniques in their overseas restaurants and they will tell other chefs about the intricacies of Korean cuisine. Located on top of the Lotte Hotel in Myeong-dong is Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul. Years ago, Pierre Gagnaire took French cuisine to the world stage. He inspired and influenced countless chefs and restaurants. He is an artist that doesn’t compromise quality or his vision. Eating at Pierre Gagnaire a Seoul is a once in a lifetime experience. The restaurant hallways wind around like the labyrinth in the gardens of Versailles. The chandeliers look like magical angelic horns, which is fitting for each chandelier cost $50,000. And there are private rooms like the hypnotic Albert Camus, the classic “Victor Hugo,” the artistic “Guy de Maupassant,” and the dignified “Stendhal.” The dinner started in French fashion with a glass of champagne. The wines were included in the dinner course, so there

was no fuss over choosing them. My meal started with five mini “amuse-bouche toys” that included a tiny naan bread topped with curry powder; two parmesan crisps whose nutty, savory flavor will leave you in shock; and a teardrop shaped plate with fine cerviche. This pre-course was followed by the first course: a foie gras mousse with an ice cream made of peppers and rice; white tuna lacquered with a honey soy sauce and served in a celery sauce, and a veloute made from red onions. The silky veloute had small onions stuffed with Spanish ham and Emmental cheese. The magic of French food is how they deconstruct a meal and then concentrate on individual flavors. Although I already had eight dishes, each dish left a flavor and texture impression that chimed in my mind. It was a good thing that these dishes were small, for larger portions would have been flavor overload. None of the flavors were too intense. The next course was our salad course, which had fresh crab stuffed with plum, zucchini, and French herbs topped with a cream lemon sauce. The texture of the crab melded with the spark of plum and the mellow green of the lettuce, zucchini, dill, and basil. This was followed by a fish

course, which was a crusted Jeju Red Snapper in a sauce made from peas. It was an amazing sensation to feel the fork shatter the crust and slide into the luscious flesh of this prized Jeju fish. The lightly flavored green sauce accented the fish without overpowering it. And if your expectations had not yet been reached, then came the main course. It was a filet of hanwoo beef so fine that the cow must have been royalty. This filet sat on a throne of couscous and was surrounded by seafood. To the right came Carpaccio made with clam and served on a perforated plate that exhaled dry ice. To the left was a mousseline made from eggplant and dotted with an elusive green sauce. Although we were eating French cuisine, there was definitely an Indian influence. The couscous had a hint of garam masala and the eggplant moussline was vaguely reminiscent of baba ghanoush — yet finer. This is the magic of Pierre Gagnaire. He can take many world influences and meld them into one. Not to be outdone were the desserts. They came as a trinity: Camembert beurre, guava granita, and a chocolate foam cake. The desserts had textures that were unexpected. The guava granita had the crisp, clean taste of cucumber along with the tropical citrus of lime and

Daniel Gray works for O’ngo Food Communications. You can follow his food adventures at www.seouleats.com — Ed.