74page

www.groovekorea.com / July 2014 74 Edited by Emilee Jennings (emilee@groovekorea.com) MuSIC & ARTS Groove Korea: What came frst: design- ing and making clothes or photograph- ing fashion on the streets of Seoul? Sol Sol: The photography came first. The clothes only came later when the street style page was up and running. When did you begin these projects? The street style blog started in March 2013 and the clothing followed in September. What inspired you to start capturing fashion-forward people in Seoul? Well, living in Hongdae, it’s something you are exposed to every day. We thought it was something a foreign audience would dig to see because we dug seeing it, so we started documenting and sharing it. What makes you stop a person in the street to photograph them? Basically that instant gut feeling as soon as we see someone from a distance. They can be plain and simple or loud and out there, but whatever it is, it catches our attention. How do they usually react? It’s always a gamble approaching a com- plete stranger and asking them if you can take their photo. First of all, I use horrific Korean, so this can sometimes scare people away. Some people are really taken aback and are super stoked that you picked them out of the crowd. Most of the time people are pretty amped and go with it. It’s gotten a bit easier as time has gone on. It has also gotten easier to absorb the rejection. Have you had any funny, awkward or surreal experiences when asking people if you can photograph them? At the time, getting rejected is always super awkward, but looking back at it once we have both parted ways, it’s usually pret- ty funny. The communication breakdown is usually a circus act in itself and we can often find ourselves miming our way into getting a photo. One time I asked this couple if I could take their photo and I dropped down on one knee, into my usual shooting position. As I was fid- dling with my camera and getting the nitty gritties down, a car reversed out of an alley- way and didn’t see me. Luckily I only took a light bump. It ended in giggles and multiple bows from all parties.