© Simon Bond / Barcroft Media
Ex-pat Simon Bond thinks living in a foreign country is unreal – so he took this striking and surreal collection of images documenting his life abroad through a crystal ball.
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In his mesmerising pictures of South Korean life, the teacher has snapped luscious coastlines, rolling seas, neon-lit high streets, busy train-riding commuters and atmospheric temples shadowed by lofty mountains.
Using the simple but super-effective method of taking all his pictures through a glass ball, the 31-year-old Brit, originally from Winchester, Hants., has placed a spell-binding effect on his photographs.
“Travelling around Asia I often found myself seeing such alien images.
“Some of the sights are so different from back home I felt like what I was seeing wasn’t real. I wanted to try and capture that feeling on camera so I bought the glass ball at a Chinese market and planned to use it in this way.”
© Simon Bond / Barcroft Media
And Simon’s unique approach to capturing life through a glassy orb in his Refraction series has even brought some famous locations a new perspective.
“One of my favourites is the image of Suncheon Bay, near to where I live,” said Simon, whose favourite hobby is photography.
“When I moved to the city that view of the bay was popular with photographers and had been pictured to death.
“I was trying to find a new way to get a fresh angle on it and suddenly realised the ball would bring a great new dimension.”
Since July Simon – who has settled in Suncheon and now teaches English at a local school – has journeyed to his favourite locations around South Korea putting the country’s most spectacular views through his looking glass.
© Simon Bond / Barcroft Media
The stunning collection includes the school where he works, famous views of Seonman temple through an arched stone bridge and the Dolsan bridge in Yeosu.
The famous suspension bridge was designed by british architect Sir Norman Foster during the 1980s.
His series takes in views of the Korean countryside, Suncheon, Yeosu, Wando, Busan, GwangJu and capital Seoul. The works have been exhibited at various art venues around South Korea and in London.
The spectacular effect created by Simon’s method means he can also transform simple items like a green traffic light into a dazzling array.
Instead of using the glass ball In a few of his pictures, resourceful Simon took some of his snaps through the bottom of a drinking glass filled with air bubbles. Giving the effect of looking through several glass balls it creates a kaleidoscope of colour.
© Simon Bond / Barcroft Media
Through the single glass ball the image is flipped upside down by the effect of refraction. It meant Simon flipped some of his images.
“I think what captures people’s attention is the contrast between what you see in the glass and the background.
“Whether it’s a person or a building, if you are focusing on them through the ball it gives the subject an amazing clarity and the background good ‘bokeh’.”
‘Bokeh’ – a term used by art photographers – comes from the Japanese word ‘boke’ and means blur or haze.
“With the background out of focus it draw the eyes into what you are seeing clearly through the ball.”
Simon, who has taught Korean children English in Suncheon for three years, lives with his long-term girlfriend Jayoung, 35, who runs a school.
Words by Liam Miller
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