Return of the Genius Photographer

A familiar face. It was the man I first greeted this morning.

“Ah… yes. Hello.”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s break time. Come down and rest a bit.”

I was so focused on taking photos that I lost track of time.

It felt like it hadn’t been long since I finished lunch, but it was already break time.

Other workers were already resting in various places.

Though I hadn’t been working, and thus didn’t need a break, the man must have thought it looked pitiful for me to be wandering around alone.

“You saw me briefly this morning, right? Just call me Uncle Yoo. Everyone does.”

Introducing himself, Uncle Yoo laughed heartily.

This was the same man who had been joking around with my father this morning.

“You’re eighteen this year, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Same age as my son. Mind if I speak casually?”

Uncle Yoo had a very friendly personality that matched his jovial nature.

Before I knew it, he was talking to me in a familiar tone.

“So, you want to be a photographer? It’s impressive to have such a clear goal at such a young age.”

Patting my shoulder with an approving expression, his demeanor was a bit overwhelming, so I just listened quietly.

“I heard you did well on your exams too. What a good son you are.”

But the more I listened, the stranger it felt. How did he know so much about me?

“How do you know all this?”

I asked, my curiosity piqued. He answered immediately.

“Of course, your father told me.”

“Huh? My father?”

“Is there any other foreman here besides your father? He’s always bragging about you.”

“What?”

His response left me stunned.

“My father talks about me?”

I foolishly repeated, taken aback by the idea.

My father, who never said a word to me, was talking about me?

I thought I had seen new sides of my father since coming here, but this was even more surprising.

He always acted like he had no interest in me….

“Hey, Yoo! Stop wasting time chatting with the kid.”

“Oh? Isn’t that Foreman Nam’s son?”

“Are you guys here? I’m having an in-depth conversation about Foreman Nam with his son.”

As I stood there in shock, more workers began to gather around, each adding their own comments.

“There’s no one who brags about his son as much as Foreman Nam.”

“Yeah, once he starts talking about his son, he can’t stop smiling.”

“I know more about Foreman Nam’s son than my own, thanks to him.”

“Hahaha, isn’t that a bit much?”

As the workers gathered, the area quickly became noisy.

They were all talking about a side of my father I didn’t know.

I came here hoping to understand my father better, but now I felt a bit melancholic.

‘What do I really know about my father?’

Amidst the boisterous laughter of the workers, I alone couldn’t join in their laughter, lost in my self-deprecating thoughts.

Maybe I was the only one who didn’t know my father.

Despite having experienced the distant future.

I never knew the father they spoke of.

Even the father I saw here was not the stern, cold person I remembered from my childhood.

Rather, he was kind and considerate.

‘How should I process this…’

While I was lost in thought,

“What are you all doing here?”

My father’s voice rang in my ears.

“Wow, speak of the devil and he shall appear.”

“Right, we were just talking about you, Foreman Nam.”

“Talking about me? What about?”

“We were having a deep conversation about how much of a doting father you are.”

“No wonder my ears were itching before I even walked in…”

It seemed that my father and the workers were closer than I had initially thought.

Unlike me, who was still reeling from what I had heard, my father laughed it off and continued the conversation casually.

“Woojin, these men weren’t giving you too much trouble, were they?”

My father asked with a concerned look.

A gentle tone I would have found out of character for him in the morning.

But strangely, it no longer felt awkward to hear him speak this way.

“Hey, Foreman Nam, don’t say that. We really like your son.”

“Yeah, that’s right. I was the first to look after him.”

“I’m sure your son had a good time too.”

Before I could respond, the men chimed in on my behalf.

Caught up in their playful banter, I found myself smiling as I answered.

“Yes, I had a lot of fun.”

“See? I told you.”

“Foreman Nam’s son is kind, unlike him.”

Maybe it was the lively and warm atmosphere of the site.

I found myself getting caught up in it.

“Really? That’s good.”

My father gave a slightly embarrassed laugh.

“Alright. Everyone, let’s get back to work. Break’s over, time to start.”

Not wanting to show his awkwardness, my father glanced at his watch and began urging the workers.

The men started preparing to resume their tasks.

They put back on their helmets and tied their shoelaces, getting up from their resting spots.

Watching their energetic and determined movements, I suddenly had an idea and spoke up.

“Father, can I take a group photo of everyone?”

“A photo?”

“Yes. Of you and the workers, all together. I’ll take it.”

My father looked at me with a puzzled expression.

His face seemed to ask, ‘Why suddenly?’

Well, would he believe me if I said it was just a sudden inspiration?

There wasn’t any special reason. I simply wanted to capture this moment in a photograph.

And I felt that now, I could take a great photo.

“Oh, that sounds great!”

Unlike my hesitant father, the workers were enthusiastic.

“Man, I can’t remember the last time I had my photo taken. Let’s do it!”

“The photographer himself is offering. Who would refuse?”

“Do we get a copy? I should give one to my wife.”

“Foreman Nam, let’s just take a quick photo like your son suggested. It won’t take long.”

“Foreman, you’re not refusing because you’re embarrassed, right?”

With the workers each chiming in to persuade my father, he finally nodded slightly.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

As soon as he agreed, I quickly took out my camera and gathered the men.

“Everyone, please gather over here.”

In the empty building, devoid of anything but rebar and concrete, I pointed to the spot where the light was best. The workers shuffled awkwardly into place.

“Here?”

“Just stand still?”

“What pose should we do?”

Whether from nervousness or embarrassment, the men stood stiffly in awkward positions. Their uneasy expressions reminded me of confused children, and I couldn’t help but smile.

“Those in front, please sit down, and the rest stand behind them. Just try to relax.”

Thinking back, this was the first time since my return that I was photographing ordinary people. Up until now, all my subjects had been models or people with plenty of experience in front of the camera.

While working with professional models or experienced individuals was convenient, there was something exciting about photographing regular people. It felt like opening a gift box without knowing what was inside.

I raised the camera and brought the viewfinder to my eye. Instantly, the world transformed into a framed scene.

This peculiar world, where three dimensions exist within a two-dimensional frame, is what a photographer sees through a camera.

The rough and rugged concrete backdrop highlighted the similarly rugged workers.

I set the angle at eye level, placing the camera at their height. Then, I focused on their faces, as if trying to make eye contact.

Curious eyes, nervous eyes, startled eyes—all sorts of expressions met my gaze.

In that moment, I pressed the shutter as if to capture all those gazes.

Click!

Their awkward expressions were perfectly preserved in the photo.

“What? Did you just take it?”

“Wait, I wasn’t ready yet!”

“You should warn us before you snap.”

Their startled voices filled the air after the sudden shutter sound.

“No, I didn’t take it yet.”

I reassured the surprised workers with a calm smile.

“I’ll count to three, and when I do, everyone say ‘kimchi.’ Until then, don’t worry about it.”

Nothing works better than “kimchi” for a photo cue.

The atmosphere eased a bit at my words.

“Kimchi? Isn’t it supposed to be ‘cheese’?”

“Why argue about that? Just do what he says.”

“If you’re Korean, you say ‘kimchi.’ And cheese is not for people who can’t even eat it.”

“Hahaha! That’s true.”

The workers burst into laughter at each other’s jokes.

Their stiff expressions softened, replaced by natural smiles.

The lively, warm smiles contrasted sharply with the stark atmosphere of the construction site.

My father was among them, smiling as well.

I didn’t miss the moment and pressed the shutter.

Click!

Click!

Click!

The laughter of the workers drowned out the shutter sounds, so no one noticed.

Thanks to that, the natural atmosphere was perfectly captured in the photos.

‘These are good photos.’

I smiled slightly as I reviewed them.

The photos were truly satisfying.

My father’s smile was captured perfectly in the frame.

Good photos come from understanding.

The quality of a photo depends on how deeply you understand what you’re trying to capture.

In that sense, I wasn’t confident in photographing my father.

I knew nothing about him.

The photos I’d taken of my father were undoubtedly poor.

What kind of person is my father?

To answer that question, I came to this place with him.

I’d always regretted not having a proper photo of my father after becoming a photographer.

Truth to be told, I was also afraid.

In my small memories, my father was such a bad person that I feared my current efforts might be meaningless.

But all those worries were unfounded.

“Okay, let’s take the photo.”

I called out, feeling relieved.

“One.”

Coming here, I felt I was beginning to understand my father.

“Two.”

Maybe now I could answer that question.

“Three.”

I pressed the shutter, capturing the smiling people around my father.

Click!

And with that, today’s photo session came to an end.