Seattle & Shang Chen
If I just concentrate for a moment, I can conjure it all back. The amazing overlooks, late-afternoon blue skies, and the feeling of being in this beautiful city with no obligations-- only an open day to explore and spend time with friends. Seattle has a vibe not unlike the Bay Area's.
Despite its gray reputation for clouds and gloom, Seattle lights up in the summer. By late afternoon, the sun wins over the clouds. If there is a color I associate with summer Seattle, it's not gray, but green. Trees huddle in the landscape surrounding the water of the Puget sound, providing lush views of nature and city intertwined.
My last day in Seattle I spent with my friend Shang and her friend Emily. Below are some of my images of Seattle and portraits of Shang from our impromptu shoots.
Olympic Sculpture Garden:
The standard view of Seattle from a little park atop a hill in Queen Anne:
She's a Nikon girl, but I still love her. Shang Chen.
Me & Shang looking very coordinated with our brightly colored outfits.
I love traveling, and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to explore all these different places. If you've been following my blog, you'll know how excited I am to have bought JetBlue's All You Can Jet pass, which will allow me to fly to as many places as humanly possible for 30 days.
Follow along with my updated calendar on this previous blog post and catch me in your city. Here's a summary below:
Los Angeles: 9/7-9
Chicago: 9/15-16
Indianapolis: 17-19
Chicago: 9/19
New York: 9/20-21
Pittsburgh: 9/22
Boston: 9/23
Austin: 10/1
San Antonio: 10/1-3
Austin: 10/4
Los Angeles: 10/21-25
Lexington, KY: 10/29-31
All You Can Jet!
Sometimes I dream about the jetsetter lifestyle-- not only flying to all kinds of places, but actually doing so spontaneously. I could wake up in the morning and think, I'd love to be in New York today, and voila, be there before sundown!
But really, how many people actually have the flexibility in their time and the access to airplanes to just fly around whenever they feel like it?
Apparently, I DO!!
Yes, after some deliberation, I decided to take the plunge and live the dream, thanks to JetBlue's All You Can Jet pass. I am free to fly wherever I want between September 7 and October 6. The one big drawback is JetBlue's very limited selection of destinations (so I can't just think of being in Paris and end up there, unfortunately.) But I will still be happily flying around, as much as I possibly can, to the places that they do serve. What better way to celebrate not having a 9-5 job?
So this is where you come in, dearest friends and clients: Want to book a session in your city? Help host me in your town? Jump in the fun and help me make the most of my travels!
Tentative schedule below, open to suggestions! (look at September-October):
September 7-9: Los Angeles
September 11: San Francisco Wedding
September 16-19: Chicago to Indianapolis
September 18: Indianapolis Wedding
September 20-22: New York
September 25: San Francisco Wedding
October 1-4: Austin to San Antonio
Good Morning, Oakland
I know it's a matter of familiarity and time. I just moved to San Francisco, and I haven't been there long enough to enjoy it yet. I haven't become a part of the city, and it hasn't become a part of me. I'm not used to this fog, this windy chill, the irony of my new place being even quieter than I knew was possible in "the city."
It only makes sense that my heart does a little flip as I cross the Bay Bridge and I see Oakland coming back into view. These roads are the routes I traveled as a matter of course. This is a place I know. It's warmer and sunnier, only a few miles away, and yet this place is the one that feels like home.
One of the things I knew I'd miss is my view over Downtown Oakland, I decided to create this time lapse on my moving day so I could bring it with me wherever I go. Sure, it's not as good as the life-size version, but I like it. Especially when that first peek of blue bursts through the clouds. See for yourself-- a bit of my Oakland home.
So that's that. From now on, I've resolved to look forward and start building my new life in San Francisco. It's a matter of familiarity and time. I know there are amazing things waiting to happen. And maybe one day soon, I'll love my new city as much as the last.
Midwest Tour
Even before it hits, you can feel it coming on. It takes but one step from the plane onto the jetway for it to strike in full force. The humidity. The heat. It's a giant cloud stifling you with its sticky, unsolicited embrace.
Welcome to Cincinnati.
To be honest, I kind of missed it. There's no denying it feels like summer here. And besides, most of our time is actually spent indoors in air conditioned spaces, ducking from the heat.
That is, until I decided to drive in a 700+ mile loop in my 1995 Avalon... which has no air conditioning.
From Cincinnati, I drove to TAF in North Manchester, Indiana. With the windows down, it wasn't unlike cruising around in a convertible past the cornfields. Beautiful red and white barns stood isolated against blue skies, white puffy clouds, and green fields.
The Manchester College campus at dusk:
After a week in Indiana, I headed to Michigan, my original home state. There, I photographed a friend's family at the beautiful Kirk in the Hills, a Gothic-style church in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan:
And after a couple days of great hospitality, I drove back down through Ohio, spending much of my time stuck behind semi trucks on the two-lane I-75. Along the way, I stopped by the tiny town of Anna, Ohio to refuel:
So now I have two more days in Cincinnati, and then it's back to San Francisco. But it's been a lovely trip despite the weather and the ten mosquito bites I acquired in under 15 minutes. Til next time, Midwest!
Love Out Loud– tafLabs 2010
My favorite thing about our "tafLabs" room is not the ten computers or the impressive mass of wires and hard drives everywhere. It's not even the six Canon DSLRs with all their amazing lenses scattered on all the desks. (And you know how much I love my DSLRs!)
No, it has nothing to do with the gear.
At each of our stations, we are working on individual projects that contribute to the whole-- parody videos; marketing surveys; a retrospective documentary; the slideshow. Every so often, someone will stop what they're working on and lean over to check in on someone else. Andrew coaches Justin through video editing. I help Tiffany rename her files. Ho Chie and Eric look through photo albums from 1989 and laugh at their reminiscences. Karen stops by and we have the kind of late-night conversation about purpose and life decisions that makes me reminisce about life in college.
I love this space because it feels alive. People are connecting and doing amazing work-- completely unpaid-- out of love.
Every year, 200+ youth gather in the Midwest for this summer camp, the Taiwanese American Foundation (TAF). Unlike the rest of the programs (elementary through high school), tafLabs is a space dedicated to developing all sorts of projects, small to huge, that contribute to the TAF mission or serve the larger community beyond TAF.
Within the week, I created a photography mentorship group, started an online video project, produced a mini documentary, and helped with our epic 3D slideshow.
The tafLabs crew this year:
The amazing thing about TAF is that I've been attending since I was 10, and yet I still walk away every year feeling like I've pushed myself to grow. We intentionally create this space for people to be open and vulnerable with each other, and it's awesome to look around and see lightbulbs going off everywhere and people clicking into gear. I'm constantly inspired, amazed, and thankful to be a part of it all.
Here are just a few more images from the week:
The Juniors (elementary) campers crowd around a laptop for a special message from the future.
The annual Thursday afternoon water fight is preceded by a variety of stations, one of which resulted in dumping water on unsuspecting counselors.
Full blown water fight!
This is a fairly good representation of what it's like to be a Juniors counselor.
We walked into the gym already lit like this, so we had to take advantage. And if you think the shot looks pretty decent now, just go check out what happens when it goes 3D in our slideshow.
Tearin up the dance floor. He's inexhaustible.
The wonders of off camera flash. Thanks to Jon Lee for running around the dance floor with me.
The 2010 theme-- Love Out Loud (LOL)
That's all for now. See you at TAF 2011!
Learn more about TAF/tafLabs and see our work at blog.tafworld.org.
Ode to Oakland
The afternoon sun entices me out of my desk chair and over to the window. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, Downtown Oakland. Seven palm trees in front of the Tribune tower, next to the courthouse. OUSD, Laney College off to the left. I've looked at this view a million times, and it still hasn't grown old. But for just a minute, I stop looking so closely. I crack the window open.
I listen.
Cars pass down below and over on 880. Trucks load and unload in Chinatown with a hum and a clatter. A couple crosses the street in casual conversation below. School children play in the playground. Sirens whir by in the distance. A train rolls down the tracks. I breathe it in-- an aural map of my surroundings. Somehow, I know I won't forget this.
I've grown to love Oakland more and more, even through my highs and lows of living here. But just as I was sure I couldn't possibly love a place more, I went and moved across the Bay to San Francisco. Last night was my last night falling asleep to the view outside my window-- sleeping on the floor in an empty bedroom.
I know I'll forever remember the feeling of living here. It's the feeling of home, of being surrounded by a community that wants so much and is struggling toward it, of bursting with potential and making real these endless possibilities, even when everything is underrated. And while I'm sure there are hundreds of things I will grow to love about San Francisco, I know I've already tucked Oakland away in a special place in my heart.
Above- just another view of the view. But I have a special video brewing for my next post too. Keep an eye out. There's time lapse involved.
Seattle Sneak Peek
It's a struggle every day as the sun battles the clouds. Seattle's gray, dreary reputation is redeemed each day around 2pm when finally, blue peeks through, the sun trumphantly takes over, and the city transforms. Sunny, mid-70s-- beautiful. I leave you with a sneak peek from the Bite of Seattle two days ago; today's the last day of my trip, and you can be sure I'll post more when I get home!
Summer Vacation
School's out!
I love the wonderfully liberating feeling of summer vacation. For those of you who may not know, my "other job" is in education. I've just finished my one year of service as an AmeriCorps member coordinating and teaching an afterschool program here in Oakland. It's quite nice to not have to go in to work each morning, but I admit-- I will miss these kiddos.
For now, I'll be focusing on photography and traveling like crazy, but I'm already looking into other education-related nonprofits and will probably be starting something again in the fall. In the meantime, enjoy the photos of the adorable troublemakers!
San Francisco Detour
Driving back from the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco last night, I missed a turn, and Nora (my GPS) decided to take me on a scenic route around the city. As I drove along The Embarcardero, the Ferry Building came into view, perfectly lit against the sparkling lights of the Bay Bridge. All of this, as Jay Z proclaimed his anthem to another city, and everything melded together one of those beautiful moments that reminds you to appreciate life. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo to show for it (I was driving!) but the mental picture is sometimes even better.
Right now, I'm in Salt Lake City, en route to Ohio for an engagement shoot and wedding this weekend. But I'll be back in the Bay by Sunday.
And because I'd hate to leave you without an actual picture, here's one from the archives-- Bay Bridge by night.
Mount Tamalpais
I am not exactly an outdoorsy person. I am quite the opposite of the athletic, adventure-sports type, and I prefer to have internet and running water around as much as possible. But somehow, I rather like the idea of camping. It speaks to the quiet explorer side of me-- being able to break routine, go out to a new place, and live in it and experience it in a whole different way.
Last weekend, Ernie and I went to Mt. Tam just north of the Golden Gate Bridge for some easy camping. Lucky for me, Ernie is much more of the outdoorsy athletic type, so he did all of the hard work while I just got to tag along and breathe in nature. He even cooked a ridiculous gourmet meal over an open fire (ratatouille, potatoes, burgers, and oysters!). But then again, our second day was spent on a five-hour hike going up and down 1500 feet in elevation, which was not nearly as luxurious as I would have hoped. But I'll admit, I got some nice photographs and a lot of exercise out of the experience.
Here we are, fresh after the morning rains, embarking on the hike.
There really is something refreshing and magical about a forest covered in a thick layer of mist.
These next few photos were all shot with my LX3 point-and-shoot, since I didn't want to lug around my SLR on the hike. More proof that the camera isn't as important as the photographer. Plus, the LX3 is really extraordinary for shooting macro shots, as seen with these dew-covered plants.
And below, two photos from San Francisco (taken while at a Giants' game) a couple days later. Not part of the camping trip, but they fit the look nicely.
I'll admit I probably say this too often, but the Bay Area never ceases to amaze me. Beautiful mountains, giant grassy fields, misty trees, ocean views, mild weather, and a surprising lack of insects. Ahh, life.