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Defining Movement, defMo | Multicultural Dance Photography

Anna — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:45:25 +0000

Defining Movement, a.k.a. defMo, is an amazing multicultural dance group at Duke University. In college, I used to love photographing their performances. In fact, a defMo show was my first official paid photography gig. I always wished I could dance that well, but I was pretty content with leaving the dancing to defMo and photographing them instead.

While I was at Duke last month, it also happened to be defMo’s 10-year anniversary, and many of their alums spanning all ten generations were back on campus for the showcase. It was so great to see friends I didn’t even know would be there, and of course it was awesome to watch defMo perform and even to snap a few frames, just like old times!

Guest performance from an Irish riverdance team

And a guest appearance by Sabrosura, the latin dance group

The grand finale, in which the alums from generation one all the way through the current members in gen 10 all performed:

DefMo hanging out at the Dillo

Shenanigans at the after party

With Paul Yen on the BC Walkway

Reunited at Duke

Anna — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:01:12 +0000

It’s very fitting that right now, as I type this post, I am back at Duke a second time in two months, sitting at a computer station in Lilly Library on Duke University’s East Campus.

Just last month, I came to Duke for my reunion. It had been five years– five long/short years since I graduated from this school in Durham, North Carolina. It had been long enough for me to have fictionalized the gothic wonderland into an imagined place. The contours of the campus faded into the corners of my memory. I had been out of school longer than I had been in it. And yet, in five short years, not that much had changed on campus. The main buildings were as they had always been. This had been my home for four incredibly formative years. And after a few initial hours of walking around in shock and awe and a hearty dose of nostalgia, it basically felt like home again.

It was amazing to be back and to see old friends.

The centerpiece of Duke’s West Campus: the Chapel.

A few frames from East Campus, with its Georgian architecture– brick and columns.

My first home at Duke, Alspaugh.

One of my must-have stops in Durham: Locopops! Gourmet popsicles in all sorts of amazing flavors. I believe mine was tamarind almond.

I get the sense that reunions are not nearly as big of a deal at most other schools. But every spring at Duke, we would see these big white tents pop up one weekend in the spring. There would be the telltale old people walking around with a twinge of nostalgia and tales of their Duke, and we would always know– it was alumni weekend. Well, we were the old people coming back now.

My five-year reunion also coincided with Defining Movement’s 10-year anniversary showcase. DefMo is a multicultural dance group at Duke, and I became their avid groupie and photographer. Their anniversary also meant that former defMo members from all different years came back to Duke for the weekend too, so I got to see some friends who weren’t even my year at my reunion. I’ll be posting a separate blog of photos from defMo as well, but here’s a peek at them about to rehearse on the BC Walkway.

Part of the surreal feeling about being at Duke was just being overwhelmed by how incredibly pampered we were in college. We swiped a card to get food. We had a tight-knit community just down the hall. We lived in castles (the bottom left photo was my sophomore year dorm). Incredibly lucky and privileged.

These beautiful people were all part of Brownstone, our selective living house.

Some more brownies, with varying degrees of staleness.

We managed to crash the Class Party on Friday night in Cameron Indoor Stadium! Karthik, a friend from high school and college. He’s always off on crazy adventures saving the world.

Hysterics with Tzuo Hann, whom I just saw in Philly a while back!

Thanks to all my fellow Duke alums for making the weekend a fantastic one. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an amazing community. I am back this weekend to photograph Carla and Matt’s wedding at the Chapel… can’t wait! Much more to come.

Inspiration | Duke Poster Child

Anna — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:08:13 +0000

I know it may be tacky to quote myself, but I recently wrote a piece for my alma mater Duke University, and it was selected for publication as part of their “Major Impact” campaign on campus. I posted it yesterday on facebook and was truly overwhelmed by the positive response from my friends.

My letter is a story about pursuing my passions and creating my own path, and it’s a glimpse at my college career. You can read it by clicking below:

Duke University Major Impact

In hindsight, I can trace it all back to those formative moments in college when I hopped off my pre-med track and decided instead to design my own major in documentary studies and Asian American studies in Program II. It was then that I learned two important lessons: the first about creating yet unimagined futures, and the second about utilizing and leveraging your resources.

I also wanted to revisit two of my related personal posts from the last couple years. Every so often, I take a little side trip from the pretty pictures and delve a little deeper to share a bit of where I’ve been and where I hope to go. I love that so many people have reached out to tell me they’ve connected to my story. I am amazingly blessed to live this life that I love, and it’s an incredible privilege to be able to share it with you.

How I Wanted To Live

Creating a new path had nothing to do with what I wanted to do, but how I wanted to live. Balance. Control over my own time, variety in my schedule, and daily explorations of the world around me.

My Biggest Failure

The thing that I wish I knew about failure is that it is not simply the thing you have to overcome on your way to success. It’s not always “try, try again” or “learn from your mistakes.” Instead, failure is often the deep, dark staging area from which you have to build your success.

As some of you may know, I am actually headed to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, today. It is my five year college reunion this weekend, and I will be reveling in waves of nostalgia, reuniting with close friends, frolicking about the gothic wonderland, and stuffing myself silly with southern food. Fellow Blue Devils, let me know if you’ll be in town. I would love to meet up!

Image credit: Jamaica Woodyard Gilmer
Makeup: Julianne Chai, Pretty By Julianne

Valentine’s in New York City

Anna — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 06:35:07 +0000

This city is full of surprises. Even with all the times I have visited in the last couple years, no two trips have ever felt the same. This time it was a really quick visit, just two short days, one of them Valentine’s. No romantic liaisons, but lots of awesome friends! I spent most of the day with my good friend Yifan.

There’s nothing like waking up to the hum of the city outside your window.

Yifan is a tiny little ball of energy. And she managed to find a dog that’s an exact mini replica of her.

After a visit to Yifan’s lab, we headed to one of my favorite spots in the city, Baohaus. The pork belly is amazing.

On our way out, we ran into Evan Huang, co-owner of Baohaus. We chatted him up and he gave us a sample of the brand new special– the Jeremy Lin bao, a.k.a. the Taiwanese T-bao. ;)

We walked across town to get hot chocolate (thick as soup and absolutely awesome), and we wandered through Chelsea Market up to the High Line.

After an unintentional shopping spree at Brooklyn Industries, we made it to our dinner date at Malatesta, an adorable Italian place in the West Village.

Later that night, we headed across town again to the Blue Owl and a bunch of my friends came out for drinks. I neglected to take photos except for this one of Vince bringing us treats from Momofuku’s Milk Bar and of Juliana being enticed to stay awake, feline style.

Thanks to Paul, Dave, Juliana, Michelle, Vince, and of course my date Yiffy for a great Valentine’s Day!

Oh, and that other day I spent in New York? That one was filled with ballerina amazingness. Unfortunately, I still haven’t figured out how I will be sharing those, but if you’re curious in the meantime, you can sneak a peak of my Pointe of View album on facebook. Feel free to “like” the page while you’re there!

Cheesesteak Adventure | Philadelphia, PA

Anna — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 19:30:15 +0000

I went to Philadelphia in the middle of February on a whim, and of course, of course I had to sample the famous Philly Cheesesteaks for myself. So with a motley crew of 3 of my awesome friends who had never met each other, we set off on our cheesesteak adventure.

Four cheesesteaks in one day.

First up, Tony Luke’s. This place was in South Philly, where people apparently park their cars in the median of busy streets like it’s completely normal. So of course we did that too for the full experience. Amy came prepared with a knife and everything– yes, we split the cheesesteaks so we didn’t have to each eat 4.

Stops two and three, the famous Pat’s & Geno’s across the street from each other.

Remember, it was winter. Outdoors it felt like a refrigerator with an industrial fan running. It did not make for a great dining experience. But on the plus side, there were absolutely no lines. Amy demonstrates quick cheesesteak eating below.

Our last stop, cheesesteak #4, was Jim’s, which was thankfully indoors.

There seemed to be some sort of mardi gras celebration passing by outside.

Tzuo Hann and Tedge waiting to get in.

And, our final cheesesteak of the day.

So, I’m sure you’re all wondering– which one’s the best??

Well, at the risk of creating an uproar from all Philadelphians… overall, I was not impressed. They’re each around $9! And it’s just cheese whiz. And shredded roast beef! I think it’s fine, it’s kind of a tourist trap, great. But I won’t really miss them much. (Sorry).

If you must know, I’d probably eat, in order, Tony Luke’s, Jim’s, Geno’s, and then Pat’s.

But it was a really fun adventure with my fellow winter cheesesteak eaters. Thanks Amy, Tzuo Hann, and Tedge!

Play On, Philly

Anna — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:07:26 +0000

My good friend Talya is working with an amazing after school music program called Play On, Philly. While I was visiting Philadelphia last month, famed vocalist Bobby McFerrin also happened to be doing a guest appearance at the program. It was a perfect opportunity for me to grab some photos for them and capture the excitement and the kids in action.

Stan Thompson leads the program and conducts the symphony orchestra.

Students and teachers alike had a great time exercising their improv skills with Bobby McFerrin.

Thanks to Talya and Stan for hosting me in Philly! Talya is actually en route to San Francisco for a little California visit at this very moment, so I am sure you will all be seeing more of her soon!

Philadelphia

Anna — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 17:22:00 +0000

I just happened to have some free Southwest flights that were expiring, and I thought, why not visit Philadelphia? Really, that’s it. People were generally quite skeptical and reacted as if I were venturing into some sad, forsaken land. I gathered that Philadelphia does not have the best of reputations. Plus, it was the middle of winter. But not to worry, all of their anxieties were for naught, as I happily went anyway and quite liked Philly and my little jetsetting adventure there.

Below are a few snapshots from my explorations around the city, not including the grand cheesesteak tour I did with three other friends, in which we sampled four different cheesesteaks in one day. That will have to be a post of its own. My first full day of adventuring started at Reading Terminal Market, an indoor market with lots and lots of food.

DiNic’s famed sandwich, or should I say hoagie? It’s roast pork with provolone and broccoli rabe. Yes, broccoli rabe. It was delicious.

Love.

I stayed with my friend Talya in West Philly.

I walked back east, past Chinatown, when it started snowing. I didn’t capture any great snow photos, but yes, I chose one of the only snowy weekends to visit the East Coast. It didn’t really stick though.

And then I completed my touristy jaunt at the Liberty Bell…

and at Independence Hall.

Below, a couple scenes from Talya’s neighborhood in West Philadelphia, where she works with an amazing after school music program called Play On, Philly. That will have to be its own post too.

Thank you to everyone who entertained me in Philly! Talya, Stan, Amy, Tzuo Hann, Tedge, and I hope I didn’t miss anyone.

Salton Sea | Middle of Nowhere in the California Desert

Anna — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 20:33:41 +0000

From LA, drive eastward, out beyond Coachella, and take a right turn past nowhereland. There, in the middle of the desert, lies California’s largest body of water, the Salton Sea. It was dumped there by accident when an engineering mistake of epic proportions diverted the Colorado river into the hottest part of the valley. When it didn’t evaporate, opportunistic real estate developers turned it into a resort town. But with its lack of tributaries or rainfall, the sea just became saltier and saltier and is now significantly saltier than the ocean. Fish died in the millions, people fled, and they left behind a crazy post-apocalyptic ghost town.

One day in January, four friends and I piled into a car from LA and met my friend Junshien, who drove up from San Diego, at Salton Sea. See our bizarre adventures below.

The peaceful serenity and surreal natural beauty of a lake in the desert belie the creepiness of this place.

First you’re just walking along in the sand, but then as you look down, you realize the “sand” is really tons and tons of pulverized fish bones. There are dead fish everywhere. There are still a bunch of fish surviving in the salty lake, and they are mostly tilapia. This makes me very suspicious of tilapia.

Welcome to Junshien’s house.

And welcome to Ming’s trailer as well.

Feed the hungry zombies in blue plaid. This was not planned beforehand, but somehow, Ming, Junshien, and Dan all had matching blue plaid shirts.

The images of me were taken by Junshien. I look entirely too comfortable and happy in this bombed out car with no wheels and too many spider webs.

Just southeast of Salton Sea is Salvation Mountain, one man’s psychadelic Alice-in-Wonderland-esque ode to Jesus out in the desert. I cannot explain it. I can only show you.

After the sensory overload, we drove over to the mud pots, which are bubbling geologic features that are not very attractive. Let’s just say, if Zeyen had miscalculated this jump, it would not have been pleasant.

As a final stop, we headed back toward the Salton Sea to see if we could catch sunset. This was a dried up part of the lake completely encrusted in a thick layer of salt that almost looked like snow or sand.

If this entire trip looked surreal and slightly insane, that’s because it was. But we had an amazing time! If you’d like to know more about Salton Sea, I’d highly recommend watching this video: The Accidental Sea. It’s very well made and is what initially enticed us into checking it out ourselves.

Love in Philadelphia

Anna — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:14:41 +0000

Love…

is everywhere you turn.

A sneak peek of my Philadelphia adventures, which I hope to share soon on the blog!

Best of 2011: Personal Posts

Anna — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:24:23 +0000

2011 was a lovely year filled with little surprises. I was lucky enough to fill my days with travel, photography, and even yogurtland and ballet. Oh, and I even managed to read 36 books (thank you iPad). And I blogged and blogged through it all. Below, I share some of my personal posts reflecting on my adventures along the way.

Places

In 2011, I found myself in Las Vegas three times in a row and Los Angeles six times during the year. I had amazing clients who flew me to Atlanta, Washington D.C., Arizona, and upstate New York. And then there was our epic roadtrip up the West Coast from San Francisco to Vancouver. Below are my various adventures, arranged roughly thematically: Bay Area, Las Vegas trips, other destinations, and the Cascadia Road Trip.

The City \| San Francisco	Sausalito	SF Vignettes	Falling in Love with San Francisco	A Lifetime Ago \| Oakland	Sailing in the Bay
All of the Lights \| Vegas	Out in the Desert \| Vegas	Neon Museum \| Vegas	Ice Waterfall in the Desert \| Vegas	Pyramid Lake	With Etiquette
A Single Snow Day \| Tahoe	Staying in Awe \| Duke	The Beauty of Night \| Atlanta	Stone Mountain & Rhodes Hall \| Atlanta	Nogales & Tubac, Arizona	Washington D.C.
Cascadia Road Trip	Crater Lake	Portland, Oregon	Tacoma, Washington	Seattle, Washington	Vancouver, British Columbia

Personal Reflections

I’m sometimes not sure how I let such personal thoughts travel from my mind out into the wild world of the internet. But I believe strongly in the power of personal expression, and whilst I found myself seeking inspiration on more than one occasion this year, I had this little hope that perhaps my words could somehow contribute to others finding inspiration as well. Below, some of my personal musings from this past year.