Anna Wu Photography » asian american

Ho Chie Tsai | TaiwaneseAmerican.org | Oakland Lifestyle Portraits

Anna — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:06:52 +0000

I don’t know who started it, calling him the godfather of Taiwanese America, but I think the title’s going to stick. Ho Chie has been involved with almost every Taiwanese American organization imaginable, and he even had a hand in creating many of them. One of his ongoing projects is TaiwaneseAmerican.org, an online portal that spotlights events, people, and perspectives in our community.

Ho Chie is the person you imagine when you read books like Tipping Point and Linchpin. He is the indispensable connector who somehow melds ideas and execution seamlessly. He makes things happen while other people are still skeptically sitting in the corner thinking it will be impossible. Through it all, he is always keeping his eye on his personal mission, which centers on empowering everyone else around him to really shine. Oh, and all of this community organizing is just an unpaid passion project. In his other life, he still works a full schedule as a pediatrician.

Below, a collection of portraits that we created one day. Our TaiwaneseAmerican.org mascot Stinky Tofu helps to kick it off.

Levitation.

Perhaps this will be Ho Chie’s new headshot as he makes his rounds speaking at conferences next year.

Check out our website at TaiwaneseAmerican.org.

Also see Ho Chie’s interview with Taiwan543.net, which features some of these images!

Diana Lee | Los Angeles Lifestyle Portraits

Anna — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 17:28:10 +0000

She’s amazing and gorgeous and would never admit it herself. On my visit to Los Angeles last month, I needed some help with office and editing tasks, and my friend Diana needed some headshots to submit to castings as an extra. It made for the perfect trade. I taught her how to do some things on Lightroom and Photoshop, and she even retouched a bunch of these images herself.

We just wandered around Alhambra and snapped these portraits in about half an hour. Diana claims she can’t pull off a serious or a sexy look, but clearly, she’s wrong.

Gorgeous!

Inspiration | Big Square Box

Anna — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:44:18 +0000

If you can shoot in a big square box, you can shoot anywhere.

I told them from the beginning, the theme of today is going to be resourcefulness. We were rained in. It was our final workshop in the 4-part series, and we were supposed to do a live shoot with models and the whole shebang. But there was just the smallest tinge of fuzzy rain that thwarted us from going outside, and so we were stuck inside.

I scouted my own building two hours before the workshop was set to begin. I looked into every corner of the building and discovered rooms, entrances, elevators I didn’t even know existed– yes, several things I had never even seen in the place where I live.

I came upon this loading dock area. The walls were plain, rough, industrial. Sure, it smelled faintly of garbage, and the floors were dirty. But the lighting was great–window lighting from floor to ceiling through a grated garage door– and my workshop participants are really cool people who have faith in my crazy ideas. So this was our big square box. And we shot in it.

Life is unpredictable. It can be a little unwieldy. Embrace it.

Big thanks to my participants who didn’t let the rain stop them today: Vilma, Justin, and Jing. And to our two brave models Shannon and Henry who were totally cool with sitting on the floor, pretending they were camp buddies, and rolling with the punches. Also, credit goes to Justin for quoting me on Facebook and triggering this whole “be resourceful” blog post.

I leave you with a terrible photo of our not so attractive space. I’ll be blogging the full workshop (with nice photos) soon.

Behind the Scenes with Turtlist Media | Los Angeles, California

Anna — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 01:35:21 +0000

It’s incredibly inspiring to meet and work with people who are passionate and extremely good at what they do. I’ve spent this past week in Los Angeles shooting an engagement session and also helping Jason Lee of Turtlist Media with his film project– a short narrative film titled “Doughboy.” Here are some glimpses behind the scenes. Learn more about the film project and Jason’s work at TurtlistMedia.com.

Tuesday. I felt very Hollywood-ish having our lunch meeting with Actor Robert Ryu and director Jason Lee at Tender Greens, a trendy salad place.

Jon and Robert look over the scripts.

Max was our mascot for the week.

After lunch, a trip to the Army surplus store for some costuming pieces. Wayne and Diana accessorize.

Wednesday. Cast and crew meet at Far Bar in Little Tokyo. Here, Jason with actress Brittany Victoria Park.

Actor Kenneth Chang.

Far Bar, tucked away in an alley between two buildings.

Kev captures me handling client calls and emails, off in my own little iPad world.

Saturday. Second day of the shoot. Kev and Jason rig a crazy contraption while Robert, “Felix,” strikes a pose. Wat offers a sad looking funnelcake remnant.

Finally, a roundup of cast and crew (and friends) at the end of Saturday.

Follow TurtlistMedia.com or @turtlist on twitter to get the latest production updates and see the final film in the months to come!

TaiwaneseAmerican.org T-Shirts | San Francisco Portrait Photography

Anna — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:46:29 +0000

I meant to feature this a long time ago but kept saving it for another day. As some of you may know, in my “other” life, I am creative director and managing editor of TaiwaneseAmerican.org, which supports the Taiwanese American community. Back in August, we did some shoots for TaiwaneseAmerican.org‘s t-shirt line. We had our friends volunteer to model our shirts, and they definitely made them look good! Henry, RJ, Young, and Jessica were at our Mission Bay shoot and Linda and Marc were with us in the Mission District. Here are just a few images from the collection:

Are you Taiwanese American or know someone who is? Buy your own Taiwanese themed shirts at TaiwaneseAmerican.org’s online store. All proceeds go toward supporting or sponsoring Taiwanese American community organizations, projects, events, and conferences.

Krystle Tugadi, Musician | Los Angeles Headshots Photographer

Anna — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:53:40 +0000

She’s got soul, she’s got style, and it’s no surprise that she’s on the rise. While a lot of musicians these days are going all-virtual with their webcam performances, Krystle Tugadi has taken it back to the stage. She performs live shows several times a week around her Los Angeles/Orange County home base. Don’t worry, she’s got plenty of web presence too. Check below for the links.

More on Krystle Tugadi:
Listen in on Myspace
Stay tuned for the launch of KrystleTugadi.com in less than a week
And look forward to her video collaboration with Turtlist Media in the coming months.

Duncan, Actor | Los Angeles Headshots Photographer

Anna — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 18:38:15 +0000

Duncan is charmingly good looking, and he’s an actor and incredibly talented dancer. Spend some time with him, and you also get to see that he’s a giant goofball on the inside.

Plus, have I mentioned he’s an amazing hip hop/break-dancer? Seriously. Look him up on youtube. But check out these photos first:

Henry M. Chu, Actor | Los Angeles Headshots Photographer

Anna — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:41:50 +0000

If you’ve been following along with my blog in the past couple years, you might remember Henry krumping on the streets of San Francisco. I’ve worked with Henry a number of times here and there, and he’s always been a great person to work with and a wonderful friend. He’s on the up and up in the acting world, and it’s only a matter of time before he lands a leading role and escalates.

For this shoot, we just went for a couple quick looks on the streets of Manhattan Beach down here in Los Angeles.

Cop:

Happy smiley:

Check out Henry’s official website at henrymchu.com.

Behind the Scenes of Census 2010: Write in “Taiwanese” | Passion Project

Anna — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:57:15 +0000

It’s been a week since the Census 2010: Write in “Taiwanese” video debuted on YouTube, and it’s already garnered over 120,000 views. Produced by Slideshow Pictures in conjunction with at least seven Taiwanese American organizations, the public service announcement is part of a larger campaign to get Taiwanese Americans to self-identify on the US Census by checking “Other Asian” and writing in “Taiwanese.”

If you know me well, you may know that I love being behind the scenes of all sorts of projects and productions. So I was very lucky to find myself a last-minute addition to this project. Five days beforehand, we worked it out for me to fly down to Los Angeles for a day and a half, just to help out a tiny bit. Let’s be honest– I basically had an very fun day just hanging out with the various cast and crew members, but my official capacity was to serve as the behind-the-scenes photographer on set of the video production. Later, I pulled my own weight by designing the accompanying website for the video campaign (http://taiwaneseamerican.org/census2010). But now I get to bring you behind the scenes with me!

We got an early start on the day, rolling out of bed around 6am and heading over to the studio in Alhambra.

Three Slideshow Pictures producers and a makeup artist relaxing a bit before shooting begins: Jon Lee (CEO, Slideshow Pictures), makeup artist Yuriko Bondies, Alex Yang (Slideshow Picture), and Howard Chen (Slideshow Pictures). Jon has been working in Hollywood for a couple years now. He was an associate producer on Formosa Betrayed. So between him and director Karen Lin, they were able to make this a first-class production with sound, photography, and editing professionals up and down the production chain.

Byron Werner and his crew sets up the backdrop, lighting, and camera.

They test the setup on Howard. Looking good in both frames.

Jon Lee with Alex Wen, owner of KCW studios.

The famous “Taiwanese” Census 2010 shirts. Order yours today from TACL!

Harrison and Haley are third generation hapa Taiwanese Americans. Adorable! Harrison just kept on munching away at his fruit while he was waiting, and Haley was a natural star, delivering lines flawlessly!

Love the giant pencil. Love.

Politician and lawyer Ted Lieu gets some pointers from director Karen Lin.

Two sets of sisters! We had a few really great families who came to the shoot. On the left are Japanese-Taiwanese American Muramoto sisters. On the right, Agnes Hsiao and Elena Ling.

If you’ve been following me or Taiwanese American news, you might recognize these two as the killers from Formosa Betrayed: actors Henry M. Chu and Adam Wang (links to previous shoots with me). Keep an eye out. You’ll be seeing them more in the near future!

You may recognize actress Michelle Krusiec from Saving Face, amongst other projects. And on the right, a 96-year-old a-ma, Mrs. Ray-Yun Tsai Huang.

There were many, many more interesting people who participated in the video, but I don’t have space to show all of them here, so head on over to the Census 2010: Write in “Taiwanese” website to meet all of the other cast and crew members.

Singer-songwriter Alice Tong fills out some information for me– my other job that day was to collect bio information from everyone.

Director Karen Lin wraps the shoot at the end of the day– 8am to 5pm. A full day’s work.

Alex works on the giant pencil.

Breaking everything down– the scene outside.

A wider view of KCW studio.

I don’t know what they’re thinking! You tell me.

Lastly, a word about the campaign– I could launch into an argument about history and politics validating a Taiwanese identity. But for me, it’s also about upholding the right to identify ourselves rather than be defined by others.

So share the YouTube video and the website. Tweet this. Go after one of the many other ways to take action. And tell every Taiwanese American person in the United States about the campaign.

But as Ho Chie says, no matter how you identify, whether Taiwanese or not, be sure to represent your own identity and community. This is important for all of us as Americans, and this is our only chance this decade.

Be Counted. Be Recognized.

Above, my latest web creation. Their bios display on hover! You can also learn more about the campaign and ways to help by visiting the website.

Formosa Betrayed, Now Opening

Anna — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:30:15 +0000

Five years ago, in 2005, it was just an idea. A passion project being born.

Starting today, February 26, 2010, the feature film Formosa Betrayed is playing in select theaters across the country. The Taiwanese American community has done an amazing job emphasizing the importance of this weekend (everyone and their mother should go see it– twice– bringing friends each time), but I’m zooming out a bit further to describe what the journey has been like in the last five years– from my perspective as someone only loosely tied to the production but very strongly supportive of it. If you don’t know much about the film, scroll to the bottom for a better synopsis and links to more information. And if you’re in a major city, take it upon yourself to GO AND SEE IT TODAY!

—–

Back in 2005, Politician-turned producer/writer/actor Will Tiao wanted to bring Taiwan’s story to the big screen via a Hollywood feature film. And so he began traveling around the country to drum up support in the Taiwanese American community.I remember my initial excitement (and skepticism) hearing him speak at the 2006 ITASA conference at Illinois. The initial synopsis that he circulated went something like this:

Inspired by the murders of Professor Chen Wen-Chen and journalist Henry Liu, as well as countless other Taiwanese democracy and independence activists and their struggles during the “White Terror” period, Will Tiao with his team of Hollywood screenwriters created a fictional story based on the real events.

Synopsis:

In 1983, during a routine small-town murder investigation of a Taiwanese professor, a disenfranchised cop – suffering from an identity crisis and a loss of faith in the justice system – slowly unearths a spiderweb of international secrets that has been thriving within college campuses across America for decades. With the help of the outspoken widow and a Taiwanese spy, he finds himself on a head-on collision not only with his own personal demons, but also with the U.S. State Department, the Chinese Mafia, and ultimately to the highest levels of the Nationalist Chinese Government in Taiwan.

My initial reactions are mixed. If this guy can actually pull it off, well, the possibilities are amazing. On the other hand, he could be full of idealistic fervor, and this could turn out to be a sad little movie that no one wants to watch.

But in the next several months, Will hits fundraising hard. Before you know it, he’s raised over $6 Million for the project. It’s starting to look like this will really happen.

Early 2007, one of my good friends Jon Lee embarks on being an assistant to Will for the project. All possibilities still ahead of him, Jon reflects on doing something for the love, and the potential he has for making an impact.

I am actually very excited for this job. I look at it as an immensely satisfying opportunity to do what I want to do and staying true to myself while being paid for it and hopefully keeping the parents happy.

While working on commercials in Hollywood has been a great experience, the final product of my work lacks the positive impact on humankind that I wish my work to have… I remembered that one night and promptly wrote a post-it note on my desktop saying, “stay in california until formosa betrayed gets made.” And as fortune would have it, I ran into Will at a Taiwanese event that weekend, and we spoke about the possibility of me helping the project, and here I am now.

Over the next year, production gets underway. We (those of us on the outside) aren’t holding our breaths so much any more, but getting involved tangentially and keeping an ear on what’s happening with the film. Actual filming begins in Chicago and later, Thailand. We learn that the lead is James Van Der Beek. Dawson? Yes, Dawson.

Fast forward to last year, 2009. Word is, the movie has been cut. It exists! And critics are saying it’s actually pretty good. I get myself invited to the cast/crew/investors-only premiere in Los Angeles as an official photographer. It’s timed to coincide with the historically significant date February 28, known as 228.

Click to view my posting from last year.

It’s pretty surreal to be mixing and mingling with the cast on the red carpet: Wendy Crewson, James Van Der Beek, and Leslie Hope.

The audience settles in to view this passion project as it comes to fruition. For me, it was a mixture of awe and relief seeing the movie for the first time and realizing it’s actually good. Words cannot describe what it was like to see this story, so near and dear to my heart, projected on the screen.

And afterwards, with producer/actor Will Tiao, director Adam Kane, myself, and actor James Van Der Beek.

As amazing as the premiere was, and as gratifying as it was to see the movie, it was never made just for people like me who already know the story of Taiwan. The goal has always been to bring the story to mainstream America, and so here we are now.

2010. After buzzworthy attention at several major film festivals, Formosa Betrayed got picked up by distributor Screen Media Films and set out to get into theaters nationwide. Again timed for the weekend of February 28 (228), the film’s opening day was set for February 26, 2010.

Cast and crew set out to promote the film around the country. Last month, they were in the Bay Area for a Lunar New Year event cosponsored by TaiwaneseAmerican.org.

Actor Tzi Ma speaks about the film as Will Tiao looks on.

Two Taiwanese American actors in the film, Adam Wang and Henry M. Chu, play the killers.

Apparently, Adam is a very funny guy!

Again, I am the one tangentially involved as official photographer, and this time, I get to spend a bit of time with all of the cast and crew at the event: Adam Kane, Tzi Ma, and Will Tiao.

Adding in Ho Chie Tsai, creator of TaiwaneseAmerican.org, sporting Census 2010 shirts.

Ok, so it’s been a really long journey. But now, it’s the main event. From one man’s passion project to an amazing, collaborative production, this film has huge potential. From Will Tiao himself:

The Taiwanese people have suffered at the hands of many over the last century, but these stories have rarely been told or heard. As a second generation Taiwanese American, I feel it is my duty to educate my generation, as well as the world, about the struggles and suffering of the Taiwanese. We cannot allow our country’s history and our people’s hardships to be forgotten. Once that happens, it only becomes a matter of time before it is repeated. This is precisely why I spent the last five years of my life working on Formosa Betrayed.

As the turbulent reaction to President Obama’s recent arms sale to Taiwan shows, US-China-Taiwan relations are still a hot button topic that is greeted by fleeting interest, faint support, or –worst of all– indifference by the American media. I am hoping the release of Formosa Betrayed will help spur greater awareness and wider discussion about these important matters in the United States and abroad. The Taiwanese people deserve to have an equal voice in affairs related to our country’s future. We cannot sit quietly and allow others to decide our fate. This is why I am urging you to see Formosa Betrayed with your children, family and friends…

No one else is going to do this for us. We must do this ourselves and we must do this now.

—–

Formosa Betrayed is out in select theaters today, February 26, 2010. It is a “political thriller” about Taiwan’s democracy movement in the ’70s and ’80s based on actual events. The film stars James Van der Beek (aka Dawson of Dawson’s Creek), an FBI agent who investigates a murder in the U.S. that leads him to Taiwan and a deeper understanding of the political turmoil there. It’s incredibly important for independent films to have a strong showing in their opening weekend, and with your help, we’re aiming to top the box offices for indy films this weekend. View the full list of theaters here (NY, NJ, Bay Area, LA, Orange County).

More information, visit the Official Website of Formosa Betrayed

View the official trailer here (Note: Rated R for “some violence”).

Formosa Betrayed also featured in San Jose Mercury News (backstory), New York Times (Arts section), ABC News (interview with “Dawson” – recommended); MTV, (same).