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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.

Sun & Elliot | San Francisco Engagement Photography

Anna — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:41:24 +0000

This is an engagement I’ve been looking forward to for a while now. You may remember my friends Sun and Elliot from their portrait session a year ago, before they were engaged, just as they were about to embark on a year of long distance across San Francisco and Vietnam. Well, they made it through to other side–with a ring on Sun’s finger no less– and they will be wed in Chicago this fall!

We drove up to the Marin Headlands for their engagement session.

Such rebels.

After a quick outfit change, Elliot surprised Sun with a birthday gift– a shark kite! She has a thing for sharks.

And outfit number three was an adorable ensemble for the streets of Sausalito.

Love the one of Sun on the left. It might be my favorite.

Congratulations, Sun & Elliot!

Talya Lieberman, Vocalist | Musician Headshots

Anna — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:19:02 +0000

My friend Talya is an incredibly talented opera singer. She also happens to be gorgeous. She’s one of my long time fans and has made frequent appearances on this blog. This time, I told her if she flew out to California, she had a portrait session waiting for her over here. She got a little bonus too. I even did the styling and all her hair and makeup.

We took a short little trip over to Oakland’s Lake Merritt for some unbeatable California sunshine.

Gardner Family | Oakland Family Portraits

Anna — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:54:52 +0000

It’s been such a pleasure to photograph the Gardners year after year and watch their family grow. Sadly, they are moving down to Southern California this month, and they will be sorely missed up here in the Bay Area! But I fully plan to visit them down in Ojai to continue the annual tradition, as long as they don’t get sick of me. =)

We kick it off with Isla the explorer. Isla is the best little girl ever. She loves zombies and Star Wars more than any other little girl in the world, she says outrageously awesome things all the time, and Aaron documents it all (along with writing awesome poems and other things) on his blog, which you should definitely read.

Classic Isla. The family was all posed for a portrait atop the Fairyland Hotel, but she was still having a lot of fun in jail.

Meet Miles! He has grown so much since I first met him for his newborn portraits.

Isla has her princess wave down pat.

Baby blues.

Love these precious moments. Telling daddy about how scary the wolf was, and getting a reassuring hug after going down the giant dragon slide!

Finally, a couple little Hallmark moments for posterity!

Joy & Tim | San Francisco Maternity Photography

Anna — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:44:36 +0000

Joy and Timmy are expecting!

Despite forecasts of rain, we lucked out on some gorgeous sunlight instead. It took a little bit of convincing for me to assure Tim that we weren’t going to create super awkward maternity photos (because yes, there are so many super awkward maternity photos out there in the world). But he was a good sport, and, well, I’ll let you judge for yourselves, but I think these turned out amazingly. I might just stick around this maternity photography business for a while. =)

I love Joy’s baby bump. Eight months!

So sweet.

Congratulations Joy & Tim! Can’t wait to meet the little one!

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!

The Imperfect Ones

Anna — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:44:22 +0000

Pristine, perfect, posed photos are nice. But to me, the imperfect ones are the real gems. I want to trap the sneaky little moments that fly by, because they are the split seconds that reveal our true spirits and remind us to celebrate life as it is, not just as we stage it to be.

Above, one frame from my annual portrait session with the Gardner family. We had a lot of fun running around Children’s Fairyland in Oakland, or rather, following Isla as she ran around Children’s Fairyland. And while mom, dad, and Miles were ready and posed for their family portrait up on the balcony, Isla was still perfectly happy playing in jail. Rather than wait for her to join the pose, I seized the opportunity to snap away.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the happy smiley family formals we got too. But this little moment here is just so them. Priceless.