Anna Wu Photography » singer-songwriter

Best of 2010: Portraits & Headshots

Anna — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:31:37 +0000

2010 is coming to an end, which means it’s time to reflect over the past year. We kick off the “best of”s with portraits and headshots. Here are just a few of my favorites from the year. Click on the links or any of the images to visit the full posts.

Musicians

Flautist Sasha Launer in San Francisco, California

Cellist Samsun van Loon in San Francisco, California

The San Francisco Guitar Quartet in Oakland, California

Guitarist David Duenas in Santa Clara, California

Harpsichordist Susie Fong at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, California

Harpsichordist Christopher Lewis at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, California

Singer Krystle Tugadi in Los Angeles, California

Vocalist Talya Lieberman’sFirst Session and Second Session in New York City

Families

Luna’s 2nd birthday party in Redwood City, California

Little Isla and her adorable family portrait session in Richmond, California.

The Shay-Tang family at Kirk in the Hills, Michigan

Twin sisters Sarah & Andrea Axtell in San Francisco, California

More Headshots

Oakland Raiderette Jenna Miller in Oakland, California

Actor Henry Chu in Los Angeles, California

Actress Amanda Groth in Los Angeles, California

Duncan, an actor in Los Angeles, California

Talya Lieberman, Vocalist | Philadelphia Musicians’ Headshots

Anna — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 04:33:52 +0000

I was blown away the first time I heard her play. It was freshman year at Duke, just your typical chamber music concert– a little bit of Brahms, Schubert, Mendelssohn perhaps. But the Beethoven flowing out from her fingers was captivating, nuanced, effortless.

Talya is nothing if not talented and passionate. She has an artist’s soul and musicianship that simply cannot be taught. I joke that she’s always coming up with new life plans. She grew up playing piano, added trumpet, dabbled in french horn and viola amongst other instruments, had a stint as a singer-songwriter for which she was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal online, and yet she never ever intended to be a musician. She honed her writing skills, studied linguistics, and still life has brought her around in a circle back to music in her new life plan– Opera. Yes, I tease her for her million new life plans, but in all honestly, it’s inspiring that she’s constantly learning, never settling, and always seeking her passion in life.

On a Tuesday afternoon, Talya bussed in to New York City from Philadelphia and we spent the day shopping for an outfit, and then headed back to my friend Michelle’s apartment courtyard for the shoot. I think she’s a total stunner!

Watch out for Talya’s editing services and her burgeoning vocal career coming up soon!

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.

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.

3 Shoots in 3 Cities in 3 Days | Bay Area, Los Angeles Photographer

Anna — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:43:29 +0000

Miles driven by others: 37
Miles flown: 390
Miles driven by myself: 150
____________________________________
=577 miles traveled, and that’s just today.

Sometimes exhaustion is the most gratifying feeling in the world. In that moment when you finally sit down and have a chance to rest, you can feel the very essence of gravity as it pulls your every muscle down toward the Earth. The soreness in your bones and the slight dizzyness in your head are almost overwhelming, but somehow, none of it is worrisome. Instead, the feelings are reassuring. Because when you’ve put yourself that wholeheartedly and whole-bodily into your work, the tiredness is not a feeling of emptiness and depletion, but your body’s evidence of what you’ve done and what you can do, and it’s all the more encouragement to recharge yourself to do it again.

I couldn’t think of a more gratifying way to close out January 2010.

Before I describe my weekend, I’ll give the disclaimer that this might make my life seem much more glamorous and exciting than it really is. My life is not like this all the time. My bed is often my favorite place to be. But because I want to remember these adventures, I will capture what I can in a quick summary. Ready? Start.

Friday morning I had a great session with the members of the San Francisco Guitar Quartet. Right after work, I took off for the Oakland airport. After landing in Long Beach (thanks JetBlue!) I was driven back up to Los Angeles by my friend Vince. Saturday was the big film shoot– the reason I flew down– for the “Taiwanese American” 2010 Census Public Service Announcement. We arrived in the Alhambra studio by 7:30 am. Ten hours, several celebrities, an Olympic athlete, and a California State Assemblyman (amongst others) later, we wrapped on shooting, had a celebratory dinner, and eventually called it a day. By the next morning at 9am, I had gone back through Long Beach and arrived back home in Oakland, but only briefly, as I then drove up another 70 miles to Sebastopol for an engagement shoot at an amazingly cute family farm.

You’ll have to come back and visit again to see the fruits of all these labors. But for now, I leave you with this picture:

Long Beach Airport, the tiniest airport I’ve ever flown through. This one building is the entire terminal, with four airlines from beginning to end. This came in handy when I almost missed my flight but discovered it only takes 5 minutes to get from front door to airplane seat and thus made it with time to spare.

And now, it’s time to sleep.

Good night, world!

Alice Tong | San Francisco Headshots Photographer

Anna — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:30:39 +0000

It comes upon you and envelops you. It’s so warm and rich that you want to pull it around you and curl up in it. I’m not sure how such a sound comes out of her petite frame, but one thing is certain– Alice Tong has a beautifully capitvating voice.

I got ten thousand ways to say I love you and nine thousand times I’ll never tell you.

When I arrived at Alice’s place in San Francisco’s Haight district, her sister was still helping out with makeup. Alice seemed ready to slide out of the chair and begin shooting, but her eyelashes had to be fixed up properly, and Lance and Momo (her two beloved dogs) were still busy scoping out the new stranger.

As we began our shoot, I could see Alice’s personality unfurling; she has an open spirit and a gentle, laid back aura matched with a quirky twist, a sense of humor and such a strong voice with so much to say. Wandering from living room to windowsill to Buena Vista Park, we found amazing shots all along the way.

Check the bottom of the post for more information on Alice’s music and her upcoming gig at Hotel Utah in San Francisco.

Alice Tong’s first album, Small, is a beautiful collection of jazz tunes available on Amazon, Blacklava, and iTunes. Her second album is in the works; it’s a selection of all original compositions set to be released in early 2010.

In the meantime, check out Alice Tong two days before Thanksgiving at Hotel Utah in San Francisco: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, at 8:30 pm.

More at http://www.myspace.com/alicetongmusic.

Cynthia, Alanna, Alice: Singer-Songwriters

Anna — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:26:46 +0000

Three Taiwanese-American Female Singer-Songwriters

It was an epic meeting as three Taiwanese American female singer-songwriters converged upon Berkeley and were introduced to each other for the first time. From left to right: Cynthia Lin from New York, Alanna Lin from Los Angeles, and Alice Tong from San Francisco. I was lucky enough to enjoy performances from all three of these musicians within a one-week span.

This is a photo of Cynthia Lin and Alice Tong chatting with Ho Chie for the upcoming TaiwaneseAmerican.org spotlight series. In the meantime, check out the brief look at each artist below.

Cynthia Lin

Born in Chicago, currently based in New York City, Cynthia Lin is a singer-songwriter/actress/writer, and more. Her sound is jazzy-folky, and her songs are quirky and intimate. On a Saturday afternoon in Berkeley, Cynthia Lin gave a special living room concert at Ho Chie Tsai’s apartment, and Jenton Lee set up a live webcast of the performance.

Cynthia’s set list.

Click to listen to Doppelganger, the title song off Cynthia’s second EP:

For more on Cynthia, visit CynthiaLin.com.
Watch the whole living room concert at ustreamTV.
Become her Facebook Fan
And watch more videos on Youtube.

Alanna Lin

Alanna Lin, a.k.a. Fascinoma, is perhaps best known for the hit single “I’m Walking This Road Because You Stole My Car (Don’t Go),” which was aired in full on FOX’s animated show, American Dad. Alanna grew up in Ohio as part of the TAF family, and I mostly knew of her because her younger brother was always my counselor growing up. Now she’s based in Los Angeles, temping and working on a long-awaited album.

Fascinoma flyers outside the SF Academy of Art venue where I watched Alanna perform.

Fascinoma, kickin’ it atop Ho Chie’s roof deck. (That’s Alanna keeping drummer Brian in line).

Performance in San Francisco.

Click to listen to a clip of the popular single, “I’m Walking This Road Because You Stole My Car (Don’t Go).”

Visit Fascinoma on MySpace.

Alice Tong

I posted briefly on Alice when I went to see her perform at a small cafe in San Francisco. Her voice is immediately captivating because it’s unexpectedly deep and rich, full of jazz and full of soul.

Alice Tong – Now from Kevin Wang on Vimeo.

Visit Alice Tong on MySpace.
Check out her interview on TurtlistMedia.
View more videos on YouTube.
Purchase Alice’s Jazz Album “Small” from Blacklava.

Alice Tong

Anna — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:21:29 +0000

last night, ho chie, a couple friends, and i went to cafe la flore in the richmond district, SF, to see chinese-taiwanese-american indie singer-songwriter alice tong perform. she has an absolutely amazing voice; it’s the type of deep, rich, sound that surprises you as it billows out of such a small, unassuming person.

watch a video of her performance

check out her music on myspace

see turtlistmedia’s feature on her.

and look out for an upcoming taiwaneseamerican.org spotlight article on alice tong in the next couple weeks. it’ll have more live videos and more of my photos!

plus, she’ll be performing at ITASA-WC and ITASA-Midwest, as well as at the SF Taiwanese American Cultural Festival.

Talya and Pavle

Anna — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:20:28 +0000

talya lieberman has a new life plan. and it’s big.

they’ve already been featured by the ny times (freakonomics blog) and will soon be gracing the wall street journal. their song, freddie mac and cheese, is not only timely and witty, but musically rich– and catchy!

talya and pavle. they’re an up-and-coming duo. pavle on guitar, talya with the vocals. i read somewhere that they labeled themselves geek pop. but i’ve gotta say it’s folky, and maybe geeky, way more than ‘pop’.

of course, it’s only fitting that talya would unearth these beautiful vocals from her motley musical background. born to a professional cellist (mother), a bassist and music teacher (father), talya has an outrageous musical resume that includes children’s chorus, lifelong piano lessons, a brief encounter with cello, a year on viola, a fascination with french horn, and even now, graduate studies in trumpet. musical is quite the understatement.

i’m doing my part to get the word out. so check out the new website i made them. it’s still in progress, but it’s a nice start.

www.talyaandpavle.com.