Anna Wu Photography » taiwanese 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!

Mayline & Kenneth | Hylton Performing Arts Center | Manassas, Virginia Wedding Photography

Anna — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:05:34 +0000

I can still remember her as my quiet, smart, cool little camper when I, fresh out of middle school, served my first year as a counselor-in-training at our annual summer camp. Some things haven’t changed at all since those days– Mayline’s radiant smile and her generosity amongst them– but it’s been quite the privilege to see her grow into an absolutely beautiful woman and watch her get married(!) to such a wonderful man.

Together, Mayline and Kenneth are a bundle of unstoppable silliness. But more than anything, they free each other to be themselves, and that is always a wonderful thing to witness.

On their wedding day, both Mayline and Kenneth’s personalities and their family’s love poured out in both tears and laughter. The day began with a traditional Taiwanese ceremony at Mayline’s family home in Northern Virginia and ended it at an absolutely magical theater at the Hylton Performing Arts Center which was transformed by impeccable stage lighting.

Without further ado, we’re very excited to present Mayline & Kenneth’s beautiful wedding video captured by our sister company, Seaglass Cinema.

Mayline and Kenneth | 08.06.2011 from Seaglass Cinema on Vimeo.

And now for the photographs. It’s like this bay window was created for this dress shot.

Mayline’s sister Pauline and her mother help her with the veil.

In keeping with Taiwanese traditions, Kenneth and his groomsmen were put through a series of tests before he could earn the right to see Mayline. This one involved wearing these awesome hats and reenacting the proposal using various random props.

There were so many beautiful moments with Mayline and her father on this day. He even sang her an opera song at the end of the reception.

Mayline is a very talented photographer herself, so she knew just the way to my heart… just look at the amazing venue! The Hylton Performing Arts Center was a perfect, unique space for the wedding.

Gorgeous!

They pull off the more serious looks so well…

…but this photo really captures them for who they are!

I loved the handmade flags displayed in a variety of cigar boxes. They were so beautifully done!

They also created a very classy looking trifold graphic with an entire list of songs that their guests could sing to make them kiss (instead of clanging glasses). Their guests responded very enthusiastically, which meant lots of smooches and much hilarity.

A toast from the best man.

Congratulations Mayline & Kenneth! Thank you so much for inviting us out to Virginia and the D.C. area to be part of your amazing day. We had an amazing time, and we love you so much!

Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Hylton Performing Arts Center, Manassas, VA
Hair: Inhye Kim
Makeup: Lori Nansi
Dress: Casablanca
Florist: Fluertations Floral, Northern Virginia
Catering: Main Event Catering, Arlington, VA
Cake: Fluffy Thoughts, McLean, VA
DJ: Jonathan Chiu / Morgan Yeh
Photography: Anna Wu Photography, assisted by Lucy Song
Videography: Seaglass Cinema

Spring Colors of Atlanta | Kodak Portra 400 | Shooting Film

Anna — Mon, 09 May 2011 01:31:17 +0000

The warm air wrapped around me as I walked down the street in Virginia Highlands and headed out in the beautiful Atlanta neighborhood to take some photographs– on film. Here are a few of my images on Kodak Portra 400, with a couple more black and white frames from the previous roll as well.

Love the two frames below.

Absolut vs. Coca Cola.

My optical illusion shot. It’s hard to tell which is the foreground– left or right? And I love the textures and the colors.

You can spy the answer to the previous shot in this frame.

Liz and Grace picked me up and we headed toward downtown to visit one of the most popular tourist destinations in Atlanta– the Coca Cola museum. Except we didn’t really go on the tour– we just visited the shop.

Then Grace brought me to the High Museum of Art where we saw a fantastic exhibit on Cartier-Bresson, the French photographer famous for his “decisive moment” philosophy. It brought me back to my documentary photography roots in college.

Outside the High Museum, an optical illusion house.

Gorgeous!

Outside The Flying Biscuit.

And with Liz in Roswell before some amazing barbecue at Swallow at the Hollow.

Thanks again to Richard Photo Lab for processing and scanning these images. They were shot with Canon EOS3 on 35mm Kodak Portra 400 (except the black and whites which were Kodak 400CN).

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.

Ice Waterfall in the Desert | Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada

Anna — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:53:02 +0000

We wove through the scenic drive, driving past the red rocks and stopping at the base of the trails. We didn’t see the albino sheep I was promised (and aren’t they already white?), but we did get to see an awesome icy waterfall that started as just a small stream atop the mountain and spilled down in a shower-like consistency into a big pit of melted ice.

It was a truly worthwhile way to spend my birthday– surrounded by surreal beauty and a horde of Taiwanese American summer camp folks who had flown in for the weekend from all around the country.

Alex and Andrew and sheets of ice.

I have many photos of Christina making funny faces, but here she just looks like a photographer + model extraordinnaire. She’ll be shooting with me at a wedding in a couple weeks.

Tiffany is awesome, not least because she referred us to her friend Phyllis to do some graphic design work for Seaglass Cinema, and it’s been amazing!

Waterfall + ice. With a fast shutter it looks like snow. Slow, it looks like misty showers.

Jess and Alex.

I quite like this nature-y side of Vegas.

Jenny & Kevin | Aliso Viejo | Orange County Wedding Photography

Anna — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:32:50 +0000

Kevin is the ultimate yes-sayer. He doesn’t doubt; he just makes things happen. So when it came to proposing to Jenny, he brewed his plan involving a fake Craigslist ad, got down on one knee, and made it happen. When it came to patching the wedding day with some last-minute errands, he hopped in the car and drove around to different shops, never panicking for a moment, and made sure all the pieces came together beautifully.

Together, Kevin and Jenny are a wonderful pair. They’re down to earth and love nothing more than going out to all the best restaurants, whether it’s fancy fare or the simplest little joints, or staying in and play Dominion with friends.

Their wedding day was gorgeous, and I had an amazing time feeling immersed in love. Thanks Jenny and Kev for being amazing through and through!

Jenny was such a gorgeous bride. Kelly Zhang and her girls did an amazing job with the hair and makeup.

Love. So gorgeous.

And then it was time for the first look and some portraits of the bride and groom.

I love a genuine laugh.

I love this next shot, captured by my lovely assistant Sandy.

We had time for more portraits after the ceremony. I absolutely love the softness of these next two.

And this fountain wall is amazing!

Jenny and Kevin put together a lot of DIY details for the reception.

I love the centerpieces, also DIY with flowers from the LA floral mart. The shot on the right was captured by Sandy.

Custom lighting really adds so much to the ambience of the room.

I had to dedicate three whole images to this next series, because this was the most intense and hysterical bouquet toss I have ever witnessed. From the left, Karen is screening out her opponents, Casey is about to eat someone, and Steve is in the background enjoying a rollercoaster ride. But wait, it gets better.

In the aftermath, Tina celebrates while Juliana is hysterical in the background. *Edit* The bouquet toss was so intense that Tina ended up with Cat’s ring. And despite rigorous grabbing, all Juliana got was a handful of petals. Cat still maintains the bouquet was hers.

Back to a calmer state, Jenny and Kevin sat in the middle of the room watching the slideshow he had put together.

And then I surprised Jenny and the rest of the room with a same-day slideshow of photographs from even moments before. It was an amazing, amazing day.

Vendors:

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Renaissance Clubsport Marriott, Aliso Viejo, California
Hair and Makeup: Kelly Zhang Makeup and Hair Studio
Wedding Dress: Alfred Angelo
Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal
Florist: DIY, flowers from Los Angeles Flower Mart
Singer/DJ/MC Host: Ken Lee, Adagio Wedding Entertainment Services
Photobooth: Photocube
Wedding Cake: Mr. Lin’s Cakes
Photography: Anna Wu Photography, assisted by Sandy Chang
Videography: Seaglass Cinema

Some behind the scenes action as the Seaglass team sets up a sliding ring shot. Steve and i try to get it just right as Jason looks on approvingly.

Here I am with our amazing assistant of the day, Sandy. Check out her lovely blog at sandyalamode.com.

With the full Seaglass Cinema team, Jon, Steve, me, Kev, and Jason.

And finally, the bride, the groom, and me!

Digging up Treasures | True Beginnings of Anna Wu Photography

Anna — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:32:47 +0000

I’ve been cleaning out my parents’ house in Ohio. In the process of trying to minimize my stuff, I’ve come across all sorts of treasures. Here’s one gem, an essay from high school. I’m not sure what I wrote it for, but I quite like checking in on my own stories and seeing how they have evolved.

I must have been an amusing sight to all the campers around me– a ten-year-old girl walking around with a manual camera bigger than her head. The lens itself was massive enough to eclipse my face, but with the addition of the flash, the camera successfully acted as my barrier from the strangers around me. All I had to do was hide behind it, and my anxieties about meeting new people disappeared. It was not that I did not meet any new people; I simply refused to initiate any of the interactions myself. Of course, I was rather conspicuous as the girl with the camera, and numerous people asked me whether I really knew how to use the focus and the flash. Someone told me half jokingly that I was sure to be on slideshow when I got to the youth (high school) program.

The next year when I brought my photos back with me, I discovered that people actually liked them. The complements gave me a bit more faith in my photography, and also a bit more faith in myself. I continued to bring cameras to camp; I brought everything from a cheap camera with a useless flash to a digital camcorder with a built-in printer. But the cameras were losing their place as mechanisms to hide behind, because my self-assurance was growing, and I had become comfortable after being at the camp so many times. I gathered the strength to speak up in small group sessions, and I was becoming more confident overall.

It was rather fitting that when I was old enough for the youth program, I applied for and received a position on the slideshow staff. My role on slideshow put a whole new twist on taking pictures at camp. Equipped with my digital camera, I had to work with two other people to create a slideshow for the variety show on the last night of the week. We sorted through hundreds of digital images every single night. I saw it as an opportunity to present everyone with a show that would reflect the spirit of the entire week. What I also discovered was that while taking so many pictures, the camera became an icebreaker. I was still known as the girl with the camera, but I often would walk up to people with camera in hand and introduce myself as I asked to take their picture.

By the end of that week on slideshow, I had interacted with virtually every one of the two hundred campers. While all of them sat facing forward watching our finished product, I faced the opposite way and was completely content with watching their faces– their expressions of delight as the silly memories and sorrow knowing the week was over. The camera had begun as my barrier to the world around me, and it evolved with my confidence into a path toward my involvement with the world.

Margaret & Eric’s Wedding | Argonaut Hotel | San Francisco Wedding

Anna — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:09:43 +0000

All of the chairs with their matching white covers and navy blue sashes were placed in perfect rows. It was a simple, elegant arrangement set in the shade of the brick building, just slightly tucked aside from the chaos of Fisherman’s Wharf– tourist central, San Francisco.

Throughout the day, Margaret and Eric were the calm in the chaos. The hotel didn’t have the bridal suite ready for two hours, so Margaret just went with the flow of the day, getting ready with hair and makeup simultaneously in under half an hour. She never needed the pomp and circumstance of the wedding day, and somehow, she laughed, this feels more like my wedding day, having things happen last-minute with no pretention or need for perfection.

Tourists walked by ogling them all day, one family stopped to take photos with them on the cable car, and a homeless man even joined in the cocktail party, picking up hors d’oeuvres as he walked by. But through it all, they were unfazed, just laughing, smiling, and anchoring each other in their love. Somehow, the day was all the better for it.

Eric’s cousin Leslie of Lilly and Louise did an amazing job with all of their wedding stationery.

Eric and his dad and brother get ready in one room, as captured by my second shooter Christopher.

And Margaret gets ready in the bridal suite.

A moment of waiting in each of their rooms before the first look.

Christopher’s view of the first look.

And my view as they check each other out.

Margaret’s vows

I love that we had a lot of time set aside for plenty of bride & groom portraits. I loved them all so much, I just had to show a bunch.

Of course– the San Francisco classic, the cable cars.

And then it was ceremony time.

Margaret walked down the steps and up the aisle with her mom and dad.

And after a few minutes, they were married!

Gorrrrgeous.

And I love that we just tucked behind this vine, where you wouldn’t even know that we were still standing on an incredibly busy sidewalk overrun by tourists.

And finally, a sweet moment in their first dance.

Thank you Margaret & Eric for having me as your photographer! After a while, I had to put down the camera and join in as a friend on the dance floor.

Vendors:

Venue & Catering: Argonaut Hotel, San Francisco
Wedding stationery: Lilly & Louise
Dress: Sarah Danielle Destinations Collection
Flowers: DIY, flowers from Greenworks, San Francisco
DJ: DJ Vadim from DJ Jeremy Productions
Photographer: Anna Wu Photography, assisted by Christopher Mackessy

Love Out Loud– tafLabs 2010

Anna — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:35:09 +0000

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.

Luna’s Birthday Party | Redwood City Lifestyle Photographer

Anna — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:06:54 +0000

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Redwood City, a perfect day for a two-year-old’s birthday party. I walked over to Luna, and she surveyed me skeptically, entertaining the possible outcomes that might result from smiling my camera. In an instant, she decided nah, and ran back to daddy’s arms to hide. It’s ok, Luna, I think, the giant camera lens really isn’t all that friendly looking. So I just step back and let her do her thing. She’s cautious but curious, playing on the playground, working up the courage to go down the slide, and wandering around with food in her hands. And when she does finally let those smiles out, well, there’s no stopping her then.

Just look at those adorable pigtails with the cow and the pig barrettes!

Kids love cake. Really. They could hardly contain themselves.

Dimple!

Happy Birthday, Luna!