Intoxicating Aura Of Freedom And Joy

I was trying to describe Marissa and Andy's wedding Lori, a Bay Area based wedding photographer, and I photographed last Sunday at Oak Creek Gold Resort east of SF. Both Marissa and Andy are young, energenic, atheletic (both are swim masters) and just happy, happy, and happy! Marissa, what can I say...she was strikingly beautiful and couldn't her mouth shut (from laughing!) ;-) Their parents were very nice people too. It was a long day and I was tired after flying back to Seattle the next morning. But it was such a great wedding!!!

Nice duck pond, but not some of the visitors

There is a nice little duck pond in the park where I often take my son to after picking him up from the daycare. Lately there are many cute ducklings. The pond is pretty but getting crowded by the increasing number of ducks. Not really their fault, because there always people throwing in foods to feed them, ignoring the sign of not doing so! When you think about news about wild animals wandering into people's back yard, you have to start wondering...when people will stop doing stupid things! DON'T hurt the animals!

Scott, Megan, and State Capital

It was sunny and quiet in the state capital and I was doing an engagement session for Scott and Megan. Since Scott works for the state and lives in Olympia, he also kind of served as my 'capital tour guide'. So we just walked around, chattted, and snapped pictures. Scott and Megan were just natural and made things so easy for me. It was so fun!

Thank you Scott and Megan!

Happy Monther's Day!

"USB port", "Google it"...we often mention those terms nowadays when I talk to my mom on the phone. Just about two years ago when my mom said she wanted a PC on the internet, my brother, sister, and myself were like 'Are you sure?' We started picturing her calling every day and asking the most basic questions. For example, two years ago when my mom visited me, she tried to use my computer while I was at work. Of course she at time she didn't know how to operate it. So she turned on the monitor without turning on the hard drive. A minutes or so later, the monitor popped up two messages "Searching for output device" and "Going to sleep", and then turned itself off. My mom was like 'Huh? Go to sleep?!' My brother and I laughed so hard.
But one thing about my mom...she is NOT afraid of anything. She pressed on and got herself a PC and hooked up to the net. Now she often takes the lead. Mom wants to see live pictures of her grand children, and we all went out and get ourselves webcam and signed in skype.
Then for a while there was no email or anything from her. What's going on, mother? The neck hurts looking up at the screen for too long, we were told.

Happy Mother's Day!

Even a Pro Would Get Nervous...

It's just weird. By the time I finally saw the bride, it was almost dark, way passed the planned meeting time. Then my camera indicated that I had already got over thousands files on my card! I should change a new card! But I felt so time pressed and just couldn’t find the time to do so. Fortunately I could still take pictures... go card! So we started doing the first – sight and I grabbed some killer shots! Those were the kind of shots that when you snapped them, you knew they were the keepers! Then my camera started acting funny…there was a huge shutter lag. It took a second or two for the shutter to open and close after I pressed the release button. Oh, man! I thought to myself, I got to learn how to anticipate. Then it’s time to do the bridal and it was so late and dark outside we had to do it inside…we were inside a small shopping mall…the lighting was no good but there weren’t many people around and there were some nice paintings on the wall…we could use them…I was thinking…

Then I realized it's a dream…a big sigh of relief. I was dreaming about a wedding in southern California the end of this month!

It happens…sometimes I dreamed about the weddings I was going to shoot. And on the way before each wedding, I will get the same butterfly-in-the-stomach feeling…thinking about how to get shots, etc. But once I am on site, the excitement kicks in and I simply enter the groove…walk, look, snap, all happen naturally.

What a great job!

My Bride Friend And My New Logo

I love photograph weddings...to go to beautiful places and meet nice and beautiful people. But the best part is some of my former bride clients become my good friends. Such is the case for Erin. I photographed Erin and Ben's wedding several years ago and we became good friends afterward. Erin is beautiful and talented. When I needed a new logo, I talked to Erin for help. Yeah, she is a graphic designer!

We became up this 'J'. Obviously it is the initial of my first name, but it also looks like a smiley AND a dancing couple! It totally symbolize the business I'm doing. It is also very simple. What a cool logo!

Never Say Never...My Friends Bo and Len

Bo was my college buddy and has been my close friend ever since. When Bo comes to Seattle, he stays with us...kind of like a family friend. The other day he called me from Guanzhou Trade Show and said somebody wanted to talk to me.

Then a man's voice came on the phone and started chewing my alive! "How could you never try to contact me?!" "How dare you to forget me?!" etc., etc. I was like, dude, who the heck were you?! Finally, I realized he was my high school friend Len and we haven't see each other for ages!

The amazing part is Len and I went to different colleges after high school. I went to Tisngdao (can you say Tsingdao beer? There!) and Len stayed in Beijing. The last summer before graduation, Len came to Tsingdao and stayed with me in the ship while we were doing graduation field trip in the sea. That's where Bo and Len got to know each other. One week, that's it.

That was 1982.

We all went separate ways after collage. Eventually both Bo and myself came to the States for graduate degrees. He was in IL and I was in AZ but like I mentioned before, we have always kept close contact with each other.

I never heard from Len until 1989 when he hooked up with me in New York. We hang out for two days and he went back to Australia. Poof, disappeared, off the earth, gone...

Now here is the real spooky part. When Bo called me the other day, he was in the trade show. Now from thousands people, he not only spotted Len but also for whatever unthinkable or unbelievable reason, recognized him!

Way back while we were all in college, Bo got to know Len. And that's it. Now more than twenty years later, he spotted him out from the big crowd!

I won't even want to use the word 'remarkable'. It is really kind of spooky...

Amen.

Here is a picture of Len's family.

Simple Pleasures Everywhere

My son Anton was walking along the glass wall back and forth, and back and forth, and talking to the reflection of himself. It's like he was talking to his twin brother.

It is just amazing that our children can concentrate and gain so much pleasure just doing the simplest things. How much 'kid' do we have left in us?

Enjoy the simple pleasures!