Posts Tagged ‘photography’

Goodbye, 2009

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

After an awesome, surprise-filled, and at times exhausting year, it was high time I took a nice, long break. I took two weeks off from pretty much everything, and led a fairly unscheduled existence with a lot of family and friends, some amazing edibles, and very little internet. ;)

Part of that break had me driving down to the central coast of California–yes, that’s approximately 12 hours of driving–to visit family. It’s a drive I’ve done during the holidays for the past several years, so long hauls in the car aren’t exactly new for me. Timing my departures to avoid snowstorms in the mountains? Also not new.

This time around, I found myself rushing northward on the 30th, trying to get through the mountains before the big snows came in, but I passed near Shasta Lake and opportunity screamed at me through my car window. I’d driven over that bridge so many times and marveled at the view, but I’d always been too short on time, or driving with companions who weren’t down for a random pit stop.

This time, however, I couldn’t resist it anymore. I got off at the next exit, and took 5 minutes to shoot a few frames, before continuing my journey up I-5 towards Portland.

I honestly couldn’t have timed it better. The forecast was stormy and snowy, and I wasn’t even certain that I’d be able to go through the Siskiyou pass when I’d left that morning. But, when I got up into the mountain passes, it was gorgeous. WORTH IT.

Adios, 2009.

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Help-Portrait Project

Friday, December 18th, 2009

I’ve had a ridiculously busy few weeks recently, but I somehow still found room in my schedule to be a part of the Help-Portrait event held here in Portland last Saturday. The mission of Help-Portrait? Find a needy person, take their portrait, create a print and give it to that person. Helping one person just wasn’t enough, though, and after several planning meetings and a flurry of e-mails and Google spreadsheets, we had over 30 volunteers coming together to shoot portraits for dozens of people in need!

I could only stay for the first half of the day, but the energy of the experience lifted my spirits all weekend. The atmosphere was warm and collaborative, and considering how many professional photographers were in the room, the space was ego-free. We’d share tips and chat about gear, lend a hand holding a reflector or testing lights, and back each other up whenever someone needed an assist. The volunteers who weren’t photographers were on-point and ready to help with hair and makeup, contacting organizations, sorting through images, or even just staying with folks who were waiting to have their portrait taken, so they wouldn’t feel lost in the shuffle. It was all about the people we were helping, and making it a positive experience for them.

No matter how many times I see it, it’s always a little surprising for me, to see the faces of the less-fortunate. When I visited China back in the summertime, I found myself shocked at the extreme circumstances of some of the disadvantaged people I encountered on the streets. At Help-Portrait, however, those less-fortunate faces didn’t look much different from my own. A lot of people, from all walks of life, have come up on tough circumstances these days, and it’s not hard to see it, if you look around you. Still, there were some very sweet families and freakin’ adorable kids who came to get their portraits done, and it was a lot of fun to meet all of these people, and watch them truly enjoying with their photo sessions and interacting with all the volunteers who came out.

Honestly, it’s hard to know what else to say that would even begin to encompass this experience, for someone who wasn’t there… it was just an amazing event all around, and watching the slideshow this morning was such a treat. I’m absolutely doing this again next year, and I know it’s only going to grow bigger and better!

Here’s the slideshow, with plenty of photos (including quite a few of my own) documenting the events of the day. It’s always enjoyable for me to simply watch people being themselves, and capture the bright moments. :)

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Southern flavor

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

SO! I’m looking at submitting a photo or three from my trip to this year’s State Fair. I’ve never had my work entered into a competition setting, so it’s going to be new territory for me. If you’ve seen a photo on here that you think is worthy, do let me know! I’d be interested to hear opinions from other folks. :)

As of now, I think my current frontrunner is this image from QuFu, but I’ve been known to change my mind as often as my underwear when it comes to my own work. I’m also not sure what will play well with the Fair judges, so we’ll see where I end up with my entry.

Anyhoo, a fellow wushu enthusiast recently pointed out some awesome videos, so I thought I’d talk a little about a style of wushu I hold near and dear: the lesser-known style of Nanquan, or Southern Fist. The wushu you’ve most likely seen before is of the light, graceful, high-flying variety, which is Changquan, or Long Fist. It’s the kind you see in Crouching Tiger, and for good reason, because it’s just gorgeous to watch.

Nanquan also has its acrobatic moves, sure, but it’s different from the Long Fist style in most other aspects. With nanquan, the strikes and stances are shorter than Long Fist, but the style has a more upright structure in how you carry yourself, and the stances and steps are very rooted with the ground. You also tend to see bigger guys doing nanquan, so if you’re seeing a guy with a sleeveless silk uniform and deltoids the size of his head, chances are he’s about to do Southern style.

The style also calls for a lot of speed and a LOT of intensity! You have to retract your punches and kicks quickly, and explosiveness in your strikes is even more important in nanquan than in long fist. There are also points during a given nanquan form where you’re supposed to yell, and as far as I’m concerned, that’s when you bust out the crazy eyes, and scare the little kids in the audience. ;) There’s a raw energy that you bring out when you’re doing nanquan, and that’s part of the fun of it. I’ve been doing it for 3 1/2 years now, and I’ve yet to find a changquan form that wears me out as much as my southern form.

Here’s a video of Yang Shi Wen, who’s one of the best nanquan athletes ever. With so much incredible power, speed, intensity, he’s a tough act to follow! If I could be even half as quick as this guy, I’d probably die happy. :)

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