Christmas Greetings – one year retrospect

Wednesday is my day to post my weekly blog. I had a little scare last night because my one-year old IMac had an unexpected lock-up, the second time. I could not access my photos and files!!! I was panic and yet not quite because I have done my regular backup. I however started to drag about the nightmare to bring this machine to be served in Portland. I would rather drive four hours round trip to have peace of mind knowing that I am dealing with a trustworthy company-owned store than an Apple retailer who does not look after customer’s best interest.

 

Thanks to my husband who has purchased extended Apple Care that I can simply get online and make a request for Apple expert to call me at a designated time.  If we don’t specify a time and it is during work hours, we will almost immediately receive a phone call the moment when Send key is pressed. I have talked to their technicians several times and all of them sound very professional and know exactly how to do. As expected, I received a call this morning and my problem was solved in less than 10 minutes. Thanks God.

In case I get busy with holiday fever and family events, I like to send my holiday greetings out to you ALL one week before Christmas...

'Merry Christmas from our family to yours'
'May you have a good time with your children and grandchildren'
'Peace & Joy'
'May your dream come true, reindeer comes or not'
'We came across at a path for reason, may our friendship lasts                                                                    forever'

It has been a wonderful year and I have a great time writing my blogs and fond satisfaction experiencing continuous visits from my audience since day one. Even though I don’t always post good pictures and sometimes, I am not sure if I ever got my points across with my limited English vocabulary.  Every once a while, I used wrong words or mis-spelled words and my typos… Yuks.  Thank you for being there behind the scene and yet provide me immeasurable support and encouragement.

I am learning as I am blogging. My passion is to share what I have known or just discovered through my exploration journeys. With my Asian ethnic background, I often see things differently. I want my fellow Americans to know Asians better and also for my Asian friends to portrait Americans from a more realistic point of view, and not from the movies which dramatizes and exaggerates truth and facts.

My ultimate wish is my children and generations after have the opportunity to understand an integral part of their roots, perceive the value and add it onto what they have lived and learned in the place where they grow up, the United States.  Two culture, one is Lightroom and the other Photoshop (speaking like a photographer:-). Both have the strength and purpose of their own.  Neither is just a plug-in for the other. They should co-exist and compliment each other. I don’t want to feel that my children are just Americans and I am that odd and old-fashioned Asian. I want my family to be multi-cultural and international. Utilize American style freedom and openness in a more constrained Asian manner and carry beyond. Live more richly and profoundly.

 

I hope your wishes for yourself and your family will get closer to be fulfilled as Christmas comes and a new year brings you new hope and opportunities.

(The photo was taken in a foggy night)

Spring Colors

Since I dropped my illustrator for lady’s handbags, I have barely checked out the current fashion and trends. The day of strolling down the fashion alleys in Milan, Florence and New York is over. I have put away my business suits, dresses and high heals. Instead of shopping fashion stores, I am going to sports stores now.

This is a big change for me because I have been so dedicated to style and fashion, and I have always thinking sportswear is too masculine and too boring for my taste. When I was the product manage for Columbia branded leather goods, I went to their office regularly for product presentations and I often wondered then who would buy their stuff… now I know.

I cannot tell you since when I started to wear sports apparels and now I wear them 90% of the time. I fell in love with Columbia clothing because they are so versatile and comfortable. They are perfect for my in-home photography and photography outings. I wear them for hiking and biking or simply take a quick trip to the grocery stores. As I started to use them, I found out that sports apparels are not only engineered for technical benefit and wearing comfort, they are also designed with trendy colors, details and trim. I can be active and also remain stylish….

Spring is quietly walking into our life. Spring flowers are budding. I seemed not be able to wait till their full bloom. I am out and around the house scouting every bit of life and color.  Colors often remind me of fashion and trends. Now speaking of sportswear and spring colors, I was suddenly urged to check out spring 2013 colors.

colors: African Violet & Lemon Zest

Violet color is trendy this spring, so is the lemon color.   Purple and yellow are complimentary colors.  They are both bright, but they look nice together. Look at these lantern roses on the bush. They do look like lanterns, don’t they?

I met a German couple who immigrated to US more than 20 years ago. They originally brought in the best growers from Germany and England (later added Holland) and began to grow this Hellebore flowers in Northwest. 

The flowers come in great varieties and colors. The plant is not only beautiful, it is tough and versatile.

color: Emerald

Emerald is my all time favorite stone.  Other than jade, this is definitely one popular stone used by Asians to fabricate beautiful jewelry that often become family heirlooms among the women. This green color is so deep and so rich, it takes your breath away. 

I was walking down the street looking for flowers and colors, here came an array of plum trees with these delicate flowers (picture below). They are up there embracing the blue sky. The clear sky traces every fine details of the flower.  This is the first time I noticed that plum flowers have multiple color tones, pink, peach, yellow, and black trims in the end. They are charming and refined. I was stunned by what I saw and you know what next, I was snapping it away.

I like many colors with dusk tones. Dusk Blue is another trendy color.  It is between blue and purple and the dusk tone makes it casual. Maybe that’s why I like it.   

color: Dusk Blue

color: Strawberry

Hot Pink is always popular among school girls and teenagers. It was in spring 2012 palette, but I still see them everywhere. This flower is from a deciduous tree named Red-flowering Current. It is a native plant and supposed to be deer resistant, but deer chewed up all the leaves last year. Not too optimistic about its future, I was thrilled to see the new blossoms.  I was afraid that deer would come and take them alive again, so I instantly took the picture. If they cannot fight deer, I at least have this picture to moan afterwards.  Hot pink is not my color. I purchased an off-season sweater at Christmas sales and I began to like it because the bright color energized me and I feel good. 

Fashion colors is there to boost the big bucks in fashion industry. I want to be stylish, but I certainly don't chase after trends. I don't feel that I am dated just because fashion vendors want to press you to wear a different color 6 month after.  Everyone should have a style of her own and only follow the trends that will enhance your outlook and make you feel good about yourself.

Self Portrait

Before this blog, I have never tried to take a picture of myself.  It is a strange and interesting experience to put myself in front of a camera open and feeling ‘naked’.  Nobody is around, and I am talking to my camera and making faces. I know my camera will take in everything going through its lens and record everything as is. 

As I started the first shot early in the morning, I saw a night owl who had again stayed up too late browsing on the web and the camera called out on it.   I thought my cup of fresh coffee with aroma has initiated my days, but apparently it has not. At least my camera said so.

I got up and decided to make a pot of Chinese tea with the last bit of osthmanthus flower that I brought back from last Shanghai trip. I did not taste the floral fragrance in the tea, but I certainly smelled it and the fragrance woke me up.

I was shooting in my studio in a cloudy day with my basic equipment. There was not much light shining through my window so I used a flash.  I tested a few shots with minimum flash power but without diffuser and my face looked too bright, so I added diffuser to dim the light and I looked better and more awake, but I looked very stern. My third grade teacher often gave me hard time simply because I did not smile. I am happy and content in this stage of my life and I want to give my camera a big smile. 

I actually tried many times before I finally got myself a self-portrait with a satisfying smile.

I also moved my Flash from front to side and it landed on the back. The window light though not strong is sufficient to light my face.  When I tried to add more light (even diffused), it was too much.  If my flash light came through my sides, it created shadows. Shadow can sometimes enhance a shot, but on this occasion, I did not like the shadow. 

When I moved the light source to the back, it lit my background and highlighted my front face silhouette.  The shot is simple and straight forward. But with experiment in mind, I still tried to play with the orientation of the light source.

I have lived here long enough and I am used to send friendly body languages to the people around me. I smiled at my co-workers, clerks in the store, pedestrians walking by me and to me, very importantly, the people who looked distressed or dismayed.  However, I may still not smile enough.

From time to time, I would watch a cashier in the grocery store chatting and laughing with the other customer, but a sudden pause occurred when I went through the line. It may just be the stereotype that Caucasians have on the Asians. I do agree that most of the Asians are quieter. We smile, but mostly lightly smiled. I think it has something to do with the cultural difference as well as the personality.

A friend was teasing that Asians do not smile because they don’t have good-looking teeth like the people here.  People here are more conscious of their outlook and braces were mostly used since childhood.

I personally think that Asians are mostly more reserved in their facial and verbal expressions.  Caucasians are more open and more dramatic in delivering emotions.

It is mostly a cultural difference. 

People seem to agree that Asian women tend to look younger and have better skins.

My personal intake for this may shock you.  I think we are all created equally by God and we have the same life-span. The difference depends on how you live and how you manage your health. Caucasians smile a lot and smile big. When you smile dramatically, your skin is constantly stretched and eventually turns loose, faster.  If white skins are under the sun more often than yellow skins, it is not a surprise that the white skins are aging faster, isn’t it? (I am more interested in photography and I am not here to be a beauty specialist. I am simply addressing my personal opinion.)

I am adamant about smile. When we are so excited, we should let it burst. When I smile, I feel the whole world is also smiling back at me.  It is surely an instant remedy.

This picture was taken by my husband. I was astonished by our grandson’s dramatic act. I like it very much because the emotion came out naturally. I am amused myself by simply looked at it.  I hope you are, too.