" times of transition "

---

throughout my life, i have noticed key moments where i had to take moments aside to reflect. life-changing moves, relationships, strides, and at times lunges.

i find myself in this moment to be without my(digital) camera, due to sending it in for repair and upkeep services. the fact that i had a truly amazing day meandering through and around the city with lauren yesterday, and not having my camera to clickclick-click-click my way through the day, was really interesting.

i missed it; the feeling of having that tool with me. anyone that knows me well enough, knows that i rarely go out of the house without my camera. i'll take it to the park, on road trips, to the bar, to restaurants, to coney island, anywhere and everywhere i go...just in case.

and to have it not with me doesn't take away the enjoyment of being out, but it is interesting to note that without my camera, i am still finding curious and astounding details about my surroundings.

if you take the time to look around, you may see that little chinese girl holding her dad's hand in the subway station with the "too legit to quit" bubble-letter shirt on. you may see the 90˚ old woman walking down the street with her unique outlook on vision capability.

you may see life all around you, flourishing and breathing inside and out. flexing and endlessly becoming.

so due to the fact that i am attempting to post at least one photo representative, per day of this year...and find myself without my tool of implementation, i implore you 3-5 readers to take this time to seek out your own treasures.

i will post some film work perhaps, or maybe no photos or posts at all...but maybe after the two or so weeks it takes for my camera to be repaired, we can all benefit from taking a pause.

tonight's homework:

take yourself(and a friend or family member) out to dinner, and try to walk around as if you've never been there before. pretend that you're an alien on a new planet, and see the world with fresh eyes. i bet you'll witness something amazing.

---

(last couple new photos for a bit)

aout 19:


aout 20:


---

" brooklyn is muggy "

---

hot all day with sticky skin. all day i think of camp,the kids, the emotions, and how i'm back sitting in my room. i feel as if i've finished a play, and now i'm not sure of what to do with my time.

i am getting a call that i've been waiting for, and talk to a person that i really need to talk to. the information i'm receiving is both cryptic and intriguing. it's going to be an interesting week ahead.

my roommates and i meandered up to the roof to sit in plastic chairs, as the heavens begin to swell and explode in bursts of light.

we sit in the darkness with each other, facing the looming cloud-space as they billow and collect mass right above our heads.

with each moment of lightning, less and less of the stars are visible. the sky is all a soft red with the contours of the clouds now fully apparent. it looks like fantasia. i half expect imps and gods to descend upon brooklyn at any moment.

we're passing around strawberry ice cream in between each round of thunder, and the wind is picking up. we're stacking up the chairs and going downstairs. the clasps to the roof doors are now shut and locked.

we're indoors now, and i feel the cool breeze of an oncoming storm rush in through the windows, as the streetlights begin to flicker through the falling drops of rain.

---


---

" camp days "

---

been away for days.

camp days.

eager days, trying days, challenging days, lovely summer days.

brilliant morning sun days, thunderstruck lightning days.

new friend days, arts & crafts days.

learning about yourself and others days.

three square meals every three hours days.

sleep in bunks days. camp counselor days.

running after kids days, cleaning up days, blisters on your feet days.

photog all day days, taking it all in days.

compassion days, struggle days, high-fives day.

love and free hugs days.

friendship bracelet and lanyard-making days.

lake days, luck days, life days.

camp days, come to an end and back to brooklyn days.

beautiful days.

---

aout 05:


aout 06:


aout 07:


aout 08:


aout 09:


aout 10:


aout 11:


aout 12:


aout 13:


aout 14:


aout 15:


aout 16:


aout 17:


---

" your belly, your body "

---

my relationship to food has always been one of deep appreciation. i love to eat all sorts of things. most of my food items growing up were a blend of thai dishes, which were expertly crafted by my dad, and pseudo-experimental fusion-americana dishes, lovingly prepared by my mom.

in terms of hands, i had three: on the first hand, there was the thai food. deliciously golden minced pork omelets with green onions and garlic, there were sour soups and sweet rice with mango, and a favorite of mine, chao-dtom, a rice soup whose bland subtleties were offset by pickled delights, dried shredded pork, and crisped fatty chinese sausages; their deeply red ovoid slightly-curled little slices poking through the opaque soup surrounded and caressed by the ivory grains of jasmine rice.

my dad would spend a whole day making sure the texture of the rice was perfect, and the coconut milk was stirred in lovingly and carefully. he would grunt as he folded the rice with a large wooden spoon. he sat with this large aluminum bowl resting on a chair, and his arms would flex and bulge under the enormous weight of the mixture. to know that such hard work and a marked effort precluded such a seemingly simple dessert, made the consumption of it all the more satisfying.

the second hand was my moms. she made a bunch of crazy delights such as thai spaghetti, a rice vermicelli-based flurry of mixed vegetables and ketchup (yay america). or thick multi-ingredient meaty sauces made for any sort of pasta. or thai-style rice krispy treats replete with curry powders and walnuts, which resembled thai street vendor afternoon treats.

she'd always have this pleasant look about her face and demeanor which paralleled the excitement of the presentation. more often than not, i'd look at the dish with trepidation, look up at her beaming visage, then back at the dish and ask, "what is this?" she'd always say "just eat it," and i totally would have to or else get into trouble.

a lot of my friends who came over after elementary school and throughout my schooling career (and beyond), were always astounded at the multiple myriads of delectable dishes available to eat, and while i enjoyed them immensely, i never fully appreciated them unless someone made such a big deal out of them.

the third hand was of course, television and my friends who cooked. in my own experience of cooking for myself, a lot of it has come from just being around different sources of culinary inspiration; my parents, PBS cooking programs (julia child, jaques pepin [and eventually his inept daughter], america's test kitchen, chef's table, lydia, and of course of course, the illustrious yan can cook).

these days some key people have informed my eating habits, for health, for flavor, for the love of balancing flavors and texture. i try to cook something at least once a day, and whether it's very similar to the previous day or not, it still fills me with an overwhelming calm and sense of blissful satisfaction. that sensation is not hard at all to recreate, but it isn't as delicious an outcome.

tonight's homework:

find a recipe for a salad, then an entree that compliments that salad, then a light dessert or bowl of mixed fruits. make everything yourself or with a friend, and take careful consideration of texture, flavor, and portion control. you may find yourself on the way to a bigger belly, but i bet you'll be able to control yourself. maybe.

---


---

" the will & the way "

---

i always wonder if i'm doing the right sorts of photography. i love to explore. i love to document friends and family. i shoot nature, landscapes, cities, nudes, portraits, and everything else that i can try to master.

i watched this TED presentation by photographer rick smolan, and realized that at my age, he had already created a positive change in someone's life.



i don't necessarily have aspirations of working for TIME, but i do hope that across the hopefully vast and endless span of my personal and professional photographic career, that i will have a positive effect on people's lives.

i remember when i did some work with the "seedart" project in thailand, and the immense sense of satisfaction it gave me to know that my presence and talent made a small difference, however fleeting, in the lives of several of the children there.

and now, far away from those lovely faces, what does it mean that i am here in new york city, while most likely they remain in the hills above the northeastern city of chiang rai; without a real country, without identity beyond the one given, and without a direction.

seedart post part 1

seedart post part 2

i hope that i have helped these kids in some small way by being there at that time, and that through my continuing photographic exploration, i can make wider strokes of change. i hope to influence as well as experience, and i hope that people will benefit from my work as well in their own lives.

---


---

" rad "

---

yesterday, when the weather was more perfectly beautiful summery day, ben, greg, and i went out for a long bike ride which turned out to be one of the best little nyc touring rides in a while.

we basically pwned the city on our bikes.

the final route ended up being from my spot in windsor terrace, picked up greg at grand army plaza, through downtown brooklyn, over the manhattan bridge, down to, and up the east-side greenway, onto 1st ave. at 32nd-ish, up past the U.N., up to 57th-ish, cut to central park, one 6.6 mi. loop around the park, back to the southeast corner @ 59th, hit up a bodega for deli sandwich purchasing time, MTA tram to roosevelt island, picnic "lunch" at the northernmost point, roosevelt island bridge to the queens side, pulaski bridge over to astoria, down through hunter's point & greenpoint, sidled past w'burg on kent, and meandered back down to prospect park, said bye to greg, then one more half-loop around the park, then home.

nothing like tricking your body into exercise.

good times.

tonight's homework:

do this on your bicycle with a friend (bring water and a snack!):
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3059958

---

aout 01:


aout 02:


---