Project: Photo // Framing the Shot

Last week, I dropped my iPhone and shattered the screen (again). Since I had 2 weeks before my current contract expires and I'm able to switch to a better carrier, I was looking forward to the opportunity to "go dark" for 2 weeks, meaning no communication if I'm not at a computer (like back in the '90s)!

Fortunately and unfortunately, my lovely husband is a huge techie. Whereas some people might read before bedtime, he spends those moments watching tech reviews on YouTube. He'd probably prefer the world to end than to have to go dark for a day. But because of this, he also spoils me with technology, so we ended up getting the new iPhone 6s the day after I announced that I was going dark. So much for that...

Anyway, the iPhone 6s's new "live photos" thing is pretty neat. When turned on, it takes a picture normally, but also records the few seconds that lead up to the capture. But I'm waiting for the moment that it takes up all the room in my phone, even though Jason swears that it doesn't take up THAT much space. I don't think he realizes how many photos of Bellatrix and Lily I can take in one afternoon.

I also am very, very surprised to notice a visible difference between the pictures taken with my iPhone5 and the iPhone 6s. I understand it's 3 iterations old, but 3 years does not feel like that long of a time! I guess technology advances a lot faster than I care to admit. It's kind of like Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but with Apple products.

This week's month's project is about framing a shot. Choosing how to tell the story, by actively putting the subject in a frame within the photo, provides additional context and depth. This was a more difficult concept to wrap my head around because I had to change my initial perception of a potential shot, but it was a useful exercise in training the brain to see the bigger picture.

Thoughts:

1. Especially with light subjects inside a dark frame, it was hard for me to figure out where to set the focus, without blowing out the background or underexposing it, for that matter. I guess that previous lesson of Focus and Exposure didn't serve to explain everything.
2. I had to fix a lot of exposure issues with editing, and I'm not entirely happy with the final products. I think I need to study up on editing in a future week.
3. I'm chalking this lesson up as a work-in-progress. There are shots that I imagined in my head but couldn't find the right venue to capture. (I wanted to find a dark room with someone walking through a ray of sunlight in the middle of the room.)
4. My take-away here is that there are an infinite number of ways to frame a shot.

Project: Photo // Reflections

A few weeks ago, I dropped my iPhone and shattered the screen. I had to pay $100 to get the top screen and LCD screen replaced, which was very annoying because I'm planning to get the new iPhone 6s in November. However, I needed a working smart phone now and for the next 2 months to do this project, know what I mean?!

And now there's a tiny bird in the distance in every picture... but don't worry, it's not your screen. It's just a tiny scratch on my camera lens...

Oh well, 'least it works now!

This week's project took longer than the time originally allotted. I wanted more practice with different types of reflections, so I stretched out the assignment to last a few more weeks.

Anyway, this week's project is reflections.

Thoughts:

1. Reflections are much more stunning on a wind-less day, when one can capture a perfectly mirrored image. Otherwise the wind creates a ripple effect on water that slightly distorts the reflection. 
2. Puddle photography would have more context if the whole puddle is in the picture. Also, try getting the lens closer to the surface of the water.
3. I get it now... golden hour (aka sunrise/sunset) is amazing and the other pictures taken throughout the day are all crap. This is an annoying realization, as it will really limit practice time if I'm only taking pictures within those two time frames!

Project: Photo // Focus and Exposure

This week's lesson was to practice manually controlling the focus and exposure. Unfortunately, between trying to fight off a cold this week, losing money in the 100-point drop of the stock market this week, and Tropical Storm Erika that put Florida in a state of emergency (which basically meant a lot of rain)... I wasn't particularly active on the hunt for interesting pictures.

Here's my week of skipping the gym and hanging out with the cats...

I really was trying to practice locking the AF/AE on the subject and adjusting exposure before taking the picture, but in a house with little natural light, I found that I really had to depend on the editing app to lighten the picture afterwards.

Thoughts:

1. I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to editing pictures.
2. Being sick sucks.
3. But I'm really excited for my sister & her husband, who've officially moved into their very first house in Denver-area this weekend! Yay, congratulations!! 

Project: Photo // Showing Depth

This week's task is about showing depth.

I think I've taken thousands of pictures of a beautiful view, only to go back and discover they all suck. Sometimes I shrug and post it anyway with a #picturesdontdoitjustice hashtag... but it seems I've always looked at it from a tourist viewpoint and simply never seen it with a photographer's mindset!

The most important aspect of a landscape photograph is showing depth, to avoid having the whole thing looking flat. The foreground is key, so interesting details or subjects nearer to the camera is equally as important as keeping the most impressive subject in the background. This allows the viewer to become immersed from the photographer's point of view and the photograph will look more powerful. (Click here for a good example.)

In this picture, I was originally trying to capture the stillness and tranquility of the lake in the early morning, as it was yet undisturbed by birds and ducks still unconscious in their cozy little nests. I took some shots attempting to show the dock in the foreground opposite the further bank and sprinkled clouds in the background... but the photo ended up lacking an "interesting subject." A few steps back toward the car, I noticed that the reason I stopped at this spot was because of the charming little gate and tree branches that framed this little walkway. Sure enough, I love the picture even more with those details included!

I wish I would have played more with exposure so that the rock was more in focus, but it's still interesting to see proof that a subject in the foreground is the easiest way to show depth.

Visiting Denver always makes us want to move out here, especially since both Jason's sister and my sister are both out here with their husbands... it feels like "coming home" every time we hang out with them. And Denver's gorgeous weather, amazing mountains, and the promise of skiing in fresh powder don't hurt!

This picture features some leading lines and layering of hills as a way to show depth. Mr. Fletcher Whitlock as a model for this picture is also just too perfect.

Following an interesting fence as it becomes smaller, the further it gets, gives the illusion of depth.

A small little winding path leads our eyes off to the distance, after we are entranced by Connie and Fletcher hanging out on the bridge!


Thoughts:

1. There are so many different ways to show depth and so many different ways to take pictures of the landscape. I think I need another week dedicated to landscape practice in the future.
2. I know I should be able to practice anywhere, but it is so much easier to be inspired in Colorado when the mountains lend a helping hand in every picture... some places simply just photograph better! All of my original pictures taken in Colorado looked like they already had a beautiful filter on it. (Connie says it was the haze that was present during the day, how ideal can you get?!)

Project: Photo // Rule of Space

This week's focus: Rule of Space.

Our eyes naturally follow the direction of a subject's gaze or anticipated movement in a picture. So it creates balance and intrigue to leave more active space in front of the subject, rather than behind. If the subject is positioned with more dead space behind him, it looks like they're about to walk out of the picture, which makes us feel more tension rather than harmony.

My rookie self would've centered Bellatrix's eyes and whiskers in the middle of the picture... but after reading about the rule of space, I see that it's more natural to have her on the left, since she's gazing toward the right.

Recently, I got into cold brew coffee. It requires a small bit of prep (about 12 hrs prior), and I'm still trying to figure out proportion of the cold brew concentrate to the water/ice that's added right before drinking, but it's amazing... super smooth and subtly sweet. Yummm!

I think this one qualifies as "direction of movement." At first, I had it cropped where the trickle of coffee was centered, but it seemed to be asking for more active space at the bottom... so after a couple drafts, the final picture was one with more space at the bottom (where the cup is).

What is Bellatrix is looking at so intently? She's gazing toward the left and a bit behind me, so there's a bit of tension here, since she might be entranced with something that might jump out and attack me at any second!

It's interesting that though we see no specific details of the man, this picture still seems pretty harmonious. I think it's because we're able to see the view that he sees. He had just gotten a cup of coffee at Starbucks so he could simply be walking out to his car, enjoying the view, or enjoying the drink in his right hand. Or perhaps he's just thinking about "absolutely nothing," as guys just claim they often do... right?

A couple thoughts:

1. Perhaps this was a more advanced task better suited for a future week, since it required dynamic subjects in motion. These photos turned out to be more difficult than anticipated because I typically needed more time to figure out how to freeze motion without it looking blurry. And then it was also challenging because I really wanted to snap a quick picture so that my subjects wouldn't realize I was taking creeper photos of them...
2. I'll only be sharing my favorite pictures from the week, not all of them. This will limit the sheer volume, along with the dull ones... and everyone's happy! ("Everyone" being me and my husband, who's my only other reader, haha.) 

Project: Photo // Rule of Thirds

I'm the girl who takes hundreds of pictures... but very sparingly posts on social media.

That's odd, right? Where the pictures go? Well, they mostly find a home in my iPhone's trash album.

I can't say what makes a good picture, but I do recognize the bad ones, so it's pretty easy to weed them out. Problem is, I hardly end up with anything I'm happy with...

And so begins Project: Photo!

I'm attempting to learn some basic photography rules that I can practice with, by shooting at least one picture every day. (But please, no judgement. This is just for fun!)

This week, I found that many basic rules were kind of intuitive, but one thing I'd never heard of was the Rule of Thirds.

Rule of thirds is a guideline that divides an image into 3 equal parts horizontally and 3 equal parts vertically. The important elements are positioned along the lines or at the intersecting spots, which creates visual interest and balances the composition... more so than a "centered" subject.

And that's what became this week's task!

The four focal points are where the light emanates out from behind the clouds. When taking this picture, I was trying to wait for the big ugly tow truck in front of us to get out of range, but it became an interesting subject in the shadows of the foreground.

Salsa class! I put the girl with the gold shoes at the second vertical line. True enough, my eyes directly go toward her.

This was my favorite. It started out as a picture of the palm tree, but after cropping with rule of thirds and putting a black and white filter on it to eliminate distracting colors, I realized that the subject of the photo was actually the sun... and the tree became a silhouette. Here is the original picture for comparison.

On Sunday, we went to Lake Killarney for some stand up paddle boarding (SUP) and I put my iPhone in this waterproof plastic pocket to take pictures. Sadly, all the pictures came out slightly fuzzy and dull, so I couldn't use them for this project. Regardless, I used the upper third horizontal line for the horizon and the bottom third horizontal line for the chairs in the foreground.

Thoughts:

1. Jeez, I've got a lot more work to do!
2. Walk further away. Smaller subjects are much easier to crop to the rule of thirds.
3. Shadows are something my eyes completely ignore in real life. Until I see them in photos. (This would be a good exercise for a future week.)
4. If I had a dog, I'd name him Voldemort. Oh... but also, walking him would be a good excuse to spend more time outside, thereby providing me with more things to take pictures of.

Project: Photography

Blogging is hard! I've been struggling with subjects to write about lately. There's no lack of activity in my life, but the days are rote and there's nothing I care to spend hours writing about (that people will want to read). Learning French? Tracking macros for flexible dieting? Weekly options trading? Planning for next year's trip to Europe? Nahhh.

So instead, I'm going to learn some basic photography skills, for use on the iPhone! To keep myself accountable, I'm starting a project to take 1+ picture a day. If all goes well (i.e. there's progress), it'll be cool to track the journey from the start. Meow!

Before I begin, I've selected 3 of my favorite Instagrams, taken prior to any research about "photography."

01/2015

04/2015

05/2015

First week's task will be practicing the "Rule of Thirds."

Stay tuned!

Blogger Envy

I'm kind of obsessed with Nicole Warne (aka Gary Pepper Girl), this Australian fashion blogger who started with her own online vintage store at 19, and has since evolved into a model, stylist, creative director, brand consultant, and charity ambassador.

Yes, she's wearing designer ears and a hair veil!

Her pictures on Instagram are even more romantic and amazing, and I'm sure it helps that her fiancé is this ridiculously talented professional photographer. Time to get Jason on board with my blogging!!

She's basically like a modern day Carrie Bradshaw (but fashion and more travel - and not as candidly shoe-obsessed). Her social media inspires me to simultaneously travel more and buy everything that she wears.

About why she started blogging, she once said:

"I had my blog on the side of the store because I just wanted to connect with my customers, show them that the girl selling them vintage clothing was just like them. I put a lot of thought into my branding, about who the Gary Pepper Girl was. She was youthful and quirky and unique and confident... I just wanted to create something positive and optimistic and colorful. I don't believe in breeding negativity and the internet can just be a vortex of that stuff."

Love that!

Just drifting under the cherry blossoms in Japan

Super cute crop top over a high-waisted bikini bottom

This skirt! Those ear muffs! Moving to NYC right now.

Sigh. Follow her for inspiration!

Recipe: Peas in a Linguini Garden

There is this new 6-episode documentary series on Netflix called Chef's Table, and it is amazingly delicious! It follows these world-renowned chefs and tells their stories about how they made it into the foodie world.

Oops, I dropped the lemon tart

That is a dessert by an Italian 3-Michelin-starred chef. One night, his sous chef dropped one of the last two lemon tarts... and wanted to kill himself. Massimo was like, "Dude! Firstly, no need to overreact. And secondly, you're a freaking genius. Let's serve it like art!"*

*This quotation is my interpretation of what possibly happened. He's Italian and super creative and probably said something much cooler than that. 


So... I realize I'm more of a normal, everyday cook. I don't have training, the avant-garde mindset, or feel the need to redefine the traditional grandma's recipes. I kind of throw things together and hope it turns out ok. But I love food and I'm always trying to learn and improve on flavors and presentation. But really, I just want to make pretty and yummy foods for all my favorite people!

The other day, I was reading some Jamie Oliver recipes (you know: quick, fresh, wholesome) and came up with a pasta dish that I love, mainly because of the colors... and well, it tastes yummy too!

Let's call it, Peas in a Linguine Garden.

Prep time: 5 min | Cook time: 15 min | Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground Italian sausage
2 handfuls of grape tomatoes 
1/2 lb. green beans, mushrooms, etc.
1 bag frozen peas
1 box linguine pasta
1/2 lemon
optional: fresh grated Parmesan Reggiano to finish

Directions:
1.  Wash & prep veggies: half the grape tomatoes, half the mushrooms, trim green beans.
2.  Boil a pot of water and cook linguine until al dente. (Don't forget to add salt in the boiling water.)
3.  Meanwhile, heat EVOO in a pan and brown ground Italian sausage.
4.  Cook the bag of frozen peas according to instructions. (my $0.99 Publix frozen peas take ~5-6 minutes in the microwave so I throw those in about now).
5.  When the meat has barely any pink left, add veggies (green beans, mushrooms) and saute around.
6.  Add halved grape tomatoes and squeeze in lemon juice from 1/2 lemon. Let simmer for 3 minutes. Take off heat.
7.  When pasta is done, reserve a ladle of the pasta water before draining. Add to the sausage & veggies pan to make slightly more liquid.
8.  Plate: Pasta. Sausage and veggie topping. Grated cheese. Top with cooked peas.

When I went back for seconds, I realized that the husband doesn't love peas and I was going out of town the next day for a long weekend. So if I didn't want to throw away the peas, I'd have to finish them...

Hmm... I dunno, you think maybe I put too much?

A moment in time

This morning, I read a story about how a 19 year old freshman girl at UPenn took a running leap off of a 9-story building. No one saw it coming, because her life on Instagram was turned on filter: happy.

The story really resonated with me because I know we're all guilty of it: we spend so much time presenting our lives through romanticized lens. Most of us are privileged to have cell phones that connect us to the internet 24/7, especially in 21st century America. But it also gives us the capacity to disguise ourselves and only share a single snapshot to represent who we are and what we are doing. 

Obviously, each glamorous Instagram photo or Facebook post is just one selected moment in time... a single second in a 24-hour, or 1,440-minute, or 86,400-second day. A single post is certainly not a summary of a person's well being, and following them on social media doesn't replace a heart-to-heart conversation.

I'm the happiest and most content I've ever been for as long as I can remember, but at times, I need reminders too. My Instagram exists to remind me that life isn't just about the daily grind. It has moments of beauty and happiness, and I'm extremely blessed to have experienced so much of the good. 

And when that doesn't work, I go find Bellatrix and force her to cuddle with me. Problem solved!

It's awful that Madison couldn't find her way out of depression. The death of anybody before their time is always a tragedy. My mom was 36 when she died of cancer and that was way too early too.

This Sunday is Mother's Day. I hope you will take the opportunity to have a tête-à-tête and/or hug tightly anybody who means a lot to you. Especially your moms or mother-like figures in your life. 

Happy Mother's Day!

My mommy, brother (in her belly), me, and sister

#EatingOurWayThroughTaiwan

My husband and I both have family in Taiwan. After we got married, we wanted to visit the extended family there who weren't able to make the trip to Florida for our wedding.

The trip was planned around the our company's annual Shareholder Meeting in Taiwan, and we were able to persuade every single family member in the States to make the trip with us! Twelve people (my dad, my stepmom, my brother, my sister, her new husband, my aunt, my grandma, Jason's parents, his sister, and her husband) journeyed over from Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, and Denver to meet up on the little island of Taiwan.

Both of our brother-in-laws had never been to Taiwan, so this was a perfect opportunity to experience the home country of what they married into... and eat the delicious Taiwanese food that we can never stop talking about. Nom nom nom!

It was basically a 2 week vacation + some family time + a little bit of work mixed in. Let's just say #eatingourwaythrutaiwan was our most used hashtag on Instagram...

    

This trip gave me some insight into how opportunistic we have it in the States. I never noticed how evident it still is today, but the majority of the Taiwanese are still very old-fashioned... the women are expected to be obedient and care for the household, the family inheritance often bypasses elder daughters and passes down to the first-born son, the ancestry tree only archives the marriages and kids of the sons, and it's rare to see women hold positions of power (though it does happen).

I'm grateful to have grown up in America, to have been encouraged to discover who I am as a person, and to be taught that my worth is the same as the person sitting next to me, regardless of gender. Of course, we're not entirely there yet, but I'm proud that a woman can become the President of the United States, and that we're evolving with the times, trying to put a woman on the $20 bill. 

On the flip side, growing up in old-fashioned Taiwan does have advantages. Kids seem to have a healthier, more wholesome childhood compared to those in America. They still fly kites every weekend, run around on the playground, and play games with other kiddies on streets. None of them are playing video games or watching TV shows on their smartphones. I really don't know how parents are able to raise privileged but well-rounded children... it must be the challenge of a lifetime, whew!