Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Hello from the 73rd floor...

So I had the opportunity to work from the new Taipei office the past couple of days... on the 73rd floor of the Taipei 101 (currently tallest building in the world)!!!!  The office is amazing, the micro-kitchen is as well stocked as any 7-11 in Taiwan (it'll be enough to keep you happy for days on end...). And the view... oh my God the view... I had the good luck of visiting during a small typhoon that passed by just south of Taiwan, so the weather was mixed between beautiful clear skies and a slight drizzle... and then the subsequent rainbow(s)!

Some photos from the office...
From Google Taipei


From Google Taipei


From Google Taipei


This is the view from their cafeteria... life can be so unfair :).
From Google Taipei


From Google Taipei


From Google Taipei


Instant beef noodle soup with real beef!
From Google Taipei



Of course... my favorite childhood snacks :)
From Google Taipei


From Google Taipei


Double rainbow!
From Google Taipei


The rainbow was so close you feel like you can just reach out and touch it...
From Google Taipei

From Google Taipei


And of course... sunsets from 73rd floor can't be missed.
From Google Taipei


From Google Taipei

Of course the down side to being on the 73rd floor is... you have to WALK down in case of emergencies >.<.... I missed the memo about yesterday being the practice building evacuation / fire drill.... I was in the middle of a meeting when the fire alarm went off... so naturally I followed my coworkers and walked down the stair well... all 73 floors of it. By the time I got down to the ground floor... wow. It wasn't that hard... but you definitely feel it :). Of course we did get to walk out side on the balcony area between each section of Taipei 101... view from 60 some floors up without windows is just AMAZING (and really strong winds too...). Oh ... and now I can say for sure that there is no 44th floor (there is two 42nd floor, 42 and 42a) but there is a 4th floor... I saw it with my own eyes...:)

Reverie

Ever wonder what Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Vincent Laforet can do with a Canon 5D Mk II's movie mode and a $5K budget? It has a night time helicopter flight over NYC... need I say more?

Reverie (hosted by Canon)

Smugmug also has the video hosted, with HD version available and a behind the scene movie here


Sunday, September 21, 2008

A "duck"-ful day...

So after a what seemed to be a short 13 hour flight, I'm now here safely in the still-way-too-hot-and-humid Taipei. Actually, it's not that bad, totally bearable unlike middle of the summer would be. Every time I come back, I'm filled with apprehension. I'm worried that I've lost my language... lost my ability to connect with people here, lost connection to my friends... All totally unfounded, but it is just a bit daunting for me to suddenly be thrown in a pure Chinese world where the "hip" culture moves faster than the latest boy band craze and new words are introduced and retired on a monthly basis it seems. Always something new when I come back, always a moment of disconnect before my brain adjusts to this new world that I call home. But as soon as my brain adjusts, I feel right at home... this is... home. When I walk out on to the streets, I feel... comfortable, I feel at ease, perhaps even more so than walking on the streets of LA or Irvine. This is the soil I grew up on... this is the air I've breathed as a kid... the same polluted smoggy, humid, suffocating air. Walking along the streets, seeing all these shops, they are all just as familiar as if I was just walked past them yesterday. In some ways, I almost feel safer walking through the heart of Taipei in the middle of the night than walking in say, Santa Monica or LA at night (Irvine doesn't count because there's not a soul out there past 10). And then when I meet up with my childhood friend, it is as if I never left. Same familiar smiles, same taunts, jokes, laughs... same warm feeling that puts me at ease.  I feel connected to them in ways I can never quite experience in the US. They see a side of me that no one will see in the states, and perhaps it just means that no one there will ever know the true me deep down inside... They are truly my brothers, 我的死黨 我的哥兒們.  And it is in that instant that I am reminded of what my culture and my language means to me. I am without a doubt, far more Chinese than I will ever be American. In fact, if people ask, I will never hesitate to proudly answer "我是中國人 (台灣來的中國人) - I am Chinese  (from Taiwan)". I feel as if I have to hold on to my language for dear life, I am worried that if I ever lost the ability to communicate in Mandarin, whether it is in writing, or in speech, that I'd stop being "Chinese"... and I'd never feel "home" again. 你董我的意識嗎? 你能諒解嗎? 在美國住的我就像一個沒有根的流浪漢, 永遠沒有一個家可以回.

Anyways, I digress. My friends decided to treat me out to Peking Duck for lunch! Partly because good Peking duck is harder to come by in Southern California (oh but they are far easier to find there than any where else in the states I think) but also because he figured I'd want to take photos of it.  How absolutely thoughtful of them! Here are some photos:

This is a special Tofu dish they had there, forget the exact name but it was really good! It is tofu with shrimp eggs (that's what those little specks are).


For those of you who have never ordered fish at a Chinese restaurant... you should know that Chinese serves fish whole, with the head and fins... (eating the head often requires quite a bit of skill but can be very rewarding - the meat at the gills area is most excellent). Anyways, this particular fish is cooked with a light soy sauce with a touch of sweetness and the typical spices - ginger, scallion, chili pepper.


Here the full duck is shown to the customers before slicing it up for 2 courses (the wrap + soup).


Ah... good Peking duck served with a "tortilla", special sauce, scallion and the meat + skin of the duck. Just pile it into the tortilla and roll it up for some awesome greasy duck goodness (this particular restaurant was more oily than what I'd really want..., but not bad at all).
Anyways, through some weird twist of fate... my grandparents decided to take me out to dinner too... and guess what they wanted to treat me to... yep! You guessed it, more Peking Duck o.O||. 2 Peking Duck feast in one day... I couldn't exactly turn either of them down... so I had to eat more duck... haha. I guess that's my Peking Duck quota for the year :-p. 

Sorry, I'm not particularly artistic when it comes to food photos, or decorating my food to make it look presentable :p. But rest assured it tasted great!


We also ordered some lettuce wrap for dinner... Man, it is the first day and I'm already stuffing myself full of great food! I don't even want to know how many pounds I'll gain on this trip....


Of course no day is complete without some karaoking which probably kept me awake through the afternoon... KTV - the best way to overcome jet lag haha. Ah, it's is good to be home. 我終於回家了

Friday, September 19, 2008

Capturing Faith

I don't know how many of you reading this is religious, or have at least thought about what religion means to you (or the people around you). I've given this a lot of thought this past month and was "forced" to come face to face with not just what religion (Christianity) means to me, but also to those around me (especially my brother). I was asked to photograph two church (EFC Irvine - Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine) events... first was the 1.5 Gen worship (I was going to attend anyways, but my brother asked me photograph it - I was really honored and gladly accepted). The 1.5 Gen worship is more of an informal gathering than an actual fellowship that meets every other month or so. It is geared towards people like me, those of us that are not 1st generation Chinese, nor 2nd generation... those of us that have no place to call home, no single culture to identify with but instead straddle the line, mixing best parts (I hope) of both cultures. The service is done mostly in Chinglish and consist of song/hymns in the beginning, a sermon and quick prayer session... all kept informal for the younger audience. For this, I tried to capture of a personal relationship with God, and just the power of faith for individuals... Here are some shots:


From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


I just love the back lighting of this shot... not sure why but just has that "big stage" feel almost.
From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


While this shot is a bit blurry... I still like it. I've known him for a long time and it's just powerful image to see him so devoted and I could almost feel the power/energy flowing through him and reaching me....
From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship



From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


Here I started playing with the wide angle and strong back lighting to get some lens flare as well as long shadows.
From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship

From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


Some post processing done here to really highlight the spot light on the cross (deepened the shadow and brought out the highlights). The increased contrast seems to make the image feel more dramatic.
From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship


This might be my favorite shot from the day... I just love how everyone is kneeling down in front of the cross in prayer. I also like the wide angle distortion which makes the cross look much further away than it actually is. It was another extremely powerful moment for me, made me want to put down my camera and pray with them...
From EFC Irvine 1.5 Gen Worship

The second church event was EFC Irvine's 20th anniversary this past weekend... it also happened to be my brother's ordination as minister at the church so it was a big day for everyone involved. I was really hesitant to accept the "job" at first (mainly because I wanted to enjoy my brother's big day), but my mom's who asked and I really couldn't turn him down... The church wanted some large group shots mostly... which is probably the most challenging thing I've ever done as a photographer to date. Anyways, here are some photos from the day...

Started off with some photos of the choir, various performances...
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


I wanted some shots from behind the conductors, just felt it would be more interesting making him as the main subject...
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


Some cute shots of the young kids choir...
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


Then came the big event for me, my brother's ordination...
I have to admit, when they raised the projector screen and the cross became visible... I was really moved... it was just "wow" for me. I can't quite explain the feeling I had inside... but it was different, something really strong.
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


This was the most powerful shot for me of the day... He has changed a lot... I remember back when we first moved to the states (we lived in South Pasadena back then), he was really one of the "bad" kids, joining gangs and what not. But God has really changed his life, perhaps saved him... going from gang member to a minister. I've always known how important the Church and everything is to him, but to experience it up close and personal, it was totally different... All these thoughts just hit me all at once, suddenly I got it... I understood him much better at that instant and it just moved me to see him so devoted. Like I said... looking through the lens allows one to experience things differently, on a much more intimate and personal level and this was no exception for me and perhaps that is what really touched me.
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


My brother has played a big role in the church, especially for the younger generation and has touched many lives... and today, you can add me to that long list as he has truly touched my life (the story of me and my brother warrants a whole post on its own).... For me, it was really heart warming to see him smile and be greeted by his close friends.
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


The day closed with a moving soloist that my mom claims is super handsome... I believe he works as a professional stage manager or director of some sort... anyways, he performed "How Great Thou Art!"
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary


Finally, the group shots that I've been waiting for all day...
From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

From Evangelical Formosan Church of Irvine 20th Anniversary

So the group shots were really challenging, both from lighting and actual organization perspective. Each group size was very different, one group was about 1.5 times this group size and was near impossible to fit into the frame (and I was using the 10-22mm!!!). Larger groups also meant that there was more distortion on the side as I couldn't zoom in. I was too nervous trying to get everything to work and forgot to pay attention to balancing out the two sides so some groups had way more people on one side than the other... There were other people photographing the groups so there were people running all over the foreground... It was just not very organized and partly it's my fault, partly it's miscommunication. From lighting perspective, this was even more challenging. There was a spot light, but it mainly lit the center of the frame and it was a fairly warm light source... to balance this out, I set up an umbrella on each side of the frame for some cross lighting (the left umbrella pointed to the right edge, and right one points to the left). This allowed the majority of the light to "fall off" before hitting the center and far subjects which is exactly what you want as there'll be plenty of light coming from the other umbrella. To balance the colors out I gelled each of the flash with a full CTO gel and set my camera's white balance to tungsten... this more or less evened out the colors across the entire frame. The rest was more or less experimentation... I set the flash on manual at about 1/2 power to play with and then just adjusted the shutter/aperture on the camera to balance the exposure... some shots came out better than others, some shots were ruined due to the large group and close proximity to the umbrella (so the edges got too hot or bright). I was also using the cheapo ebay (Cactus V2) triggers which is definitely less than 100% reliable (seemed to be more like 75% accuracy)... All in all, I'm relatively satisfied with the results, especially considering this is my first time doing large group portraits. 


Anyways, sorry for the incredibly long post... and way too many photos. At the end of the day, I don't know if I captured people's "faith"... but I ended up with some images that had a lot of personal significance to me. On an interesting side note... quite a few people came up to me afterwards and asked what photo studio I was with ... o.O;; People are also fairly happy with the group photo results so it looks like I'll be doing a lot more church events in the future haha.