Upon pondering about trees:
Trees don’t judge,
Trees don’t stress out about things they can’t control,
Trees aren’t self-conscious,
They don’t worry about defining themselves,
They don’t strive to be that which they are not.
They are free.
Trees exist.
They grow.
Trees let themselves just… be
Be the tree.
I usually don’t do sneak peeks or previews, but I will this one time because I don’t want to release all the pictures before Julie’s CD comes out in a month or 2… and because I just had to share at least one.
To strive to capture an idea, a moment, a feeling. To attempt to find the essence of the present. To rest. To be.
I’m a bit behind on television right now. I just started catching up on Lost [Season 5] a few days ago. In the episodes so far, it’s been all about time travel. I find it interesting how they’ve progressively redefined the idea of being “lost” through the show’s seasons. At first, it was about being physically lost, and now there are some that are lost in time and place, and others who are lost in their identities.
The reason I bring this up is because going back through these images to put them together for the blog had me feeling a bit lost in time. The pictures – they feel like yesterday and long ago all wrapped into the present. It’s easy to get so focused on making new inventive, expressive pictures; sometimes I need to be reminded of their magic.
With photography, I feel that every day I am taking part in something that is far beyond me but also very much intrinsic to me. In a sense, getting lost is part of getting found. Things settle and then change, spurring me back on the journey to discover (i.e. uncover) that which has always been there, which is me. Constantly different and constantly the same. Fragile, yet resilient. Here in this moment, but also in the memories of the past and hopes of the future.
This trip to Hong Kong and Korea is one of my stories. Some of the pictures are repeats of things I have already shared, but I believe they are a little bit different when presented in full context.
The exciting thing about going out every day to take a photograph is that I get to learn something new. One of things I learned with Molly and Peter was to not lead clients down steep, loose dirt embankments that require clinging onto shrubs and roots to not fall. Along with that lesson was learning to see how much they trust me as their photographer: a humbling lesson that I am having to constantly learn again.
The final lesson I want to share here is how much I am learning to rely on instincts to find the picture. We had to work very quickly on this shoot to capture the beautiful fading light, so there was less time to think, which actually freed me to just react and receive pictures as they came.
What more can I say about my clients? They have been such amazing people who allow me to connect with them as they connect with each other. Molly and Peter are certainly no exception. Their session is a result of this really neat blend of playfulness and thoughtfulness between them.
Once in awhile, I leave the comforts of home to explore the great wide world out there. Having just returned from Australia and leaving for Paris tomorrow, I was thinking about this weird thing of traveling. I didn’t used to always travel. I’d always tell people how much I wanted to travel, but couldn’t because I either (a) didn’t have enough money or (b) didn’t have enough time, or (c) both a and b. At times, these things were partially true, but only because I hadn’t really made it a priority.
Several years ago, I looked at my cubicle life and I realized that I could probably sit quite easily at a desk for 8 hours when I’m 70, but that I probably won’t be able to do too many 14 hour flights or 15 mile day hikes at that age. That’s when I started to put away money each month into a different bank account that was marked just for traveling. My philosophy became: travel while the body is able, and then slowly degenerate into a computer sloth as I get older.
As for why I love to travel, there are tons and tons of layers. Getting away from everything for a short time is always great, especially when the beach is something like Ritidian Point. And then there are such amazing things to see and do. I have a fear of heights, but often times I will do things that scare the crap out of me. It’s a harrowing and beautiful miniscule miracle when I feel the fear pass, to then be allowed to witness something incredible (see: Tongariro Crossing). Experiencing culture through food and conversations with locals and other travelers has broadened ideas I had about myself, the environment, the connections between people and how it all fits together with the world. Traveling has also shown me that I am never in control and so I am learning to live my life with a little more improvisation and a little less resistance.
I am so grateful for the places I have been and the ways in which those experiences has added to my life.
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Quick Travel Thoughts
I do not count myself a travel expert at all, but here are some things I have learned that might be worth sharing.
Airline Alliances: There are a couple of major airline alliances. The best thing to do is to sign up for the frequent flier program of just one airline in each alliance. This way, you can accumulate miles faster and hence reach rewards (free flights/upgrades) faster by consolidating all the partner miles.
– One World
– Sky Team
– Star Alliance
Travel Deals: I peruse travel sites and sign up for travel deal emails (filtering them, of course, so that my inbox doesn’t junk up), and try to take advantage of the best deals to the most interesting places. A lot of hotels are partners with airlines, so you can actually get miles for your hotel stays, so always keep an eye out of those things too.
– Farecast
– Travel Zoo
– Kayak
Traveling With A Camera: Not much to say here except that I only take one lens with my dSLR when I travel – lately that’s been the 17-35mm f/2.8. I used to try to take more than that, but I always found myself just sticking to one because changing lenses was just too troublesome. Also, the lighter you travel, I imagine the less attention you bring to yourself. I keep my stuff in my small Tamrac Explorer 1, and just take it out when I want to use it.
Travel Guides: Use other travelers’ advice (including mine!) with discretion. Everybody travels differently and every person has a different standard of what is “clean”, “nice”, “posh”, “good food”, “great service”, etc. Most of the time, I use Lonely Planet guides to get oriented to a city and get a sense of what there is to see and do. Trip Advisor has really become my best friend for finding places to stay based on the concept of the “wisdom of crowds”. For US or UK cities, Yelp is a great resource for finding tasty foods. I also hear from Jeannie that Chow Hound is also a good place to connect with people who like to eat.
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I’d love to hear from you other travelers on this blog: what sites you use, any travel tips, horror stories, lessons learned, etc!
If you’ve been following my blog long enough, you will recognize some members of this beautiful family from my shoot back in 2007. Since then, they’ve added a new little one to the family: meet Gia! Gia is quite the troublesome little sister to Reza, and is already a rather fearless explorer. Her head is always on a swivel, looking for what she wants, and when she spots it, she is going for it. There were times I wanted to put down my camera to marvel at this little person’s awareness and tenacity.
It was so much fun to be with the Mohammeds again, to see them grow in number and to experience their family. Every family is different, and I just love how it feels to be in the middle of all the various families I’ve had the privilege to photograph over the years.
There is something really special to me about photographing the same people over a span of time. There is an incredible familiarity. The trust that is established through those experiences is almost tangible.
I hope you get to experience a bit of this beautiful family through my pictures.
See more on Facebook: Mohammed Family [Lifestyle Portraits]
Reza’s Baby Pics: 2007
Location: Pasadena, CA
This is just from aa impromptu session I put together for my friend’s niece Kylie.
First, never underestimate any hallway with white walls and white ceilings if you have a strobe in hand.
Second, what is it about kids that captures part of my imagination? Kylie and I don’t even speak the same language, and yet, I am so easily drawn into her world. Going through the pictures, I am euphoric with the innocence of her self-expression, and at the same time weighted by the responsibility of wanting to see her grow up strong and beautiful.
