A Total Makeover

North Point, Hong Kong |

Building gets a facelift in the ever-changing Hong Kong.

Portrait of an Artist

City of Markham, Ontario Canada |

Those who listened to Davy Liu’s story—animation artist who worked on famous Disney animation films such as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and Mulan etc—would found it very inspiring. Seeing his art and listening to his story is like looking at a portrait, reflecting the beauty and miraculous work of the divine hands that made this painting great.

Man and A Blue Bucket

Lijiang, China |

Get the Message

Tap Mun, Hong Kong |

This little house is one of the many uninhabited houses on Tap Mun, a small island off the coast of Sai Kung Peninsula in Hong Kong. What makes it different from the others is its almost calligraphic like, handwritten words covered wall.

Appear as a message to visitors turned into a visual collage that makes this abandon house an unknown landmark of the island.

A Different Kind of Water Sport

Wasaga Beach, Ontario Canada |

Woman of Joy

Manila, Philippines |

I was invited to join a local mission to visit the slum area of Manila while visiting a good friend there—a missionary couple that stationed in the Philippines.

Following my guide, we made one special stop during the walking tour of Smokey Mountain (a common name for the slum area) to dropping by a very small shack where a ladies meeting was taking place. There were about 4 to 5 women inside a small and crowded area. They were singing, clapping their hands and simply making sounds of joy, despite the hash physical environment they were at and the hardship they were enduring.

It's been quite some time now since I took the picture at this ladies meeting. Looking back, that brief encounter with these ladies had me discovered that joyfulness is indeed a thing of the heart.

On Patience

New York NY, U.S.A |

"I pray for the patience to endure times of trial, to keep anticipating, keep hoping, keep believing. I pray for patience to be patient."
- Philip Yancey

It Never Rains in Southern California

We almost lived out what this popular song from the seventies suggested—It Never Rains In Southern California, during our six days trip traveling from Los Angeles to San Diego and back. Well for the record, it rained for one day.

We were there during Ethan’s March break and it was unusually warm as we were told. To a few of us who managed to escape briefly from the long and sometimes bitterly cold Canadian winter, the warm and sunny California weather was a real defrosting experience. Soaked up with all the sun we can get and packed with fond memories, we left Los Angeles on a ‘red eye’ flight dreamed of California and her former Governor saying…I'll be back!

Flower Field, Carlsbad, California |

Santa Monica Beach, California |

Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California |

No Rush Hour

Near Guilin, China |

"Rush hour" was probably unheard of in this little riverside area just outside of Guilin. Everything here seemed running on its own unique pace—a good mix of liveliness and tranquility.

I visited Guilin during the mid 80s—a time when the economic reform that changed China was just started. Modernization was still far from the rural areas. Though it might seem primitive and backward, but its originality and the friendliness of people captivated me. What I caught on film turned out to be a small piece of history got frozen in time, because I know I would never be able to find that again—neither the place nor the people, in the 2011 China.

Camera vs Photographer

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

James Estrin once wrote in a New York Times photo blog - Lens, about fellow New York Times photographer Damon Winter's work covering lives of US soldiers in Afghanistan. His blog post also featured series of images captured by Winter using his iPhone.

James wrote, "Does it really matter what camera Damon Winter used to make these beautifully composed images? I don't think so. It's the images that are important. Whenever possible, I avoid writing about camera gear. The photographer takes the picture, not the equipment. Few people care what kind of typewriter Hemingway used."

I couldn't agree more! It really is the photographer's vision that makes the image unique.

Inspired by Winter's work, here is also my take on "camera vs photographer" using iPhone and Retro Camera App.

Write Talk Touch

If one has to choose the most talked about social activities in 2010, I think the winner would probably goes to “Getting Connected”.

Yes, you can write a Facebook or blog post to get connected as what I am doing now; do a Skype call to get connected…the list goes on! However, there is one thing the digital bandwidth cannot do. That is physically reaching out to touch someone - the simple face-to-face human connection.

Like everyone else, guess my 2011 will probably not able to stay out of this “Getting Connected” business totally, but perhaps it will/can/should goes beyond the digital, do more of the reaching out and further into getting the real connection with the ONE that has unlimited bandwidth.

Bryant Park, New York City