Discovering HDR August 31, 2007

Somehow, I decided to explore my long time interest in photography today. And HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging is what I discovered this morning… I never realized how beautiful and true to life photographs can be. In fact, I feel somewhat amazed that for so many years I did not realize the incredible difference between the image that our eyes capture and those captured on film. The images we see with our eyes, are so much more vivid, more colorful and more real than even the most beautiful photographs from coffee table books. Yet, I’ve never consciously realized the difference until today. This realization brought me concerns. Are our perceptions really that heavily influenced by what is available to us? This is a scary thought, because in the case of imaging, we really do have the best available tools to anchor that perception, our eyes!

Anyhow, thanks to thanks to a fellow blogger, I feel awakened. From his blog, Memoirs on a Rainy Day, I learned about, and even attempted to make my very own HDR images.

Note: My first time HDR experimental attempts below do not even come close to the actual beauty that HDR is capable of capturing. To do it justice, I will attach a more skillfully captured HDR image of Manhattan at the end of this post.




* believe it or not, it took these 5 photos to make the 1 HDR imaging below

* the same view after HDR

*and it took these photos to make the HDR image below

* this HDR image is more dramatic because the 3 original images were not shot with the exact same position, to embrace the difference, i decided to give it a even more dramatized finish

* from flickr, photographed by Automatt

Asian Art Museum & Astro Boy August 29, 2007

I like visiting museums, but for whatever reason, I don’t go as much as I would like to. So when I finally do go, it’s a huge treat. Thanks to my friend Meli, I went to the Asian Art Museum last night. Although, I didn’t get a chance to walk through all the exhibits, I did get reacquainted with my childhood wonder, Astro Boy…

Aside from being surrounded by art and creative inspiration, museums are great because I always end up learning something new. This time I got educated on one of the most influential Manga masters from Japan, Osamu Tezuka san. Aside from the well-known comic series of Astro Boy, he was also the creator of Phoenix, Kimba the White Lion, Black Jack, Ambassador Magma, Dororo. As great as he may be, I must say that I don’t understand why most of his central characters must come from tragic backgrounds and live in disturbing and dark story lines. To someone, like myself, who prefers the sunny side of life, it is truly difficult to comprehend why someone so clearly talented, skilled and cutting edge in the manga universe would inspire so much of his life long devotion from such dimmed views toward the world. Perhaps a tough childhood? World War II? Or simply stuck on the shady side of the street?

* live amateur mangaka attempts, not bad!

* manga artifacts in their most capitalized forms… nonetheless, cute!

* all the colorful toys are bringing out our silly bugs ;o

* ohh.. its getting late.. gotta say good-bye to my astro boy once again…

Classroom Fun! August 26, 2007

Last week, I got to help my friend, Jessica, setup her first ever 5th grade classroom. Even though I’ve decided to take this year off from teaching, a part of me is still undeniably missing the classroom and the kids… But as it turns out, I can still have the best of both worlds.

* gotta always share the duties of a classroom… and everyone student should have a job, even if it’s a made up one.. btw, this is the most tan i’ve ever been, and probably the most i’ll ever be ;( i like to be dark…




* i thought hard in coming up with this ven diagram idea for a ‘question and concept’ board. little did i know i had to work even harder cutting those circles out of fabric.. but it’s all worth it!

* no matter what, can’t let them chairs squeak. besides, mr brown worked hard polishing them floors

* jess believes that a love for reading can be better fostered in a more inviting environment, i agree!

Cars, cars, and more cars! August 21, 2007

I’ve never been a big car person in the past, even though, I did get into the whole fixed up car phase for a bit during high school. Mostly, I was just following what I thought was the cool trend at the time, and got my share of the cool ride. But this weekend, by the most spontaneous chance, I found a whole new level of lust in me, for cars.

Alex and I met up with his parents at Pebble Beach on Sunday for the fabulous Concours d’ Elegance. Boy, did we see cars, the creme de la creme of the 4-wheel world.

* The quintessential collectors’ automobile, the Duesenberg.

* The cute and nostalgic vintage Ferrari.

* The fast and furious modern Bugatti.

* The mean and arrogant Rolls Royce.

* The smooth and sexy Aston Martin.

* The smart and efficient Tesla.

* The seductive and heart-throbbing Spyker.

* Spyker’s sexy interior.

Aside from all these handsome vehicles, the one that grabbed my heart most was this,

for aside from its lovely stitched border, it came with the most precious feature, a sweet baby!!

The flower of memories August 15, 2007

As I casually walked down the same College Ave that I do almost every single day, these little flowers caught my eyes two days ago. I was instantly brought back to my childhood summer nights in Beijing. These are the same flowers that I grew up with every summer. They always bloomed in pink, white and yellow colors in my yard and in the neighborhood. At the end of each summer, they would turn into these tiny little round black seeds. I loved collecting them on my palm and staring at them. They looked like tiny grenades, so bumpy and oddly shaped.

Along side these little flowers, I collected countless memories of running around the neighborhood catching dragonflies, playing hide and seek, waiting in front of a pile of bricks for the cricket to chirp, and hundreds of images of families and neighbors sitting under giant trees in the street waving fans back and forth, gossiping about the grind of life during those calm and unwinding evening hours.

Yet, so many times, I must have walked by these little flowers, only this time, I see them. Nevertheless, they generously offered this unexpected outburst of sweet memories from Home. I can’t help, but wonder, what else in life have I walked by without giving it a fair glance?

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” Stay Inspired! August 12, 2007

By a random chain of events, I stumbled upon Steve Job’s 2005 commencement address at Stanford . Like many others, I always thought the guy a phenomenal figure, felt curious about what makes him who he is. After reading his commencement speech, my respect for him was reinforced. Apple and Pixar aside, the guy is direct, bold and inspirational with his words!

“You’ve got to find what you love,”

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”

“You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.”

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

“Almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”

“Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.”

“You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

“Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.”

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”

“Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.”

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

“Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.”

the Sweetness in Life August 12, 2007

Catching up with a good friend over a cup of charming hot cocoa is definitely a sweet sip of life. But my mom always says, without ever tasting bitterness, how do we know if it is sweetness that we are having?



* thanks to bittersweet, the chocolate cafe in Oakland, where my intriguing cup of hot cocoa was created and also their sweet reminder of my mother’s wisdom! by the way, the floating heart in the hot cocoa was the inspiration for this post and a complete serendipitous occurrence.

The ultimate girl time and lobster August 11, 2007

Last week when I was home in LA visiting my mommy and having girl time, we all went out to the best lobster place I know, Newport Seafood, a Vietnamese restaurant located in the heart of a highly Chinese/Taiwanese populated area called Rowland Heights in LA county… Out of all the lobster places I’ve ever tried, this place makes by far the most unique, flavorful, satisfying lobster! This is a must visit every time I go home, and it always gives mommy uber pleasure to see me chow down like a I haven’t eaten for days.

Guided by one of my deep beliefs, good things in life should be shared with loved ones, I finally got a chance to take some of my girls, all the way from NYC and the Bay, to the lobster, and now we have a fan club!

The gifts in Life August 11, 2007

Even after over a year, Alex and I are still receiving gifts for our wedding. Life is too kind to us. And we really are aware of how fortunate we are. We love this new beautiful flatware. We love it so much, I can’t stop photographing it..

~ thanks carol and dick!

* the goodies came wrapped in layers and layers of tissue paper, and suddenly we see this beautiful green box

* a flatware warming party anyone?

* how do you photograph shiny silverware without capturing yourself in it?

* and we are not the only ones that got a gift… what is it with cats and boxes?

Pleasure of the day – the donut peach and tiny! August 9, 2007

This is my best discovery from today! The most refreshing donut peach ever provided by Tiny’s!

* it even has the cutest seed inside!

* for more fruity puns go to ilovetiny.com