A moment in time

I'm often asked what it is about photography that I love so much. Aside from my idea of "it's not what you look at that matters; it's what you see", there's also the aspect of capturing the memory of a moment. That's probably why so many photographers like to photograph the same place over and over again; even if nothing much has changed in the physical surroundings, each photograph carries with it a memory of that moment in time. The weather, the sounds and smells, maybe even an event that happened on the same day…all memories connected with a single photo.

The significance is doubly so for portraits. Some photographers & models subscribe to the idea of using photography to capture one's youth. I've talked to models who did intimate photos because – in their own words – they wanted to do it while "everything was still pointing in the right direction (again, their words, not mine :) )

Anyways, to me it seems a bit cruel to use photography to remind us of a youth that's passed. I prefer to use photographs to remind us of who we were at a certain point in time. Not the physical aspects but the emotional ones. Photos can trigger such a powerful flood of memories (think about how often you smile/sigh when looking at old photos). A faint smile from last year might be due to anything ranging from a sorrowful burden to a muffled burst of glee from a more carefree time. A pose, a certain look in the eyes…all reminders of who you were at that moment in your life.

It's true that we physically change through the years, but it's the reminder of the kind of person that we were that's so much more appealing to me. Keep this idea in mind the next time you take a photo; you're recording a memory to look back on in years to come.

Please grow up…

I was listening to some radio talk shows during my commute to work this morning and I just gotta say: I am SO SICK of hearing about the Edison Chen Photo Scandal. It's been 4 weeks people, give it a rest already! All this debate over who should apologize, who hasn't been sincere enough, why what they did was so wrong…aaaaaarrrrrrgggggh!

This is such typical Celebrity Bashing behavior. No matter where you are in the world, it seems that whenever a scandal breaks out involving an entertainment personality the pubic and media go into a frenzy to voice their disdain over the matter. It's probably partially due to jealousy; the way some people just love to tear down celebrities because they're envious of the status and other perks that come with being famous.

I mean, let's break this Photo Scandal down to the basics. A guy has a bunch of racy photos of the girls he's slept with, he forgets to remove them from his computer before bringing it in for repairs and someone at the computer shop puts the photos online. Seems to me that the biggest villain is the shop employee and yet hardly anyone focuses on him, deciding instead to zoom in on Edison and his "immoral behavior." OK, you don't have to approve of his sexual proclivities, but let's keep in mind the fact that these were taken privately on his own time between him and the women, and that they were never MEANT to be shown to the public. The issue at hand should be the HUGE violation of privacy and not the ethics of what a man and woman CHOOSE to do in the bedroom.

A comment that totally pissed the shit out of me (hmm, what a pretty picture) was from someone claiming to be a member of a Woman's Rights Society who said that Edison's actions were extremely disrespectful of women. It's not the morality judgment that I mind so much as the way the caller conveniently placed all the blame on Edison. Think about it, if his actions were so horribly offensive to women, what does that say about the women who were WILLING participants? It's sickeningly hypocritical to say that the photo taking was wrong but be totally one-sided when placing the blame.

Speaking of hypocrisy, the person hit hardest by the scandal has definitely been Gillian Chung. The general argument is that she's been a big phony for acting so innocent in public while actually being so "open." I won't comment on the alleged two-facedness but I do want to use the opportunity to point out the fact that I've always thought it a bit bizarre that the HK public & media are so eager to buy into the idea of a 25+ year-old ingénue. I dunno, maybe it's just me but isn't it a bit silly to expect a mature woman to act like an innocent teenager (especially considering the fact that today's teenagers really aren't that innocent or naive)?

Maybe I'm just expecting too much from a society that still makes such a big deal whenever a female celebrity appears in public without a bra (so much so that it often makes the cover of magazines).

Or maybe I'm missing the point; maybe the idea behind the headlines is "Oh poor girl, she's a celebrity but she can't afford underwear" ;)

A Learning Experience

Gee, it's so much fun to learn about new stuff...except when said learning involves firsthand knowledge of stuff that's really not so fun to try out.

Case in point: I recently became accuately aware of the medical terms gastroenteritis and urticaria. It all started the a couple of days ago when I woke up in a semi-conscious state in the middle of the night because I knew that something was wrong with my stomach, and then somehow managed to cover my bedroom wall with explosive projectile vomit. Seriously, the place looked like someone triggered frag mine filled with barf.

After cleaning the place for over an hour, I was rewarded with a second viral barrage, this resulting in an explosion from the orifice opposite of my mouth (thankfully I was fully awake by now and had enough sense to make it to the bathroom otherwise...damn, what a fun secondary mess that would have been). Spent the next 2 days moving back and forth between my bed and the bathroom.

Finally got better in time for my cousin's wedding (which was a relief since I was responsible for shooting candid family shots). Things were going well until the late afternoon; while I was changing for the evening banquet, I noticed a red rash on my neck. Quick check of my body showed UGLY welts up and down both my arms. Thank goodness that the rash wasn't itchy, so I was able to go on with my duties at the banquet. Plus, the hired photographers jumped in whenever they started to see me shoot ('coz they get to charge for every extra photo) so hopefully between me and them we got all the photos taken care of.

Anyways, when I got home later that night, eewww! None of the rash made it to my face, but from my neck down (don't look if you're not into seeing freaky stuff)...

eww!
eeewwww!
eeeewwwww!

Sigh...why can't I experience something more along the lines of winning the jackpot of the lottery...

Giddy Up!

I was invited to dinner at the HKJC in Happy Valley.

For appetizers, salad, shrimp, crayfish, salmon and parma ham.

Last night was race night but I was probably the only one there who didn't bet on any of the races. Of course not, I was too busy eating. Took this photo while waiting for the main course.

Mmm...braised lamb shank.



My favorite part of any buffet dinner: the dessert bar. Coffee mouse, pear creme brule, mango cake, chocolate fudge cake.

Fruit shooter, mango crepe and stawberries & pineapple, dipped in white chocolate. Normally there's a dark/milk chocolate fondue, but last night offering of white chocolate was much better.