People Are Fascinating - Los Angeles Transformational Beauty Photographer

I am absolutely fascinated by people. When I’m not in my studio “transforming” women into their authentically beautiful selves, I find myself interacting with and/or photographing people more often than not in my travels.

A-Lone-Man-And-a-Sleepy-Pregnant-Cat-on-the-Street-Side-Catania-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography.jpg

Am I looking for the time that many of us can’t go back to anymore? A slower pace? A richer culture? A stronger connection to the rhythm that seems invisible but remains powerful?

Woman-on-Balcony-at-Sunset-Cefalu-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography.jpg

Or am I looking for all of the qualities that are passed down for generations and make us so uniquely ourselves?

In my quest for creative expression, the words “authentic” and “unique” keep coming up. And those words are “creatively” represented in the Transformational Beauty Photography work that I do with my women clients.

To learn about what that can mean for you, fill out the form below so we can answer your questions:

Sign Up to Learn about New Art in the Email

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Format

• html
• text

Buono, Favignana, Italy - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

He said his English is not very good. I was nervous the whole time he was talking.

He told us in his English, next to who appeared to be his wife, that he once had a crush on his English teacher in his youth. He was among the friendly senior citizens that we ran into exploring this beautiful island that’s 11 miles off the west coast of Sicily.

Fortunately, we later saw him again on a different stretch of the beach, in one piece, with his supposed wife. Buono!

Taking-in-the-View-Favignana-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography.jpg

I’m a firm believer that one of the best ways to learn a foreign language is to immerse yourself in the environment that the language is spoken in. For someone that’s passionate about food, I built my whole (meager) Italian vocabulary almost 100% near or around food. :-)

The word “mangiare” (“eat” in Italian) could be the first Italian word that I learned (of course, other than “buon giorno”). In fact, I heard it so many times that I knew how to pronounce it before I even understood the meaning. Do you think people of Italia are just as passionate about food if not more?

So, the story of “buono” goes like this:

On the island of Favignano, Italy, a gelato store somehow became our first stop off the port. Just like the fisherman that walked in before us, still in his water-proof outfit.

He must have seen the way that our eyes were devouring the massive load of gelati, enclosed by a brioche that couldn’t quite close. “Buono!” he turned around, with index finger pressed against his cheek, swiveling (see an illustration of the gesture here). That, my friends, was all it takes to jump in with our own brioche con gelato. And this may have been how I learned to associate the word “buono” with yummy food (it could also be this incident in Bagheria off of Palermo, Sicily).

Brioche-con-Gelato-Favignana-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography.jpg

Surrounded by the Tyrrhenian Sea, Favignana is guaranteed to provide some nice vista of the ocean. As you’ve heard me said time and again that “People are Landscape”, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t include people in my vista.

As we looped our way back to the port, it was livened up by all kinds of people - people buying fish, people lounging around (coffee) bar, and people in trouble. There, I witnessed how everybody dropped what they had on their hands and worked together for a happy ending. Call me old fashion. But I think that is molto buono (VERY good in English)!

Lending-a-Helping-Hand-Favignana-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography-(1).jpg

P.S. Bonus material since I’m being chatty today:

Do you still remember Cetara on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, the town that catches anchovy and turn them into delicacy, i.e., Colatura di Alici di Cetara? The ancient tradition of fishing with menaide that was once used by Cetara is still carried on by fishermen of Sicily. The small opening of the mesh (on average 12 mm) allowed the small anchovies to pass while the larger ones remained entangled. The two ends of this tool were passed through hollow two-barrel cables that functioned as floats. The anchovies caught in the mesh are recovered by hand one by one. The video in the provided link (starting around 5:00 timeline) explains it well.

Subscribe to Receive all Posts in the Email

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Format

• html
• text

People are Landscape - Los Angeles Travel Photographer

One time, I caught myself saying that certain country does not offer people that are either beautiful or interesting, when asked whether I like photographing there.

I’ve long held an opinion that people make part of the landscape of the country/city/locale wherever we travel to. While how one defines beauty or interest varies, Italy definitely has no shortage of beautiful people for me.

On one balmy afternoon, when I was photographing the city of Cefalù in Northern Sicily, one such beautiful person came gliding across the surface of water. As he continued circling around, never moving beyond the reach of my camera, I concluded that I didn’t mind photographing him, with the medieval houses glowing in warm Mediterranean tones in the background.

Paddle-Boarding-Cefalu-Italy-Copyright-Jean-Huang-Photography

P.S. To demonstrate the breadth of beauty that I appreciate and to prove that beauty is beyond skin depth, please visit here and here for more examples of beautiful people that we met in Italy.

Subscribe to Receive all Posts in the Email

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Format

• html
• text