The sign of any fresh start is exciting - Los Angeles Photographer

I'm a big believer in maximizing the utility of anything before putting it back to the environment.  Needless to say, I recycle papers and reuse plastic bags, etc.  Once in a while, when I use vegetables in the kitchen, I'd imagine the possibilities of growing them in my garden.  Therefore, I save seeds.

The other day, I remembered some that I kept since last year.  Not thinking much of the season, I planted them and was instantly rewarded with the nice little faces of these sprouts.  How cute they are (remember, I'm a photographer that sees cuteness or beauty in most anything)?  

Do I remember what I planted?  No.  Would I worry if I'd get fruits from them?  Not really, although it'll be nice.  I don't worry about the end results as much as I want to enjoy the process and make sure to put in the due effort (Hey, I "single-handedly" brought these lives into this world.  I'd need to be responsible.).  With anything, I believe that if I do enough of right things, the positive energy will go around and eventually come as rewards as I least expect it.

What do you think?  Would love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. I am curious though how this plant will turn out to be.  I know it's a squash type.  So, would it be a pumpkin, a cucumber, a winter melon or something else that I happened to stash the seeds away last year?  Anybody with a green thumb can tell? :-)

What Part of History Did This Image Capture? - Los Angeles Fine Art Photographer

I guess we’d all agree that at the flickering of shutter, one split second of history is captured.  As I was processing one image taken at the village of Hongcun, China, one with a history of 900 years, my initial intention was to present to my audience a historical setting where life carried on in those hundreds-year old houses, around the water.  Yet, interestingly, the same life still goes on in the same buildings by the same (amazingly unpolluted) water.  So, which part of history did this image capture?  The one that was lived through by our ancestors?  Or the one that we are living now?

Wouldn’t this image make a beautiful decoration to your home, bringing peacefulness to your daily life?  It would look awesome on your wall when processed on a piece of aluminum (i.e., metal print).  Please 

contact me

 if you are interested in more details.

Please visit here for more images that are perfect for your home.

For more information about the amazing Hongcun and the surrounding area, please visit my 

travel blog

.

Do you know your lifetime dream(s)? - Los Angeles Portrait and Fine-Art Photographer

I still remember in the days of my corporate life, I'd say things like "when I retire, I would ...".  It seemed that I was saving the best things in life until my "golden years".  It seemed as if the life before retirement was supposed to be lacking, and suffering through it was part of the "package" that came with life. Well, things do not always go with plans and who would have known that I could change?  I changed, way before I reached retirement age.  Somewhere along the line, I started looking within to search for happiness and contentment.  So today, when I read the blog post "Before I Die - What is Important to You" by public installation artist, designer, urban planner, and co-founder of Civic Center  Candy Chang, I felt a sense of relief.  As I tried to reflect on the things that I wanted to achieve over the years, I am happy that I did not wait for a "perfect time" to act on them.

We may be able to plan our retirement; we won't know when our last day is in this world.  So what's on your list the things that you always wanted to do and yet life gets in the way?  Since waiting does not seem to be a good option, make plans to start allowing room to act on your "dreams".  

So what my dream life was like years ago, you may ask.  I wanted to lead a creative life and travel around the world.  And today, far ahead of my supposed "retirement age", I am creating as a photographer and oil painter (and many other ways of creating to come), and my passion for travel has taken me to many corners of the world.  And yet, what's more fulfilling is that I'm able to contribute to a positive life experience to my clients by bringing beauty to their lives or reminding them of such beauty.  I wouldn't have asked for my life any other way.

So today, allow yourself 5 minutes of your busy life to sit down and complete this sentence: "Before I die, I want to ____________".  Look forward to your sharing!

P.S. As I was deep in the drafting of this post, a friend that hasn't called for years rang.  As you would've expected, she was shocked (to say the least) at my changes.  It'll be interesting to find out her husband's reaction when she tells him first thing back home.  Hehe...