En Vacances

During the week prior to Christmas Day, L and I took a short road trip to Los Angeles. We managed to see friends and family down in LA, as well as in the Bay Area after our return. Here are some pictures.

(Clockwise from right) Jared, L, and Christine listen as Amanda plays the yangqin (Chinese hammered dulcimer) in her garage.

Patrick gives his mom an unexpected kiss after an impromptu dance practice in the kitchen.

Patrick's dad, Blas Sr., looks up into an avocado tree that he had grown from a seed.

A person sits facing the Pacific Ocean sunset.

Patrick writes a message in the sand.

Patrick helps his cousin Alisa learn a song on the guitar.

An impromptu portrait of L

"Come On!"
A child tries to compel his chaperone to keep walking.

"Attack of the Aunties"
An auntie goes for the slam dunk alley-oop after a baby bobbles a morsel of food.

Gary's wife and daughter reach for his cheeks during a meal.

PAW: Let It Snow

Three women stand outside smoking as the snow starts to fall on Tuesday evening, Jan. 11 in Manhattan.

PAW: Red-Eye

The stars shone brightly as we drifted through the darkness


Sorry for the lack of updates. Been pondering and traveling. More once I get back home.

PAW: Drop It Like It's Hot

I spotted this slammed and tucked vintage Datsun 610 wagon on the way home this evening.

After some searching, I found that the car and its driver were recently profiled on the Super Street Online website.

PAW: Keep Calm, Carry On

A snail climbs a wet tree despite the water droplets that continue to fall just after a Mountain View rain shower.

This image is dedicated to my friend x10. DON'T PANIC. Focus on the fundamentals and keep your feet moving. As Benjamin Disraeli once said, "the secret of success is constancy of purpose."

PAW: Autumn Harvest

While walking back to my building, I looked up and spotted these persimmons on a tree next to the path. I aimed upward and took a couple quick shots.

As winter approaches and the leaves start to wither and fall again, I'm reminded of this line from someone called levelbest:
"It is not my job to create beauty. It is my job to witness it, to frame it, and tell the story of it. Even in tragedy there is a glimpse of humanity, just as at night there is a promise of the dawn."

PAW: I reach into the sky…

The cloud formations in the moonlit sky this evening were stunning. When I first looked outside today, I was greeted by a glaring white haze that stretched from the ground all the way up to the sky; it's amazing how that haze gave way to such a striking distinction between the earth and the heavens.

Unfortunately, looking at the photo is nothing like having that cloudy expanse stretch above you in every direction, but hopefully it offers a microcosm of what it was like.

The title comes from a poem which was featured in a fantastic retrospective on the Honda NSX.

PAW: O Canada!

I visited Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada recently and got this shot of a leaf as it sat atop a bus stop in the evening rain. The leaf is backlit by an arc-lamp in the night.

PAW: Textbook

French pole vaulter Aurelien Chastagner demonstrates textbook pole vault technique as he takes off during a practice held at Los Gatos High School this past Sunday.

PAW: Lyle Lovett and His Large Band

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band play a concert at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA on Thursday, July 22, 2010. The group played to a packed house, and went on to play an acoustic, unamplified second encore to a silent audience after the venue cut the mics promptly at 10:30 pm.

The Winery didn't allow SLRs, so I shot this with my Nexus One.

PAW: Naptime

Admittedly, Tigger is my favorite Pooh character.

PAW: Rage, rage against the dying of the light

PAW: Sushi

A caterer from Jin Sho, a restaurant which specializes in Japanese cuisine, prepares a number of sushi rolls during an event this past Friday evening.

The experimentation continues. Over the past few months, I've been uploading photos (sometimes a couple per week) to Twitter and Facebook. I've decided to also post them here on my blog. The title for each discussionless photo post will be prefixed with "PAW:", in honor of the "Photo-A-Week" assignments from the Documentary Photography and Photojournalism class at MIT. The post will generally consist of just a photo with or without a caption.

Also, since a number of people seem to have enjoyed it, here's the prior photo, "Handstand", which I shot a couple nights ago from the parking lot next to my building at work.