Made in China

Source: photopin

Last night, I post-processed the remaining photos from our trans-siberian journey last month.

I have amnesia.  

It takes awhile for me to recall the negative parts of the trip -- the poor service at our hotel in Harbin (serves us right for using points to stay at the Holiday Inn), the fender-bender accident on ice in route to the Terracota Warriers (it looked like our car was in a pinball machine on ice) or the night we sadly ate fast-food ramen in defeat of finding something more local.  

I only truly remember the good things.  

The joy of being free.  Seeing a new place.  Feeling young.

One of my favorite thinkers, Alain de Botton, wrote a book on the Art of Travel.  He said:

“The twenty-four-hour diner, the station waiting room and the motel are sanctuaries for those who have, for noble reasons, failed to find a home in the ordinary world, sanctuaries for those whom Baudelaire might have dignified with the honorific 'poets'.”  - Alain de Botton

These photos are my home.  Enjoy a few final images from Beijing, Xian and Harbin.

My first photography "gig"

Last year, I managed to buy a used Nikon D300 off of a co-worker moving to the US for $300 (note: the camera costs $2K, brand new).  I thought it was about time to pick-up a hobby and knowing myself, taking photos would be way easier to maintain, then say, running a marathon or cooking things without burning them.

Since then, I've taken a few photography classes and have amassed thousands of photos on my computer (they may or may not take up almost my entire work hard-drive, oops).

Anyways, a few weeks ago, I took engagement photos of our friends, John & Lyn, around Singapore.  Here's a few photos from my first "gig."  I was repaid in drinks & dinner :)