New Photo Album - Amina the Mongolian Monster

Uploaded a new photo album "Amina".

Amina is the three-year-old daughter of our Mongolian friend Bujima, who generously allowed us to stay at her place in Ulaanbaatar before we headed for the ultramarathon race. During the week we spent with Amina, we observed several things of her:

1) She's super energetic - she woke up before us and slept after us. Whenever we opened our eyes, she was either screaming, jumping on sofa, or eating loads of snacks...

2) She eats a lot - by 3-year-old she can finish a full bowl of udon at Sakura restaurant, a famous Japanese restaurant in downtown Ulaanbaatar. When she's done, she would also pay respect to the owner by yelling, "Oishi!!" ("delicious" in Japanese)

3) She likes photography - when we arrived at her place, the first thing that caught her eyeball was my Pentax Optio WG-1 camera. Amina grabbed my camera and played for days, taking tons of self-portraits. Here is an example of her masterpiece:

Amina self-portrait

My 1st Photo Lesson - Photo-taking Takes Time

Taken at Kota Kinabalu, April 29, 2011Photo-taking takes time - this is the first lesson my first photography teacher told me in 2005.

I very much enjoy the moments when I observe the world through a tiny viewfinder and press the shutter button, but equally so I love standing idle, look around for smiling faces and approach them.

When I first saw the background of the picture above, a vivid orange brick wall with patterned street photos outside a Kota Kinabalu market, I knew it would make a good photo - with a right subject.

First take.The first attempt, with a family of three, was a failure.

"Two too many," Monami handed down the verdict. Damn right.

Then a flip-flop solo passed by and I made my second attempt.

"It couldn't be wrong, right?" I asked.

"One too fat," the judge said.

True.

So we stood by the side of the street and waited, until we spotted a little boy wearing an Argentina football shirt. A big-eye Lionel Messi who's too sweet to miss.

Second take.At first he was shy and hid behind his welcoming elder brother and mother, who were sitting on the adjoining doorsteps and encouraged him to talk to us.

We stepped back and waited again. Finally he came with his brother to play with the phones, giving me a good 3-second to fire a string of photos at his back.

Messi heard the shutter sound behind him and swiftly turned around. He grinned and ran away, as if he knew he lost in the hide-and-seek game - but with great fun.

Monami and I showed him the pictures on my digital camera. We all laughed together and waved a goodbye to each other. With the time it took, it brought me a good photo and an invaluable interaction in a Malaysian city.

Blogger Woeser wrote an article (in Chinese) about "photo violence" in Tibet - photographers, coming to the "roof of the world" with an exotic imagination in mind, pointed their "guns" to local people without considering their feelings.

"The relationship between photographer and the one being photographed should not be a 'hunter and prey' one, but rather 'person and person'," Woeser wrote.

I couldn't agree more. Photo-taking takes time - to wait for a good composition and more importantly, to show your respect and care to the people.

It won't take you long. This time, it took me 6 minutes.

Little Messi after hide-and-seek.

Cherry Blossom Photos Uploaded

I have uploaded some of the photos I took during the cherry blossom festival in Tokyo here, enjoy and hope you share my support towards Japan!

Thanks so much for everyone who helped me posting the photos at the University of Hong Kong today, particularly Dr. Yoshiko Nakano from the Department of Japanese Studies and Luci Cheng from the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

Stay tune for more fund raising efforts! 

Joy and Meditation - Words from Mingyur Rinpoche

Rinpoche speaking on stress relief. Taken on April 16, 2011.This morning I volunteered to be the photographer for a lecture by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist known for his down-to-earth and humorous teaching on meditation. The talk was mainly for psychiatrists working at public hospitals in Hong Kong, so the content was not really about Buddhism but more related to daily life handling of stress.

He suggested a very simple meditation method towards the end of the one-hour sharing session. He called it "breathing meditation" or "sound meditation". The steps are simple and only take as short as a minute:

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Rinpoche has an influential smile. Taken on April 16, 2011.Step 1: Close your eyes and feel your breathe. Most people are not aware that they are breathing. This step help you to focus on your self.

Step 2: Now you should be able to listen your body. Move your attention to all the surrounding sounds you can hear, focus on your ears and make them sensitive... can you now here the sounds from your computer? Car engines on the street? Noise from your heater/ air conditioner, etc.?

Step 3: Your mind may run to somewhere else during the process. Don't oppress it. Let go of the grip and let your thoughts wander freely - but don't let it overwhelms you for more than a few seconds, refocus on listening to the sound and appreciate the rhythm of it.

One minute passes ...

Step 4: Open your eyes.

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That's it. You can practice it when you are traveling in the train, taking break in the office, etc. I can't explain why but it works very well for me. I feel tranquility from within and very relaxed. Give it a try and let me know your verdict!

If you want to know more about Mingyur Rinpoche, you can visit his the website of his meditation center and also read his book, "Joy of Living, Unlocking the Secret adn Science of Happiness".

A very good way to start my weekend indeed.

Japan's First Post-Quake Cherry Blossom Festival

Sakura at Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo. Taken on April 10, 2011Just came back from a last-minute trip to Tokyo. I was there to take pictures of the city's cherry blossom festival, and hopefully to organize a fund-raising photo exhibition when I get back to Hong Kong.

Cherry blossom, or "Sakura" in Japanese, signals the arrival of spring, and a new start for Japan as the country struggles to recover from its worst earthquake in history and a Chernobyl-equivalent nuclear crisis. Through the pictures, I want to offer my condolences to those who were killed in the disaster, and most importantly, to support people who survived from the temblor to carry on their lives.

Sakura at Nationa Theatre of Japan. Taken on April 9, 2011

The first photo appearance will be at the "Japan Earthquake: What Can We Do to Help?" discussion forum at the Univesity of Hong Kong on April 18 (Monday), 5:30pm at the Global Lounge.

A bit tied up sorting pictures and pitching around for exhibitions. Will upload more photos and details of the shows later. if you want to help me organizing them/happened to know any places that may fit for a charity event, please let me know!