Andrew and Maria, October 28, 2006
October 30th, 2006
Congratulations to a beautiful couple. They met at an arts camp for children, and it confirms my notion that often good people are put together while doing good things. For a weekend I got to be part of the family, and it was a joy documenting their wedding day.
Andrew and Maria married at the Valley of Fire in Las Vegas, and the whole ceremony was beautiful and intimate. In the evening they got down and partied at the reception, and Maria wasted no time in starting the dancing, and alot of fun was had by all.
Let’s play
October 26th, 2006
When I was little I didn’t go to recess for a bit during elementary school. Most kids looked forward to recess, but I wasn’t very outgoing, nor was I looking to fit in. Why bank on the uncertainty of recess? I was afraid of people. And I was afraid of sports. The tether ball looked scary.
So when in third grade a teacher let me help her out during recess, I was hooked. I love being busy, and I loved being productive and not having to worry about fitting in to a group of kids and worrying about them liking me or thinking that I was strange. I went to her classroom as many times as she would allow me and I did all sorts of work, cutting transparencies, for example, and saving some of the leftover clear sheets so I could take them home to my sister and she can write on them with markers and pretend she was a teacher (besides ourselves we had a class consisting of stuffed animals).
Now I’m wondering if I’m compensating for this. As a photographer I feel I’m making up for lost time and going to recess all over again. This time, though, it’s different, and fun too. When I smile and ask someone if they want to “play”, usually they see my camera, and more likely than not, it’s a yes. You can take pictures of me. It’s been so much fun to explore the world with my camera, and now I have a hard time sitting in an office. Thank goodness my husband likes the office. Someone in the family has got to like the office in order for us to survive.
Can’t wait to show all of you more pictures. This weekend I will be at the Valley of Fire in Las Vegas shooting a wedding, and it looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous weekend.
Hottest Mom in America
October 23rd, 2006
Marin County, California native Lisa Tate, 39, flew all the way from her current home in New York in order to audition for the “Hottest Mom in America”, a contest sponsored by the drug maker of Restylane, held at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California on October 22, 2006. Here she displays a picture of her daughter, Alexandra. Photograph by Christine Chang
“Hottest Mom” casting director Austin Biggers reassures the crowd on October 22, 2006 and proclaims that “the hottest moms we’ve chosen have all come from the middle of the line.” The final decision will be made by the end of the day, where the winner will receive a $25,000 college scholarship for a related child, $25,000 cash and a year’s treatment of Restylane, a drug that corrects facial wrinkles. Photograph by Christine Chang
A “Hot Mom” requirement, perhaps: Stilettos and a designer bag/box. An often-seen occurence throughout the audition for the “Hottest Mom in America”. Photograph by Christine Chang
Riverside, California resident Mia Anderson, 25, declares to the crew of the “Hottest Mom in America” competition at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California that she “keeps a clean house and I make an awesome peach cobbler and I still look great” as just some of the reasons why she should win the title of “Hottest Mom in America”. Photograph by Christine Chang
A contestant waits in line expectantly on October 22, 2006 as the “Hottest Mom in America” camera crew nears her area. Though auditions began at 9 a.m. at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California, the first contestant arrived at 4:30 a.m., ready to win the title. Photograph by Christine Chang.
Contestant Daniela Lazar, a Los Angeles native, struts her stuff at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California on October 22, 2006 for the audition of “Hottest Mom in America”. Photograph by Christine Chang
College Day at Santa Monica College
October 20th, 2006
Las Vegas
October 16th, 2006
Sorry about the lack of posts last week. I was in Las Vegas attending a Scrapbooking Convention. It was busy, but at night I had time to do some photography. I got to tag along with Angelina, she is a dancer and a teacher. She is also prepping for an upcoming Vegas Show (La Cage) and they are traveling to Washington this week to perform. She was a joy to photograph, and very sweet too. I interviewed her and asked her for her worst stalking story, and she said that it was her current boyfriend Freddie (pictured with her below). Anything else? Well, she carries a handgun in her purse in case anything gets out of hand, so she’s beautiful but living in Las Vegas, and so she has to protect herself, with alot of rehearsals being at night and in the end, you just never know.
I told her (and some slightly inebriated guys in an elevator) that my 200mm lens usually does the trick. Surely Canon thought of self-defense when they were creating that lens.
Daily Breeze
October 5th, 2006
Yesterday I got to tag along with Sean Hiller, a photographer from the Torrance Daily Breeze. It was a bit strange in the sense that I drove by my grandma’s house (she passed away over 15 years ago), the hospital where I was born, the church that I went to (it’s now an apartment complex), and these childhood markers made me feel something. All I can say for now is that it’s weird, I haven’t been down Western Avenue. since I was a kid sitting in my parent’s car.
Torrance, in my opinion, is a bit of Middle America imported into Southern California. White picket fences, children playing in the yard, pumpkin patches and lots of family values. My family’s in Texas now, but I remember that my parents loved Torrance, and apparently alot of people I know still love Torrance for its good schools and its community. When we were driving around I saw alot of kids and pets, and that instantly made me feel at ease and it also reminded me of Norman Rockwell’s paintings. It’s something that I don’t see often in the city. In the city where I live I see more things like a kid walking home from school and then standing in front of a closed strip club waiting to cross the street.
The thing I’ve noticed about Sean the most was his passion for photography. As I get older I find that it’s harder to meet passionate people. Sometimes I feel like everyone gets more disillusioned. But Sean still loves the art of photography, and he loves his job, and just hearing him go on about photography makes me feel like the long road is worth it, and after talking to him yesterday I think about whether I’m really ready to take that long road, but with passion the road isn’t as long as you think and with passion your goal’s always in sight.
He also speaks of one instance when he volunteered to wake up in the middle of the night to feed his infant daughter because he wanted to listen to the police scanner to see if there was any breaking news. It takes a special breed to be married to a photographer.
Here’s the wild art we caught.
Here’s Sean recording the mom and the kids’ names so he can properly caption the pic if published in the Daily Breeze.
Bring a Student to Work Day
October 2nd, 2006
If John McCoy, staff photographer from the LA Daily News, had a blog and he had an entry, maybe that’s the title he would name today’s entry. In any case, today I got to tag along with him and a journalist in downtown LA for a story assignment.
Here’s the story: LA County wants to help the homeless more, so they are doing this by sending social workers into skid row in downtown LA. Seeing families there, 3 out of 10 kids get taken away from the families because they are deemed too poor or unfit to raise kids.
We walked around downtown LA and into skid row. As I was walking around and smelling a lot of urine and trash, I thought, hey, this is just like where I was in China; poor and urban. Then I felt at ease, because I was with two white guys who were big and tall. So no need to worry about safety, John McCoy had way more expensive equipment than I did. Usually I would go to these areas thinking that I’m a little Asian girl and that I’m not gonna make it out of this place without giving up my camera to a thief. Then I say a little prayer and I go for it, take the pictures, and leave. Every time I do this I leave the place a bit braver. My professor tells me how during the LA Riots he would go into stores that were being looted and start taking pictures there, and I always tell myself that one day I will be at the level where I will be able to do that.
We didn’t get much today because the person who was supposed to show up to direct us to a family didn’t show, but I did get to meet a man who decided to lift up his shirt to us and show us 7 bullet wounds and a huge fissure on his stomach. It reminded me of a watermelon just as it was about to be split open, and a wound in his neck. We also went into an apartment complex that’s around $250 a month, with the highest priced rooms being $360 a month.
What I’ll always remember from John McCoy is this: He said that in the end, you need the money, but how much do you need? Your posessions come and go, even people come and go sometimes, but your experiences will be with you forever. So if you want to do something like photojournalism, you’ve got to be ready to take the vow of poverty. Sometimes poverty forces you to take risks that you wouldn’t otherwise take if you’re in comfort. This can be a blessing in disguise, because sometimes when you’ve got nothing to lose you’re willing to work harder and take those risks.