Searching for Sanity

I did not mean to stop blogging.  Life has been so hectic that it's really hard to keep up with everything. 

I continue to attend the photography classes.  Learning has been fun.  I am inspired by my professor and one of my classmates.  They are both in their mid 60s, and yet they are still learning new things every day - pretty unbelievable.  I never would have thought that one day in my 40s I would be sitting in a classroom.  

Have not had a chance to go out photographing since 12/19/10.  Traveling for work has taken over my life for the past 3 weeks, and it will continue for the next 2 weeks.  I am searching very hard for sanity...

Photography Club competition again on 2/7/11.  Wish me luck!     

The Magic Mirror

Finally won the Honorable Mention at the Chicago Area Camera Clubs (CACCA).  http://www.caccaweb.com/  The first meaningful "award" since the start of my photography career in Feb 2010.  Competition Date = 10/9/2010.

Time for a Technology Cleanse?

When you're out to dinner, does your BlackBerry occupy a seat at the table? Does your spouse ever check email before saying "good morning" to the kids?  Does your son sleep with his laptop?

If so, here is a story for you.  Hope your family dinners are not like Diane's.

Diane Broadnax, a 50-year-old clinical trial researcher from Mount Airy, MD., recently became fed up with the way her family dispersed to separate computers each evening. Anika, 4, would watch "Dora the Explorer" on a laptop in the kitchen, while Jasmine, 12, would play with her virtual pets online. Ms. Broadnax's husband, Lonnie Broadnax, 50, went to his home office to watch a sci-fi DVD, and she would make dinner -- while checking her email. Many nights, each person would eat in front of his or her respective screen. "Days were going by and we weren't talking," Ms. Broadnax says. 

So one evening last November, she gave her family some news. For one week, they would forgo all computerized entertainment -- personal email, texting, Facebook, DVDs and online videos (they don't have a regular TV). Computers and devices would be used only for work and homework. Horrified, her 12-year-old said it was no different than being grounded.

Ms. Broadnax persevered: The next night she made her family's favorite dinner (chicken and rice) and set the table with candles. But when everyone sat down to eat, the conversation was stilted. The girls gave one-word answers to their parents' questions. Even the adults felt ill at ease.

The Nature Photography Class

After 20+ years of surviving the real-world, for the first time, I sat through a 6-hour class today.  It reminded me of the promise I made back in May of 1990, when I told Rudi that I would never want to spend any more time of my precious life in a classroom.  Well, I have kept that promise til today.

Fred Drury, my instructor, is a well established photographer in the Chicago area.  I met him in my photography club, and have since decided to take his class.  He is a great photographer and a wonderful teacher.  His passion is landscape photography and has also done a lot of work in underwater photography.  The underwater photos he showed me were amazing.

Our first lecture was about Hyperfocal Focusing, where he taught us how to measure the distance between the camera lens and the foreground subject and calculate the hyperfocal distance to ensure crystal clear foreground and background subjects throughout the image.

The little data table he printed out for us threw me off a bit, and that's when I asked myself once again - how do we find value in the classroom?  To me, the schooling, knowledge and information is valuable only when it can help solve the real-world problems.

Here is the first "real" landscape photo I took with my point-and-shoot camera back in 2006 when I knew NOTHING about photography!  Would I take the same photo again today simply because this is a beautiful place?  Would I be thinking about the hyperfocal focusing technique?  Would I walk away from the scene without any photo because we are not supposed to shoot under the bright sunlight?!!

   

Chinese Parenting

There have been discussions on Chinese Parenting over the weekend, and it is comforting to see Michelle recognizing the critical elements of parenting.  She forwarded an article to me on "Why Chinese Mothers are Superior."  Honestly, I don't believe I am superior to Western Mothers.  But I know I have given my very best to Michelle.  The following is from the article and that's what I have been preaching to her over the years.

Western parents are concerned about their children's psyches. Chinese parents aren't. They assume strength, not fragility, and as a result they behave very differently.

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you're good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up.

Chinese parents demand perfect grades because they believe that their child can get them. If their child doesn't get them, the Chinese parent assumes it's because the child didn't work hard enough. That's why the solution to substandard performance is always to excoriate, punish and shame the child. The Chinese parent believes that their child will be strong enough to take the shaming and to improve from it.

Chinese parents believe that they know what is best for their children and therefore override all of their children's own desires and preferences.

Western parents try to respect their children's individuality, encouraging them to pursue their true passions, supporting their choices, and providing positive reinforcement and a nurturing environment. By contrast, the Chinese believe that the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they're capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.

My New Venture

It was Wendy, my sister-in-law, who first told me to start my blog.  It takes time, courage and commitment to start this new venture.  But I do believe that it is important to digitize my own life while I make every effort to digitize Michelle's.

2011 is going to be an exciting year as I continue to pursue my photography career.  I am only hoping that, as I attend photography classes and enter into more competitions,  I don't lose sight of what the true beauty is in nature and how photography should serve my pursuit of the Journey To 2088.