34 years...

Today marks the 34-year anniversary of my life in America -- what an amazing journey!!

Thank you for taking this less traveled road with me over the past many years... I am so thankful for being young and fearless once -- 34 years ago!

How many 34-years do we have in life??? Cherish and enjoy every moment of it!

The LONG View

Sometimes we don't realize the small progress we've made until after we take a LONG view back in time... assuming history is perfectly preserved.

The attached photos were the full moons I captured at different point of time in the long history of my pursuit of a perfect full moon. They don't even reflect the countless times we took Michelle to Navy Pier since the beginning of time to let her see the beauty of the full moon rising out of the lake.

Picture 1 = 2008-8-17 (Naperville)

Picture 2 = 2010-9-25 (Navy Pier, Chicago)

Picture 3 = 2012-9-30 (Navy Pier, Chicago)

Picture 4 = 2022-9-10 (Navy Pier, Chicago. The harvest full moon last weekend)

The Sunrise

Finally made time to reprocess the camera version of the sunrise. The attached two photos are from the same place and at almost the same time. Photo1 = Camera; Photo2 = iPhone.

Yes, the camera version might be marginally better. However, the iPhone photo requires no time or effort -- you can snap the shot in 1 second and move on to enjoy the magic sunrise in real world with your heart and soul. Plus, you don't need to hike 20 minutes in the dark, in the mud with your tripod and 25-pound of camera gears. Why shouldn't we live a simpler, effortless life when we have the option?

I know I have been debating the true value of photography for the past 10+ years, ever since I started pursuing photography. I continue to believe that this is an important philosophical question to ponder. In the meantime, I can tell you that LETTING GO of my cameras is also a difficult journey. It takes constant awareness of what's most important to make conscious decisions -- a decision with clear pros and cons, and yet you're willing to accept and live with all the cons...   

 

Faroe Islands

July 29, 2022

4:47am

 

 

The Mid-Autumn Festival

It's also called the Moon Festival.

I drove to downtown Chicago to photograph the full moon rising out of the lake -- first time driving to Chicago in nearly 4 years!!

It was a perfect night with clear skies and soft winds... Reminded me of Michelle's childhood when we'd go to Navy Pier every month in the summer during full moon (usually July, August and September). September is usually the Moon Festival. 

 

We'd bring moon cakes and eat them after the moonrise. In fact, the routine was to watch the moonrise first, then got onto the ferris wheel, and then ate the moon cakes 200 feet above ground. 

 

Life was very simple back them. There was no heavy equipment or complicated devices -- just us with simple minds, small dreams and precious memories...

Navy Pier

Chicago, IL

September 9, 2022