joshua tree

a couple weeks ago, i had an assignment to take a picture of a tree. uh....what? and not just any tree, but a tree with feeling. the happiest tree i've ever seen, or the most melancholy, or the most inspiring. I was at a complete loss-- where should i even begin? this was by far the most challenging assignment i've ever had to wrap my little mind around. mostly because i am not a nature photographer. and i don't particularly like landscapes. i rarely think landscape photos are interesting-- at least the landscape photos i take, anyway. so this was a big problem. how do i take an meaningful picture of a tree?

luckily, it dawned on me that this would be the perfect time to visit joshua tree national park, something i've been wanting to do since moving to southern california. if i couldn't take an interesting photo of a tree, gosh darnit at the very least i'd have a photo of an interesting tree. so, i rounded up the troops-- my buddy tas and his gorgeous wife jamie-- and we headed out to the desert.



after all my complaining, i have to admit that i was very pleasantly surprised. joshua tree is an amazing place, full of strange landscapes and a strikingly beautiful desolation. i've never seen anything like it. i want to go back and camp, wake up early for the sunrise, and spend the day among the yuccas. maybe go rock climbing, or do some hiking through the desert forests.





the cactus is making babies!



a cactus baby stuck on jamie's finger.



spring was on its way... pretty wildflowers everywhere and flowering yuccas:




gorgeous:

East LA Mariachis

A couple weeks ago my friend David and I went out to East LA to see what we could find. We stumbled upon this group of very friendly, jovial mariachis. They played a little for us, and though I don't know much Espanol (at all!) they were so nice to me. I wish I knew their names so I could go back and give them copies of these pics!

True Blue Tattoo

I know, I know. I've been slacking. So much for the New Years resolution, right? Well, hopefully this excuse will suffice-- I was bedridden for almost a week with the flu. Now that I'm all better, expect a flurry of photos. The documentary class kicked my butt, but I have tons of new pictures to show for it. Hopefully you like them as much as I do!

Here are a couple of my favorites from a shoot I did at True Blue Tattoo on Hollywood Blvd-- right across the street from Sweeney Todd's. Told you this was a cool little area!

Landon and the folks at True Blue are awesome. Landon is probably the biggest Dodgers fan you'll ever meet-- so much so that if you get a Dodgers tattoo, it's some ridiculous price... $8 I think? And free tats for anyone on the team. If your a huge LA fan, it's kind of hard to beat that deal! Anyway, here are the pictures. Go say hi to Landon and Chris and Vanessa. They're awesome and do really great work!


True Blue Tattoo
4648 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
(323) 924-2369

Washington, D.C. (Again!)

Wow-- It's really been a while since I've posted pictures.

Here are some of my favorites from another recent trip to Washington, D.C.

I played tourist and did the Potomac boat tour...not just once, but twice! I loved it! :)












I <3 Georgetown!

Downtown Los Angeles

How well do you know the city where you live? Each of us, no matter where we may be, gets caught up in our little world. When I was in college, we called it the Santa Clara "bubble"-- life inside the bubble was not the real world. It was a world created for us by our parents, who sent us to SCU, and by the University itself. It was full of frat parties and palm trees and never-ending meal plans; it was an entire universe that catered to our physical, emotional, and intellectual needs.

During my freshman year, I was so homesick that I told my parents that I couldn't stay at SCU. They responded that I could return home to Hawaii only if I spent a quarter involved with SCCAP (the Santa Clara Community Action Program) or enrolled in a similar social justice- oriented class. Desperate to leave the mainland, I did as they asked-- I left the bubble. And a funny thing happened-- once away from the campus's idyllic Spanish architecture, rose gardens and student body that seemingly stumbled out of an Abercrombie catalogue, I realized what an incredible opportunity I had to explore the Bay Area. On the streets of San Francisco, I saw the effects of untreated mental illness for the first time. I met normal families who were, for one reason or another, living without a home. The children would go to school during the day and sleep in donated blankets at a shelter that night. I saw terminally ill AIDS patients who hadn't left their apartments in months. In the alleyways outside those apartments, I witnessed drug use and sex acts performed in broad daylight.

It was difficult to transition between those two worlds-- from extreme comfort to utter desperation and back again. Those experiences have stayed with me and, as you might have guessed, kept me from returning to Hawaii. Still, I often get caught up in my little world. I go to work, go to the gym. I read, I watch "Lost" online (all 4 seasons in hi-def!) But then, there's a part of me that realizes that this isn't all there is to the world. Anywhere you look, there are people with stories to tell.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but as I'm discovering, a thousand words is far from enough. So for starters, here is a teeny tiny glimpse into the story of downtown LA.













A citrus wholesaler with his fruit:





A sewing shop in the garment district:



From the flower market:

Washington DC

While I was in DC for a work conference last weekend, I had the opportunity to check out some of the places most associated with our United States of America. I had been there once before, years and years ago for a family reunion (my dad grew up in DC), but I wasn't quite old enough to know what these monuments stood for. As I walked up the steps to the Supreme Court, it hit me that that this is where everything in our country happens. These are the places where America was shaped into what it is today. It's the site of many of our proudest-- and weakest-- moments. Yet what shook me most wasn't the feeling of standing on those hallowed grounds, it was the sense that even a place as important as this was trivialized by the thousands of tourists who arrive each day, and stay just long enough to snap a couple photos before leaving. The most important place in our country seemed just another tourist trap.

My greatest hope for the next year is that we elect a leader that will make us proud to be American again, and proud to visit national monuments where we can feel the weight of the struggles and achievements of the people who came before us. We are a country in need of change and inspiration.

Here's to November!