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  • Leather.

    I spend a lot of time alone. People will ask, what have you been doing? Most of the time, it is teaching myself things in photography. Photography is 5% talent, 95% grinding away and sharpening it. I never started with much talent, and it's because of this that I know that I have to work even harder to keep up with those who have it naturally.

    Much like my mediocre piano skills, most of the time it's just me banging away at the hobby until I can form it into something I'm okay with. It's been a slow and painful process to get where I am today. Friends always ask for camera recommendations and a few pointers, thinking the right equipment and knowing the basics is all it takes, but then are discouraged when it doesn't look like how they want it to look. I've gone through at least a hundred thousand mediocre photos spanning years and years, and even photos I've taken just a few months ago I'll look at and think, I could have done better.

    I don't care much about new cameras or lenses these days- I research lighting, tips, and techniques. I look through fashion magazines for ideas for posing. One day, I spent several hours reading on how to calibrate monitors. For the past two days, I've been reading reviews for monitor calibration devices that I'll probably purchase in a few hours. It's all the little things- it's not about having the most expensive camera paired with the most expensive lenses. With a $400 dslr and a $100 lens, you can do plenty.

    But that's the way things go. People want more megapixels. They want more expensive lenses. But really, you don't need all that. And I always try to drive in this point because people still don't get it.

    In any case, Melissa and Tramanh wanted to do another fashion shoot, this one being leather-themed and inspired by the Vogue photoshoot as seen in The September Issue. We shot in downtown Houston at La Carafe in one of the oldest buildings in Houston. It was 3 PM on a Saturday afternoon when we got there and we left a little over an hour later.

    Photos shot (as usual) with my $100 50mm f/1.8 lens and my $200 35mm f/1.8 lens. ISO 800-1250.

    Probably the most technically difficult shot from the shoot.

    Second fave shot from the shoot.

    Fave shot from the shoot.

    We got back to my studio and I accidentally way overexposed this shot, but I kinda like how it turned out after all.

    Anyway, I always like to tell people what I use to shoot these things so that they don't think that you can't take a good photo unless you have the most expensive equipment. It's really just practice and patience. I shot over 500+ photos for this shoot, which I narrowed down to about 80 shots. After editing, you get to see these 11. Not every shot's a keeper, but the ones that are are well worth it.

  • Weird, my parents had roughly the same conversation on the phone with me the other day and I was doing the same thing (you can ignore the rest of the video).

  • Family Reunion Part 4: Slowly unreunionizing.

    We had the last reunion dinner on Bellaire that Saturday night. Afterward, I took a few of the family out to Juice Box for some fruit and shaved ice desserts. We packed up about a quarter of the shop.

    Minh enjoying the last of his dessert a bit too much. Gross man.

    After taking them to bubble tea, all the cousins headed back to my parents' house. I had rented Paranormal Activity for everyone to watch, because watching scary movies in groups is pretty fun. At some point that night, we were talking about Mel Gibson and how he hadn't been in a major movie in a while. I mean, what was the last really good movie he had been in? "What Women Want," proclaimed Geoffrey in dead seriousness. So, we have Mel Gibson starring in Braveheart. The Patriot. And... What Women Want. Everyone was cracking up. After the movie, we told scary stories around the living room like we did at the last Houston reunion some ten years ago. We talked about sleep paralysis and found out that some cousins actually had quite a few of them. It was around 2 AM and everyone sat in the living room, tired but not wanting to leave. Most everyone had early morning flights out that Sunday morning and eventually the night had to come to an end.

    On Sunday, I took Minh and the LilBro out to midtown for some soul food. The place is pretty authentic and the portions are huge. I had the pepper steak, collard greens, dressing, and mac 'n cheese. The cornbread goes well with it and the strawberry fanta pairs wonderfully with the meal.

    That night, there were only three cousins left. I took them out to Rudy's for some Texas bbq and then we headed off to Pearl bar for some shuffleboard. There, I learned that the song "Brass Monkey" was not referring to a metallic statue of a primate, but a shot. Also, it was debunked that the word golf was derived from the term "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden".

    But aside from ridiculous conversation, more importantly was the shuffleboard competition. Minh and I lost horribly to Tino and Ti, but then two mexican fellows came up and challenged us. Minh and Tino took them up on their offer, with one of the mexican guys trash talking the whole time. They apparently lived down the street and played here all the time. My cousins, however, were playing shuffleboard for the first time. The competition was fierce, with the last round meaning victory for either team. At the very end, my cousin Minh was able to nudge his puck a mere millimeter or two in front of the other team's puck, bringing us to cheers over the closest victory I've ever seen.

    It was Sunday at midnight and my cousins wanted to hit up a karaoke joint, so I brought them to Spotlight. The only other table there was a table of african-american girls and so while they requested R&B songs, my cousins requested 80's hits. Both tables cheered wildly after the other group finished their song.

    All us cousins ended up getting up on stage when "Don't Stop Believin'" came up.

    Tino, performing his main karaoke song Spandau Ballet's "True"

    On the last day of the reunion, I took Minh, Ti, and Tino out to Dave and Buster's to kill time before Minh's flight. Here they are playing Rambo

    I found a few free plays on this big rig driving game, so we took turns trying it out

    Minh being asleep at the wheel

    Cousins pooped after last night's shenanigans and then lunch at McGonigel's Irish Pub and then Dave and Buster's.

    I guess this is a sign everyone had a pretty awesome time.

    I dropped Minh off at the airport at 7 PM. I'm going to miss yelling "COUSINS!" everywhere we go.

  • Family Reunion Part 3: Monkey Business.

    Saturday, we celebrated Sofia's 2nd birthday. My relatives not-from-the-South had no idea what kolaches were so I scooped up a dozen from Shipley's (sausage, cheese, & jalapeno is the best) and trekked it up north to my parents' house. I hadn't introduced them to the wonders of Chic-fil-a's breakfast chic 'n minis either, but one thing at a time.

    Also, many of my aunts had never heard of a snuggie, so my uncle described it as such: "It's a blanket with sleeves. You put it on and sit on the couch. It's pretty cool". Very cool, indeed.

    Sofia's birthday was at a complex up north in the middle of nothing but business buildings. It's geared to birthday parties for kids, but usually the adults have more fun.

    Geoffrey and Tino waiting for the obstacle course to clear before taking it on. Parents kept putting their little kids in the middle of it for them to play around in so we kept running back and forth to make sure it was clear of baby obstacles.

    My aunt put on the enormous inflatable gloves and pummeled my little cousin to submission. Overall hilarious.

    Sofia and her cousin

    Minh and Geoffrey donned the boxing gloves and went at it too. These are some of my fave photos from the reunion.

    Minh takes a hit, but he comes out victorious.

    The inflatable hoop is surprisingly hard to dunk in.

    You get the place for about an hour, but you're exhausted after just 15 minutes.

    Geoffrey and Tino finally get their chance to go at it.

    Tino takes the win in the competition.

    Christine and Dawn head up next.

    Christine takes the win, but Dawn never makes it to the end.

    It turns out she had sprained her ankle right at the start.

    Tino then beats his cousin who is some 20 years younger than him hah

    Katrina finishing looks terrifying, like a mix between the girl from the Grudge and the girl from the Ring.

    The birthday girl

    Ok, see that line left behind by my elbow on the huge slide? Sofia started tilting to the side on the way down, so I had to shift the weight to my elbow to compensate, resulting in a painful scrape. Ah, the sacrifices for the young.

    Her little cousin follows down shortly after

    Cousins being pooped

    Sofia putting on her shoes to get ready for the birthday party and cake.

    Inappropriate monkey is inappropriate.

    Sofia's crate of gifts

    Sofia really loves Toy Story right now, so Vincent had stenciled the image for the cake, which the bakery had then printed out onto the cake.

    She even managed to blow out the candles herself this year.

    Overall, a pretty fun birthday party.

  • Family Reunion Part 2: We laugh now, but this will be us one day

    On New Year's Day, I took the cousins out shopping in the Galleria area to kill time before going to my aunt & uncle's place at night for more reunion festivities. We killed a few hours, with the girls breaking off for individual shopping excursions and the guys just walking around and bsing.

    My aunt and uncle hosted New Year's day festivities. This here's the family, with Ed being the newest addition, and Sofia being the second newest. Vincent is missing from the picture because he was picking his grandmother up to bring her here.

    Part of the food spread. Completely delicious, particularly with the arrival of the lobster salad with huge chunks of lobster interspersed throughout.

    My uncle had a setup going and he hired a pianist and some singers from Vietnam because it was actually a special night. Not only was it the first formal debut of their newly reconstructed house (you may remember it was completely damaged by Hurricane Ike the year before)...

    But it was also a celebration of the introduction of my cousin Tini and Ed to the family/family friends ever since they got married this past fall.

    My uncle is also a huge supporter of the Houston Vietnamese community and he had the newly elected Al Hoang (I think he is the first Vietnamese city councilman or somesuch) say a few words as well.

    Cousins of approximately the same height.

    Sistars! + Sofia. Next year, Sofia will probably be old enough to know to smile for the camera. Also, I was too lazy to photoshop that bruise on Tinou's arm, but she got it while jumping to catch Sofia from falling off the bed. Ah, the war wounds of motherhood.

    Later that night, there was open mic karaoke. You know how asian families go. I wouldn't have it any other way.

    My mom and relatives

    Later, family and family friends (our numbers are legion) watched the slideshow that Tino had prepared for Tini and Ed's wedding reception in Beijing, as most people could not make it to the overseas wedding on short notice.

    It was pretty funny as far as slideshows go.

    Who's the pretty princess? Sofia assists in pointing him out.

    My parents and aunts

    Sometimes, people get flowers for their performance

    So soulful

    Here's a pic of the majority of my cousins. We're missing my brothers, Dawn's brother in Canada, and a few from California.

    And here's one with me

    Dawn and her mom

    Everyone took turns welcoming Ed into the family and taking pics with them

    Me and my folks

    Before heading out for the night... GLAMOUR SHOTS.

    I took the group out again for clubbing shenanigans that night- this time at Tu's cousin's club in midtown. We packed the 7 of us into my civic, cranked up the tunes, and met up the OMGBFF group at Marquis for some long island iced teas and cement mixer shots, then went with Tu and Tramanh and Co. out to Candy. We, as usual, were the only people on the dance floor, but we always have a good time regardless.

    I ended up taking them out to La Tapatia after for some late night fare and dropped everyone off at home before getting home myself around 5 in the morning.

  • Family Reunion Part 1: A Watch Out Yo Face 2010

    My family is big. Really big. I don't know many families larger than mine. My mom has like 9 siblings. On my dad's side, well, it's a lot smaller. I run about 30 cousins strong on my mom's side with maybe 30+ years in age difference between the youngest and the oldest cousin. The only problem is we're spread out all over North America. Most are in the Bay area- Alameda to be precise. But then there's Dekalb (near Chicago), New Jersey, Indianapolis, Washington D.C., L.A., us in Houston, and Mississauga, Ontario to name a few.

    Given that we're so spread out, over a decade ago, my technically proficient cousin started up a family website, complete with family chatroom and all (on a side note, after the y2k fiasco, the time stamps on the chats in the chatroom read the year as 192000) . The novelty with the adults (the aunts and uncles will always be referred to as "the adults" or, alternatively, "the grown-ups", though we cousins are well within that age range by now and- good heavens- have kids) wore off shortly after and we ended up starting a family e-mail chain back in the 90's that is still the primary source of keeping in touch.

    Since we're all so spread out, about every two years we all try to have a big family reunion. Not everyone usually can make it because we're older now and have conflicting work schedules and families, but most of us make it out. Most of my friends, I am quite jealous as their entire extended families live in the same state or, in some cases, the same neighborhood. How neat would that be? In Texas, on my mom's side, I just have my aunt who lives in the neighborhood next to mine, and you have seen plenty of photos of my cousins Tina and Tinou, her husband Vincent, and Sofia.

    In any case, as we usually have a family reunion every other year in Alameda, this past New Year's would be the first family reunion in Houston since I believe the 90's. A lot of things happen in ten years- cousins get older, we're now of drinking age, cousins have kids. I was just starting college back the last time it was a family reunion in Houston, so during the day I would chauffeur my cousins around to the mall and whatnot. This yeah's reunion would culminate on New Year's Eve. A steady trickle of aunts and uncles came in after Christmas, with the last relatives arriving New Year's Eve. This year, New Year's Eve celebrations started at my parents' house, and New Year's day festivities would be hosted by my aunt & uncle. I went to pick up Minh & Dawn- two of my fave cousins and the ones closest to my age (and perhaps the craziest)- at the airport around 6 PM New Year's Eve (they were the second to the last cousins to arrive) and we headed straight for my parents' house to engage in festivities. And so we'll start off with the photos:

    Katrina & Vincent- Katrina is one of the youngest cousins while Vincent falls in smack dab in the median age range.

    Ugh, look at that Dish network. It is always broken sporadically.

    Aerial view from my parents' second floor. This ain't even all the cousins.

    Some of the aunts and uncles chatting during dinner.

    My cousin Tino decided some six years ago that he'd like to go work in Vietnam- partly for the experience, but also partly because he could use Vietnam as a jumping point for travel around Asia and Eastern Europe. He has the travel bug as much as the rest of us. Anyway, this year he decided he'd be moving back to the U.S. That's a lot of backstory for a caption that was just more like, "Tino went out to buy a whole bunch of fireworks for the cousins to shoot off for New Year's"

    These fireworks explicitly had a warning label that said, "DO NOT HOLD". Of course, they were held and aimed at the stop sign across the street. This is what Harry Potter should have been like.

    Shooting pictures of fireworks is tough- the results are pretty variable. This looks like a huge hairy spider thing.

    Christine and Co. with sparklers

    Geoffrey lighting the little cousins' fireworks. His mom was all, "Geoffrey, watch out yo face!" and we all laughed. Ah, the fantastic benefits of being a first generation Asian american. It's a pretty unique situation that I absolutely love.

    Ah, to be a kid again and be amazed by something as simple as sparklers.

    Aaron pulling his sparkler through the air, making an unintentionally cool-looking dragon for the camera.

    This is what those little spinning fireworks look like on long exposure.

    The cousins gathered outside on my parents' front lawn to watch the display.

    When we got back inside, Vincent had brought over the Star Wars Jedi mind force toy he got for Christmas for everyone to try out. A few cousins stepped up to the challenge. Pictured here is Minh up to bat.

    Ryan's turn.

    So every time someone was able to "levitate" the ball, everyone cheered (and everyone managed to at least get it to float around for a few seconds when it was their turn). I will admit, my family is pretty dorky/geeky, but that's the best. There's never any drama and everyone's pretty warm and kind.

    Heck, even one of my aunts tried it out (I laugh because my other aunt looks really amazed)

    Sofia is turning 2 in a few days. At one point in the evening, she started handing everyone spoons. And when we hid the basket of spoons, she would hand everyone plates. And when we hid the pile of plates, she would hand everyone cups. It was pretty darn cute.

    Tina was asleep by 10 PM.

    I attended Tini and Ed's wedding in Beijing back in the fall. They had never played Guitar Hero and requested that I bring it over for Ed to try. Here's everyone watching the newly married couple give it a try.

    Sorry, Ed, Tini's got you beat on this one.

    Around 10:30 PM, I took my over-21-under-30 cousins out for New Year's Eve festivities. This was the first time I had ever gone out to a club with my cousins (now of age), so that was pretty neat. I loaded them all up (yes, everyone in this picture) into my four door civic and took them back to my place. I invited Tramanh to come out since Tu was working that night and we pre-partied at my place. She took my girl cousins in her car and I took the guys in mine.

    Driving around, we sang Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Kesha's "Tik Tok" and Sean Kingston's "Fire Burning on the Dance Floor" at the top of our lungs everywhere. This pattern would continue the rest of the family reunion, regardless of time of day. We ended up going to Boondocks, because we didn't want to pay $50 for cover at a club and wait in line for drinks. As we headed to Boondocks, I cranked up Miley Cyrus's "Party in the USA" and all us guys sang that at the top of our lungs as we pulled into the parking lot.

    When we first arrived at Boondocks, we had a round of shots and we all crowded into the photobooth there that never takes good photos but we always try anyway. Anyway, cousins crammed into a photobooth!

     

    Dawn & Christine.

    Rashad and Geoffrey- the "baby" cousins, one of which had turned 21 this past fall.

    COUSINS! + Tramanh

    While dancing, the guy cousins did much fist pumping and hitting of the floor. At first, it was all, WHY SO MUCH FIST PUMPING?! I said, they are young. they are from out of town. They don't know any better. But it's really because of this. We all danced like crazy that night, not caring about anyone else in the club, yelling a resounding "COUSINS!" every time we took a shot- because it wasn't about everyone else, it was about who we were with right now.

    My girl cousins are old enough to fend off the advances of men. But when my girl cousins have been drinking and guys start hitting on them? OH HELL NO. I instantly sobered up when gross men tried approaching my cousins that night. Every non-related male in the club became the enemy. These are my cousins- stay away from them. We were having a good time before you got here. Christine was pulled away by this mexican fellow, and when I tried to retrieve her, his friend ran defense and danced around, blocking me from getting to my cousin. I asked Tramanh for backup and she went right up and pulled her away. "Don't dance with gross men," we told her. The guy came back to creep on her and overheard us say that, and he was all, "Oh I see how it is." Yes, gross man, do not take advantage of my cousin. Another would-be creeper struck up a conversation with me and I was all, "That's my cousin" and he was very understanding, telling me he would be doing the exact same thing I was doing if that were my cousin too. Ok, so maybe I am overprotective. It is probably better that I did not have a sister.

    Anyway, the night was pretty fun and got pretty crazy and we ended up going to Little Big's after. We all ended up crashing at my place because I didn't want to make the 40 minute drive back to my parents' house and the 30 minute drive back to my place. Also, thanks, Tramanh, for helping take care of my cousins.

    All in all, ringing in the new year with family is a pretty nice way to start it all off.

  • Death Burgar.

    Last week, I met up Melissa for lunch at this unassuming tavern off 290 and Telge.

    The interior is... interesting.

    Look at this bar. CHANDELIERS. So strange.

    Oh look, they have a new burger. How spicy could it possibly be?

    Cute, it comes with a disclaimer you have to sign in a plastic skull. I bet they think spicy cheetos are spicy here.

    Heh. They must surely be joking.

    So while waiting for my burger, the table next to ours also ordered it. When they brought it out, the plate passed by and my eyes momentarily teared up from the spiciness of the burger passing by. I was unfazed. It couldn't be that hot.

    Let me cut off a big bite with the knife and fork. Now let me cut off half a bite... OMG LAVA FIRE BURNING ON THE DANCE FLOOR. The bun is soaked in the fires of hell. The meat patty made from the core of the sun. Milk shot glass downed instantly. Entire bottle of beer chugged instantly. Entire glass of water downed instantly. The burning does not subside.

    Look at how soaked this bun is. It is ridiculous. The shot glass of milk is useless. Nothing helps. I had Tu drive while I sat in the back seat. I wanted to barf. My stomach was now churning with burning. It was as though each cell in my stomach lining was giving birth all at the same time. I drove back home, forgetting any other errands I had planned on running up north. I chugged half a glass of soy milk. I had pepcid. I laid down.

    Later that night, Yen had a football party to watch the UT game. "Bring over the leftovers, I want to try," she texted. There was a practically uneaten burger and all the fries. We reheated the bun in the toaster oven. "No fair," I thought. The soggy bun was killer- now you've got a toasted bun. Plus everyone had their stomachs full of pizza and ranch dip and appetizers already. It's no longer as spicy as on my empty and starving stomach.

    So we cut the burger into smaller pieces. People tried it. They, too, had tears streaming down their face as I had that afternoon. The reaction was a bit delayed (because of the dry bun and unempty stomachs), but the end result was the same. Except they had bread and milk and ice cream to ease the pain. The pitchfork fries that came with it were just as burning. Mission accomplished.

    You win, el diablo. You win.

  • Pot Roast.

    The first time I attempted to make pot roast, the dutch oven I used apparently was not a tight enough seal (no, we don't have a crock pot) and everything burned, but the non-burned parts I thought were pretty tasty. I tried it again just before New Year's, this time covering it in foil to ensure maximum moisture retention. It came out looking like pot roast and tasted okay. It still needs work. Next time, I'll sear the roast on both sides before popping it into the oven to lock in the juices. I do like embedding garlic into it though. On a scale of 1 to 10, this was maybe a 5. Shooting for an 8 next time.

    With a little help from Tramanh, we also made cheesy garlic truffle mashed potatoes. This also was okay. Not enough truffle oil nor cheese, but it was decently creamy. Will have to try again in the future.

  • A White Russian Christmas: Part Three.

    This year was the first year we used the new tree my mom had bought that had lighting included. Even though it was pretty old, I kind of miss our old Christmas tree we had had for some 20+ years.

    But the tree doesn't matter as much as the ornaments. Christmas just doesn't feel like Christmas without childhood ornaments on the tree. This one my mom made herself back in the 80's. That right there's me.

    My mom made this one herself back then too. This here's the BigBro.

    And the LilBro made this one himself. I always liked these ornaments the best though- handmade trumps everything.

    The LilBro got the BigBro the cookbook he had wanted. The parents got him a nice cookbook holder.

    We've had this Star Wars sleeping bag for over 20 years.

    The BigBro ended up getting us all matching tauntaun sleeping bags. They first started out as a conceptual gag that eventually ended up being made by thinkgeek

    There's a little light saber for the zipper to cut open the tauntaun for easy access.

    Mmmm... innards...

    LilBro demonstrating how it works.

    It'd be neat if you could stick your arm into the tauntaun arm too. Ah well, maybe next version.

    The BigBro also got us all matching Ninja Turtles snuggies. I had seen these at Hot Topic a month or two back and had secretly wanted one. The BigBro just happened to randomly find these there too. I was also Donatello when we were little because science, man.

    Did someone say pizza?!

    COWABUNGA, DUDES

    Heroes in a Half Shell

    LilBro looking all weird and blobby

    And if you wear it backwards, it works just as well

    The LilBro got me the monkey bath rug from Target that I had wanted (plus, I can say it's because I'm the year of the monkey and whatnot). "What, are you trying to slowly turn into a five year old?" he asked. Why yes, as a matter of fact. Yes I am.

    He also got me a pair of converse. Oh, sorry, I mean chucks. I'd never owned one and was looking for a more casual shoe. Hipster transformation 90% complete.

    So there you have it, another Christmas in the Nguyen family household. If you couldn't tell, we're all a pretty dorky, nerdy, geeky bunch, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

  • A White Russian Christmas: Part Two.

    After dinner, we had our usual cousins Secret Santa gift exchange.

    Tino had wanted a "hipster hoodie", and I obliged, getting him a purple (you know, the hipsterest color) hoodie from American Apparel (about as hipster as you can get). I also got him a bbq sword I picked up while visiting Jennifer and Co. in San Fran. Here he is being hipster to the max.

    Tinou inexplicably got "So I married an axe murderer" packaged in with Vincent's gift...

    Until Vincent opens his gift and finds a tomahawk- a perfect match for his unused throwing knives he keeps in his room.

    Tino also got Tinou GeMagic and matching white mother & daughter t-shirts.

    LilBro and I sporting our Santa shirts we bought from Walmart for $5. I don't know why everyone hates it. I think these are hilariously awesome.

    Afterward, the guys went to the backyard (it was actually the windiest day that I could ever remember) and we threw the tomahawk at a random shingle that had blown off the roof.

    On my throw, I actually got the handle stuck in the ground. Let's see someone do that.

    We went back inside and Vincent opened his gift from Tinou- the Star Wars mind force toy he had been wanting. He looks like a kid on Christmas.

    The next hour or so was spent laughing over how to get this ridiculous thing working. The results were pretty inconsistent, but everyone was able to levitate the ball at some point using only their mind.

    As you can see, everyone has their own technique on concentrating on the ball and making it rise.

    No sweat.

    Some people take the meditation approach.

    The BigBro is the first to max out the machine.

    He gets up to take the headset off, but the thing starts going crazy again. How this thing works is ridiculous.

    Ok, now he's just showing off hah

    Tinou ends up with the longest high altitude hang time.

    After that, we parted ways and headed home. But it was Christmas Eve, and Christmas wasn't over yet.