Kayaking on the Potomac River
It was the first un-humid, un-sweltering day in weeks when P. and I decided to knock an adventure off our “Top 10 Things To Do This Summer” list: kayaking on the Potomac River. Oh, the gorgeous views we saw! Georgetown, the Lincoln Memorial and Roosevelt Island, a rainbow, ducks – I saw them all in a way I’d never seen them before. Still, I was disappointed to find trash floating all over the river. At first, it was just a bottle here and there. I actually picked up an empty Pepsi bottle, vowing to myself I would pick up any more trash we found. But then it became clear this task would be overwhelming. Ugh.
Find a penny, pick it up…..
Whenever I guest lecture about multimedia storytelling, I stress the importance of having a personal project. This is a story or an essay that you do for yourself, not for an editor or a professor or a publication. You do it because you’re passionate about the topic, the person, the issue, the situation, because not creating this story would leave you always wondering, “Why didn’t I do that? Why didn’t I make time for that?” A personal project allows you to be more creative, inventive and risky than you might be with an assignment. It can be a fun story or heavy story. Either way, you do a personal project because you must, because you love it. That’s all.
This has been my personal project for the last year-and-a-half: The Penny Project, the story of Leslie Stein, a woman who picks up all the change she finds on the street. In three years she’s collected hundreds of dollars and started a change-collecting movement among her friends and family. Last year she started donating the change to an organization striving to make positive changes in the lives of young women in DC.
I love this story. More to come.
(Mind you, this is just a first rough cut of the story introduction. I’m pretty set on opening with the sound of change, but beyond that I’m still thinking. Feel free to leave me thoughts and suggestions in the comments section.)
Happy birthday to Mom, August and Eun!
I threw my mom’s surprise birthday party at the beginning of May. Organizing this from afar was quite a task.
First, I had to lie to my Mom and tell her I couldn’t escape from DC for the weekend to celebrate a banner year birthday with her. In truth, I woke up early on a Saturday morning, drove down to Newport News and spent the morning of her party day picking up food from KFC, Domino’s and Mona Restaurant, a Korean restaurant that agreed to cater the bash even though they normally don’t serve such small parties. My sister and brother-in-law brought the cake and drinks.
Then, my Dad and I worked together to invite people to the party. Dad focused on church friends and I focused on Korean friends, many of whom don’t speak English. Ah, finally putting my hard-earned language skills to use for the first time in a while! I ended up leaving funny voicemails for almost everyone because no one picked up their phones. Luckily, enough people got the message and showed up.
Finally, I had to decide where to have the party. I haven’t lived in my hometown in a while and I’ve definitely never thrown a party there. I settled on the Virginia Living Museum, my niece’s favorite place to see her fishy friends Nemo and Dori (as well as furry and flying friend such as owls). Jennifer Turlington, the museum’s events coordinator, was wonderful in helping secure a party space and even coming up with the ruse for bringing my mom to the museum: why not have my Dad tell my Mom he was taking her to a flower show there? Not to knock my Dad too hard here, but I was suspicious my Mom would fall for this lie since flower shows aren’t exactly my Dad’s thing. Nevertheless, it worked. Jennifer posted a volunteer at the museum entrance. My Dad went up to the volunteer and said, “We’re here for the flower show,” which were the magic words for the volunteer to lead my parents through a side entrance, then down a path, then into a building, then down a hall into a classroom filled with all of us. Surprise!
The look on my Mom’s face was fantastic! She later said she wondered why she was being led to a “flower show” in a classroom in a building. She also said this was the best birthday she ever had.
August’s 8th birthday party in the beginning of June was a maelstrom of laughing, screaming, sugared-up kids exacerbated by a thunderstorm that led to much indoor horseplay and rowdiness. At the end, when everyone was gone and Eun and Marty were sweeping up and wiping down after their son’s celebration, they said, “See? No one ever tells you about THIS part of being a parent!” Haha! Those two crack me up.
Eun started out as my Asian American Journalists Association journalism mentor over 12 years ago. Over time we’ve become good friends to the point that I feel I’m a part of the Van Der Kim family: Eun, Marty, August and Reid (my godson). So I was thrilled to be at her 40th birthday party in mid July. The best part of the night? When Eun’s sisters-in-law appeared at the front door – they flew in from Arizona to surprise her!
Go, Go, Gadget!
What could be more fun than an all-afternoon trivia romp and scavenger hunt around DC’s famous and obscure sights? That’s exactly what I said to myself when I saw the ad for DC Challenge a couple months ago. So with help from friends and friends of friends, we cobbled a team together – Team Go, Go, Gadget! – and off we ran through downtown DC (with about 2,000 other trivia fiends) this past Saturday. The only rules were we had to use only our feet or public transportation and we had to take a photograph of the WHOLE team at each trivia location.
We searched for answers to clues such as: People say that the word “lobbying: comes from favor-seekers hanging out in this hotel’s lobby. It shares a name with a longtime NBC Today Show personality. Take a picture inside (if they don’t get sick of Challengers running through) or just outside.
Know the answer to that one? We didn’t. Tony and Ben researched the answer on their phones while the rest of us guessed aloud. The Couric Hotel? The Lauer Lounge? Ann Curry Motel? Thank god for iPhones and Blackberries, which gave us the answer: the Willard Hotel. And so we all ran over to the Willard Hotel, where a bemused employee to take a picture of us in the lobby. And you know what we found out? The scavenger hunt organizers didn’t tell the hotel – or anyone else/place on our clue list – that oh, 2,000 sweaty people might be dropping by on Saturday afternoon to snap a photograph.
Eleven clues, a few miles and almost three hours after we started, we crossed the finish line. It was a fantastic way to spend an afternoon!
Cooking Korean food
Last weekend my Mom came to visit and taught me how to cook 멸치 볶음 (myulchi bokkeum), which is anchovies lightly friend in sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar and a small bit of maple syrup. I’m getting more into cooking and hope my mom will teach me how to create more Korean dishes.
Digging out from the snowstorm
Washington DC is finally starting to dig out from back-to-back snowstorms – and I’m finally getting out and about again. Last night around 6:30 pm, after almost three full days cooped up inside, I just had to get out. I bundled up, called my friend Allison and told her I was walking over to her house. The first thing I saw when I walked outside was a man shoveling snow off his car by standing on his car (picture above).
Today I worked out of my office for the first time all week. I actually ran to work because 1) I figured it would be faster than the Metro, which is running trains few and far between and 2) I wanted to see what the city looks like. Washington DC looks beautiful! Like a white maze. In the afternoon I trekked to our roof to take a picture of the intersection of 16th St. and K St. (picture below). You can see the White House and the Washington Monument in the distance.
Digging out from Snowmageddon
Digging out from Snowmageddon in Lorton, Virginia. There’s more snow coming!
A snowy night in Columbia Heights, DC
A snowpocalypse is barreling toward DC for the second time this winter. Isn’t that a funny word – “snowpocalypse”? This photograph was from last week’s storm, which apparently was not a snowpocalypse. At least I didn’t hear anyone call it that. This storm will be the third snowfall this week! I’ve always lived in mild-to-hot climates so I think this will be the most snow I’ll have ever seen fall in a seven-day period. I can’t wait to make snow cream, build snowpeople, watch movies, read books and do a little work.
O, Christmas tree!
Park Road & 13th Street
Monroe Street & 10th Street
Park Road & 13th Street
Park Road & 13th Street
Women Photojournalists of Washington
My dear friend Abby at the Women Photojournalists of Washington exhibit opening at Honfleur Gallery in early November (I know – this post is way overdue!)
Miss Allison, photographer extraordinaire and super running buddy!
After the gallery opening, Jenna, Amanda and I took off to photograph as part of FOTOweek DC’s late-night photo contest. A few dozen Native Americans from across the United States set up teepees on the Mall to bring attention to their request for a Native American veterans day.
Crawling through the grass for a shot.
Amanda in “The Blair Witch Photo Project,” as Jenna said.
Warming up with jazz at Columbia Station in Adams Morgan.
Jenna’s happy with her late-night Jumbo Slice (which later fueled dancing at Madam’s Organ.)
Samantha + John get hitched!
One of the first things you notice about Samantha and John is how much they make each other smile and laugh. We’re talking constant smiles and laughter! This, of course, made it an extra-special joy to photograph their wedding at the gorgeous Tabard Inn in Washington DC yesterday.
Samantha and John are the kind of confident, laid-back people who don’t let much get them down, which is why the rain on their wedding day didn’t bother them. They’re also the kind of people who are up for anything, which is how we ended up riding the carousel on the National Mall on a rainy Saturday afternoon. John walked up to the ticket guy, who looked up and around and said, “Brides always ride free”–as if he’d seen this hundreds of times before. But it was the first time for us and apparently the first time for a couple dozen amused tourists who snapped pictures of Samantha and John. The ride was so much fun! I admit I got dizzy, but it was worth it.
Thanks, Samantha and John, for allowing me to document the start of your marriage! I hope you two have an awesome honeymoon. See you when you return to DC!
Women Photojournalists of Washington exhibit during FotoWeek DC
The photographs in this slideshow are part of “Launch,” the Women Photojournalists of Washington‘s 2nd annual juried exhibit. (Can you guess which picture is mine? Hint: it’s kind of a patriotic photograph.) If you’re in the DC area, be sure to come to our opening reception at Honfleur Gallery on Saturday, November 7, right at the start of FotoWeek DC.
I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll still not be able to blow your (solar) house down
BeauSoleil, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s entry into the Solar Decathlon competition in Washington DC
Imagine a completely self-sufficient house strong enough to withstand another Hurricane Katrina. Students at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette did imagine it — and then built it with locally-available materials and solar technology. This year their house — named BeauSoleil, “sunshine” in Cajun French — is part of the Solar Decathlon competition in Washington DC, where it is on display with 19 other 100% solar-run homes built by university students from around the world.
According to a recent survey commissioned by the Solar Energy Industries Association, 92% of Americans think it’s important for the United States to develop solar technologies. About half are currently thinking of adding solar options to their homes or businesses. This means homes like the BeauSoleil potentially have a market in the U.S.
Gretchen Lacombe-Vanicor, the BeauSoleil team project manager, told a crowd waiting to tour the home that every student who helped design BeauSoleil felt a strong, personal attachment to the project: they’re all Louisiana natives and many experienced Katrina. Building a home that would still be standing after a Category 5 hurricane was of tantamount importance to them, she said. Also important? Using locally-available materials, such as cypress wood, running the home on solar power (39 solar panels, to be exact) and creating a home design that reflected Cajun culture’s emphasis on family, friends and food (gumbo, to be exact.)
I visited the BeauSoleil with a friend on Saturday, and while the building and design are beautiful, I wonder how feasible the house is as a mass-produced home. The BeauSoleil website says this home would cost between $120,00o to $150,000. That’s not bad but the house is small at under 800 square feet (per Solar Decathlon rules) and felt even smaller due to inefficient use of space. Despite several windows that faced south, the BeauSoleil was not bright. Even if a potential consumer were incredibly motivated to buy a 100% solar-powered home, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette team would likely have to make a few changes to the house for it to be marketable.
The BeauSoleil and other Solar Decathlon homes will be open for free tours again from Oct. 15-18.
Inside the BeauSoleil
People touring the BeauSoleil look up at the ceiling. My friend Bobbie DiPasquale is in the center of the picture.
Cajun welcome mat
Small flower and herb garden built into the BeauSoleil’s siding
The BeauSoleil reflected in a pool of plants indigenous to Louisiana
Note: A slightly different version of this post also appears on the Planet Forward-George Washington University blog page.
Family History: Mom
Many years ago, my Mom and Sister Chrispina were postulants at a convent in Seoul. Now Sister Chrispina is studying English in Washington DC, not far from my house. “What was my Mom like when she was younger?” I asked her. “Your Mom always said she wanted to fly, like this, with her arms,” said Sister Chrispina. “She wanted to fly all around the world!” It seemed an impossible dream at the time, coming as my Mom did from a poor family in a country still recovering from war. But my Mom has been around the world many times over. So has Sister Chrispina. This past weekend, they met for the first time in seven years. I hope they have many more opportunities to strengthen their friendship while Sister Chrispina is in the United States.
Airports around the world
Shenyang, China
What I love about an airport is knowing I could end up anywhere in the world from there. Sometimes, on my way to my gate, I stop and read the departure monitors. I like imagining where I would travel if I weren’t heading to my current destination: “Buenos Aires would be fun; I’ve never been there. Cleveland would be like another world. Plus I could visit the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. Oooooh – Singapore! I could visit Sooz and Barry. Well, maybe next year. I should go to my gate now.”
The second thing I love about an airport is watching the people. Before 9/11 kept non-passengers from going to airline gates, I used to hang out at National Airport in Washington DC and watch people walk out of those tubular disembarking hallways and into their loved ones’ arms. Or not. Sometimes people came out, looked around for someone who wasn’t there and walked out to the main terminal halls. Budding writer that I was, I wrote down descriptions of these reunions (or non-reunions) and built short story scenes around what I saw.
In the past couple months I’ve spent a lot of time in airports. Which means I’ve also taken a lot of pictures in airports: the people, the buildings, the atmosphere. Some airports are like art museums, with sculptures and paintings and light displays (I’m thinking Detroit.) Some airports are like shopping malls, with people milling about the duty-free stores, picking out chocolates and perfumes and trinkets they don’t really need (I’m thinking Seoul-Incheon and London Heathrow.) It’s all incredibly fascinating. And so I’ve decided to start a photo essay on airports. Looking at the photographs I’ve posted, it seems that right now I’m interested in the architecture and the color in airports but I don’t really have a theme or an idea where this will lead me. We’ll see.
Detroit, USA
Detroit, USA
Seoul-Incheon, South Korea
Washington DC, USA
Massage by Marissa Gandelman
If you live in DC and you need a massage then you really should consider getting a massage from my friend Marissa. Everyone I’ve recommended to her has loved her. Marissa’s professional, caring and most of all, knowledgeable. And until the end of September, she’s offering 60-minute package specials.
These are some photographs I shot for her website earlier this year. I had a fun afternoon photographing three models in the beautiful window light of Marissa’s massage studio. Ahhh….revisiting these pictures makes me want a massage.
Vivi and Giovanni in National Airport
There I was, about to eat a fig bar before catching my flight to Boston at Reagan National Airport in DC, when a couple asked me to photograph them with their iPhone. Giovanni was heading to Miami. Maybe Vivi was going with him? I don’t remember. I do remember their lovely meeting story (I collect them, after all) but I won’t share it here because I don’t have permission. Vivi and Giovanni exuded happiness and playfulness and love and optimism. They were just so fun to photograph! I’m glad we crossed paths for a few minutes on Friday. Bonus realization from this impromptu shoot: National Airport is a fantastic location for engagement and wedding pictures.
Bicycling around Washington DC
She waited for the light to turn, the setting sun casting a long shadow in front of her.
Nineteen seconds, eighteen seconds, seventeen seconds….
The crosswalk light counted down the time left before plodding pedestrians would start annoying drivers. She usually ran through low-trafficked intersections like this when she was on her bike. Something told her to wait out this light.
Thirteen seconds, twelve seconds, eleven seconds….
No oncoming cars. No people. Just a lone bicyclist heading north. Even from this distance it was easy to see he rode a bike with ridiculously large handlebars, the kind that should have pink streamers flowing out of them. He looked like he belonged at the beach: no helmet, open shirt, flip flops. She wondered what he cradled in his right arm. Dinner? Books?
Five seconds, four seconds….
She looked at him. He looked at her. They locked eyes and smiled.
One second….
American University journalism students blog about….me
One of the things I love almost as much as creating stories, taking pictures and shooting video is teaching. As one of my professor friends says, teaching is not only a way to impart knowledge but a way for a piece of you to live on in your students – and in the world – after you’re gone. A good teacher and his or her lessons will stay with you forever.
This is all just a long-winded and slightly sentimental way for me to say that I had a blast teaching photojournalism and Photoshop basics today at American University’s School of Communication journalism boot camp for new journalism grad students. All three dozen students are required to blog about each day of boot camp like it’s a news story, which means there are pictures and more pictures (a funny one here) and video and word stories and bits of written stories about….me.
I felt so weird being on the other side of the camera/video camera/microphone (though it’s not the first time.) Right at the start of class there was this funny, paparazzi-like moment when seven or eight students stood up almost in unison to take pictures of me talking. My first thought was: whoa! My second thought was: at least they’re standing up instead of sitting down to take this picture! And now, having seen the pictures and the video of me talking, my third thought is: I need to improve my posture. Ha!
Anyway, the students were all fantastic. They asked a ton of good questions, especially about photojournalism ethics. The few students I had the chance to talk with one-on-one are thoughtful and hopeful about the stories they’ll be telling during grad school. I’m heartened to see so many eager people entering the profession, especially at such a difficult time in the industry. I hope I’ll run into them all again someday.