Imaginary Mentor

I tend to believe ‘Si Fu’ would only appear in your early stage of life. ‘Si Fu’ by all means I refer them as the mentor/coach. When you’re grown up, there’s just no excuse for you to take care of yourself. There might be exceptions found in church or other types of religious communities. I just wish I could meet one soon enough that I could get influence from. I’m very fed up on figuring things and go around circle in life. This cycle has been going on for so long until I realize I’d become my own ‘Si Fu’. Maybe it’s just my nature to dig into my own world and experiment.

I was watching a documentary of festival in India. The host said people there are so easy to be happy. My mom told me it’s true that people are happier when they’re living in a place where everyone is poor. There’s no comparison, less desire on money and material. To take one step further, how can it possibly done here in Hong Kong? Who are we, when in the absence of money and status? Are we really all equal? One thing that I’d been thinking about for so long is, what you could contribute to the society without producing major economical values is what proved you to be a useful person. I know being poor is my biggest weakness, It totally steered me toward my philosophy. It’s why I think I’m doing some goods to the society as a photographer.

People often ask me why don’t ever go on vacation for a travel. I try to be dodgy and come up with a sub-par excuse that I answered: that’s because I could easily over-spent. My real fact is, I’ve got retired parents without pension to take care of. That’s my priority. Whatever comes next is what I spend on locally, things such as food, clothes. Sometimes I even think thankfully that I do not have rich friends that I need to catch up with. I do want to travel, ever since I come back from the U.S. I’d not set my foot at the airport terminal. It’s a real shame for a photographer. It’s life I must accept.

Food Culture

How amazing food is not only a necessity to just filling up our stomach, it is also an art, history, a culture that represent a country, a region, a community, a civilization. In our modern days, it’s also a romantic leisure activity, a skilled asset (course, certificate) that may even get you a job (knowledge, experience), a science to research on the food ingredients. You need to know the people, travel the places in order to understand the entire picture. Excuse for all the manners and formalities in fine dining for a sec – When food serves in front of you as a fine dining situation, it elevated not only your party’s mood but also to the food. It’s such a stress reliever for some who could afford the price. Not only the food ceremony itself is the celebration of life, the entire process of eating and sharing is such an important gathering moments for all culture.

Food and cooking is a complete set of language of itself. I’m not even a chef but my curiosity have brought me far enough to learn about another culture of food. It’s not until recently I interacted with several guys on their book project, I realized how little I know about my own culture as a local. I really know nothing about the old school traditional ingredients nor the history behind it. Rather I’m chasing after another food culture that I have not even been to the origin and actively looking for more. Isn’t it strange?

To the Cantonese cooking, we do not care much about the oil as it’s mostly for cooking situation. To the Western culture, it’s heavily used as dressing, seasoning and the final touch. It gets very interesting when I hear how the Italians (being a vastly successful food exporting country) extract their common olive oil through cold press method, it can be unfiltered for even more rustic look (many expert says it does not affect the taste) and where & what olives are collected from. It can be a semester course just to learn about the olive oil. How it’s used is just ‘oh my’, unbelievably easy. The rule of thumb is to really keep it simple, drizzle on the salad, rice, steak, seafood, anything uncomplicatedly cooked. It works like sesame oil except olive oil should be generously used to carry out the maximum flavor of the accompanied food.

For Paul

After seeing the Furious 7 movie, it does feel like I’d also lost somebody I’d known for a long time. He’s just such a cool person on screen. I totally understood what made the rest of casts/family so emotional. The last two scenes had really touched me and it’s the best fan appreciation and goodbye for Paul. It’s as real as looking right at Paul smiling in heaven.

The Fast and Furious had been with me ever since I first arrived in the US for study in 2001. I have become a fan since then. The last 2 Fast and Furious movies I saw were in Hong Kong with my long time buddy. There were just so much struggle as a foreigner before, which could turn into a book chapter. Seeing those movies just remind me of my past, and coming back home is the sweetest thing ever. I look at it as my next chapter.

My then next chapter had really turned into something I’d only dreamt about, doing what I enjoy and get recognized in a way. The interview which i had done earlier last month is finally available on the Where Hong Kong Magazine. It’s very cool to know when other 3 out of 4 photographers interviewed are either in the photography business or have recently turned into celebrity status (happy for her though). What more could I ask for? I really appreciate the editor’s support.

No matter what happens next, I would still look at it as a bonus.

P.S. The last photo is dedicate to Paul and the Fast and Furious.