All by Myself

Nettie went back to Singapore on Monday and I have been working alone in Taipei since then. 

When she drove off in the car to the airport, I had this pang of panic for a second. She has been such help the last week with small things like helping me set up the tripod, making sure we're on track with schedule and making sure I'm focused so we can complete all items. Oh, and collecting and labelling all my receipts for expenses, wow how much time I saved! 

Working alone and in a foreign land is definitely a learning experience from me. It sounds nice and glam and everything, but it actually requires super discipline to wake up on time, start work even though you wanna sleep in, and lots of time management. That being said, I also tend to work till 11pm with nobody to stop me......

Flying back tomorrow and we'll see where this takes me! It's gonna be an interesting year for sure, 2015!

Suitcase Living

On my first travel photography gig, in my very favourite Taipei. 

Am so very thankful for this opportunity, and it's been a great learning experience so far! Being out in the field is very different from just shooting at leisure. It's definitely tough but doing what you love is such a joy, you don't feel the weariness until you're back in the hotel, put down the camera, and breathe out. Then it hits you. 

A typical day sees me shooting from 8am till around 8pm, which is probably when I eat my first proper meal of the day. Thereafter back to the hotel to organise images to ensure all the shots are usable, and to ensure I'm on schedule to get all the required location shots. I sleep about 1am and am up again at 7am. Some days are tougher than others, especially when it rains, or when it's so cold but I have to wait outdoors for that one shot. Thank the heavens for ponchos, heat tech and Uniqlo bubble jackets LOL. 

Luckily for me, Nettie was able to accompany me for most of this trip and she's been such such such a godsend. I don't know what I would have done without her! 

Ok, time to go back to post-processing! Will be back with some Tokyo photos soon!

Epiphanies in a Cemetery

Just like that, 11 days have flown by and tomorrow we depart Tokyo for Taipei. 

Speaking about time, do you ever think about death? I think about it all the time, not in a morbid way, but constantly asking myself: if I die in the next minute, will my life have been worth living? 

Today we visited Nezu Shrine and the Yanaka Cemetery. Wasn't even planned (much like anything on this trip), we just decided to go to that area and Google recommended these places. I don't think I've ever walked past so many dead bodies - luckily they were underground and very buried - and yet feel such a soothing feeling in my heart. Given, it was broad daylight, perhaps if the sun had set it would have been a very different story LOL. 

The Japanese bury and glorify their dead by giving them a beautiful environment to rest after death. Names and blessings highlight each red column in the Edo-period Shinto shrine, as well as the stone walls surrounding the main temple. As I walked beneath the pseudo tunnel, it seemed as if the blessings were being blown my way by a sudden gust of wind. 

At that moment I thought: For when you do not resist death, at the same time you celebrate life. Just like all love has hate, all life has death. Without death there is no life, and without life there is no death. Wow I feel so zen. 

The wind seemed to be telling me, life is fleeting and short, live it as happily and meaningfully as you can. With every column I passed, and every blessing I absorbed, I felt so much at peace. I have more dreams I want to achieve, and many more things I want to experience, but at that moment nothing mattered more than the present. Just me, the wind, and the peaceful spirits. 

Crossroads

Y'know, this crossroad at Shibuya ain't that big or wide. It's actually pretty small to be honest. I had to look around for the Tsutuya Starbucks to confirm I was in the right place. Strange, it seemed the first time I was here it looked bigger.

I sat on the rail of one of the subway exits and just watched.

Besides the buildings, everything was moving. The people, the billboards, the cars. That seemed to give the space an overwhelming grandiose feeling - that can make your head spin a little if this was your first time to a big city. It explained why - even if it's not that big a crossroad - there's at least one guy with his GoPro on a selfie stick walking around every time the traffic man turns green, and why countless photographers camp around for that perfect shot, and why people pose for photos in the middle of the road at the risk of getting stamped over by the non-stop human traffic. That was probably me, the first time I visited. I must have crossed it 5 times just posing for photos.

On hindsight, now just sitting and watching - the crossroad ain't that big or wide, but it must have felt a million heavy downtrodden steps after a bad day, a billion happy skips after good news, a zillion excited runs to catch that perfect shot, and a trillion more treads from people who need to walk across it everyday to get to work/home. The last being boring and nondescript, but nonetheless important. How much has it seen? How much has it felt? How many hearts were broken here? How many proposals were made here? How many moments were created here? Were all of these emotions somehow left here?

And is that why this crossroad holds so much fascination and intrigue? I sit and wonder.

Hello from Harajuku

#livinginharajuku

Good morning, it rained last night so I awoke to clear skies and birds singing. In our small kitchen, the smell of freshly brewed drip coffee permeates the entire studio apartment we are staying at. It's amazing, how many things can functionally fit into this small space, and it's so inspiring for us as we love to daydream and plan on our future house.

Yesterday was Halloween, and we spent some time on the streets of Shibuya soaking up the atmosphere, me being snap-happy and her protecting me from behind so my backpack is safe. Walking into a random cafe and having the most mind-blowing affogato ever. Seeking that one-year craving for a particular bowl of udon from a very very hidden store we happened to find the last time - and just closing my eyes and going mmmmmmmm from the very first spoon.

All that in half a day. Tokyo you amaze me. It's not overwhelming, when you're experiencing it you're not lost to new sensories and sights; but when sitting down to reflect, that's when the wonderfulness of it all envelops you.

Last year this time, I was here as well. And I told my friend I couldn't live here as wonderful as it seems, it's too busy for me, I would get so exhausted having to deal with everything Tokyo has to offer. It was my first time in Tokyo then on a business trip staying in a business hotel and entertaining with colleagues every single night.

This year though, I came with the aim of spacing out for 11 days after an especially stressful month. Looking very hard for the perfect apartment so I could really experience living here like a local without the niceties of a hotel. I might even try cycling around - I'm deadly afraid of other cyclists though. Waking up naturally, coffee on rooftops, time to blog. Time for me.

Today we have agreed to do the laundry, and then get a crash course in sorting our garbage - the Japanese are OCD (in a good way) about separating recyclables and burnables.  Then we are going to meet Mao for one of the best brunches in Omotesando - just looking at the menu she sent me made me salivate! And then, who knows? I'm sure Tokyo has something in store for us anyway.