Life through a lens

I had heard so much about South Beach in Miami, Florida.  While working on an assignment in South Florida, I decided to visit the South Beach in Miami on a weekend.  I took the scenic coastal route and it was late afternoon when I reached South beach.  I was mesmerized by beautiful clouds, clear inviting waters and people out to enjoy the beach, the sun.  This was one of the first pictures as I stepped on the sand. 

As I photographed this colorful beach scene, Sebastian approached me and smilingly asked who I was shooting for.  Always nice when somebody is interested in your work and your equipment.  It turns out he is an actor in Chile and on being asked if he would like a picture, agreed to pose for me.  I had him jump next to one of the numerous colorful umbrellas along the beach. 

Walking along the beach, I met Latrisha with a dazzling smile.  Her bikini matched the clear green waters nearer to the beach and I wanted to take a portrait of her.

While photographing her, my cell phone rang and after answering my phone, I put it away in the side pocket of my long shorts.  Little did I realize as the waves came onto the shore that my phone was getting drenched in sea water as I sat along the beach to get a better angle.  My moto Q died a watery death that evening. 

There are very colorful life-guard stations along the south beach.  Each life-guard station is painted different.  While photographing one of these stations, I saw Kiwi with a cute smile, big innocent eyes and dreadlocks with silvery beads.  As I approached her dad for a photo, she became shy and would not smile at all.  She had just come out of the water and water dripped out of the beads onto her face.  All I wanted was a smile from this cute lil’ kid. 

Somehow, she took a liking to the flash on my camera with its’ big diffuser and looked at it with curiosity and dead serious eyes.  So, I showed her how one could trigger the flash by pressing the test button.   From then on, it was a child’s play for her and she took an immense delight in pressing the test button, time and again.   I like this portrait that shows her delight in having fired the flash by pressing the button yet again.

It was a good day for people-watching and meeting beautiful strangers on the Miami beach.  I vowed to return earlier in the day another time…

Splashing in the puddles
rain drops dance
off the red umbrella
It’s time to float
my paper boat
Notes of innocence
waft in the air
the spirits
play a rain-song
as two little kids
marvel at the skies

Last year at the Carnaval parade, I saw a girl with a beautiful smile dressed in colorful clothes dancing with a joyous abandon.

This year, she has been crowned San Francisco Carnaval’s teen queen with an electrifying performance in the junior king and queen contest as I mentioned in the previous post. After the event, she and her family graciously gave photographers like me some time for portraits. Showing a patience and grace beyond her years, Cassandra posed with a cheerful smile on her face.

The way she had danced like a trained ballerina, it was a surprise for me to learn from her that she does not have any formal ballet training. She is in eighth grade and I really wish one of the numerous dance companies in San Francisco Bay area would take her under their wing. There was this slogan on the mural in Everett Middle school lobby - “Follow your dreams”.

Follow your dreams Cassandra! I wish you all the luck.

April 25, 2008 An Update
(courtesy Colleen Tiffenson from Mas Makers, a leading Carnival group of SF bay area ):
“Cassandra is a long time student of noted Bay Area Choreographer Linda Johnson and attends the Oakland School of Performing Arts. She is scheduled to be part of two dance camps this summer at UC Berkeley and Alvin Ailey in NY. As a member of Mas Makers performing cast, her talent is recognized and she is receiving guidance in the pursuit of her dreams.”

This past weekend was the junior king & queen / prince & princess contests of Carnaval held at Everett middle school auditorium on Church street in San Francisco. Carnaval crowned a new junior queen, a prince and a princess to add to its 2008 royalty.

The event had its moments - a perky six year old dressed in bright green takes the stage, starts and then freezes seeing the massive stage and lights. “Do you want to dance again?” Shake of the head indicates negative. Three requests to dance follow but no luck; kiddo wants to come back to the shelter of the side of stage.

After two more performances by others, the kid comes on encouraged by parent and under flashes of the camera, dances graceful movements to a perfect rhythm, looking to his parent for approval from time to time. The music finishes and happy and buoyed by the dance, he returns thrilled with his performance. Everyone on this stage is a winner for me.

I remember when I first went to recite poetry on a big stage with lights and hundreds of eyes watching me in the lighted up auditorium. There was no lectern to lean on and my legs were shaking uncontrollably but with hands clasped behind my back, I put up a brave front, recited my poem and somehow moved into a different zone. When my poem finished and the clapping sound brought me back to earth, it was a moment of relief that the recital went well without any lines being bungled. Yes, I could certainly understand what the six-year old was going through initially.

A good rhythm and dancing never fails to have my feet tapping. If I were not behind the camera, I think I would be dancing.

Though there were many stellar performances, I really loved Cassandra’s performance. She was the first participant on the roster for teen queen and she had a charismatic brilliance. Moving very gracefully, her steps flowed like a trained ballerina and those included an air split.

My Congratulations to all the youngsters and to their parents who provide the all necessary support and encouragement for them to follow their dreams. Much goes on behind the scenes to put up any such event; kudos to Roberto Hernandez and Karol An Meier for their loving dedication and the legacy they impart to these kids for years to come.

Some portraits follow…more photos of all the participants may be seen in my event galleries .

I have always enjoyed photographing San Francisco Carnaval. I remember back in 1993 when I had just arrived in SF after travelling for around thirty-two hours. I got to my hotel room and opened the television and there it was, the Carnaval parade in full regalia. I resolved to go to the parade next year and have been photographing the parade ever since almost every year. This year is the 30th anniversary of San Francisco Carnaval.

Last night, I was at 1015 Folsom in San Francisco to photograph the Carnaval King and Queen contest. It turned out that the format had been changed this year and we would only see the finalists of a preliminary competition held earlier. Wish I knew earlier.

Everett and Kellita of Hot Pink Feathers were crowned King and Queen of San Francisco Carnaval 2008 after a scintillating performance. Here are some portraits of Everett and Kellita from the event. More may be seen in my Carnaval galleries to be updated sometime this week.

Everett all smiles: “what a feeling to be the king”…

the bubbly, energetic queen Kellita with a big smile…

Posing for a portrait after the crowning…

Savoring the moment…

All hail the king and queen…

My congratulations to Everett and Kellita, the new royalty of Carnaval!

For the uninitiated, ‘Gung Hay Fat Choy’ literally means ‘May prosperity be with you’ in Cantonese. On the occasion of the lunar new year, people wish each other with this greeting.

San Francisco has a sizable Chinese community and the largest Chinatown outside of Asia. In 1849, with the discovery of gold and the Gold Rush in California, a large number of people moved to California to seek fortune. Among these were many Chinese, who came to work in the gold mines and on the railroad. Today, Chinese New Year is celebrated in San Francisco with street festivals and a big parade with dragons, dancers, people carrying colorful flags, banners, lanterns, and drums and firecrackers to drive away evil spirits.

Whenever possible, I try and go to a Chinese New Year parade, for it gives me a glimpse into an ancient culture and its modern adaptations.

I photographed these Beijing Opera artists on the occasion of Chinese new year a couple of years back.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Embrace the old, explore the new.

After photographing the Carnaval Junior King and Queen contest in San Francisco, I was shooting an impromptu drum circle outside the venue. I noticed a hispanic musician with a pan flute and guitar watching the proceedings with interest from the other side of the road. The colorful graffiti mural at the back and the musician appeared a very appealing subject for a street portrait.

I lifted my camera, smiled and waved to him gesturing if I could take a picture. He smiled back and nodded and posed as I clicked a picture. Scanning both sides for oncoming traffic, I crossed the road to compose tighter and then clicked a couple of pictures. I wanted to ask his name and address so I could send him his picture but he spoke no English and I spoke ‘poquito’ Spanish. We spoke by gestures; I would show him what I wanted and he followed my gestures.

After shooting some colorful street portraits while he played some flute and guitar for me and my camera, I handed him one of my cards hoping he would email me but he didn’t. At times like these, I feel I should learn more of Spanish; even though a smile always conveys happiness and one’s good intentions. If you know this musician, let me know ‘cos his portrait certainly made my day.

A few months back, I photographed the wedding of my friends, Amber and Pratibha. It was held at Palmdale Estate in Fremont. ‘Was a very hot afternoon and the heat was quite unbearable. Regardless, both of them looked really colorful in the traditional garb and I wished there was more time after the ceremony and lunch for portraits. Happy, tired and sweating, they gave me about a half hour for portraits before relatives and friends started asking how much longer would it be as the limousine waited. Here are some of my favorite portraits from the quick portrait session…

Here’s wishing the beautiful couple - Amber and Pratibha - a very happy married life!

On the threshold of a new year
Reflections of a year past come by
to find a place on my memory shelf
My heart eagerly embraces the hope
the new dawns yet to come
Time paddles on
unmindful of many a
dawns and inevitable dusks
creating ripples that will jostle
for a place on my memory shelf
Another stroke of paddle
tells me to look around
enjoy the ride
‘cos it will be a memorable one.

Wishing you a happy, memorable New Year!

Such is life…high up in the sky, feeling the invigorating, refreshing air. Carefully holding on and enjoying the ride. It’s New Years’ eve and another year is passing by. Be safe and have a great time. I will, I am sure.