Discrimination or fear?

I am someone that needs to be punched from time to time. And I was just punched by the photographer I've been assisting, so hard that it woke me up.

 Well, via email, he was making a joke about telling his sons that men were used to waiting for women, after I told him I hated being late for a meetup. I said women were already discriminated against in this male dominated industry,  and I didn't want to be treated differently than men.  Just a week before, I told him about my concern about discrimination against colored people, Chinese, and women in the photography business. So when he heard me talking about discrimination again, he said bluntly:" Stop caring! Give it up! It doesn't matter anymore. If you carry this thought as your excuse for not getting ahead or  getting a job, you don't get ahead.  When I don't get a job, I explain it as"fuck it" and move on. There's a lot of power in not caring!"  Right there, I was punched.


Sitting in front of the computer, I was stunned that someone just told me that.  Is there really no discrimination? Is it just the fear of being discriminated against that keeps us from getting ahead?

The Chinese don't like risk. We invest in real estate and education coz that's something that gives us return. Influenced by Confucius, Chinese people prefer stable and predictable lives. Before they do something, they always ask around to gather opinions from the elder or more experienced to lower risk and have someone to refer to when going down the path. Whether it's choosing a job, buying a house or deciding a major. When they ask around and find few knows about it, they tend to hesitate and step back to find something more popular and that has a set path. Take a look at the engineering department of universities across the US, I am sure you've noticed many Asian faces working hard late at night. For those areas that have few Chinese people, the Chinese think they are hard to get into and there's discrimination. That's where I am.

Blaming things we can't do to something we can't change such as racial discrimination does make us people feel more comfortable. And people tend to stay in their comfort zone, until their butt is kicked.

Speaking of kicking butt, the Chinese society is blunt and judgmental. When you do something wrong, people tell you you did it wrong, It makes you uncomfortable and alert. And you try to do better the next time. But the American society is more tolerant, it tells people to accept what they are, to be comfortable with themselves, but when you are comfortable, you don't wanna push forward. In this sense, I do agree with "the Battle Hyme of the Tiger Mother"'s parenting somewhat.

I am someone that needs to be punched every now and then. It kicks my butt, it wakes me up and it makes me work hard.

My butt was kicked earlier this year by Penny De los Santos when i watched her online food photography workshop. She is so inspiring that I felt the urge to rush out to shoot photographs immediately, but as time goes by, the pain on the butt disappeared and I felt comfortable again. So I quoted her here to keep me reminded.

"Free yourself to go beyond what is obvious for you. Being uncomfortable is when you grow the most. You grow the most when you put yourself in a very uncomfortable place and you solve the problem. It doesn't always work out, but when it does, you step up a little. You move beyond."
— Penny De Los Santos

one box of cherry tomatos, six presentations

I'd like to make the most of everything available. After buying a box of colorful cherry tomatoes from Union Square's green market. I styled them differently, using both natural and flash light. I was kind of scared of artificial lighting, but after attending a photography workshop, I was amazed at the dramatic effects it creates.

Fun day with food stylist Michael-Ann Rowe

I can't believe how lazy i have been lately with blogging. I did this test shots with Michael-Ann over a month ago and i finally climbed up here to give my blog an update.

These photos were taken right before a thunderstorm, the sky gloomy, the light dim. I really like the moody look of some of the pictures.  The dark table surface with scratches on was  an improvise converted from Michael-Ann's computer desk.  We ate all the food after the shooting thanks to the wonderful cook! Something i wish I had done was to take some portrait photos of the stylist. Her blond hair is beautiful.

Photo shooting with food stylist Michael Giletto

   If you have been following my earlier posts, you may know that I have had the opportunity to work with a food stylist on a photo shoot.  Well, here is an update on how things went.

   I contacted an executive chef in New Jersey named Michael Giletto.  After the back and forth phone calls and emails where we were deciding what dishes to make and what style of photos we were looking for, we finally set the date of the shoot for Saturday, May 28th.

As it was my first time to work with a food stylist, I was quite nervous. The weather forecast earlier in the week was forecasting rain and thunderstorms for the weekend of the shoot, so I was beginning to worry. What else could I do but keep my fingers crossed? As the weekend approached, I made a list of things to bring with me, including a tripod, foam boards, mirrors, clamps, backup camera and battery, my collection of fabrics and props, the laptop, and a light stand and umbrella (in case the window light wasn't diffused enough).  Oh, and I received my new Nikon D7000 camera on Wednesday, just in time for the project!  So, my Nikon D60 was relegated to the task of backup camera.

  On Saturday, much to my relief, it was mostly sunny with a slight breeze. It was an ideal day for natural light food photography. I drove down to Oceanplace Resort and Spa in Long Branch, NJ where Michael manages quite a number of kitchen staff and all of the restaurants in the hotel, which makes him quite busy. However, he still found time to set aside a whole day for the photo shoot, of which I am very appreciative. The photo shoot took place in the fine dining room, in which one entire wall was glass. They set up one dining table with a white tablecloth and another that had a rustic, natural wood look to it.  I was provided with a tall ladder to use for my overhead shots.

    Michael was very easy-going and flexible to any ideas I had for the shoot. Before I met him in person, I had read about his appearances on the Food Network and about some of his other accomplishments. He mentioned he will also be appearing in a series of shows set to air in June. Honestly, reading and hearing about all that made me nervous, but soon after we began working together, I felt comfortable and relaxed. Michael is a very talented food stylist and is awesome to work with!

You will find some of the photos from the shoot after this post.  Enjoy!


My thoughts and prayers go out to those families who have lost loved ones that have given their lives in defense of, and to those who are currently serving this country on this Memorial Day.

 

Something orange

Life is treating me good so far since I moved to the city. I made a post on Craigslist last week to look for a food stylist to build portfolio together. To my surprise, quite a lot of people replied. I got emails every day until a week after. There are people with very interesting background. One girl called Michael-Ann is a food TV show host and producer, who also does food styling on the side. In her show, she travels around to eat different food and hear stories and cultures behind the food, which reminds me of Samatha Brown's show of the Travel Channel. Another one is an executive chef of a hotel restaurant in New Jersey. He has appeared in Iron Chef America as sous chef for Cat Cora and a contestant of Chopped. I am excited about all these opportunities. Only New York can provide me such diverse talents and surprises. You never know!

I met photographer Mira Zaki this week for coffee. And I am her intern now! She is sweet and easy-going and actually cares that I will learn from this internship, which I appreciate very much. I don't know how other professionals start, but for me having someone nice and approachable to show me this business is so invaluable. I got to know that she didn't enjoy driving for the same reason as me. Driving isolates us from the vibrant minutae of daily life on the street. You miss too much when driving. It's New York City!

Orange is my second favorite color besides pink. My personalities always prefer warm tones. They just cheer me up! I recently received Helene Dujardin's new book-Plate to Pixel. This is a practice shot of making use of complimentary colors--in this case orange and blue, that I just learnt from her book. Before I can work with the cooking and styling professionals, I just did some simple styling.

I am testing my new website and am gonna launch it officially soon. Stay tuned!

Lemon curd

 

    I've been trying so hard to do food styling myself. Things don't turn out as planned. I always make a mess and waste lots of time figuring out the recipe. When food is finally prepared, it's time of sunset, and the beautiful natural light is gone. So I tend to make simple food which doesn't require too much time or too many ingredients. Like this lemon curd. Lemon, butter, sugar, salt, and eggs are all I need. From the advice given by experienced photographers, I've spread out words, looking for a food stylist to work together. So I get the food prepared by professionals, and they get my photograghs.  Win-win right?

    On Monday, I checked out a retiring prop stylist's blowout sale. She has thousands of items crammed into her one bedroom apartment. Besides the bed, I didn't see any space available for a normal life. The cutting board, pink bowl and grey napkin are some of the items I got from her. The sale is still going on till Saturday, and she wants everything out by then. The prices are quite reseaonable compared to renting from a prop store. If you happen to live in NYC, it's something worth checking out! If you are interested, shoot me an email and I can send you the specific address. 

I am back, saying hello from NYC

    After the hectic packing, moving, cleaning, driving, looking for apartments, unpacking, and decorating, I am finally sitting here on my couch, typing my new post from my home in Brooklyn, NY. I took out all my dishes for photograhy, cleared out some space beside the window, checked out some awesome prop shops in downtown, bought a few more things from a retiring prop stylist's sale. I am ready to go back to my routine. I want to keep doing food photography, not just as a hobby, but professionally. New York is the right place for this job. Tons of restaurants, hotels, magazines, newspapers, advertising companies make this city full of opportunities and competitions. There are dozens of prop shops too for the prosperous TV, movie, art and design business. I checked out one called Prop Haus, which was mentioned by a food blogger. Although I had seen some pictures from its website, I was totally blown away the minute I stepped in. Two whole floors dedicated just to food photography and styling. It has everything you can imagine, besides the regular bowls, plates, cups, glassware, cookware, napkins......it has a considerable collection of vintage tables, surfaces, and anything antique and organic. I've been trying so hard to find a nice wood surface, something with  light-colored paint peeled off and cracks here and there. They have some perfect ones!! Later when I told a food photography studio manager how excited I was when I found this store, she was so calm and said: "oh, there're a dozen prop stores like this." New York is definitely the right place! I like crowds! I feel alive when I follow the flow of crowds on the street. I grew up this way. 

    Well, last week I met a food photographer-Colin Cooke, who's in business for 30 something years. He is so nice and ready to share. He told me how technology had affected this business and what the life would be like as a photography assistant. He even extended his generosity to think of ways for me to build my portfolio. To be a freelancer needs lots of self-discipline. Unlike a nine to five corporate job, you have to figure everything out yourself. You have to push yourself. Sometimes you get lazy unconsciously, and sometimes you just don't know how to run this business. So it would be great to have a mentor when you just get your foot in, to show you around, to familiarize you with the process. That's why I want to start as an assistant. I got several photographers interested in me, but nothing is settled yet. Maybe I will meet more people in this coming week.

    I styled and photographed the roasted cherry tomatos as my return and the first shot of my new life.  I don't usually like the taste of fresh tomatos, sour and boring for me. But this simple recipe of roast tomatos changed my opinion. Just a drizzle of olive oil, fresh thyme and basil, roast in 400C oven for 15 minutes and add salt and pepper after roasting. The sourness is gone! It's so full of flavors and juices. 

Cheer!