Ah yes, it's that time again. It's mustache season. Last year, I decided to grow a mustache for the first time during Movember. Movember is a movement to help raise awareness for men's health issues, such as, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health issues.
Honestly, while I was a part of helping raise awareness for men's health issues last year, I did it more for the fun of it. While it should be fun, I don't think the movement impacted me as hard as it did this year. Why? Well, I felt young still. I couldn't imagine that I nor any of my friends would have to worry about these issues for quite some time. However, one day out of the blue and quite suddenly, one of my best friends, Jacob, found out he had testicular cancer.
All of us stood by his side and were fortunate that he eventually became cancer free. You can read about his journey on his blog at www.jacobkskim.com. This became a wake up call to me and made me realize that it can happen to any one of us. So this year, this mustache means so much more to me. The fear of it looking creepy or silly doesn't phase me one bit, as I know this will bring more awareness to the cause.
This year, I've joined Jacob in raising funds for Movember. You can join us or donate at http://www.movemeber.com . And if not, I hope you will also join in on the movement in any capacity. But if I were you (and male), grow a stache', have fun with it, and help raise awareness!
Last Friday, a meteor shower was predicted to occur. Initial estimates of 400 meteors per hour were to appear throughout the night. My friends and I were excited for the opportunity to witness this, and also to capture it on our cameras as well. After some research, we decided that the Shenandoah National Park was the best place within our vicinity to escape the light pollution.
After a 2 hour drive starting at midnight, the cost of gas, almost hitting some deer on the road, freezing our butts in the cold, and getting neck pains from staring at the sky, we saw only 4 or 5 meteors. FAIL! Whatever happened to the 400 meteors per hour?
However, if you were to ask me if it was worth going through all that trouble, I would have to say, ABSOLUTELY. Being able to see the stars and the night sky so clearly made me feel in awe of the beauty of the universe. But made it even better, was being able to spend that moment of time with great friends.
I'm looking forward to returning to Shenandoah to do some stargazing, with our without a chance of meteor showers in the future.
Here's a quick video on vitaminwater's uncapped Live opening night in DC. The event was also sponsored by The Fader magazine. It was a fun night with a great mix of local hip hop artists, including DJ Alizay, XO, Fat Trel, Rye Rye, and of course.. Wale! We also were able to bring down a table, representing JOOLA!
It's February, how are your new years resolutions or goals coming along? Have you ran out of gas? Don't worry, with monthly checkups, you can fill up your gas tank again! Start reevaluating what has worked and what hasn't!
I have 2 goals that I have been doing very well with. One of my goals is to do more activities in DC. Another goal is to take more photos and video this year to continue my creative flow.
Luckily, these 2 goals go hand in hand! I've been very fortunate to be able to explore the city so much not only physically but also through the lenses of my camera.
Here are some of my favorite shots and events!
I got to meet up with my DC fam, Marshall, Sylvie, Ron and Stephanie for some Korean BBQ. Check out Sylvie's site for some of the coolest DC foodie news around! http://www.thriftydccook.com
My friends Mimi & Robert were fostering some local pups. They were absolutely adorable... even if one did accidently puked on me haha.
Delicious apples at Eastern Market. This is NOT why I'm known as addictedtoapple on twitter =P
Top Chef, Spike Mendelsohn at his newest restaurant, We The Pizza
This is probably my favorite photo that I've taken recently. It was a wonderful night exploring DC and we strolled right by the Swedish Embassy, The House of Sweden.
I took some photos of my good friend Joanne Kim for her website recently with her BF and my good buddy Dan. I had a great time snapping photos all around Bethesda. It was super cold that day, but good thing we stopped by so many places to get some tea or hot chocolate. Anyways, you guys definitely need to check out Joanne's music.. it's UH-Mazing. http://www.joannekimmusic.com
I snapped a photo of my good friends Becky & Wil in front of Kramer's Book Store & Afterwords Cafe in DC. I really love that place. Anybody that is new to DC, I tend to take them there for a meal. And.. it's one of the few fun 24hr places you can hang out with friends on a weekend!
I was asked to snap some photos for a wonderful event called Inspire '11 by my good friend Joe Kim. Inspire is a non profit organization that has created an outlet for Christians to express their passion and talents through music. I met some amazing people and artists that night.
This is my buddy GT, aka Gifted Thought, aka Brian from family guy =P Check out his awesome site, http://www.a-tunes.net ! It's a site where I wish I had back in the day... which showcases asian american artists that should be getting some more attention!
Pastor Del Augusta, who was inspiring and hilarious.
Jeff Yoo, a great organizer and the great MC for the night. It was great to meet someone with so much passion for everything he does.
Jason Min. A very innovative artist that had some really moving songs. Check him out at http://www.jasonminmusic.com
The three guys here make up Amp. One of the coolest hip hop groups I've heard! Their songs and performances are always so powerful. Check them out at http://www.ampmovement.com/
This is Lyricks. One of the best rappers I've heard live. I think what's cool about him is he knows how to stay true to himself and what he believes in. He doesn't live up to stereotypes. And... he just recently toured with the Wu Tang Clan! Sick! http://www.myspace.com/teamlyricks
Joanne Kim at Galaxy Hut! I had to also put up this photo due to the apple laptop in it as well :)
This was during the crazy storm down here in DC. It took some people I know 12 hours to get home.. when it usually takes them 45 minutes! The power went out of my building so I was left to some photography to keep me sane. This was taken in my parking lot.
During the power outage, I stayed over at Richard & Wendy's. And of course, I had a great time playing with Audrey and Ryan. I love these kids.
I went to snap some photos in DC on a Friday night with my buddy Dan. DC Monuments at night is definitely one of my favorite subjects to shoot. The lighting is so awesome.
These photos were from a weekend where we decided to film a quick video for Joanne's song electric kiss. We had good time brainstorming, filming, and editing all in one day. Check out the song!
Some pics from a quick business trip to Munich, Germany. I was surprised that it was warmer over there then DC!
I had the pleasure to snap some photos of Anny Pak's birthday. It was a blessing to be there as it was one of the most unique bday experiences I've been apart of. Praise, Worship, and love all around! You need to also check out Anny's photography site. The girl got skiiiiils! http://annyphotography.com/
So, that was my mega blog post. I hope that it has helped inspire you to keep your goals in check. And remember, it's not too late to get back on track either! Best of luck to you and stay positive.
Free Korean BBQ Taco!That's right, a free Korean BBQ Taco at California Tortilla tomorrow (1/12/2011)! All you have to do is print out their coupon. Click on this facebook link
Voices For HopeIf you are in town, please attend Voices For Hope if you can! It's a benefit show for Child Abuse Awareness that is being put together by my good friends at Helping Hands, Joe Kim & Jennie Roh. In a upcoming future post, I'll showcase Helping Hands even more.. but in the mean time, here's the info!
Voices For Hope A Benefit Show for Child Abuse Awareness
100% of the proceeds will be donated to those affected by child abuse $10 General Admission $15 General Admission at the door
Celebrating the new year with great friends at Dirty Martini, aka 1223, aka our former 2nd home!
Here is a recap video of my New Year celebration with friends at Dirty Martini in Washington DC. This was formerly 1223, a place that was a second home to many of my friends back in the day. Since it reopened, this was our first chance to get back to the venue. They really made the place look really classy and made it into a very nice restaurant. The food was great and the night was a blast!
An early Xmas present to all my family & friends. As always, I totally wish I could have captured amazing moments with everyone I've crossed paths with. I'll try to record more for next year of course!
Thanks again to everyone for a wonderful year. 2011 - The Best Has Yet To Come!
An early Xmas present to all my family & friends. As always, I totally wish I could have captured amazing moments with everyone I've crossed paths with. I'll try to record more for next year of course!
Thanks again to everyone for a wonderful year. 2011 - The Best Has Yet To Come!
An impromptu dinner led to an impromptu mission to film a proposal for a new friend.
It was a Friday night, and I really had no plans before my trip to Vegas on Sunday. My coworker, Jonathan, invited me to eat with him and his friends, whom I've met only one of them once before. His name is Colton, and he is a pretty funny guy. It turned out, the plans for that night was to eat dinner and to help Colton scope out a place to propose to his girlfriend, Adrienne. Adrienne, lives in California and was flying into town the next day.
As we were talking about potential locations, somehow the conversation led to the talks of somehow being able to secretly record the whole thing. DING! That's when a light bulb magically turned on. I had access to the gear to make it all happen! DSLR's, different lenses, a wireless mic, Glidetrack! I knew right there that we definitely had to make it happen. I teamed up with one of the other fellow bro's, David Beh and we planned it all out.
All of the us guys went around DC to help Colton scope out a place that would be special for him. We went to the National Tree, the ice rink at the Sculpture Garden, and eventually we decided that the FDR Memorial was the spot. The waterfalls were a great setting (but also posed some annoying traits as you will read later)
We headed back to my office and got a wireless mic that we usually use for interviews. I gave Colton the transmitter, and I kept the the receiver of course. He was to hide the mic on him somewhere, and when they got close, turn it on and it was go time! I was siked to be apart of this mission.
Operation Circus Tent
The next day, David and Colton started texting each other in code. Operation Circus Tent as they called it, and we even had code names. I think my name was Tango November or something like that haha. It was quite funny reading the texts. The goal was to head down there and capture the proposal right around the sunset. Dave was a little late to pick me up, but we made it right in time.
David's role was to get the wide angle shots, and I was suppose to get the zoomed in footage. I hooked up Dave with a Canon 5D Mark II, and a 24-70mm 2.8 lens. I took down a tripod with a glidetrack and had a Canon 5D Mark II with a 70-200mm 2.8 IS USM II lens. I set it up and had the camera pointing at the right spot, had the wireless mic receiver plugged in with an earpiece ready to go once I heard something.
So you might be wondering.... how was she not going to notice us recording? Well, it was simple, we used our fake touristy powers. I'm asian, so it was easy enough for me to pretend that I'm just a tourist haha. So, I dubbed myself a Ninja for the day haha. Dave, who Adrienne has met once before, put on his big jacket and snow hat and just pretended to be taking some shots of the waterfall. Everything was in place!
Go Time
Soon after we were setup, all of a sudden... *crackle... crackle... sssss*. I heard the static in my earpiece and knew it was game time! I signaled David and we started to record. Colton and Adrienne walked by and right to the designated spot. We started our filming and it was great! EXCEPT... for one thing.
The sound! Colton clipped the wireless mic onto his shirt and tried to hide it at the same time. I could hear how the mic would rub up against his jacket. The other thing was that because they were standing right next to the waterfall, I totally could hear it as well. Their voices were a little muffled due to everything. As he proposed.. I couldn't completely hear everything.. and when he got down on one knee.. I was afraid! I didn't know if she accepted or not! However, the next thing I knew, she was hugging him and kissing him. Operation Circus Tent was a success. As they walked away, I pretended to be on my cell phone to continue my cover and Dave yelled a great line to them to continue his cover... "HEY! YOU'RE IN MY SHOT!"
I had a nice little laugh. Afterwards, we filmed some B-Roll footage for the video. It was then.. a done deal. My day of being a impromptu Ninja turned out very well. That night, before I left to Vegas, I made a quick draft of the video. I hope you guys enjoy! (BTW, the cat is out of the bag. Colton did eventually tell Adrienne about the filming.)
The music is by Clara C - Offbeat. I didn't have enough time to give her credit in the first draft. I'll definitely do it in the final draft! Check her out at http://www.youtube.com/claracmusic
Here's a link to a writeup by the NY Times on the "Everything You Know Is Pong" book release and Tournament of Champions! It was a pleasure to help and be apart of the event. Roger Bennett is one cool dude.
