KenKen Photoblog: April 2011

April 30, 2011

The Virgin Mary statue outside the Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica. This is located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was constructed by French colonialists over 100 years ago. During October 2005, the statue was reported to have shed tears... attracting thousands of people and forcing authorities to stop traffic around the Cathedral. However, the top clergy of the Catholic Church in Vietnam confirmed that the Virgin Mary statue in front of a cathedral did not shed tears, which nevertheless failed to disperse the crowd flocking to the statue days after the incident. The reported 'tear' flowed down the right cheek of the face of the statue.

I didn't see any tears when I was there.

April 29, 2011

On the outside looking in.

My attempt at doing a double exposure photograph. I took this picture inside of a rather dark building while it was bright outside. I did one exposure for inside the building and another for outside the building (was trying to create a dramatic effect)... then overlaid them and erased what I didn't like. I thought it came out kind of cool... need a bit more practice though.

April 28, 2010

Factory dorms in Asia. There are no "Dryers" there... clothes are dried the old fashioned way- hung on a clothes string and placed outside. I always find it somewhat interesting to look at... lots of unique colors.

April 27, 2011

Believe it or not, this photo was actually took in the middle of a giant industrial complex in China. There was this beautifully groomed tree in the midst of giant smoke stacks and freight trucks. I thought it was pretty cool.

April 26, 2011

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary. ~Aaron Rose

Image taken from a coastal town in New Hampshire. The sun was just about to go down and was positioned right behind this house. It created a breathtaking silhouette.

April 25, 2011

Fox Hill sunset.

Beautiful sunset along the New Hampshire coastline. The sun was setting behind me and it made the entire sky glow. There were some really intense colors. Also, you might notice in the foreground that the point break (Fox Hill) was on fire. This is a surf spot that rarely breaks. It needs a really big swell. However, when it's on, you can get rides over 100 meters long. This was my first time surfing here. Usually, there will be over 50 people in the water when the surf is good. However, this particular weekend happened to be Boston Marathon (which is a big deal in New England)... so it was almost empty. Lucky me! Be careful getting in and out of the water at Fox Hill... some large boulders that you can get stuck on.

April 24, 2011

Looking out of a window at the Star Ferry pier in Hong Kong... waiting for the boat to arrive. In the background, you can see the world famous Star Ferry... and also the IFC building on Hong Kong Island. Taking a ride on the Star Ferry is a must for any first time tourist. For the equivalent of UDS0.70, you can get one of the best views of the city as you cruise from one side to the other. It also puts you in a convenient location if you plan on going out in Lan Kwai Fong.

April 23, 2011

I took this photo on the "gritty" streets of Hong Kong... just outside of a bar in Lan Kwai Fong. I really liked the textures, shadows, and warm/dark colors. I'm surprised I was able to compose something like this during the midst of a night out in LKF. I happened to be there during Rugby Sevens week and was surrounded by massive amounts of drunken Aussies & English... fun times!

April 22, 2011

Self portraits at Cloud Gate... aka "The Bean"

This sculpture is the most photographed attraction in Chicago. It was designed by Anish Kapoor and took over 2 years to construct. Kapoor was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculptures surface reflects and distorts the city skyline. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. Before it was completed, the sculpture was referred to as "The Bean" (something that designer thought was completely stupid)... it was later officially named Cloud Gate. Below are a couple self portraits I took of myself (which seems to be the popular thing to do here).

April 21, 2011

A foggy afternoon in Chicago.
(couldn't think of any other clever thing to say)

April 20, 2011

The Harvard Square Book Store on Mass Ave. I was playing around with some fish eye lenses and thought this image came out pretty well. It makes the old brick building look bloated and a bit menacing... like it's about to explode.

April 19, 2011

Dancing fountains - Zhaoqing, China

Looking down from my room at the Pearl Hotel. I only stayed there one night... but apparently, the dancing fountain show happens every night. It was a beautiful view and the show was quite good. I could actually hear the music from my room (bad "sound proofing")... so I chose to embrace the show. What you don't see in this image is the giant television screen that's just to the right. I couldn't understand what the television was saying (it was in Chinese)... but when I woke up, I had the urge to start advocating public or common ownership and cooperative management of the means of production and allocation of resources.

April 18, 2011

Another picture from the foggy day in downtown Chicago. You're looking up at the Prudential Building (aka One Prudential Plaza)... from the corner of Michigan Ave and Washington St. The Prudential Building used to be the largest building in Chicago. It's now dwarfed by the surrounding buildings (which are covered in fog).

I like the angle of the light post in this picture... looks rather "artsy".

April 17, 2011

A foggy day in downtown Chicago. I took a little stroll through Millenium Park. In the background is Jay Pritzker Pavillion... it's a bandshell that has various concerts. Really cool architecture.

April 16, 2011

This image was taken from a park in Shibuya, Tokyo. Meiji Jingū shrine is located in the middle of the park. The structure you see here is situated at one of the entrance gates (it's referred to as a torii). A torii marks the transition from the profane to the sacred... and the presence of one at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small torii icon represents them on Japanese road maps. For whatever reason, looking at it makes me feel peaceful.

April 15, 2011

Chilling out at one of the Highlands Coffee shops in Saigon.

Vietnam has some of the best coffee in the world (although, my favorite is still Costa Rica)... and some of the most dedicated coffee drinkers. The people there appreciate good coffee. All the cafes were constantly filled. I actually had to wait in line to get a table at this place. It's interesting to me that a country with such a hot climate would also be so into coffee.

Vietnamese are also famous for putting condensed milk into the coffee drink. I enjoyed the condensed milk in iced coffee, but thought it was too sweet to put into hot coffee. The coffee in Vietnam is very strong, but it's also very smooth... so the condensed milk is not necessary. The silver canister you see to the right is a little brewing mechanism for single servings. You put freshly ground coffee beans and hot water into the canister... and then place it on top of your cup. The coffee drips out through a filter and in no time, you'll have a wonderfully fresh cup of coffee! Brilliant!

April 14, 2011

View from the lovely (and brand new) Pearl Hotel in Zhaoqing, China.

The entire city is basically brand new. Everything you see below did not exist 1 year ago (including the hotel room I stayed in). It's amazing how fast cities are built in China. Now over 4 million people call Zhaoqing home... and it's expected to grow even larger within the next few years. You can't see it in this picture, but there is construction everywhere... which is creating a layer of dust that covers everything not moving.

I liked this picture because it represented the hustle and bustle of the new city: bright neon lights, cars/motorbikes cruising the streets, people walking around the common area. It seemed to fit the mood quite well.

April 13, 2011

The inside of the central post office in Saigon is unlike any other post office in the world. Not only is it a fully functioning post office, but it also is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city. The building was constructed when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina in the early twentieth century... and the building has a Gothic architecture style. There are also a bunch of little shops inside that like to overcharge tourists... although, it is a great place to get a "motorbike coffee table book". If you look in the back, you will see an image of Ho Chi Minh.

The outside of the post office is also one of the most popular places in Vietnam to get wedding photos taken. Bonus image below!! (there were actually a line of couples waiting to get their photo taken at this spot)

April 12, 2011

A street car named '2967 8880'

This is a photo of one of the double decker street cars on Hong Kong island. The street cars are not air conditioned, move slowly, and have to stop for traffic lights... but they're still a pretty cool way to cruise around the city. I recommend going for a ride at least once.

The heavily textured/retro effect of the photo is completely accidental. I took the picture with my standard iPhone camera (no instagr.am filters were used)... which naturally added these elements. Still kind of cool.

April 11, 2011

A picture that's been taken a million times before... now you can make it a million + 1. This a view of Hong Kong as seen from the top of Victoria Peak. In the foreground is Hong Kong Island... and in the back, you can see Kowloon. It's a breathtaking view... it makes you marvel at what people can do.

Unfortunately, the air in Hong Kong is always rather smoggy... so I did my best to embrace the smog in this shot. It gives it an old/retro effect.

April 10, 2011

Chillin' with a side of illin'... fruit vendor on the streets of Vietnam. It's difficult to be highly energetic all day when it's 90+ degrees out. Every now and again you need to take some breaks. I kind of wanted to buy some of the fruit in that basket, but didn't want to interrupt this woman during her afternoon siesta.

April 9, 2011

The London Eye is attacking!!

The London Eye as seen from a bridge crossing over the River Thames. I thought this was a pretty cool image... looks like the giant eye is about to attack the city. Also, the sky had some interesting colors in it.

April 8, 2011

Portrait of a shoe cobbler - Tammy

As you can see from the pile of shoes behind her and the fact that she's on the phone... Tammy is a busy person (and I caught her at a busy moment). Nonetheless, she still offered a nice smile for me when I took her picture!

April 7, 2011

Portrait of a shoe cobbler - Arthur

I got a chance to work with Arthur for a couple of seasons. He was a very nice person to work with. It always surprised me how quickly he was able to adapt to new situations and new changes.

April 6, 2011

Portrait of a shoe cobbler - Rita

Rita has been amazing. I don't know how she does it... but Rita seems to cover the jobs of 3 people (perhaps she has two twin sisters that she doesn't tell us about??). Most people will get stressed out by that... but as you can see by Rita's smile, she always has a positive personality.

April 5, 2011

Portrait of a shoe cobbler - Lillian

I used to work with Lillian a lot back in the day... and always enjoyed the projects we worked on together. She has done everything from from kid's shoes to women's fashion. Lillian was one of the developers responsible for the NB for Nine West collection. Great work!

April 4, 2011

Portrait of a shoe cobbler - Wolf

If anyone is familiar with the movie Pulp Fiction, they will remember the scene where the gangsters get into trouble and have to call the Wolf (to help fix things). This Wolf is similar... you go to him with a problem and he helps fix it. He's a great guy to work with and also fun to have some drinks with.