Adventures of Yoo

June 30 2016

20 Awesome Enamel Pins I’d Totally Rock

Time to ditch the brooches. Lately, it’s all about pins! Over the past few years, I’ve seen the rise of enamel pins. Recently, I’ve been thinking about buying a bunch of them and decorating them on my jean jacket. The new batches are as funny as ever. Enamel pins are a different way to show your personality plus they have this retro/cool quality to them. Wear them on your denim jacket or sport them on your backpack. Here are twenty of them that caught my eye. A lot of these are tiny, measuring just 1″, so wear them alone, as a mini statement, or show them all off in a cluster.

Above: The Future is Naps
“Tell the world how you really feel. What’s better than naps? Wear this pin by itself as your own personal expression, or choose one of our cute animal avatar pins to pair it with.”
By Emily McDowell

Enamel Ramen Pin
“Show your allegiance to this wonderful bowl of goodness.”
By Greenwich Letterpress

Enamel Pin Candy
By Greenwich Letterpress

Don’t Stress Meowt Enamel Lapel Pin
“This is a listing for a super cute enamel cat pin which reads ‘Don’t Stress Meowt’ Perfect for popping on your jacket, backpack, whatever! This super smooth black pin is made from a high quality enamel, with a lovely gold outline and detailing.”
By stephsayshello

Mama Bear Enamel Pin
“Such an adorable little pin that’d be the perfect gift for a hard working Mama or a well deserved treat to yourself.”
By landandfurrow

Bomb Pop Lapel Pin
“Inspired by summer vacation, our Bomb Pop Lapel Pin is the perfect accessory to transport you back to your childhood laying on the lawn eating popsicles.”
By Valley Cruise Press

Bottled Up Feelings Enamel Pin by
“I’ve been slowly bottling up my feelings for a long time. Feel a feel, put it in the jar and screw the lid on tight. When it’s safe, open the jar carefully and let some out. Enjoy one on a nice day. Sneak a few on a cold winter night. Spread some on toast over the weekend. Or hey, you could keep bottling them up until the jar bursts. Whatever feels right for you.”
By AdamJK

Introvert Hard Enamel Cloisonné Lapel Pin
“Pin this to your favorite jacket, bag, sweater, etc and let the world know you are proud to be an introvert!”
By shopluellatx

I Feel Great Enamel Pin
“Tell it like it is! No reason to be shy, if you feel great, feel great! Also functions as the exact opposite. ‘How are you doing?’ ‘Great.’ ‘Okay, really?’ ‘I said, I feel great. Leave me the hell alone. So how do you really feel? Guess that’s up to you to know, and everyone else to find out.”
By AdamJK

You Tried Enamel Pin
“You say consolation prize, I say HEY IT’S A PRIZE, PRIZES ARE COOL. Who cares if you win or lose as long as you make an effort? This enamel pin is as shiny as any trophy, but unlike a trophy, you can wear this and make people look at it every single day. Take that, first place. Also, can we be real for a second? Sometimes it takes a LOT of effort to even try at all. I feel like it’s not unreasonable to celebrate trying. Actually, this is something I’ve thought about before. Pair this with the AT LEAST YOU’RE STILL TRYING ribbon for the ultimate ‘hang in there’ gift.”
By AdamJK

“Meh Medal” Enamel Pin Black/Gold
“Our MEH Medal enamel pin in black and gold. Part of the ‘Accolades’ series. Participation is for suck-ups.”
By Satellite Goods.

Frida Kahlo Enamel Pin
“Frida Kahlo was a badass. She was an incredibly fierce woman and artist. She loved being independent and breaking stupid conventions.”
By thefoundretail

Unicorn Rainbow Enamel Pin
“This unicorn is gorgeous & magical creature. And so are you!”
By thefoundretail

Life Lesson Enamel Pin
“A little collection of pins, titled ‘Life lessons learned from things I like.'”
By kookoobird

Polaroid Enamel Pin
“Let’s see what develops.”
By These are Things

Rainbow Lapel Pin
By crywolf

Things Will Work Out Pin
By People I Loved

1.5 Inch Anxiety Ghost Hard Enamel Pin
By Matt Darling

Life

June 29 2016

Photo a Day Project: Day 1 of 365, Ice Cream Truck and Walking Dogs

To kick off of my Photo a Day project, I bring you a photo of the kids going crazy over an ice cream truck. Remember when life was this simple? I captured six more images yesterday, that I’d like to share with you today.

So many choices! I remember those hot days when my siblings and I would stand in front of an ice cream truck waiting for our bomb pops or strawberry shortcakes.

The menu items haven’t changed much since we were kids. Of course, the prices have gone up.

Sam and I were so surprised that our little Logan was able to walk Charlie all by himself! They probably weigh the same and Logan’s only two! He held on tightly to that leash.

Parker prefers to walk his dog, Fozzie.

Sam and I are always trying to steal a kiss from our kids.

That’s our Fozzie bear. He’s four years old but people still mistake him for a puppy.

Photography

June 29 2016

10 Tips on Starting a Photo a Day Project

In my quest to become a professional photographer, I’ve decided to take on a new challenge. I want to start a photo a day project. You may have heard people call it Photo 365 or a Photo A Day (PAD) project, either way what it is taking one photo (or more) a day and then sharing it (or them) with the world.

Photographer Katherine Heise of Lamb Loves Fox inspired me to begin this project. I’m sure that this will help sharpen my skills while providing a neat documentary of daily life. Also, have you read this Petapixel article by street photographer Marius Vieth? It’s called How a 365 Project Changed My Life. Since I have a love for both family photography and street photography, I’m interested in seeing which niche I’ll gravitate towards.

There’s a bunch of websites that offer great tips on how to begin this exciting endeavor. I decided to round up the best advice out there. Do you follow anyone’s Photo 365?

1. Maintain A Heightened Awareness
At every moment of the day keep your eye open with a photo in mind. Look for the obscure moments or observations that you might otherwise let go by with out a second glance. Training your eye and brain in this way is where a Photo365/Photo A Day project can help you improve as a photographer the most. Taking great photography can’t happen if you never see or never know when to react.
– via Digital Photography School

2. Train Your Eye To See Light
Learn how to get the most out of the light whether sunny, overcast, or any thing in between. Learning how to get the most out of high contrast and low contrast lighting situations is a great way to broaden your photographic opportunities. In addition experiment and make use of off camera lighting to supplement the available light to you. I learned a lot forcing myself to take photos in all different lighting environments during my Photo365 / Photo A Day project several years ago and it helped make me a stronger photographer.
– via Digital Photography School

3. Bring Your Camera Everywhere
Yes, everywhere. Get in the habit. Grocery stores, restaurants, parties, work, and school. Going to a movie theatre? Snap a pic of the flick with your phone–there are photo-ops everywhere. If you have one of those tiny tiny cameras, you have no excuse not to have it in your pocket all the time. And if you don’t? Camera phones are a great substitute.
– via Photojojo

4. Tell a Story
Use your blog entry, or your photo description, to explain what’s going on in each day’s photograph. How good did that dinner taste? What made you want to take a photo of that stranger? It’ll help you remember down the road, and it gives friends following along a better appreciation of why you took the photo you did. You don’t need to write a lot, just enough to add some color.
– via Photojojo

5. Don’t Stop, No Matter What
This is perhaps the most important tip of all. You will get tired of taking a photo every single day. Some days, you will consider giving up. Don’t. The end result is worth the effort. Remind yourself why you wanted to do it in first place.
There will be times you’ll think there’s nothing interesting left to take a photo of, and times you’ll think you didn’t do anything exciting enough to take a photo of. There’s always a great photo to be made.

Get out of the house and take a walk. Or stay inside and look around. Take a photo of something important to you. Take a photo of the inside of your house so you can see how your taste has changed over the years. Take a photo of anything, just don’t stop.
– via Photojojo

6. Think Ahead
Sometimes you’ll find an interesting shot without even trying, particularly if you’re out and about a lot. If you’re not, or if you’re having a slow day, it’s good to have a list of ideas that you can photograph. The list can include places, subjects, techniques you want to try and more. If you’re really stumped, go to your favourite spot for shooting.
– via The Next Web

7. Make a List of Happy Things
Listen, you are going to get in a photography rut. I am not going to lie and say that every single day it is going to be easy. There are going to be the days when you feel uninspired. But creating and keeping a list handy helps. Sit down and create a list of all the things that make you happy. Whether it is seeing your little one jump off the school bus at the end of the day or pulling a baking sheet of cookies out of the oven, make a list of all those things that bring a smile to your face. Then, tuck that list away in your camera bag and pull it out on those days when you are feeling uninspired. Trust me, this works! And your list will bring a smile to your face, too!
– via The Bethadilly blog

8. Try Different Things
Try different things. A lot of different things! Different cameras, different cities, different settings. Play with light and darkness. Find out what suits you best and then get really good at it. Photography teaches you how to get the best out every situation and to look at things from different angles.
– via Telegraph

9. Think About Whether You Want to Print Your Photos
Personally, I believe that printing your Project 365 is one of THE best things for motivating you to continue. Honestly, I am not sure whether I would have continued through this far if it hadn’t been for the fact that I don’t like to see a gap in the album that holds my 365 images! I love printing out my photos each month: there is something very rewarding about holding a print in your hand.

Of course you may choose not to print as you go along, but perhaps make a photo book out of them each year: again, though, I would suggest filling this in as go along, and then printing at the end of the year. Either way, it’s a good idea to get this set up before you start taking photos!
-via Live Snap Love

10. Start Today!
The best thing is that you don’t have to wait until the end of the year to start your Project 365. You can start today! If you are looking for ways to improve your photography skills, you should consider starting a Project 365.
-via The Sits Girls

So, I’m going to start today! Each day, sprinkled within this blog you’ll see one picture I took, the day prior. I’ll also be posting to my Instagram. Let’s hope I can keep this up!

Photography

June 28 2016

Mother Takes Timeless Photos of Her Two Kids, “Lamb” and “Fox”

Photographer and mom Katherine Heise takes timeless photos of her two children, who she endearingly refers to as “fox” and “lamb.” Dressed in vintage clothes or in unique pieces found on Etsy, the two kids have their lives chronicled by their incredibly talented mother. Australia-based Heise started her first 365 day project in 2013 with the intention of capturing the transition from a one to two child family. She first started taking pictures around her 21st birthday, and though she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography, it wasn’t until she had children of her own that her love of photography turned into a passion. As she states, “The stark realization of the transience of childhood brought on by parenthood drove me to record every tiny detail.”

What I love most about her photos are her interesting compositions. She finds different angles to shoot from and her photos each tell a simple but sweet story.

What does she try to convey in her photos? As she told Artifact Uprising, “I am a storyteller, telling the story of a very small event in one particular day. I try to relate the wonder of childhood, I suppose, and the small, seemingly inconsequential details of life, which actually become significant memories for most adults when they reflect back on their own childhood.

“The visual elements of childhood cut across all cultures and times so there is a timelessness in capturing the particular history of my family.”

I’d love to be able to take photos of my own two kids like this. Heise is able to create clean and crisp shots while also incorporating a timeless feel. To me, they have that feeling of fine art.

Lamb Loves Fox website, Facebook, and Instagram

Photography

June 27 2016

Photographer Captures the Stunning Silence at Munich’s Museums

What does a photographer do when he first moves to a new city? Well, if you’re Skander Khlif you head to your local museums and take photos of those engrossed in art. In his new series called The Silence of Munich, he shoots photos of people surrounding by sweeping architecture or in front of beautiful masterpieces. I love how he mostly has one or just two people in his shots. It goes to show that less is more when it comes to street photography such as this.

Here’s what Khlif stated about this body of work. “I just moved to Munich. And on the first Sunday I had to present my self to my new city and in the same time get to know ‘Her’ better! The heart of every city is the museum area and there I went! Alte Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne! What a beautiful silent Sunday!”

How I’d love to try and do this at the recently opened Los Angeles museum, The Broad.

Skander Khlif on Behance

Art & Design

June 24 2016

Fun Links of the Week

After a fun-filled past few days, it feels funny that it’s Friday. What are you up to this weekend? I’ll be hanging out with my sisters, we’re getting all the kids together on Saturday. It’s going to be in the 90’s so we’ll probably be either inside or poolside, lying around in some shade. Have a fantastic weekend!

Want to own Banksy’s swat van?

Did someone say caprese avocado toast?

These paintings of NYC subway riders as animals are amazingly real.

Do you have an Amazon Echo? (Kind of want one.)

Love these color-bursting trees.

You don’t have to be a designer to want to watch this. See Kickstarter.

7 ways to slow summer down. I like this: Do something scary.

I’d feel like a daredevil just living here.

Fascinated with topiary?

Women dressed in shadows of nature.

These would make me look.

I want to try grilled caesar salad!

Drones capture disparity between rich and poor in South Africa.

What does timeless Danish minimalist design look like?

21 books to read if you want to boost your career. Just bought David & Goliath.

Have you tried Honey?

I’d love to see this giant living painting in London up close.

Photo: Solar powered installation by Nikola Bašić called Saudação ao Sol, translated as Greeting to the Sun.

Life

June 24 2016

Our Mini-Vacation to San Diego

We’re back! It’s been a fun-filled past few days over at the Yoo household. We took our mini-trip to Mission Beach in San Diego and the boys got to ride a train for the first time. Everything went smoothly, there were no major hiccups, which is always good. The boys had a blast at the beach, they loved getting wet in the waves. In lieu of Top 10 Moments of the Week, here’s a set of pictures from our vacation. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Logan threw a major tantrum before we got on the train but loved it once we were on. Here he is looking out the window. Of course, this rapt fascination only lasted about an hour.

Parker gave me this original pose for his train ride picture.

After the train ride, our first stop was the aircraft carrier, the USS Midway. Near the parking lot, a man stood with two parrots by some trees. Of course, the boys gravitated toward the birds so we got a few shots of them with the boys.

This was my second time aboard the USS Midway and the boys’ first. It’s so huge!

Sammy was excited to show the boys all of the different exhibits. Did you know that the Midway was commissioned a week after the end of World War II and that it was the largest ship in the world until 1955? It was also the first U.S. aircraft carrier too big to transit the Panama Canal.

Of course, the best part is seeing all of the aircraft aboard the ship. The boys loved seeing all the different planes.

After all that walking, the boys got tired so Sammy carried them to the car. He gets in quite the workout.

That late afternoon, we headed to the beach. (We stayed in an ocean front condo so it was only a short walk). Here’s my mother-in-law smiling for the camera.

I was able to sneak in this picture of a surfer walking through the water.

Usually, when we go to the beach the boys just play with their trucks in the sand. This time, they actually wanted to touch the water. Parker was having a blast.

That’s grandma tightly holding onto Parker’s hand.

That evening, the sunset was just breathtaking. This shot was taken from our balcony. The sky was just this beautiful cotton candy color.

The next day, we headed to Balboa Park to go to the railroad museum and the science center. Right when we got to the park, I took this picture of Parker and our nanny, Cindy, together.

One of the workers at the railroad museum picked the boys up to look at one of the running trains. The boys never get tired of this place.

That evening, we headed out to Belmont Park (San Diego’s beachfront amusement park) to check out the arcade games and rides. Before we left, Sammy snuck in this kiss on Logan’s cheek.

At the amusement park, we mostly stayed in the arcade playing games like skeet ball. The boys could barely throw the ball far enough but they still had a great time.

There’s a HUGE rock climbing wall and a zip line through Belmont Park. That’s Parker looking super small next to the wall.

This was one of the rides at the park. They were all a little too crazy for the boys so we headed back after the arcade.

Sam and the boys walking back to our condo after Belmont Park. Overall, we had an incredibly fun time. It’s another one for the books!

Life

June 20 2016

Out on Vacation

I’ll be taking off the next few days to vacation in San Diego! We’ll be taking a train from Irvine, first train ride ever for the boys. See you back on Friday. Till then, enjoy these pictures of Parker absolutely drenched with water. Sometimes, all you need is a kiddie pool and some plastic red cups to have some fun. Hello, Summer!

Photography

June 20 2016

The Lost Art of Childhood by Adrian C. Murray

Photographer Adrian C. Murray has a brand new book he’d like to get published through Kickstarter called The Last Art of Childhood. His magical photos speak for themselves. Murray takes photos of his own children with their dog and teddy bear in ways that evoke the spirit of childhood. 500px recently featured him on their blog and was able to interview him about his project. Here we learn the concept behind the book: “The lost art of childhood has a double meaning to me,” he states. “First and foremost, the viewers of the book will typically be adults. Adults who, over time, have lost their sense of childlike wonder and amazement. It’s a natural progression of life, as we come to understand more about the world and take on greater amounts of responsibilities. This starts to whittle down our own perception of the world into the narrow boxes we deal with in the day to day. Taxes, mortgages, the nine to five grind. These activities and worries consume our ability to look at the world in amazement and wonder. It takes a conscious effort for us to get back to our younger selves, and remember what it was like to look at the world with a young set of eyes. To view life as the masterful piece of art that it is. Childhood becomes lost.”

A former dentist, Murray recently transitioned to becoming a full time photographer. He doesn’t post process in Photoshop, rather, he uses Lightroom for all of his edits. Most photos were taken in his hometown of Kentucky, at local parks near his home. He’s also photographed in Idaho where his wife is from and in California, where he was raised. “From swinging above a creek, to eating with deer, there are some of my most recognizable images taken in California. I had an amazing childhood there myself and each time we visit I want to give my kids a taste of what I had growing up.”

Murray reminds me of Elena Shumilova in that they both are to capture what it was like to be a child; the imagination and curiosity that come with it. Their photos also have a similar feel to them, appearing timeless and classic. (Here’s an old post I wrote about Murray’s adorable teddy bear shots.)

The 12″ x 12″ cloth bound hardcover book has over 60 color images across 120 pages with accompanying quotations. On Kickstarter, his goal is to raise $30,000. Let’s help him!

Adrian C. Murray on Kickstarter

Life

June 17 2016

Life Unfolding: Top 10 Moments of the Week

Wow, that week went by fast! On Tuesday, my sister, Carol, our friend, Kat, and I went to a paint night. Basically, you sip on wine while an instructor guides you through creating a painting. It was nice to get out of my normal rut and do something creative. I added a few pictures of Sammy in here, in honor of the upcoming Father’s Day.

What are you up to this weekend? We’re pretty wide open, which is nice. We’ll probably end up taking the kids to the museums at Balboa Park. Next week, I’ll be gone from Tuesday through Thursday. My mother-in-law wants to take the kids on a train ride. We’ll start in Anaheim and then make our way down to San Diego. We’re staying at an Airbnb rental that’s oceanfront. The boys love playing in the sand so I think they’ll enjoy their time at the beach.

Above: That’s our older dog, Charlie, getting petted by Sam.