Adventures of Yoo

April 21 2016

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year 2016, Kick-Off

It’s already that time of year! Time to kick off one of my favorite photo contests, The National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year! Photographers, come share your favorite travel experiences like that shocking face to face encounter with a polar bear or that magnificent erupting volcano. The grand prize winner will receive a 7-day Polar Bear Safari for two at Churchill Wild-Seal River Heritage Lodge, a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World.

You have about a month to enter. National Geographic will accept submissions until May 27. Courtesy of National Geographic, here are some early entries.

Above: Wherever you go, I will follow you!!: Romance is in the air. It was the time of day immediately following sunset. I heard a voice. “Wherever you go, I will follow you” the voice says.
Location: Biei, Hokkaido, Japan
Photo and caption by Hiroki Inoue/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Impala at Sunrise Impala silhouetted as the sun rises in the Masai Mara, Kenya.
Location: Masai Mara, Kenya
Photo and caption by Kellie Netherwood/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Dronie – Selfie taken with a Drone: This image is an aerial selfie image. We laid down on the bridge covered with snow and flew the drone above us to take this image.
Location: Mittersill, New Hampshire, United States
Photo and caption by Manish Mamtani/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Ballet dancer: When a Japanese larch’s twig was exposed to illumination, looked like hands and feet. It was like the ballet dancer.
Location: Biei, Hokkaido, Japan
Photo and caption by Hiroshi Tanita/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Lioness @ Sunset: Lioness (Panthera leo) at sunset, Vumbura Concession, Okavango Delta, Botswana, Africa.
Location: Okavango Delta, Botswana, Africa
Photo and caption by Marja Schwartz/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Face to Face: A polar bear on Wahlenbergfjorden off of Svalbard. I was in a zodiac off shore when he sauntered down to the beach to sniff us out. Soon losing interest, he retreated for a nap and we left him in peace.
Location: Haugen, Svalbard, Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Photo and caption by Ari Ross/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Bond Between Friends: Shot in Sakrebailu Elephant Camp, Shimoga, India. This camp works towards rehabilitating rescued elephants from circuses and human animal conflict zones. The elephants are trained here by experienced Mahouts and forms a lasting bond between the two. Every morning these Mahouts get their elephants for a bath in the nearby river. This is also when people are allowed to interact with the elephants.
Location: Shimoga, Karnataka, India
Photo and caption by Aditya D. /National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Peaks & Penguins in Antarctic Sunrise: Stunning peaks & thousands of King Penguins on South Georgia in soft early sunrise. The photography challenge was to resist shooting only Penguin close-ups (very tempting for sure) & step back occasionally to be equally amazed by the landscape in which they live. Special Bonus: It was 100 years to the month that Shackelton’s boat (Endurance) finally went under the Antarctic pack ice (Nov 1915), precipitating his epic traverse of South Georgia, before finding help at nearby Stromness (1916).
Location: South Georgia
Photo and caption by Shivesh R./National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Jonas Blizzard and the Flatiron Building: While walking through the Jonas Winter Storm that swept across the East Coast last week, I captured this shot of the Flatiron Building against a backdrop of swirling snow. With the exception of a few minor details like logos and a food cart, the image looks like an impressionist right out of another another century. The cloudy atmosphere and gusty winds creates patterns that appear uncannily like brush strokes.
Location: New York City, New York, United States
Photo and caption by Michele Palazzo/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

La Fournaise volcano: The last eruption of LA Fournaise Volcano, Réunion Island.
Location: Saint-Denis, Reunion, Reunion
Photo and caption by Gaby Barathieu/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

Books

April 20 2016

Steal Like An Artist, The Book and Video

When you’re feeling unmotivated and you need a swift kick in the pants, it’s helpful to turn to books. Austin Kleon has written a good one for all the creatives out there called Steal Like An Artist. Inside you’ll find fun and informative tips on how to unlock creativity in your life. Here’s one paragraph that I enjoyed:

It’s a two-step process. Step one, “do good work,” is incredibly hard. There are no shortcuts. Make stuff every day. Know you’re going to suck for a while. Fail. Get better. Step two, “share it with people,” was really hard up until about ten years ago or so. Now it’s very simple: “Put your stuff on the Internet.”

Through Design Sponge I found this video of Kleon speaking about his own work, Newspaper Blackout. The TEDX talk is an interesting and inspiring speech that’s worth 11 minutes of your time.

Art & Design

April 20 2016

Gorgeous Floral Collages by Ernesto Artillo

I’m loving these floral collages that mix photographs of models with flowers by Ernesto Artillo. The Spanish mixed media artist knows just where to place the flowers to make for an interesting portrait.

Ernesto Artillo’s website
via [Trendland]

Photography

April 19 2016

16 Excellent Tips on Getting Your Shot

Lately, I’ve been scooping up photography books left and right, trying to learn as much as I can about the craft. One of the books I’ve enjoyed the most is called Getting Your Shot by National Geographic. Back when I was with My Modern Met, I wrote countless posts about National Geographic’s online photo community called “Your Shot.” This book reveals the inside stories on how those photographs submitted to the Your Shot community were made and it also gives invaluable tips on how to set up your photos.

Here are 16 of my favorite tips.

1. Scenes evolve. Follow your subject until you are out of time or your subject is out of patience. Then go one step more.
2. You don’t have to go far to get a great photo. Keep an eye out for graphic elements that surround you every day.
3. Photograph the people and things you love.
4. Consider using your camera to create a visual diary.
5. Show the relationships between the animals and the people in your photographs by looking for expressions of love, interdependence, and gratitude. Capture the connection.
6. If possible, layer images with movement in the background. This will add weight and interest to your composition.
7. Tourists often take photos they are “supposed to” take but forget to document the real-life elements of their visit. When you travel, immerse yourself in the city and capture mundane moments-such as subway rides-and you’ll have more honest pictures when you return home.
8. Nature is beautiful, but people add a complementary dimension. Consider including people in nature scenes for added interest.
9. Take pictures of the everyday moments in your life. These images end up being some of the most personal and powerful because we approach them with such intimacy.
10. With your eye in the viewfinder, take a minute to look around at what you’re including in your composition before hitting the shutter. Take out what’s distracting or unnecessary in the image.
11. A good place to start when taking pictures is to determine where the best light is in the scene. Then stick around to see what happens in that spot.
12. The famous French photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson said that every situation has its decisive moment: you watch as something builds and wait for that peak. Applying the idea of a moment to your photography will make you a more observant and connected image maker. The moment trumps everything. The waiting is the hardest part.
13. Get close, and then get closer. Sometimes your best zoom lens is your feet.
14. Make sure everything in the picture is relevant to the image.
15. Eye contact often makes for more compelling photos of people and animals.
16. Take a step back. Don’t always go for the obvious. Look for different angles. Spend time taking in the scene and allowing it to unfold. Then shoot like mad.

Photo by Ankit Narang – Delhi, India

Photography

April 18 2016

How the Soul of the Photograph Trumps Technical Perfection

This weekend, I spent a few hours on Flipboard, it’s my favorite place to collect interesting articles. (You can find me on it, here.) I came across this great article on Feature Shoot called 17 Photographers Reveal the Hardest Life Lesson They Learned When Starting Out.

Though the post came out in January, it was new to me. I had somehow missed reading it until now. The article features inspiring words from photographers I’m familiar with like Ami Vitale (I liked her Skillshare video), Sophie Gamand from her Wet Dog series and Robin Schwartz from Amelia and the Animals. (She’s featured in our book, For Love.)

My favorite tidbit of advice came from photographer Carolyn Marks Blackwood.

“The hardest internal life lesson as a photographer was that the soul of a photograph trumps technical perfection. I was very insecure about my technical abilities in the beginning, but I had a point of view that was my own. Technical things can be learned over time, but a personal vision, the essence that touches the viewer’s heart in a photograph, comes from a place that is unique and personal in each person, and that cannot be taught.”

I’ve been struggling to get better, technically, with photography but I also need to remember that my personal vision comes from within.

Photo by Carolyn Marks Blackwood.

Art & Design

April 18 2016

Olivia Bee Shows Youth at the Brink of Adulthood

I first discovered Olivia Bee back in June of 2009, when she was just 15-years-old. Even at such a young age, she was coming up with images that were wonderfully through-provoking. They took you back to the time you were a teenager again, those years when you’re on the precipice of adulthood; young, free and up for any kind of adventure.

Time has passed, and now the Portland, Oregon-born photographer is 22-years-old. In between those seven years she has shot for brands like Hermès and Levi’s, and has had editorial features for Vogue and the New York Times.

She just came out with a new book called Olivia Bee: Kids in Love that showcases two of her series, Enveloped in a Dream and Kids in Love.

This first series offers a visual diary of girlhood friendship and the exploration of self, showcasing Bee’s unique ability to convey the bittersweet nostalgia of adolescence on the brink of adulthood and new possibilities. The second set of images is drawn from recent work and continues Bee’s photographic chronicle of her circle of friends and new loves, capturing both the pleasures and terrors of the fleeting passage of romanticized youth.

Just scooped mine up on Amazon.

Below, find a general selection of her work.

Olivia Bee’s website

Art & Design

April 15 2016

New Sweetly Surreal Paintings by Camilla D’Errico

The online preview of Camilla D’Errico’s new series Dances With Dreams was just released and it includes so many sweet and surreal paintings. The upcoming show begins on April 23 and runs through May 21 at the Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles. The Canadian painter is completely self taught! (How inspiring, right?) She is among a group of female artists, which include Audrey Kawasaki, Amy Sol and Stella Im Hultberg, who paint beautiful young girls in the Pop Surrealism category.

Camilla d’Errico’s website

Art & Design

April 15 2016

Fun Links of the Week

What are you up to this weekend? We’re hanging out at my in-laws to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday. The grandparents just bought a pool for the kids along with other fun toys like roller skates and a toy train table. I feel like I’m reliving my childhood! (Which is a great thing.) It’s going to be in the 80s out where we are which will be perfect for all the outdoor activities we have planned.

Is this the next Poloraid?

Conan exposes the culture gap between Koreans and Korean-Americans. (Loved all the Conan in Korea clips, especially this one.)

I was so close to getting tickets. They’re probably gone now even with the addition of the second performance.

I’m smitten over these miniature houseplant treehouses. (Reminds me of the bonsai treehouses.)

Dream-chasers, check out these books. (I’m currently reading Drive.)

What’s a childhood look like that’s free of modern electronic devices?

Broken glass? Not quite.

Four more days until Hermes releases the new Apple Watch straps. (I want the double tour band in brown.)

Citizen’s “time” installation at Milan Design Week is out of this world. (via NotCot)

I love all white houses with pops of color.

Want to attend this online workshop on Instagram.

“If you want to lay the groundwork for a big idea, focus on developing one segment of it until it has strong roots. ‘Pick a vertical. Pick a focus area. Keep it simple.’

When editing in Lightroom, be careful of these traps.

I think Sammy (and maybe all of us) needs this.

Donut art makes me hungry.

I want to add these to my notebook collection.

Love reading on my iPhone but I’m mesmerized by this.

Interested in making mochi ice cream?

Cookie Monster belongs on my shoulder.

BB-8 stole my heart.

Is it time to attend Summer Camp? (via SwissMiss)

Above: ‘Kick Push’, an animated GIF by Swedish graphic designer Markus Magnusson. (via We and the Color)

Life

April 15 2016

Life Unfolding: Top 10 Moments of the Week

Welcome to another edition of Life Unfolding: Top 10 Moments of the Week! For those unfamiliar with this series, it consists of compilation posts of special moments that happened during the week. Not only does this help me practice my photography, it also serves as a visual diary of what transpired. You’ll see a lot of Sam and our two boys in these pictures along with other family members that we visit often like my sisters Carol and Grace.

Above: That’s Logan running into Sammy’s arms. That boy is in love with his daddy.

Last weekend it rained in OC. I captured this shot of my nephew, Riverton, riding his toy motorcycle despite the rain. This kid is hardcore.

My mother and father-in-law have these beautiful rose bushes growing in their front yard.

This week, grandpa bought Logan his own scooter and helmet. Doesn’t he look like a reluctant superhero?

The kids love riding around in their grandparents’ golf cart.

On one of our hikes this week, Parker held his father’s hand as he looked up into the sky. A plane was passing by. I was able to capture catchlight, a light source that causes a specular highlight in a person’s eye.

Our nanny, Cindy, loves going on our hikes with us to Santa Rosa Plateau. I love her relaxed pose, she’s not rushing, it’s like she’s taking in the scenery.

That’s Cindy again strolling along. I love showing negative space, especially with the sky.

One of our neighbors has a yard full of these animal sculptures. This satiated raccoon one is my favorite.

I caught this picture of Parker yesterday. During our evening walks, there’s always a point where he gets unbelievably tired. He can go from 100 to zero in two seconds. Ah, the toddler life.

Here’s a few more Life Unfolding posts:
Week ending April 8
Week ending April 4
Week ending March 25
Week ending March 17

Life

April 14 2016

Welcome to Adventures of Yoo!

Hey there! It may be hard to believe but I worked on this site for six months before I officially launched it to the public. Now I finally get to tell my friends and family what I had been doing, albeit secretly. I started this site thinking I would become the next lifestyle blogger like Joanna Goddard of A Cup of Jo or Joy Cho of Oh Joy! But then, I was surprised to learn along the way that my true calling is to become a ~~professional photographer~~ a fashion designer.

To give all of my new visitors a quick peek into this blog, here are my top 10 posts from the 138 that I’ve written. They should give you a good feel for what you can expect to find from this site.

Who are the Yoos?
Easter Sunday 2016
Celebrating Birthdays at Pelican Hill
The Pep Talk That I Needed
66 Positive Things to Say To Your Child
A Big Hot Pot of Delicious Miso Soup
Fixed vs. Growth Mindset in Parenting
The Classically Beautiful World of Rodney Smith
Stop Saying ‘Sorry’ and Start Saying ‘Thank You’
My New Foray Into Fashion

Above: Parker and Logan sharing a sweet moment.

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