A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. – Tenneva Jordan

This post is a bit belated but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to give thanks to my mother, the single most strong, kind, & positive-minded woman I know. The person who drove me to countless music lessons, ice skating lessons, orchestra practices, tennis games – who never missed a single recital or awards ceremony. The person who filled our home with laughter and the sound of her singing voice {she was always singing} wafting over from the kitchen. My mother who always found the time to be silly, and to relax, and to thoroughly enjoy life.

And most importantly, to never let the little things (or the big things) get you down. There have been times in my life when I was down about things that seemed monstrous to me, and though it’s wonderful when people sympathize with you, my mother always took a slightly different role. She always somehow, someway, turned it into no big deal at all. There was always another chance. There was always some other path I could take. There was always a bright shiny side to the situation. If I didn’t like something, I could change it or I could walk away, and that was fine. Everything always turns out okay. Life is too short to be unhappy.

And this meant the absolute world to me. I didn’t always have a carefree, adaptive, & endlessly positive attitude, but my mother did. And this turned me into someone who could pursue my dreams & chase after my goals. Who never felt pressured to be someone I wasn’t, and who felt that no matter what I pursued, I could have a 100% successful and happy life. And a mother who supported me no matter what.

And every time I see her now (including yesterday), she tells me how happy she is that I am pursuing something I enjoy, how my “job” seems filled with creativity & love & new experiences (which it is :)

I love her dearly and am so thankful for this life she has given me.

A bit belated, but wanted to do a quick post on WPPI 2010! It was a fantastic experience in so many ways & since rehashing everything will be a bit overwhelming, I’ll do a quick recap on what I learned in lovely bullet-point style:

– Having a fantastic second-shooter boyfriend to hold your hand through your first WPPI experience is totally amazing & invaluable. But leaving the guys behind and making it a girls trip is also a good call :) Road-tripped it to Vegas with the best roomies a girl could ask for – Serena Grace, Caroline Tran, & Sarah K Chen. It was so fun & inspiring sharing the trip with them!

– Take some classes. I only browsed the trade show last year, but took 2 classes this year – Elizabeth Messina & Jonathan Canlas – which both blew my mind. They are both utterly fantastic film photographers, and though I’ve been infatuated with the depth & color of film forever, I never strongly considered shooting it until I heard them speak. I don’t think the change will be happening in my professional work anytime soon, but I am definitely hoping to start shooting film personally.

– Bring a point-and-shoot to capture all the fun moments & DON’T FORGET THE CHARGER. My 5D was charged up all nicely but I didn’t quite feel like lugging it all around the MGM. My point-and-shoot died literally 1 hour upon entering into Vegas city limits. Sad day!

– And lastly, what happens in Vegas apparently does NOT always stay in Vegas, since I basically caught the bubonic plague there and it followed me all the way home to Los Angeles. Lame.

Some quick photos of a few of my favorite memories…

Roomies before the Airhorns & Lasers party..

One of my few shots with my 5D.. Sarah & Serena peeking out the window upon our arrival to our suite:

So happy to finally meet Tey Garcia & Karen Atrero – the sweet girly halves of amazing husband & wife photog teams!

A shot from the Fuji booth… with the cost of Polaroid film starting to cost me all my limbs, I would love to get my hands on a Fuji Instax!

Fun at the SmugMug party (my first time donning a Snuggie!)

A pic with my SD girl Jackie Wonders.. I [heart] her!

On the way home from Vegas (after a quick stop at the delicious Mad Greek), we stopped off in the middle of nowhere for a quick impromptu portrait session. The light was gorgeous!

Sarah’s Contax.. you can see some of her lovely film captures here:

And one of yours truly, courtesy of Serena. It’s been ages since I’ve had a portrait taken of me, but these girls are excellent at making you feel as un-awkward as possible.

And a quick last group shot before heading back into LA!

Hello from WPPI! I’m here at the convention in Las Vegas until Thursday so my apologies ahead of time if email replies are a bit slow the next few days! My roomies {Caroline Tran, Serena Grace, Sarah K Chen} & I drove in yesterday afternoon and are looking forward to classes, parties, & meeting lots of new people! You can follow all of my adventures over the next few days on Twitter.

Leaving you with a quick picture of us before the Airhorns & Lasers party last night (because a camera phone pic is better than no pic at all!)