Tag Archives: photography

Goodbye, 2015: A Year in Photos

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I’m just gonna come right out and say it: 2015 pretty much sucked. Very little went the way I hoped it would, and I definitely got thrown some major and awful curveballs. Luckily, 2015 is almost over and a new year is around the corner, and with a new year comes new opportunities and new chances.

However, I don’t want to end the year on a negative note, so I thought I’d look back through the better times of 2015… through pictures.

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My brother and I climbed 53 flights of stairs as part of the Big D Climb to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Continue reading

Why I Love Harvard

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They say if you rub the foot of the John Harvard statue, you’ll have good luck.

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The foot of the statue is cleaned daily because of the many tourists that touch it every day! (And other things…)

And for good reason! Harvard University has an admissions rate of less than 6 percent, a number that makes it one of the most difficult colleges in the country to get into.

I first visited the crimson-colored campus in November of 2013. It was my first time seeing the warmly-colored Boston leaves—the only “warm” thing in the city, aside from the Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts on every street corner.

Another side of Harvard Square
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The Harvard Coop

I’d always imagined that, if I visited, I’d see Ivy-coated walls and lots of people wearing glasses (because that’s obviously a sign of smartness). I didn’t end up seeing any Ivy-covered walls and most people didn’t wear glasses. But I did find something else instead.

I found a university that I would love to be a part of one day, someday. Continue reading

Top of the Rock: The New York City Skyline

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All of these photos were taken on July 23, 2014 at the Top of the Rock in Manhattan. After fighting my way to some of the more optimal spots and waiting around for hours and even getting rained on, I was able to get these pictures of Manhattan at dusk, during sunset, and after dark.

New York City truly is one of the most beautiful, interesting, and breathtaking cities in the world—a city ripe with dreams and opportunities. Hopefully you can get a glimpse of it through these photos.

For my photo blog of Times Square (that includes a short video panorama), click here.

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Thai Culture and Food Festival

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On May 24–25, the Thai community and Buddhist Center of Dallas celebrated their first Thai Culture and Food Festival.

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I love when different groups open and share parts of their culture, so it was really exciting to have the Thai community be willing to open up to the rest of Dallas to share their food, music, traditional dances, and even their Buddhist temple. And even though this was the first time the Thai community has held a cultural festival at the Buddhist Center of Dallas, it was definitely a success.

As soon as I walked in, I was surrounded by tons of tents selling all sorts of food.

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There was definitely more than enough pad thai and egg rolls to go around, but the most difficult part about it was that the lines were really ridiculously long. I guess just too many people like Thai food? Continue reading

Times Square

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DSC_0037Sunday was my first day—well, more like “night”—in New York. And, despite only going from about 7pm to 11pm, it was actually very eventful!

I got the chance to meet my aunts, uncle, and cousin, all while looking over Times Square! It was beautiful, and I couldn’t have asked for any better way to start off my trip!

Times Square was absolutely breathtaking. I can’t even begin to describe how crazy it is. But it’s a good kind of crazy, and I love the hustle-and-bustle of the area… even if its only tourists like me who are hustling-and-bustling.

What’s absolutely crazy is that you don’t even realize it’s nighttime when you’re there. All of the flashing lights and advertisements fool you into thinking it’s daytime!

And there’s got to be an ad for everything imaginable. With so many ads flashing around me, I almost want to just pull out my wallet and wave my credit card in the air and just let the consumerism, well, consume me. It’s capitalism at its finest. Lots of photos after the jump!

San Antonio Market Square: A Fiesta

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Last month, I spent a weekend in San Antonio. Only about an hour away from the capital of Texas: Austin—the city known for its eccentricity and vegetarianism, and more recently its fight to protect women’s autonomy from (an arguably) crazy governor. San Antonio, however, is an area with a heavy Mexican influence, in case the name “San Antonio” didn’t already tell you that! The entire city brims with that Latin flair, that excitement and passion that Latin cultures always have.

Even though that weekend was supposed to be my break, I felt the itching need to do something. Really ANYTHING outside of the hotel! But my curse of not being able to sit down and rest turned out to be a blessing, since the San Antonio Market Square turned out to be an incredibly vibrant place! From live music to street vendors to indoor stores selling art with a Mexican flair, how can you go wrong?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

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Let’s get real. There’s nothing more colorful than the beauty that is… les macarons.

You can’t begin to know how excited I was when I found out my friend went to Paris and brought me back a pasalubong (gift/souvenir in Tagalog) from, of all places, Ladurée! I’ve gone on about Ladurée before, like after I returned from multiple stops at the maison in New York. (Yes, I’ll be triumphantly returning this July, as well.)

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Austin’s South Congress Street: a (short) photo journey

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While in Austin for a few days in December, I had the chance to eat at some great food trucks! Austin, the most eccentric city in Texas, is known as the live music capital of the world, but it also has a growing food truck population! South Congress Street in downtown Austin is another food truck hub within the city, with food truck “parks” dotted down the street, selling everything from Indian dosas to Texan barbecue. Austin has definitely been growing in its foodie status.

(The area we went to is extremely close to the Hyatt Regency Austin.)

To celebrate another Foodie Friday as well as Phoneography Month, I decided to share my photos of the food trucks and restaurants we stopped at! I took a few photos with my dad’s Nikon D5000, but the rest were from my iPhone 5 since I didn’t want to lug around a big camera with me all day. Either way, enjoy!

Austin is an incredibly exciting place, especially if you don’t consider yourself part of the mainstream. Austin is very dog-friendly, as well as vegetarian- and vegan-friendly. Nearly every single food truck and restaurant in downtown Austin offered vegetarian or vegan options—not just one, but normally an entire menu! Nomad Dosa, one of the best food trucks on Congress Street, didn’t even offer meat! (It’s like a vegetarian/vegan heaven!)

Austin proudly proclaims its slogan of “Keep Austin Weird,” standing as the major center for liberal politics in Texas and a safe-haven for the nontraditional, including the artistic, LGBT, naturalist, environmentalist, and intellectual communities. It holds a desire to protect independent and local businesses (as opposed to large corporations).

Austin is actually a really cool place, and if you’re ever in Texas or even the southern half of the United States (yes, the crazy part), then be sure to stop by! You won’t regret it—as long as you’re willing to keep Austin weird!

Foodie Friday: Chinese New Year

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This is the last Friday of Chinese New Year, so I thought it would be fitting to send it off with good cheer through a Foodie Friday post! On February 9, the day before Chinese New Year, we had a feast of food to celebrate!

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Our theme was more general Asian as opposed to traditional Chinese or Filipino food for the New Year. Unfortunately, I had just gotten the rest of my braces on my top-teeth, so I couldn’t enjoy all of the food—the poor shrimp and bok choy was too hard to eat! But, I was able to have the noodles, and I made sure not to bite them! Luckily, it was Saturday, so my weekday vegetarian diet wasn’t in effect (although, I’d consider Chinese New Year a break day for eating vegetarian), meaning I was able to enjoy the jiaozi and wontons, as well as the noodles and orange chicken!

I hope you’ve all had a great Chinese New Year so far… let’s make the most of our last three days! Gong xi fa cai!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Home

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This week’s photo challenge from the Daily Post was “home.”

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For as long as I can remember, my mom would always decorate our front door with something to match the season—normally a wreath that would have different leaves and fruits depending on the season. It’s only fitting that we decorate our front door for Chinese New Year as well.

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