Katy + Daniel: seattle reception

Congratulations to Taeyoung (Katy) and Daniel Park! Taeyoung and Daniel had their actual wedding in Seoul, but also had a small reception for friends who couldn't make it over to Korea in October. I've known Taeyoung since freshman year of college - she was actually one of the first people I met when I started my journey at UT. I'd say she hasn't changed much since then - her slow eating habits, her gentleness in handling things, and her attention to detail in everything she does. She basically handmade all the props and signs for the wedding, which was freaking impressive. Congrats again, guys! I'm most certain that you guys will make beautiful bebes.

Annapolis!

My, my. This post is way overdue. I don't even exactly remember when this day trip happened - I think it was sometime in late October. Some friends from work and I had been dying to go visit, so we set a day to go explore the tiny harbor town! The weather was absolutely perfect - it was sunny with some cool breeze, and lots of fall colors.

Excuse some of the grainy + underexposed photos. This was my first time trying out the Minolta X-700 with a cheap roll of film I bought. Most of it all turned out fine except Walgreens sort of messed up processing the film a bit so you'll see dark streaks on the photos everywhere.

And here are some iPhone shots:

Also. We finally satisfied all of our crab cake + seafood crave! These are the beautiful people I have the privilege to work with every single day.

So yes, that 45 minute drive is totally worth it. We also caught a glimpse of all the craze for the Navy vs Pittsburgh game that was causing some MAD traffic congestion.

#Plaidride DC

So if you happened to be in DC on Saturday and saw the nerdiest gang of bicycle riders all wearing plaids and beards (many of them fake, of course) blocking the entire east bound Pennsylvania Ave, here's a bit of context. It was my very first group ride and I had the most amazing time ever. It's funny how the whole mob mentality thing completely takes over when you're in a situation like this and all fears are gone as you weave through the zig zaggy streets of DC. I seriously need to stop neglecting my bike and ride more often before it gets too cold.

After about an hour and half of riding, we ended up at this place called Kingman Island for lumberjack games, food, music, etc.




Oh, and lots of bacon eating. Lots and lots of bacon.






Oh, and also, this maple syrup dark chocolate pecan pie was probably one of the best pecan pies I've had. Ugh. I could seriously eat a whole pecan pie by myself every day.


Also, if you're curious, here is me attempting to vine while riding my bike. We took over the capitol!

Meet my new friend, minolta

Got lucky with this impulse buy on Ebay. I bought a used Minolta X-700 body along with 3 different fixed lenses and shot everything in its aperture-priority setting with a Kodak Gold film as a the first test roll. I'd say Walgreens did a pretty good job of processing & scanning the film. Here are a few shots:

"All gave some and some gave all"

Vietnam War veteran Hank Van Laarhoven watches as volunteers help him find each name of all those he served with. Van Laarhoven was one of the squad leaders of the 2nd Battalion 1st Marines during the Vietnam War.

On Saturday, November 9, 2013, Van Laarhoven visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for the first time in his life. This was also his first time seeing many of those whom he served with since 1967.
When asked to describe some of his emotions, he solemnly said, "Deep sadness. It's overwhelming. It's not just a single name on the wall...we know too many here. They need to be remembered."
He stayed at the memorial for more than an hour, searching for every single name of those he served with.

Autumn Getaway

I love indulging in autumn, especially when these beautiful hiking hot spots are only 1.5 hours away. Few shots from the top of the mountain w/ the Yashica Mat-124, few weekends ago. Wish I could do this every weekend!

Every time I go on these hiking adventures and try my best to enjoy the nature, I always think of this quote from one of my favorite books, Walden: