#lookdownlookup

This is my first time "officially" being on the subject side of the camera. It was fun :) and made me want to pursue photography on the side even more. 

This is witnessing community grow and deepen.

This is what my hometown looks like. 

This is my view on a rainy day.

Playgrounds are linked to our childhoods, so sometimes as adults we feel sheepish about jumping back into them. Yet we learn that in order to produce great work—and great creative work—we must remember how to PLAY. As I saw my friend Joanne swinging away with a childlike heart, I remembered what my favorite Le Petit Prince says: Only children know what they are looking for.

I imagine God to be like a big, all-embracing, blossoming tree. Much, much bigger than this one, but just as bright and comforting. When Kari Jobe sings, "I want to sit at your feet," I imagine it to be just. like. this. 

In one look, this city turns from winding roads to tall buildings to the vast sea. This year I'm realizing that I am so blessed to be here. And I can only hope to be a blessing to the city in return.

The Hasselblad 501CM. It doesn't have a battery nor the ability to delete unwanted photos—every shot takes careful thought and intentionality. Stop. Wind. Think. Compose. Adjust. Shoot. The sound of the shutter is a delectable snap that is so incredibly satisfying, I can only wish my digital machine sounded the same.

The way a cafe buzzes on a 70-degree, clear-skied afternoon is unparalleled. Today, instead of sitting down and getting sucked into a novel or the black hole (called the Internet), I enjoyed a perfectly sweetened chai and simply... was. 

Spending time in a bookstore, to me, is the equivalent of spending a day at Disneyland for others. Minus the crowds and waiting in line. Whether alone or with company, I feel the same rush and bliss when I can browse, take a physically printed book, and sit down to enjoy it for some time.

His name is Brett Walker and is probably the single most interesting individual I've met in a class at Cal. He inspires me to explore everything, have no shame, be interested & interesting, and make shelter out of fallen tree branches while walking around campus. Like the one above.

All I can say is—on an insanely sunny February day like this—it's pretty awesome.

After throwing our chairs into the middle of the room and proceeding to walk on the desks in a circle, all kinds of judgement go out the window. And for that I am thankful.

Standing atop a ledge, you can see the sun disappearing by the minute. And one can only hope that it'll come back tomorrow just as bright and beautiful as it was today. 

This place is a gem located right on the cusp of campus. If you're a Berkeley student, you get in free. Go. If not, take someone's ID and go. My art class went over and spent a glorious hour and a half walking around, observing the goodness that this place holds.

There's no reception and, sometimes, no air while waiting for the train. Other times, there's people-watching or simply thinking back to the last time you stood there. It's almost akin to listening to the radio while driving... nostalgia inducing & thought provoking.