To be honest I don't think I could have picked a more stereotypically Asian hobby to pursue- I mean, how many times have you seen one of us at Disneyland lugging around a camera bag following around our family, or holding up the line at the airport just to take a picture of the bathroom sign? I think the notion of Asians being silly/pointless fauxtographers ranks up there with the idea that we're all piano/violin prodigies at age 11 who learn calculus before high school and fulfill the Asian-American Dream of growing up to become a doctor. It makes me laugh though, because ever since I got my first camera-phone I would go around doing just exactly that- taking countless (almost useless) pictures of everyday objects, whether it be an empty pistachio shell or the soles of my shoes and calling it art.
While I still have the same penchant for taking copious amounts of random photos, I've been slowly starting to learn how to take pictures that convey a purpose, a meaning, and a message. For me it's the difference between being a casual observer who takes a snapshot as a memory vs. an artist who uses the specialness of a moment to make a statement.
I usually don't like to refer to myself as a photographer, because to me it either causes unnecessary and somewhat undeserved praise or evokes this expectation from other people that I'm much better than I really am. I'm simply just someone pursuing a passion.
Equipment
I shoot with a Nikon D80, an 18-135mm 3.5 lens, and a 50mm 1.4 lens which is what is on my camera most of the time.
My flickr page.
