I just got back from recent trips to Ho Chi Minh City and Melbourne Australia. Both are places I haven't been to in a really long time. I was last in Ho Chi MInh was on a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia with my dad. It has changed and developed so much since that time. It has been even longer since I have been to Melbourne.
I have been reading Angel by Jason Calacanis this past week. It is a book I have been waiting to be released for a long time. Jason is a well know Silicon Valley Investor who turned $100K USD in investments into $100M USD. He was an early investor in Uber, Thumbtack, Wealthfront and a few hundred other companies.
My wife says I'm like a little mouse that can't sit still. When I'm not physically moving my mind is moving a million miles an hour. This year has been no different. I've had a lot of travel so far this year with trips to London, Mumbai, Osaka, Seoul, Manila, Bangkok, LA and Singapore twice.
I have been very focused on a pet project for the past few months using what little free time I have on it. 20 minutes here, 30 minutes here, a Saturday afternoon here. It's amazing how much you can get done with little focused amounts of time.
Life has kept me very busy lately without much personal time. I have had a few business trips to start my year. I had a trip to London in January and a short trip to Singapore in February. Unfortunately both had very packed schedules that didn't get a chance to get out and shoot.
I'm wrapped up 3 weeks of leave yesterday and headed back to work. I never used to be able to take time off at year so it's nice to finally be able to. I travel and work a lot throughout the year so I really cherish this time to unwind and catch up at home.
I'm in a film phase right now and I am going to try to shoot film for the foreseeable future. I have a small wine refrigerator filled with a few hundred rolls of film waiting to be shot. I have a few really cool expired ones in there too.
I have been traveling quite a bit with trips to Singapore, Jakarta, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Laguna Beach. I have two more trips left to Bali and Taipei and then I'm done traveling until early next year when I have a trip to London.
I caught up with my friend Richard while I was in San Francisco. I first met Richard at The Jay Maisel Workshop. We were teamed up to go shooting for a few days and hit it off. Richard humbly introduced himself as a 'consultant' but the reality is more like 'Amateur photographer, retired CEO and...a physicist'.
I like people who stick to their convictions in spite of opposition. I think all too often people either stay with the norms or quickly adapt to the popular opinion or approach when facing challengers. People should feel comfortable and confident to stand up for what they believe in and prove others wrong with their actions and results.
We spent two days together in late spring where they followed me as I went about my shooting. We hit some of my favorite spots around Tokyo. We started in Jiyugaoka, went to my office in Roppongi, then we shot around Shibuya, Yurakucho, Zojoji and Shinjuku.
I've been reading The Inevitable - Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future lately. It's an really interesting look at what our future will be like from a technology perspective in 30 years. It's written by Kevin Kelly the founder of Wired magazine.
This week I had a short trip to Los Angeles. I left Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon and I'm currently on the Saturday 1AM return flight. With the time changes I arrived in LA on Tuesday 11AM
