While we're on the subject of books.

One of my favorite photography books (and a recent indulgent purchase) is Habitat 7 by my good friend Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao. We studied together at SVA, and I saw him working on these images from the very beginning of the project. Needless to say, these images have a very special meaning to me as I've seen his development from a grad student, to winning the NY Times' 'Capture The Times' photo competition in 2005, to being represented by Julie Saul, to having a solo show at the Queen's Museum, to having a book published by one of the finest photography book publishers in the world, Nazreli Press. The images are truly breathtaking.


To me, Jeff's photography is an exercise in patience and a dedication to perfection. The Strand describes his process concisely: "The IRT "7" subway/rail line is one of the major arteries between Queens and Manhattan. Jeff Liao lives along its route, taking the train every day. In this, his first monograph, Liao presents images selected from his walks along the line's entire length where there was evidence of the "7," even if there was no train in sight. Eschewing the use of a panoramic camera, Liao, instead, makes several 8x10 negatives of the same scene and combines them digitally, taking up to 60 hours to complete one composition."

His photography is truly a genuine experience and I encourage everyone to explore his work.

SVA, revisited.

I first moved to New York in August of 2003. I came to pursue my MFA in Photography, Video & Related Media at SVA. I had been living in Chiangmai, Thailand for 1.5 years prior, working successfully as a photography studio owner. At the end of the two-year program, I decided to stay in the 'big city' and pursue a career in the freelance world of photography and video.

Last night, SVA's Visual Arts Gallery hosted their annual MFA Thesis exhibition for my old department. I decided to attend. I hadn't been to the show last year so was excited to run into classmates I haven't seen for a while, and re immerse myself in all-things-photo.

I was eagerly greeted by the head of the department, Charles Traub. He gave me a hug and told me that he mentioned my thesis project to other students in the recent past. I felt honored that he remember a project that he hasn't seen for three years with such fondness.


For my thesis, I created a book in collaboration with Yolanda Cuomo called FAMILY ALBUM. It is a hand bound, self printed book featuring approximately 100 portraits of individuals from my family, extended family and social groups. I have a complicated background (Thai/Italian parents, grew up in Hong Kong and attended a French School), so as a result my family is quite spread out ethnically, economically and socially. Many of them don't even know about each other. The photographs were paired with text: writings of random tidbits of information from the day of each of the shoots. Melissa Harris of Aperture may not have deemed it of marketable value to be published, but it's my work and what I love to shoot.