Laura Chang 7/28/17 Laura Chang 7/28/17

Feeling Blue: "Chasing Coral" & "Mission Blue"

Every now and then, I feel inspired to bang out an entry like this one today. How random, right? Yes, it's been awhile since I last posted anything, but I've had a lot of time to reflect on what's important in my life these last couple of weeks-- one of which is obviously the upkeep of this site. I told myself that I will not neglect this passion project as I have this last year, just like how I should not neglect aspects of my life that keep it healthy and well-balanced! Not only has posting on this website been an escape for me in the past, but it has always been my journal of thoughts, interests and photography growth. Aside from my joy in snapping photos, I also like to geek out on climate change. Keeping Up with the Klimate is pretty hard at times, but I like to watch the latest documentaries that explain continuing problems and slap my face with a reminder that I need to be greener and better to mother earth.

Hello In My Visions,

I wish I was paid to write all of this up, but this isn't an Ad! I watched Chasing Coral on Netflix, which came out earlier this month, and was reminded again of how important our ocean health is to us. But, before I dive deeper into that discussion (pun intended), I still remember the last Netflix documentary I watched about ocean life back in 2014 called Mission Blue. The film follows badass oceanographer, conservationist, marine biologist, Sylvia Earle (& she's a grandma), who at age 81, still dives into our water and swims the depths of our sea to study and protect "Hope Spots." What are these Hope Spots? Find out here. She drew attention to our dying coral reefs, and showed us critical areas in this world that we need to protect because they are crucial to the health of our ocean. Global warming is real and our planet is suffering. There is irreversible damage, and about half of our coral reefs have died the last 30 years alone.

We can look back at that, gasp and sob, but we also need to look at the big picture of global warming. I have dreams to see the Great Barrier Reef, but I'm also aware that at the rate humankind is going, if I don't go soon or in this lifetime, there will be no Great Barrier Reef to visit ever again. I can't change the world in a drastic way alone, but I know I can control my carbon footprint, and try to be a little greener everyday. Sylvia inspires me all the time and in another life, I will learn to scuba dive at an earlier age, become a mermaid and fight to protect our ocean health.

Now, back to Chasing Coral.

Chasing Coral focuses on the diminishing coral health and follows some very passionate people trying to find out what's causing our reefs to disappear. Richard Vevers quit his 10 years working in advertisement because he wanted to do something with more meaning in his life after he realized his favorite weedy seadragon is endangered and wanted to find out what more in our ocean life is disappearing and thus the birth of this film with producer/director Jeff Orlowski. Zackery Rago grew his own coral aquarium and learned all about coral taxonomy, joining the team to create extraordinary underwater camera devices that can shoot time-lapse video of the reefs, and ultimately dived into the ocean to manually track daily coral activity in the Great Barrier Reef for several months. This is all to say that these people really put a lot into this documentary, and I have so much RESPECT!

Of course there are more people involved, and everyone played an important role, but you just have to watch the documentary yourself! I learned that a particular marine species known as the parrotfish eats corals and poops out sand. Therefore the sand we walk on at beaches are fecal matter produced by the parrotfish, but all fun jokes aside, I also gained more knowledge about coral bleaching (see image below), which is the first sign of a dying coral community. The documentary was quality storytelling and the before and afters of healthy, colorful coral communities turning white only months apart were visually alerting. There are scientists, divers, coral lovers out there trying to save ocean life, and I am just at home watching those people actually making a difference in the world.

American-Samoa  © XL Catlin Seaview Survey - The Ocean Agency - Richard Vevers — American-Samoa © XL Catlin Seaview Survey - The Ocean Agency - Richard Vevers

So in summary, whether I am watching Mission Blue in 2014 or Chasing Coral in 2017, there is no doubt that our ocean continues to get warmer. 2016 was ranked the warmest year in the Global Climate Report. So, this is me telling myself to remember to be greener. Remember to fight for a cleaner environment, healthier ocean, better world because I'd like to see change in this lifetime.

Sometimes it's not just rising temperatures destroying coral life, but also us obnoxious human beings who snorkel during our vacation and damage the reefs with our sunblock. Chasing Coral taught me that when swimming in the ocean, do not use sunscreen with active ingredient: OXYBENZONE, a chemical that damages coral reefs. So be aware! Be human and kind to our ocean life when visiting/snorkeling/swimming/minding our own business around these beauties. I've been using Neutrogena for years and just noticed that it contains 6% Oxybenzone. I'm tossing that out and switching to one of these Oxybenzone-free sunblocks.

Visiting the Great Barrier Reefs remains on my bucketlist, and I know that I have to go soon because it's changing with each passing day. First, I really need to learn how to scuba dive if I plan to visit seriously. I'm decades behind Sylvia, and if she can still do it in her 80s, I sure as heck can pick this up before I reach my 30s.

Goals (Some Before I Turn 30, But Really Should Just Maintain In Lifetime):

Learn to scuba dive and operate heavy machinery underwater without harming coral reefs
See the Great Barrier Reef
Use Oxybenzone-free sunscreen
Continue to scuba dive at age 80 like Sylvia Earle
Be Greener Always
Walk on parrotfish poop as often as possible

Love,
Laura

Laura Chang 4/6/17 Laura Chang 4/6/17

Ello, Poppy!

Everything I've ever learned in grade school about the four seasons and the months that correspond have gone out the window since I moved to SoCal. This past year, I've skipped summer humidity and mosquito season, bypassed winter, and felt like this entire time has been one really long Fall or Spring cycle.

Not once did I have to wear a peacoat, puffy parka or snow boots. No shoveling or avoiding ice. The unusual amount of rainfall, though, is the only surprise, which I partially blame myself for because I have a history of bringing rain wherever I go. I am just kidding, but not really.

The bright side? More flower fields! The rain was exceptional for relieving the LA drought and the flower enthusiast that I am will gladly accept Visa, AMEX and Superbloom flowers!

So, without further ado-- In My Visions: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve.

Here's to flowers, sunset sky, endorphins and photography! If heaven were a place on earth, I think I found it.

Special thanks to Paolo Fortades for the solo shots of me!

Check out Paolo's Instagram and follow!

<3,
Laura

Laura Chang 3/11/17 Laura Chang 3/11/17

My Happy Place

It took some time for me to find my "happy place" here in California, but I think I found a keeper! It has been so long since I've posted as I used to, but the last few months have been filled with adjustments and growth unlike I have ever experienced the last decade. I am learning and living every day, and still infatuated. Weekends are my getaways to explore and after three weekends of rain and clouds, this very Saturday morning was my opportunity to do what makes me happy: photography, sunrise, surrounded by beautiful flowers.

It was a journey in itself just getting to Point Dume in Malibu, but I'll always remember it for the rest of my life. There's something about going to a place by yourself that makes it feel more rewarding and liberating, but I also thought about how much my parents would have loved to see this, too. How I wished they could just teleport right then and there. If there's one thing that I can learn during my time away is that distance truly makes the heart grow fonder.

Check out the changing sky and colors...what were In My Visions.

And before this post ends, while all the other photos were taken from my Canon, there's a special one I only got on my iPhone. Thankful for the sunset, the flowers and the birdies that got in formation just for me!

Here's to a Happy Place I've found in California, and to many more.

<3,
Laura

Laura Chang 10/6/16 Laura Chang 10/6/16

Hello, it's me.

Hello, it's me.
I'm in California dreaming about who I used to be.

Sea clouds and the starry night on Piuma Road in Malibu.Photo courtesy of Idriss Njike — Sea clouds and the starry night on Piuma Road in Malibu.
Photo courtesy of Idriss Njike

I know I haven't posted anything since I've moved out here, but it wasn't because I wanted to or intended to. I just didn't have the words to describe how I was feeling day to day. It was a lot of change for me. Picking up and packing up a life I used to know all too well, and then unpacking all of that was not the easiest for an emotional being like me. I knew that I could not get back into any routine I used to have. I was starting from scratch.

I used to jam to music while photo editing to unwind after a work day, or even be excited to edit my photos. But for the last few months, I was shooting and not looking back at any of it. I have memory cards filled with photographs I've taken these last 6 months that I have not uploaded or sifted through. After work, I just didn't want to stare at a computer screen. I didn't think anything I took was post worthy either. I travelled to Europe back in April and I still have not looked at any of those pictures!

It's like writer's block. Except it was my vision. Blocked.

I still remember the first day that I looked at any photograph, and that was the first week of September, when I finally looked at photos I took when I attempted to capture the milky way. Some serious skill and serious gear is required to get those pretty shots! (Neither of which I have mastered!) Mind you, I took those photos back in August, and I still have 5 more months of material I have not looked at. This was a great start though. I was slowly getting my mojo back.

Someone told me that the reason I stopped shooting was because I didn't love photography enough. That hurt me to hear, even though I knew that was not true. Deep down I know that I find comfort in photography. It is my passion and my hobby. I love it, and at the time I wanted to post or write on my site, but with everything going on in my new life, I was lost and very uncomfortable...busy figuring out me. I knew that I will always have photography to fall back into, but living in the moment now was really important for me. Figuring out these discomforts is what I needed to focus on.

One thing about photography that is both amazing and slightly irking is that when you take photos, you're so addicted to getting the shot that you become trigger happy with it. Sometimes you forget to step back and absorb what is really before you, using the gift of sight you are born with-- your eyes. How beautiful and fortunate we are to have eyes that can see this world in front of us. Because before you can really take a good photograph, you need to be able to see it with your own eyes, feel inspired, and create the work that you are drawn to. At least that has always been the case for me. I couldn't bring myself to like anything I was shooting because I was lost in this new world, lost with myself. I didn't know what was wrong at the time, but as of late I've been able to get my groove back with the help of inspiration.

I left the people I love back home to figure out myself and to chase a dream that I've been dreaming about for a long time. With that came a sacrifice that I feel every single day. But do I ever regret it? Not a single day thus far. There are rough days, sad days, nostalgic days, days that I find myself crying to sleep and not knowing exactly why so much emotion is arising out of my eyes and choking up my throat. But at the end of the day, I wake up and breathe a breath of fresh air and thank Buddha for allowing me to do this journey on my own. I am happy! Really freagin' happy!

And with this quick little update to my visual journal, I sign off without a photograph (that I took) to show you. I just want to let you know that I will be posting again very soon! I will finally be looking through my Europe content, and every random thing I took from sunsets to palm trees and more.

And what exactly helped me get my groove back? All it took was a little visit back home to New York City to see the people, the places, and everything in between that I love most. And for that, I thank you kind special individuals who know exactly who they are. ;)

Hello from the other side!!

With Love from LA,
Laura the Angeleno <3

Laura Chang 4/10/16 Laura Chang 4/10/16

Chapter 25

Chapter 25 is still being written, and I only have two and a half months left to fill the pages of this number, but so far I only beam excitement for what more lies ahead. Today I say farewell to my East Coast life and make the big move to Los Angeles, CA. I did not wake up one day and suddenly decide that today will be the day I pick up my entire life and move across the country to a city that I hardly know on the opposite coast of NYC. I always said that I would eventually do it. Eventually is now.

New York City has been and always will be my home. In fact, for the last 25 years, I never left it and I never moved away from it. It is where I was raised, where I learned how to walk and talk, where I navigated an unreliable transit system, met some of the strongest and most influential people, got my bachelor's degree, landed my first job straight out of college, and it will always be the city that allowed me to dream as big as possible.

Leaving behind everything you know is the toughest part, and though this has just begun, I already know what an impact this decision will have on the rest of my life. Whenever I thought about leaving NYC, I always thought of all the reasons for me to stay behind. They weren't excuses at the time because they were reasons within comfort. It is exactly this moment that I feel comfortable stepping out of it, too. I am very fortunate that the time to leave now is entirely my decision— unhindered.

Have you ever had that feeling where everything leading up to this moment felt exactly right? Well, this move feels exactly that way, where every bone in my body knows it is good for me. It feels right and I can't look back. LA might not be what I imagine it to be, but I will never know the answer to my "what if," if I do not take this chance, this opportunity, and move there.

I don't know what lies ahead, and I don't know who I will meet, what I will encounter, who I will become, but I head there knowing that I will latch on to what I believe in and overcome any obstacles that come my way. This is where two roads diverge, and I choose the one headed west.

Love,
Laura