Stephen, etc.

"It seems to me that I will always be happy in the place where I am not."

–

I have traveled a lot in the last three years. Lived in Rome, Kyoto, Tokyo, Paris, and currently Copenhagen. By now, I know that these travels are not about seeing the world anymore. As this quote suggests, it is about finding the perfect city, a future home, a place perhaps forever unattainable.

I have been restless for a long time now. Austin, a city I love, a city I am proud to come from, is also a city that I am tired of. As graduation approaches, I’m realizing that I am in transition. My mental self is still younger than my actual self, but thoughts towards the future have filled my awareness the past few months. What will I be doing? Who will I surround myself with? But the most nagging question has been where I will live.

For now, I am loving Copenhagen. Hesitatingly, I am considering a future here. Large enough for consistent new experiences. Small enough for chance encounters with friends and acquaintances. Unique enough to, perhaps, keep me happy.

74 notes

Notre Dame, Paris, France
This was a lucky photo. I wasn’t sure if I had any frames left. And I didn’t know how long to hold the shutter open. So I just guessed. For my first time shooting in medium format, using a vintage camera that I bought and hadn’t tested, the photos turned out better than expected.

Apr 1st

1 note

Notre Dame, Paris, France

This was a lucky photo. I wasn’t sure if I had any frames left. And I didn’t know how long to hold the shutter open. So I just guessed. For my first time shooting in medium format, using a vintage camera that I bought and hadn’t tested, the photos turned out better than expected.

Mar 31st

4 notes

Île Saint-Louis, Paris, France

Shakespeare and Company, Paris, France
Our last day in Paris, in Europe, was a drizzly one. So we spent a portion of it inside this famed bookstore. My friend played the piano. I bought a collection of Baudelaire’s prose poems, stamped. And we waited out the rain.

Mar 30th

9 notes

Shakespeare and Company, Paris, France

Our last day in Paris, in Europe, was a drizzly one. So we spent a portion of it inside this famed bookstore. My friend played the piano. I bought a collection of Baudelaire’s prose poems, stamped. And we waited out the rain.

Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France

Mar 29th

1 note

Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France

Mar 27th

Great Russell Street, London, England

Facing the British Museum, I got a little reminder of Amsterdam. The museum had just closed. People, streaming outside. The moon was out. It was our last night in London.

Crosswalk, London, England
Me checking the map as we prepare to cross the street. All over the city, there are instructions on the streets telling you which way to look. They actually came in super useful.

Mar 26th

10 notes

Crosswalk, London, England

Me checking the map as we prepare to cross the street. All over the city, there are instructions on the streets telling you which way to look. They actually came in super useful.

Mar 25th

Tower Bridge, London, England
By Sir Horace Jones (1894)

It’s stretching its arms!

View, London, England
It was raining when we rode the London Eye. Rotating beside the Thames, London was city not so defined by monumental buildings. Everything felt smaller in person. But, it did feel appropriately British in that sense, whatever that means.

Mar 24th

2 notes

View, London, England

It was raining when we rode the London Eye. Rotating beside the Thames, London was city not so defined by monumental buildings. Everything felt smaller in person. But, it did feel appropriately British in that sense, whatever that means.

Sunflower Seeds, Tate Modern, London, England Exhibition by Ai Weiwei Building by Herzog & de Meuron
(Resuming my travel photos from months ago.)
At first, you could walk across the thousands of ceramic sunflower seeds. By the time I got there, visitor interaction had stopped over concerns about ceramic dust. So, we were left to gather around the edge of the exhibit. A truly beautiful and moving installation, once you know the story behind it.

Mar 23rd

2 notes

Sunflower Seeds, Tate Modern, London, England
Exhibition by Ai Weiwei
Building by Herzog & de Meuron

(Resuming my travel photos from months ago.)

At first, you could walk across the thousands of ceramic sunflower seeds. By the time I got there, visitor interaction had stopped over concerns about ceramic dust. So, we were left to gather around the edge of the exhibit. A truly beautiful and moving installation, once you know the story behind it.