Hello! I created this space as a guestbook for the zine. I would love to know what you thought about Be Still With Me - how it made you feel, what it made you think about, if you were able to take a moment for yourself because of it…really, whatever you like to share - good or bad!
Leave your thoughts below in the comment section if you’d like. Thank you again for your support!!!
-Po Chi , January 2024
I’ve been chasing cherry blossoms since March and desperately photographing them with all my might. I’ve been so lucky! I got to enjoy them in Tokyo…in Nagasaki prefecture where I saw some of the most beautiful trees in Shimabara (WITH NO CROWDS) and then we were in Hokkaido when some trees were still in bloom.
To say they are beautiful is an understatement. My favorite part of cherry blossom season is watching people enjoy them on an everyday basis. I love that there is something called hanami - a tradition where people go and enjoy these flowers…they bring a big picnic, beverages, and a picnic mat and they gather with family and friends under a cherry tree. And you know what…while I super love it when blossoms are in bloom and you can stare into these delicate petals and see them glow through the light, nothing can describe the feeling of witnessing the petals falling lightly one by one in the wind. I wish I can bottle up that magic.
Anyways. here is a subset of the results of my obsession…..
All are Kodak Portra 400 with the exception of the BW image, which is Ilford HP5 pushed 2 stops.
I am so very excited to announce that I am holding my first photography exhibit in Tokyo, Japan from Friday, May 26th to Wednesday, June 7th at Photo Kanon Gallery in Togoshi Ginza.
For years, I wondered why some work gets exhibited in galleries while some don’t. I dreamt about exhibiting my work in a gallery somehow but always was too sheepish to share and too scared to try. It wasn’t until we moved to Tokyo and I came across so many exhibits that I realized artists here share their work all the time just for the sake of sharing and I loved that idea.
This year in Tokyo has been amazing and I have so many feelings leaving this life that was always temporary to begin with. So I thought, what would be better than to wrap this year up with a bow by hosting a little exhibit showing my favorite images from my year here. Not going to lie, it is still nerve-wrecking but hey, I’m excited to share and receive feedback!
If you have time, then I hope you’ll pay it a visit (and please sign my guestbook if you go!) and please go enjoy Togoshi Ginza.
My announcement postcards (click on image to enlarge)! If you’d like a physical copy, I’ve left some in my favorite spots in Tokyo - Popeye Camera, Monogram, Foto Ueno, and the Travelers Factory in Nakameguro.
Let’s document our days
Everyday we wake up and when we are tired, we go to sleep. What are the moments between waking and sleeping that difine your life? The moments, big and small, that make you thankful to be exactly where you are?
I’d like to share a few of these moments from my year living abroad in Tokyo.
日々を記録しよう
毎日私たちは目を覚まし、疲れたら眠りにつきます。目覚めてから眠りにつくまでの間には、どのような瞬間があなたの人生を形作っているのでしょうか？
それが大きなことでも小さなことでも、今あなたがいる場所に感謝する瞬間は何でしょうか？
私が東京で過ごした海外生活の中から、そのような瞬間をいくつか紹介したいと思います。
Gallery Address: Photo Kanon Gallery in Togoshi Ginza - GOOGLE MAP LINK
DATES: The exhibit will run from Friday, May 26 to Wednesday, June 7. Gallery is closed Thursday, June 1.
Gallery Hours: 10:00-20:00 (CLOSED THURSDAY!)
Things to do:
It isn’t a Po Chi thing without some discussion of food…One of the reasons I chose Photo Kanon is because I love walking along the Togoshi Ginza Shopping Street and eating my way through. It’s low key and there are so many little shops and restaurants to browse and snack/eat at. Please take the exhibit as an excuse to walk around Togoshi Ginza…stop by a karaage stall for a freshly fried snack…and then pick up some teeny tiny taiyaki of various flavors to share at the Taiyaki shop or browse at all the random little shops all around.
I made a google list of the places I’ve gone to in Togoshi Ginza: LINK! Also, make sure to share awesome places you stumble upon with me please!
Recently some film friends and I decided to shoot a Day in the Life together on a random Wednesday in March. What was your day like on March 8, 2023? Mine went a little like this…..
Camera: Pentax645n
Film: Portra 400 + Ilford HP5 pushed 2 stops
Film Development: Foto Ueno
Hi friends, how are you all doing?!?!! It’s a brand new year! It’s been so crazy busy that I haven’t had time to think about 2023 and all there is to come very much, have you???
Word of the Year: A few years ago, a friend of mine told me she picks a word at the beginning of every year - a word that she keeps in mind. I really liked that the word can serve as something that you want to be mindful of or a word that reminds you to work on something you want to work on. After a lot of deliberations, my word for this year is GROW.
There is a lot I want to do this year and in particular, there is a big goal I want to accomplish. Being in a foreign country really made me take stock of my comfort zones, habits, and behavior..it made me more aware of who I am as a person, my strengths and my flaws too. I feel like myself completely these days and there is so much comfort to know and accept who I am and have this clarity that I am exactly where I should be at this moment. This doesn’t mean I know exactly what I am doing and what’s to come but I do know that I can figure it out somehow. I have a lot of goals for my personal relationships this year, so I can care for and love the people in my life better. Professionally, a big goal that I have is to release a photo book or a zine from images that I created and will create from this year abroad. I’ve always been in awe of people who are good at sharing their work and I am working really hard on this because I do want to share but like a lot of creatives, tend to second guess myself, get overwhelmed, and give up sharing. I also realized that while sharing electronically is great, I really really want people to experience my work in a tangible fashion, on paper…whether in a book or at an exhibit. And so, I picked the word grow to remind myself of all the things I want to become better at and do and to not give up!!!
Anyhow, thanks for listening to this gibberish!!!
Have a wonderful day and here are some of my favorite panoramic shots from my trusty Pentax Espio 120sw, the little point and shoot film camera that is always tucked inside my backpack.
Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County based Lifestyle Family and Newborn Photographer. She captures real-life moments with a documentary approach on film to tell your family's story and specializes in producing long-lasting storytelling albums and heirloom wall art for her clients. Po Chi Fung Photography L.L.C. is located in Ventura, California and serves Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County - Ventura, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Pasadena, San Marino, and other surrounding areas.
Hi friends, how are you doing? Feeling better now that mercury is no longer in retrograde? I know I do!
I’m still trying to get a good handle on Tokyo life and slowly accepting that that might never happen, at least not before we return to Ventura, California! BUT a little routine is starting to form and I sure am making the most of this city. I’ve got my little flower shop where I like to buy one flower for my little vase which adds cheers to our apartment and we have our weekly rotation of restaurants we love eating at every Friday after the kids’ soccer practice. I’ve lost count of how many rice balls I’ve eaten from the little rice shop around the corner of our apartment and the number of bottles of CC lemon with the special ingredient to combat fatigue I’ve drank. Despite Google Translate, I still have NO IDEA what makes that drink work! I’m also sight seeing as much as I can while the kids are at school and Jeremy’s at work.
Some days it is easy to not photograph..especially when days feel so very ordinary. But those are the days that SHOULD be photographed, you know? My friend, Micah and I were chatting one day and we decided it’d be fun to photograph a little of our day on a random September Sunday..and that’s what we did. I dusted off my Contax G1 and popped in a roll of Lomo Lady Grey that I bought when I was in Kyoto. Here are some of my favorites from that random Sunday where E and I visited the Matsuya Ginza biannual used camera sale and the Sailor Moon Museum….and a few on that roll from other ordinary days. I hope you enjoy it :)
-Po Chi
Nerd facts:
Film: Lomography Lady Grey B&W 35mm.
Camera: Contax G1
Film Lab: Foto Ueno in Tokyo
Hi friends, how are you doing lately? More and more, it feels really unsatisfying sharing photographs on Instagram, do you feel that way? It feels so sad scrolling through other people’s images, spending just 3 seconds looking at someone’s story, and not having much of a place for a proper dialog or greeting. I’ll still share there but I’ve decided to blog more again and share images and stories here.
I’ve been in Japan for over a month now. I miss Ventura’s beaches, ocean breezes, and our constant 70 deg weather, but am slowly adjusting to the hot and humid weather here in Tokyo. Instead of photographing sea glass, ocean scapes, wind blow hair, I’m making new images and documenting the new sights and new people that are in front of me. Being in a complete different country and space surely has made me reflect on all the things that I love about Ventura and Ventura County, amazing how a change of scenery can do that. I’m really enjoying being in Tokyo but I think I’ll also be super excited to head back to Ventura when it is time.
Anyhow! As a film photographer, it is super important to work with a film processing lab that you can get to know, communicate with and love. I’ve used the FIND Lab for almost 8 years now and finding a reliable film lab here was one of the things I looked into super early when we know we’d be spending some time in Tokyo. I think I’ve found a lab and I was so excited to see this test roll that I shot and share with you. I took it on my way to the lab and documented some tidbits of my new sights, I hope you enjoy seeing them!
The kiddos start school next week and I am excited to finally have some me-time to start working on a lot of the things I have planned and doing a better job sharing photographs and our stories from this adventure! Talk to you soon.
Thanks for reading friends and let’s talk soon.
For film nerds:
Camera: Hasselblad 500CM, 50mm lens
Film: Portra 400
Lab: Foto Ueno, Shibuya City
Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County based Lifestyle Family and Newborn Photographer. She’s currently in Tokyo but is looking forward to being back in Ventura, which will come in the blink of an eye! She captures real-life moments with a documentary approach on film to tell your family's story and specializes in producing long-lasting storytelling albums and heirloom wall art for her clients. Po Chi Fung Photography located in Ventura, California and serves Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County - Ventura, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Pasadena, San Marino, and other surrounding areas.
Happy 2022, friends! How are you all doing? It was an insanely busy end of the year and an already crazy start to 2022…but I’m happy to slow down a little this morning and share a personal project that I did at the end of the year last year. Long ago, a wise friend had taught me the importance of personal work - no matter how long you’ve photographed, make sure to shoot for yourself, try new things, and keep practicing and that’s how you will stay creatively fresh, happy, and ready for new projects. I’ve never forgotten that advice.
With the pandemic and the feeling that I was doing the same thing all the time, I decided I needed to do a personal project. Since moving to Ventura County from Washington D.C. in 2017, I was fascinated by the large swaths of agricultural areas that I drove by all the time. It made me wonder how these farms operated…how in the world did they harvest ALL those cabbages? And having studied environmental science for my master’s, worked on drought issues, worked at a water district and served as the Ventura River Watershed Coordinator for a brief period of time, I gained a deeper appreciation and curiosity for the agricultural community and the work that they do, day in and day out. It is no surprise that the agricultural community is often labeled the “bad guys” in water conservation but truly California water policy is a scary beast of a topic of discussion that would take years to explain and untangle. But in the years that I’ve worked in that water space, what I do see is that as with all things in life, one-size fits all labels are often wrong. What I have seen up close is that many in the Ag community try their best to do the right thing. And unlike some people’s perception that the Ag community does whatever they like, their work is subjected to many rules and regulations - EPA standards and water allocations…in addition to the unpredictability of weather and the changing climate. But the thing that baffles me so much is there seems to be very little appreciation of the people who farm our lands to grow food for us. It feels that sometimes because it is so easy to drive to Trader Joes or whichever grocery store we go to to put kale and strawberries in our grocery baskets, that we’ve forgotten that humans had to grow these things and harvest it. People bend their backs even on hot, hot days, to pluck each strawberry or cut each stem of flower, so that we can enjoy it. And I think this was why I wanted to do this project - I wanted to see a farm up close and document some of the things I saw and if I was lucky, perhaps even some of the people who worked there. Here are some of my favorite images from my morning at Carranza Farm, I hope you enjoy these tidbits. And if you can, support your local farmers, they are truly an over looked group of people who do so much to keep our communities nourished. Have a good day!
Special thanks to Jenny at Carranza Farm who was so generous to let me roam around the farm and photograph.
Film nerd info: Kodak Portra 400
Hello! I am a Ventura County family and newborn photographer. I also work with small businesses in Ventura County and Los Angeles County on branding and commercial photography projects and specialize in telling the stories of small businesses from a documentary perspective. If you have a story you’d like to share with your audience, then reach out and I would love to talk to you about how I can help.
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Po Chi Fung is a Ventura County based Photographer specializing in children portraits in studio, professional headshots, and branding and documentary photography for businesses. Po Chi Fung Photography is located in Ventura, California and serves Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, and Los Angeles County - Ventura, Ojai, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Santa Monica, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Pasadena, San Marino, and other surrounding areas.
