Visual Notes

Photography

Cameras and film arranged in front of a home bar

A blogger I once loved following, Tim, once said, “My advice is to make more use of that thing on the back of your phone. Compared with knowing everything under the sun, perhaps it matters more to hold on to the people right in front of you. Some say you do not have to understand photography, but you must understand life. It does not matter if your photographs are not good; what is most regrettable is failing to record the moment at all. Once many things have passed, they can no longer be reconstructed out of thin air. The instant you press the shutter, time stops there. Its meaning lies in turning a moment lived to the fullest into something eternal……” I could not agree more. Time punishes everyone who fails to record it. There is no longer even a single image or video that can take me back to beneath Zhongxuan Tower in 2015, a Hyde Park afternoon in 2017, the lunch-break wake-up bell playing The Wind Rises at No. 5 High School in the summer of 2018, nights spent working around the clock in the lab during the summer of 2022, or my starry-eyed, backpacker-like journey across half of China in 2024…… I do not want to look back on this chapter years from now and find only blurred memories. So in the days ahead, I will live well—and record it well.

Tools of the craft

My cameras

Digital · Mirrorless

Fujifilm X-S20

Acquired January 2025 · $1650

35mm · Film SLR

Canon AE-1

Acquired May 2026 · $525

35mm · Half-frame

Pentax 17

Acquired August 2026 · $550

Instant · Instax mini

Fujifilm Instax mini 99

Acquired January 2026 · $225

Product images © their respective manufacturers and retailers.

SoHo murals, New York · 2026.06

The Guggenheim Museum, New York · 2026.06

Hoboken, New Jersey · 2026.06

Musemu of Mordern Art, New York · 2026.06

CVPR conference, Denver · 2026.06

Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver · 2026.06

Elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver · 2026.06

Buckhorn Exchange Restaurant, Denver · 2026.06

Goat in Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver · 2026.06

Rocky Mountain National Park, Denver · 2026.06

Bison, Denver · 2026.06

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Denver · 2026.06

Manhattan Bridge, New York · 2026.05

Newport Center, New Jersey · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 400

Dumbo, New York · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 400

Empire State Building, New York · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200

Cafe, New York · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200

Yankee Stadium, New York · 2026.05

Washington Square, New York · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200

Newport, New Jersey · 2026.05

Newport, New Jersey · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200

Hoboken, New Jersey · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200

Hoboken, New Jersey · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200，Kodak Gold 200

Hoboken, New Jersey · 2026.05, Kodak Gold 200

Rainbow, Philadelphia · 2026.05

Pro Gun Vegas, Las Vegas · 2026.04

Zion National Park, Utah · 2026.04

Gas Station, Las Vegas · 2026.04

Zion National Park, Utah · 2026.04

Seligman, Arizona · 2026.04

Manhattan, New York · 2026.03

Bartending School, New York · 2026.03

MET, New York · 2026.02

Manhattan, New York · 2026.02

MoMA, New York · 2026.01

subway, New York · 2026.01

Washington Monument, DC · 2026.01

Chirstmas, New York · 2025.12

Union Square, New York · 2025.12

SOHO, New York · 2025.12

West Village, New York · 2025.12

Train Station, New York · 2025.11

Bryant Park, New York · 2025.11

Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles · 2025.10

Getty Villa, Los Angeles · 2025.10

Beverly Hill, Los Angeles · 2025.10

Channel Island, Los Angeles · 2025.10

king canyon, Los Angeles · 2025.10

Bryn Mawr, Philadelphia · 2025.09

Sunset, New York · 2025.09

Birthday, New York · 2025.07

Bookstore, New York · 2025.07

Cafe, New York · 2025.07

World Trade Center, New York · 2025.07

National Art Museum, DC · 2025.06

Aerospace Museum, DC · 2025.06

Niagara Fall, Niagara · 2025.06

Downtown, Pittsburg · 2025.06

Sunrise, Acadia · 2025.05

Harbor, Acadia · 2025.05

Coast, Acadia · 2025.05

Harbor, Acadia · 2025.05

Sunset, Acadia · 2025.05

Coast, Acadia · 2025.05

Lighthouse, Protland · 2025.05

Dog, Protland · 2025.05

Isabella Museum, Boston · 2025.05

Bird, Boston · 2025.05

Downtown, Boston · 2025.05

Tidal Basin, DC · 2025.03

Capitol Hill, DC · 2025.03

National Art Museum, DC · 2025.03