The Rousing Dragon

China, the last country on my itenarary, tis also the least that I would visit. On this day, I unloaded the burdon on my back and setoff to search for my roots (if it truely were). Well, my grandpa was from Taiwan and Taiwan being part of China, naturally the correlation manifests here.

A pack of 11 to go, a pack of 11 to return. Each of which soul has a unique destination. On the surface, all appeared concurrent. Peel away the onion skins and u will see 11 naked souls, each seeking for a destination.

For this trip, I did not really find a new heart. Rather, I get to understand the amount of knowledge I deciphered from everyday living is perceived as the bible. When u hear an elderly reiterating the same gospel to ur ears during those 8 days, u know u have arrived before ur age. On a thought, it's quite scary. Or so Jeff thought.

In a word to describe this trip, I would say it almost feels like a tribulation. In a place that's dry and cold, the gregarious humans seem to think otherwise and tis these folks that added that extra warmth in a foreign land. To them, a big thank u. U know who u r.

On the first day, the Jade Dragon Snow mountain welcomed Jeff with open arms in the chilly morning sun. All was fine, with the exception of one. A distant headache began to develop. In his glee, Jeff banished that nagging feeling to the dark fluid in his brain.

3000m ASL and climbing.

At the foot of the mountain, the ancient forest beckoned. My heart opened for that briefest moments and the shutter melted into the background.

With each frame, my breath caught and released. The air was so thin that every step was a screaming agony for my deflated lungs. The first signs of high altitude sickness set in.

Mother was near. She gave Jeff a lull, filled his lungs and in an instant, recharged. The next moment, she peeled back the veil and revealed her artwork, for Jeff transformed it into eternity.

e key keeper

Magic word pls.

P.S. The story unfolds on a Saturday GMT+8hrs

knock knock

is anyone home? the waiting continues...

Some random thoughts: never have my keeper rate exceed 200 per trip. From Shangri-la, Jeff brought with him fond memories, some flu virus, a throbbing headache & a new heart.

Like a little gremlin, the aura unfolds and reaches its epitome, and wanes. Eight days to bud, eight days to flower, eight days to fruit, eight days to ripen, eight days to harvest.

Full harvest! A smile dances across Jeff's face.

i m waiting

Man & Sax

I m back! Home sweet home...

P.S. In the coming days, a lov & hate story will unfold..

divide

if life is simply b & w. who's to differentiate rightfrom wrong, good from evil? jeff can never have enough of her preaching.

jeff packs and leaves for Shangri-la, china...

P.S. Jeff was pleasantly surprised when he read this

"To be able to really see,, one must open not only one's eyes. One must above al, open one's heart."-Gaston Rébuffat, French Alpinist

Jeff's perspective stands as a culmination of 7 yrs of self cultivation to resonate this statement. Better late than never... n what's with this Jeff this Jeff that!!! wake up!

crack

perhaps it's a fusion? appearances can be deceiving.

layers

donkeys have layers, ogres have layers, jeff has layers, so do u. any idea what i was babbling about?

In the clouds

down with the Down's syndrome again. no words, only plenty of emotions, e mood pulsating like a bulbing neon light in screaming amber. stay clear or suffer my wrath.

Carefree

Reflects the state of mind I was in when this image was created. The caretaker was filling me in on something when my mind was focused on these goldfish.

colors of autumn

summer time, winter time, spring and autumn too. seasons will never change the way that i lov u.

Petrified

for eternity.

jeff straddled down to the museum and thought he could take some snippets of the masks from japan. however, he only managed 3 images when the security approached his shooting buddy and asked advised him otherwise.

Angel

i saw an angel

dark passion

careful, dun stare too hard else u'll fall into it.

P.S. alas! jeff has bought him over with his gift of the gap. a 400D and many more to go. jeff just sent his 35mm for sabbatical for a couple of months before returning to his embrace. he shall learn well with my weapon. soon, he shall see through the same eyes that jeff perceives about nature. tis a conversion program undercover...

tis an eye, tis no eye, tis everywhere, tis nowhere, tis in thy heart...

rest

slits of life

certainly sets my heart aflutter. while this image is less than perfect, it definitely fulfills my imagination of streaming morning light through slits. on this note, one wonders how jeff's heart will open up to the vista in shangri-la.

weaving

she loves to knit. this is one of her master piece, but only survived for a minute or two. beautiful moments are always short-lived.

strangely, this image reminds me of the star xrossed lovers "Romeo & Juliet" by S.S.

Delicacy

some refreshment from mum's mini garden

Courtship dance

strange to b coming from a female here.

Blue & green tanager

Yet another handsome feather to my collection. somehow i find the diffused greeb bg a bit boring. too many perfect perch takes the refreshment away. regardless, another trophy.

demure

unpretended, unstaged.

twinkle twinkle little stars

forever

must be wondering where those words gone? been indulging in computing quite a bit of late so have become yet again an eccentric man hidden in his cellar counting binary 01010101.

really, i went through my archives of "so precious" portraits and found all to be rubbish. i think i'll stick with mother N. though i must admit sometimes i would like to have a subject or two in frame, just for that additional touch. b it a foot or a torso, they sometimes do make a difference.