Earlier this year, when Sabrina and I visited Los Angeles, I had just hit the tender age of 30. I was off the heels of my 11th year as a photographer and was more than open to a shift in perspective.
We spent a couple of weeks tagging along on photo shoots with LA legend, Ja Tecson, and scavenger hunting through dreamy recommendations from our friend Rosanna Peng. By the end of the trip, it felt like we had cruised through every nook and cranny of the sprawling city.
During our visit, there was an exhibition at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures about legendary director Hayao Miyazaki. It was a career retrospective that outlined his body of work, giving the viewers a “behind-the-scenes” look into his creative process. From sketches to screen, the exhibit illustrated how he took his questions about life, poured them into his characters, and built his own worlds to explore the answers.
Through his animations, Miyazaki helps his audience to remember the quiet truths behind what it really means to be human. His sentiment being that, in this world of chaos and heartbreak, there also exists quiet moments of tranquility and heroism. That even in the face of insurmountable odds, there is still beauty and hope to be found in the most unlikely places.
Questioning my own path forward as an artist, I found myself studying every Miyazaki quote in the exhibition, looking for a bit of creative guidance. There were many hidden gems throughout, but here was one quote that I really took to heart :
“I’ve always thought that, if given the chance, I might as well do what I really want.” – Hayao Miyazaki
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For me, the picture of what I want to do creatively hasn’t always been clear; but as I start this new decade in life, I’ll be trying my best to capture beauty in unlikely places, looking for the truth in quiet moments when I find them. It has been a long year since LA, but we’re approaching the final chapters of 2022 with a bunch of new lessons learned. I even made my own book this year, because I had the chance, and I decided it