We all move on. I've moved on too.
I want a fresh start, so.. GOODBYE BLOGGER, HELLO TUMBLR.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Don't fight the rope
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| Image copyright Ian Ho 2011 |
What a bobbing experience I had this morning! Tried wakeboarding for the very first time!
It's quite a bit of fun, but I'm experiencing the consequences now:( My head still feels like it's bobbing up and down, and there's a little bit of water stubbornly stuck in my ears. Not to mention being totally burnt.
I thought it seemed simple enough. At least it looked simple enough. You slip your legs into the wakeboard, grab the handle, crouch down low, then wait for the motorboat to slowly pull you up. Once you're up, you just.. simply ride the wave!
But boyohboy was I wrong. On my first few attempts, I struggled to stand up. I could never hold onto the handle more than a few seconds after the boat moved. At the instance I tried to stand, I would fall back and then drown in an overwhelming torrent of seawater. The boat would then turn back to pick me up, the instructor would correct me, and this frustrating cycle continued for a while and I was like OHH SO IT ISN'T THAT EASY AFTER ALL.
What was my problem? Well, a few things. I remember the instructor telling me, "hang on to the rope, don't hold on. Hang on!!" The first attempt I didn't grip the handle properly. I needed to really hang on, grip onto it firmly and not just hold it. Second problem: I was trying too hard to fight the rope, i.e. I was exerting strength against the boat trying to pull myself up. The trick was to straighten your hands and then let the boat move and naturally pull yourself up, not the other way around. The instructor sarcastically told me, "this boat has 200 horse power, you don't even have 1 horse power and you're trying to pull on the boat?!" HAHA. Besides that, I also had problems with my getting-up posture. I found it a little amusing how I was treated like a small kid learning how to STAND-UP -.-
The first round I didn't succeed in standing on the board, not at all. But thankfully, upon the second round, I managed to effortlessly get myself up! At that instant I felt a sudden sense of accomplishment and freedom, to feel the wind against my chest and the churning waves beneath. But I only managed to remain surfing for a short while before falling off again. :( Thankfully, long enough for my friends to snap a shot!
I did what they said - not to fight the rope, to hang on tight, not to think too much about balancing and just getting up naturally. AND I DID IT. I WAKEBOARDED FOR MY VERY FIRST TIME! =D
But I took back more than a skill today. Yknow what? I took back a precious lesson.
I saw that riding the ocean waves and riding the waves of life aren't any different. God is my 200 horse power boat that's always steadily pulling me along. And I'm always the small guy behind clinging on desperately to the handle that's called life. God pulls me along in life. And in order to stand up and ride the waves that come my way, I gotta HANG ON TIGHT AND NOT FIGHT THE ROPE.
I gotta let the boat pull me, not struggle with the boat. God has to pull me, because alone I'm powerless and weak. He's doing all the work - steering the boat, powering the boat, and all I need to do is hang on.
Simple enough a reminder for all of us.
Hang on tight and don't fight the rope. That way you'll survive and not fall.
You should try wakeboarding too:)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Saying I love u
These past few weeks have been really hard for me.. many things happened, I wasn't doing well emotionally, and there was just so much of questioning God and disappointment with Him over so many things.
I finally decided to take tonight and spend time soaking in His presence and seeking after Him. Frankly speaking it's been ages since I set aside time to reconnect with my big 'CO' up there. And as I was singing songs and praising Him and all, I just broke down in tears when I felt His presence surround me.. and it was that kind of a sweet feeling which I haven't felt in a very long while. I miss God's presence, his warm embrace soooo much. That feeling of security, of assurance, and of His everlasting love for me... really only my God can make me feel this way.
Strange thing, as I was half tearing and half singing, the Lord just gave me a song. With my guitar missing one string, I just started to strum a few chords and then amazingly the words just came out spontaneously and I started singing it. And I know this is a song from my Daddy.
I am safe in Your arms
I am forgiven and accepted here
I am safe in Your embrace
You never let me go
No never let me go
I want to worship You
I'm coming back to You Lord
I've run a million miles
Went a million places
But I'm home now
Chorus:
Jesus
I love You, I love You, I love You
You are good
You are strong
You are awesome almighty Father
The same today, tomorrow and forever.
You're the comforter of the storm
And forever I can sing
I love You Lord
I love You Lord
I might record it down some time soon (and figure a title), but I hope this song that God gave me will find you well wherever you are in your life, whatever issues you may be grappling.
Situations might not change, but guess what? Our God will never change too!! And this is my greatest source of comfort. That God will ALWAYS remain God. And because of that we have EVERY reason to still praise and say "I love You". :)
Our God is above every situation. And HOPE IN CHRIST NEVER FAILS.
I finally decided to take tonight and spend time soaking in His presence and seeking after Him. Frankly speaking it's been ages since I set aside time to reconnect with my big 'CO' up there. And as I was singing songs and praising Him and all, I just broke down in tears when I felt His presence surround me.. and it was that kind of a sweet feeling which I haven't felt in a very long while. I miss God's presence, his warm embrace soooo much. That feeling of security, of assurance, and of His everlasting love for me... really only my God can make me feel this way.
Strange thing, as I was half tearing and half singing, the Lord just gave me a song. With my guitar missing one string, I just started to strum a few chords and then amazingly the words just came out spontaneously and I started singing it. And I know this is a song from my Daddy.
I am safe in Your arms
I am forgiven and accepted here
I am safe in Your embrace
You never let me go
No never let me go
I want to worship You
I'm coming back to You Lord
I've run a million miles
Went a million places
But I'm home now
Chorus:
Jesus
I love You, I love You, I love You
You are good
You are strong
You are awesome almighty Father
The same today, tomorrow and forever.
You're the comforter of the storm
And forever I can sing
I love You Lord
I love You Lord
I might record it down some time soon (and figure a title), but I hope this song that God gave me will find you well wherever you are in your life, whatever issues you may be grappling.
Situations might not change, but guess what? Our God will never change too!! And this is my greatest source of comfort. That God will ALWAYS remain God. And because of that we have EVERY reason to still praise and say "I love You". :)
Our God is above every situation. And HOPE IN CHRIST NEVER FAILS.
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." - Romans 5:5
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| Image copyright Ian Ho 2010 |
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Nostalgia
I can't believe it's already one year since trackers.. Was looking through pics of this year's trackers (2011) on fb just now, and as I saw pics of them playing games and all, I couldn't help but put a smile on my face, cos I was just so happy these youths joined and I know they'll never leave the same.
It also triggered back all the memories I had last year with my batch. Good times.. Makes me feel so nostalgic. Ahh really miss those moments. Yknow looking back I really thank God for giving me trackers; I dare say it is the most life-changing 3 months of my life, the most meaningful experience I had in my 19 years. I especially thank God for the friendships made, and I know these relationships will last because they're bounded by our love for Christ.
I WANNA TURN BACK TIME AND DO TRACKERS ALL OVER AGAIN.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A question of definition
It's hard to define what Art is. We've tried, argued, debated.. but never came to any consensus. Art is vague; it is elusive in nature. We all know that. And not surprisingly, so is photography.
At every stage of my journey in photography, I have come to embrace different definitions of what photography is. Throughout the years, the meaning of this craft personally to me has kept on evolving.
When I first started off some 4 years ago, photography meant equipment, gear and technical competency. That was a very superficial (and oh how inaccurate) initial view I had. Once I got pass the obsession over gear to realise that the photographer matters so much more, I then believed that photography is about beauty. I aimed to capture all things aesthetically beautiful. I patiently awaited sunsets, took pictures of nature, flowers, scenery.. all things that appeared 'nice'.
But soon enough I realised an even nicer definition of photography. I began to see that photography, at a broader level, could be distilled into two general themes: Light, and Life. Photography then, to me was about capturing life through light. Light the medium, life the subject. I thought this definition worked pretty well, and held true for every genre of photography, except maybe say still-life.
But as I moved on, I began to become more specific in my definitions. I saw the critical importance of photography, and narrowed down what the crux of "life through light" really was. After killing some brain cells, I decided it boiled down to this: memories and moments. Photography is about making permanent a fleeting moment in history. It is powerful - never underestimate the importance of that family snapshot or that black and white Chinatown photo.
While all these were "true" definitions, I somehow felt I didn't entirely capture the artistic element of photography. Only last year, when I started playing with strobes, a bit of portraiture, and a lot of conceptual photography did I understand for myself that it's also about emotion through expression. Really, photography in its purest is an art form, and like any art, it's a means of expression. I then used photography as a means to visually represent the emotions and feelings I was experiencing. That was when photography became personal and emotional, and I could really identify with the photos I took.
Through these few years of growth, meanings kept shifting. Which leads to my conclusion that you can never quite pin down what photography really means to you, because you'll never fully know. Perhaps the question of definition is not that important, but the way you go about obtaining these definitions.
To end it all, let me offer you another definition of photography: Photography is not about photography. At this point in writing, this is what photography means to me. It means everything else in this world, except for photography. And a camera is the tool which helps me see without a camera. Food for thought :)
At every stage of my journey in photography, I have come to embrace different definitions of what photography is. Throughout the years, the meaning of this craft personally to me has kept on evolving.
When I first started off some 4 years ago, photography meant equipment, gear and technical competency. That was a very superficial (and oh how inaccurate) initial view I had. Once I got pass the obsession over gear to realise that the photographer matters so much more, I then believed that photography is about beauty. I aimed to capture all things aesthetically beautiful. I patiently awaited sunsets, took pictures of nature, flowers, scenery.. all things that appeared 'nice'.
But soon enough I realised an even nicer definition of photography. I began to see that photography, at a broader level, could be distilled into two general themes: Light, and Life. Photography then, to me was about capturing life through light. Light the medium, life the subject. I thought this definition worked pretty well, and held true for every genre of photography, except maybe say still-life.
But as I moved on, I began to become more specific in my definitions. I saw the critical importance of photography, and narrowed down what the crux of "life through light" really was. After killing some brain cells, I decided it boiled down to this: memories and moments. Photography is about making permanent a fleeting moment in history. It is powerful - never underestimate the importance of that family snapshot or that black and white Chinatown photo.
While all these were "true" definitions, I somehow felt I didn't entirely capture the artistic element of photography. Only last year, when I started playing with strobes, a bit of portraiture, and a lot of conceptual photography did I understand for myself that it's also about emotion through expression. Really, photography in its purest is an art form, and like any art, it's a means of expression. I then used photography as a means to visually represent the emotions and feelings I was experiencing. That was when photography became personal and emotional, and I could really identify with the photos I took.
Through these few years of growth, meanings kept shifting. Which leads to my conclusion that you can never quite pin down what photography really means to you, because you'll never fully know. Perhaps the question of definition is not that important, but the way you go about obtaining these definitions.
To end it all, let me offer you another definition of photography: Photography is not about photography. At this point in writing, this is what photography means to me. It means everything else in this world, except for photography. And a camera is the tool which helps me see without a camera. Food for thought :)
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