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Jeanne Yang Photography

a grainy peek into a grainy life

About

About

Jeanne Yang Photography is a blog based mostly in San Francisco. It is a collection of pretty things, thoughts, and recollections.

All content © Jeanne Yang unless otherwise noted.

Jeanne is on Instagram and Twitter

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My grandfather (鍾肇政; 20 January 1925 - 16 May 2020) was known as the Doyen of the Taiwanese Nativist Literature Movement. He wrote novels, essays, and short stories. When I was young, I declared that I would become a writer just like him. That hasn’t quite happened yet, unless one considers Instagram posts to be writings. . There’s a lot I want to say - and a lot I don’t know how to say. We were not particularly close; my family lives in the U.S., and he lived in Taiwan. And when I was young, we did not have the technology to converse and/or see each other immediately such as via video chat. Between the language and distance barriers, closeness between us was almost impossible. . However, we were family, and I mourn his passing. . When I was little he would come to the U.S. to visit us, and every trip to Taiwan was not, like my other Taiwanese friends, to the giant metropolis of Taipei, but rather to the tiny village of Longtan, where my mother grew up and where my grandfather lived. My memories of him are of the lingering scent of his cigarettes and the high pitched hum of his hearing aid. My brothers and I would be hesitant talking to him in Chinese, but he never made us feel uncomfortable when we were searching for the right words and phrases. In any case, it probably would have been okay if we had used English. Like the others of his generation who were born into Japan-occupied Taiwan, he spoke Japanese first, Hakkanese, Mandarin Chinese, and, somewhere along the line, had also picked up some English. . He was always interested in us (what we were doing, what we liked, when we were going to get married and have babies), and it made us, the distant family abroad, still feel like close family. My last visit was exactly two years ago, May 2018, for my wedding reception. He was old and forgetful already, but it was good to see him. It was always good to see him. . He would always tell stories. Stories about himself, stories about my mother, all sorts of stories. I hope one day I’ll be able to read the stories he wrote. . 35mm film photo of my grandfather and of me; January 2016. . #jeanneyang2020

The things I worry about today are not the same things I worried about a year ago. . 🏚......🏚......🏚......🏚......🏚 . 35mm film photo taken of at Bodie State Historic Park; September 2019. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

This quarantine has me feeling isolated and alone, kind of like this ghost town. The buildings of this town are practicing their social distancing. . 🏚......🏚......🏚......🏚......🏚 . 35mm film photo taken of Bodie State Historic Park; September 2019. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

Throw back to last Labor Day weekend when we went camping in Yosemite and hiking at Bodie State Historic Park, a mining ghost town. 👻 . Skies for days upon days! Star gazing just be amazing here. It was also fascinating to see how these folks lived back in the day. . Guessing that this Labor Day is going to look very different.🧐 . 35mm film photo in Bodie State Historic Park; September 2019. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

More stalking people’s homes in Palm Springs. . Armchair traveling. Aka, reliving my travels via posting on IG. . 35mm film photo of someone’s home in Palm Springs, CA [edit: it’s the Kaufmann Desert House; thanks, @william_hsien !]; from my girls weekend with @bypriscillalee in September 2018. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

That corridor and that light...! I’m in love! Totally stalking on other people’s houses. 😅 I can’t help myself, though. . 35mm film photo of someone’s home (as seen over the fence) in Palm Springs, CA; from my girls weekend with @bypriscillalee in September 2018. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

Plants come in all shapes and sizes. Loving the colors of these succulents and cacti from @moortenbotanicalgarden. . And I’m loving how the colors came out on the film (Portra 400, I think!). Love love love film photography. 📷 . 35mm film photo of the greenhouse at Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs, CA; from my girls weekend with @bypriscillalee in September 2018. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

Carry on my wayward son For there'll be peace when you are done Lay your weary head to rest Don't you cry no more... . -Kansas, Carry on Wayward Son . Speaking of wayward sons, mine has refused to nap all day. Maybe he is THAT excited to spend Mother’s Day with me? 🤨 . 35mm film photo of a road lined with palm trees in Palm Springs, CA; September 2018. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm #igerssf

More places I won’t be going this year. 😬 . This is why I take photos — to relive the trips I’ve taken in the past. It’s thrilling to look at old photos with new eyes. It’s like I’m there all over again! . (To be sure, I have absolutely no idea where in France this photo was taken. Only that it was in France. And the weather was super hot! 🥵 ) . 35mm film photo taken in somewhere in France, June 2019. . #jeanneyang2020 #filmphotography #35mm #analogphotography #theanalogueproject #filmisnotdead #canonae1 #ishootfilm #believeinfilm #womenwhoshootfilm

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Tag: Essay

Ooh de lally (Thoughts on Solo International Travel for Work)

I often pass this fella on my way to my company’s Hong Kong office from my hotel. Undistracted by passing traffic and immune to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, he looks like he’s listening to a storyteller weave a fascinating story. // 35mm film photo, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, August 2016. I travel […]

Read More Ooh de lally (Thoughts on Solo International Travel for Work)

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