“Then came the healing time, hearts started to shine, 

soul felt so fine, oh what a freeing time it was.”

― Aberjhani, Songs from the Black Skylark 

H is  a good fiend of mine and often gets caught in front of my camera because we spend a lot of time together. Strong-willed and definitely opinionated on the outside but a huge softy on the inside, she was the first one to sign up for the Spring Portrait for Paws sessions. Not a big surprise since she also loves dogs, although she has a love-hate relationship with our crazy pooch Tomas. 

We spent a short afternoon in the beginning of Spring as February was ending, just walking around her neighborhood which reminded me so much of the residential neighborhoods of Suzhou, with their meandering canals and bamboo groves. We ended the shoot with coffee at a newly opened Ble Patisserie which was just around the corner from their neighborhood. 

A few photos from that afternoon. 

 “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

― Virginia Woolf 

A Room of One's Own

Brunch places are popping  up left and right in the leafy neighborhoods of CQ. And I think I prefer them over the cafes because they serve serious food: Western-style breakfasts of French toasts, sausages or bacon and scrambled eggs, or hearty burgers paired with fries and shakes. You didnˋt have this kind of food this accessible a few years ago, when it was a choice between IKEA or Pizza Hut if you wanted anything that resembled Western food. 

Sadly, I didnˋt get a photo of the burger the husband ordered but the coffee was good and Iˋm looking forward to trying out their menu on the second visit. The interiors are definitely Western too, which is a surprise since our local friend told us that this is actually a part of a Taiwanese food chain. So go figure. And the husband likes it so much that he asked me to take a photo of him like he owns the place. ☺

But regardless of origins, the food looks decent and the area is one that is really conducive for walking after a good dinner, so this place is definitely on my list of Go-Tos when we have the time. 

 “The real challenge is not what stands before us. 

Rather, it’s in believing what resides within us.”

― Craig D. Lounsbrough

Shot these portraits of Jessie for her professional headshots and as part of the PortraitsforPaws sessions. Her former boss is a good friend of mine and he wanted her to have fresh headshots to use for professional networking so it was a perfect example of things falling into place for the animals and for their company as well. 

We took the portraits at MK Space, a co-working space behind Xingfu Square that had a really great view of the park and was just right beside the subway station. 

J is fresh out of college, a little shy but definitely a doer in a quiet, determined kind of way.  I totally enjoyed the short time I spent with her, even as we snapped away trying to get the most out of the sunset. She recently took over the directorship of Startup Grind Chongqing, definitely a significant achievement for someone so young! 

A few shots from that afternoon. 

 “I think... if it is true that

there are as many minds as there

are heads, then there are as many

kinds of love as there are hearts.”

― Leo Tolstoy,

Anna Karenina

The PortraitsforPaws Mini Sessions has connected me to so many people, many of whom love animals and are more than willing to do what they can to help the rescued strays of this big city. Among them is Grace who I met one cold day in January. I had wanted to wrap up the fall sessions but this was the only day that was free for both of us, so I resigned myself to doing a Fall session in the middle of CQ's brutal winter (hence the puffy jackets).  

No regrets thought, Grace is a joy to know and even lovelier to shoot. 

We were lucky enough to use a floral shop/cafe as our playground for the afternoon which was a dream that finally came true. The venue came with all sorts of 'props' since they were still setting up the shop so stuff that was lying around were free for us to use, from cutlery to flowers in glass bottles to Kinfolk magazines! Needless to say, my heart was full.

A few shots from that afternoon.