USC Career Fest

I was recently hired by USC’s Career Planning and Placement Center to produce “photojournalistic” coverage of their first-ever Career Fest, a week-long series of events to help people come to terms with the new state of the economy.

Ali Velshi, chief CNN business correspondent, was the keynote speaker for the event.

I hadn’t used my big 70-200 in a while, but I knew I’d need it for the events I covered. The big zoom would have weighed me down in my Europe travels, but was invaluable in getting really tight shots of Mr. Velshi and other key speakers.

Questions were fielded…

…resumes critiqued…

All in all, pretty standard coverage for me. Hopefully these photos (and all the rest I shot for the Career Center) will go towards making next year’s event even more of a success.

Back in LA

I’m finally getting the hang of being in LA again after 4 months abroad. Way, way behind on posting photos on this blog.

I’ve been spending a couple of weekends getting up to speed with shooting in LA again. It’s quite possible that this city has more interesting people per square mile than any other.

Above, the Sandgelopes beach bike ride, where LA bikers rode from Venice to Santa Monica over sand and through surf

I’m graduating this semester. It’s a world of opportunity out there, I’ve just got to figure out which ones to go for.

London Town

The moment I got off the train in London, I knew that I was going to love it – and I did!

Coming in on the Eurostar high speed rail from Paris was amazing – it really is the fastest way to get between the two cities, faster than flying. It crosses the strait at its narrowest point, in Calais, through an underground tunnel, and drops you right in the middle of London. No nasty airline check-ins, baggage claims or shuttle buses, you’re right where you need to be. It’s a lot roomier than any plane, too.

London has all the historical stuff that most European cities do – it’s been around since 1066 – but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the most modern, most hyperactive cities in the world.

London’s office district is much quieter than it was even a few years ago – it was hit even harder by the financial crisis than the United States was.

There is a great love of tradition here. Above, the changing of the guard at the Tower of London

Mind the gap, indeed – London’s tube (metro) is not the best, possibly because it’s so old (it was the first metro system in the world)

The London Eye (above) is the city’s newest landmark. The thing itself is gorgeous, the views from it somewhat less so.

Chinese food – possibly the best in Europe given Britain’s colonial legacy in Asia

Nightlife in London is quite good, and one of the main reasons to go. It’s one of those things that’s great for visitors, but even better for those who live there.

More than any other European city I’ve been to, London struck me as a place I could see myself living in. Some of this I can attribute to it being the least culturally distant from the places I enjoy – Hong Kong, LA and NY – but much of it comes from this lived-in quality it has. Between British English, the sights and sounds of London’s various boroughs and the huge amount of diversity, I felt that this wasn’t just a “checklist” city of tourist sights, but so much more.

The Hotline

My host university’s student council elections are pretty much the craziest thing ever. For one week, the two competing parties do anything and everything in their power to win your vote, with the process culminating in the Hotline, a night where everyone on campus can call their favorite party and ask for food or “fun” to be delivered to their dorm-step.  Manic partying ensues, enough to put an American frat house to shame

Since these are business students we’re dealing with, the delivery process is relatively well planned-out, at least at the start. Above, deliveries are sorted by building (C,D,E, etc)

At 10 PM the rush is on to deliver the goods to the voters, who will be taking to the polls the next day. Success at delivering a good time to the student body tonight is the best indicator of which candidates are right to run the BDE (student council), which handles administration-student relations and, more importantly, operates the largest on- and off-campus parties.

Mobs of candidates run through the halls, organizing everything from shopping-cart races to sumo-wrestling and food fights.

One of the crowd favorites is an order for one party’s mascot, complete with free salad, the better to start food fights with

Needless to say, studying does NOT take place this night.

Coming up: Photos from my trip to London, my new favorite European city

Paris Life

Things are getting hectic out here as far as schoolwork/job searching/Christmas planning goes, which is why I’ve not been 100% current with my blogging. I’ve yet to begin editing from a trip I went on this weekend, but here are some shots from Paris to tide y’all over in the meantime.

Italy

One nice thing about being in France is that you get to take breaks when the French do… which is quite often! Barely a month and a half into the semester, I got a week off from school and went to Italy with a big bunch of friends. It was quite the adventure – we did 4 cities in 7 days (down from 10), half of us got sick and I broke a lens somewhere between Florence and Venice (above) – a $500 repair!

We were in airports a lot, thanks to airport strikes and weird connections screwing us over.

This is the Sistine Chapel. You aren’t supposed to take pictures in it. Good luck stopping people, though..

The Vatican City (above 3 photos) had some amazing collections of Catholic-inspired art and architecture. As the world shifts towards secularism, the lowest common denominator and what is most profitable, we might never again see an era where people would be motivated to build such monuments to a higher power

Not much to see in Pisa beyond the tower that bears its name, though it is quite funny to see people trying to get their picture with it.

Florence (above) is quite nice. It’s one of those large cities that succeeds in having a rustic, small-town feel. Like many of the other places we went to, it was quite easy to get around on foot as most of the major sights are clustered together in the city center

There’s a LOT of art in this city, particularly Christian art. It’s quite overwhelming, but I actually found some of the art to be surprisingly inspiring.

Many of the churches we went to charged admission, with the result being that most of the people in them show their adoration and veneration with a camera rather than with prayer

Gondolas abound in Venice (there are about 400 licensed gondoliers), and they reminded me of my time spent on USC’s Dragonboat team.

Venice away from the canals is a maze of pathways and alleys, amazingly easy to get lost in. Wandering through these alleys alone and away from the rampant tourism in Italy was probably the most peaceful I felt the whole trip.

The parts of Italy I saw were beautiful, but I wish I had more time to get to know the place on a deeper level. My overall impression of it was a country rich in culture and tradition, but with a hugely commercial, touristy side that got in the way of its beauty.

Things I learnt last week

I took advantage of a rather sunny weekend in Paris to roam around, go to some conventions and do some exploring. Some things I found out:

1. There IS Chinese food in Paris, but it’s way too expensive. 14-20 E for a decent meal per person. They do get the Hong Kong-style ambience down, though.

2. Finding free passes to photo shows on the RER (train) rocks. I saw the very latest camera releases – let’s just say I have more than a few new Christmas wish list items now.

3. Corsets are hot, especially chocolate ones. Also, fashion shows are EVERYWHERE in Paris. Also, you CAN eat too much chocolate, medically proven!

4. Sacre-Coer is probably the touristy-est place in Paris. Even more so than the Eiffel Tower. I’ve been here 3 times in 8 days for no real reason aside from it being pretty.

5. The Moulin Rouge is just a red windmill. So overrated.

6. The Louvre closes late. And it’s pretty at night. Pyramids make anything look cool!

7. Antiques are cool. The shops at Montmarte have everything from 17th-century setpieces to antique watches and cameras in amazing condition, to French books and posters from the earlier part of the last century. I’m definitely coming back for some of this, despite how shady it can be at times.

8. So is graffiti.

9. Kids kicking you in the shin on the subway are less cool. Paris subways can get really packed, even on weekends when nobody is supposed to have work.

I also got the chance to sit down, look at what I’ve been shooting over the past 1.5 months and use some of it to update the site. Y’all can check it out at joshuasyphoto.com.

On the streets where I live

This is where I live – a sleepy little suburb about 45 minutes out of Paris by train.

Didn’t jet (drive) off to any locations last weekend – I decided to stay in Ile-de-France, the coolest destination in Europe instead.

Below, Vaux-le-Vicomte, the inspiration for the famous Chateau Versailles and a good 2-hour drive from Paris. The place exudes decadence.

I got lost a fair bit this weekend, too.

“8 Days of Gold” – a rare sale at Printemps, one of the most famous department stores in Paris…

…but the Gallerie Lafayette (above) is where I ended up spending my money. It helps that it’s prettier by a fair margin.

Belgium

When I imagined myself traveling around Europe, I didn’t think that I would be in cars as much as I have been over the past couple of weeks. On another whim, another group of friends and I rented a car to drive to Belgium, which is a little more distance- and time-wise as driving from LA to San Diego.

After some kayaking in Dinant (above) we hit up Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union and home to some of the top culinary delights in Europe

Above, the European Commission, one of the high offices of the European Union. Unlike the ornate houses of government in many of the EU’s member states, the EC’s offices are exactly that – towering skyscrapers that exude bureaucracy.

The Atomium was built for the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. The structure is in the shape of an iron molecule and about 10 stories tall – pretty impressive for the fifties

Beer and chocolate abound in Belgium  – you can even get chocolate beer, which is a little like mixing pizza and ice cream. Skip those and buy peach beers instead – the best alcoholic drink ever.

Above, the Manneken-Pis, probably the most over-hyped tourist attraction in existence. It’s exactly what it sounds like – a statue of a peeing boy. My main problem with it is that it’s life-size i.e. it’s too bloody small! If you’re going to have a big tourist attraction in your city, make sure it’s BIG!

Bruges (Brugge) was our final stop on the trip, and possibly one of the most underrated attractions in Belgium. Pretty much nobody out of Europe’s heard of the place, but it still has its fair share of tourists from around the EU and elsewhere.

It’s a nice little town with lots of great architecture, an interesting canal network and…

…surprisingly good nightlife. Above, Willy sings along in his private bar, a beautifully decorated, if cramped, masterpiece built underneath his house and only open on Saturday nights.

Pommes frites (french fries) taste great when you’re drunk!

Overall, Belgium was worth the visit, but I have to say that it’s a little too touristy for my taste, and probably can’t compare to some of the other things I’ve seen in Paris and Munich. A weekend was enough for us to see most of the things in the country. The food, though, definitely makes up for the sometimes underwhelming sights.

Oktoberfest Adventures

I’d like to say that I planned far, far in advance for this trip, reserving plane tickets and beer tent seats months in advance, but that would be a huge whopper of a lie. Truth is, I found out I was going to Oktoberfest maybe 10 hours before I actually left for it, driving with some college buddies in a rental car across France and Germany to get there, sleeping 4 hours a night with 7 other people in one hotel room, and getting back to school maybe an hour before my first class of the week.

It was so worth it.

As you might imagine, there’s a LOT of beer at Oktoberfest. The plan of the day is to show up before the crack of dawn (I broke my lifetime record for number of sunrises seen in a row on this trip) to try and get a seat in one of several beer tents at the festival.

Once you get inside (no small feat – if you come after 7:30AM, you’re SOL), the fun starts. You order your bier and snacks (beer is served one liter at a time – about 3 regular beer bottles – and it’s THE strongest beer you’ve ever had, I promise), get sloshed, sober up and do it again.

You NEVER leave the tent – once you leave, you can’t get back in, such is the tenacity of the crowd outside that’s dying to get in

Between the alcohol freeing up everyone’s inhibitions, the low-cut women’s outfits and the amazingly catchy music, everyone’s out having the time of their lives

For those who didn’t manage to land one of the 80,000 or so seats at the tents fest-wide (yes, that many, and YES, they fill up THAT fast), Oktoberfest has all the attractions of a big carnival fair, with the added bonus of tourists from all around the world and massive numbers of drunk people trying to sober up

Gingerbread hearts, the latest fashion statement in Munich at the moment!

Below, the famous toboggan ride, one of the oldest at Oktoberfest, with a conveyor belt that’s tricky to get up on even if you’re sober. One can imagine the hilarity that ensues when drunk people try to ride it!

This is one of those events most people only do once, and I was really glad to be able to have done it. I’m not much of a drinker (as my traveling companions are able to attest to), but the sheer spectacle of the thing is just something you’ve got to see if you get the chance.