Thank You

Even when working between the thin line of life and death, I never got any thank you note but lending a mobile phone charger for an hour got me this.

Bristol, England

He is the youngest among the three siblings. Every year my husband gives them 50 dollars each since they were born (it never increases despite the crisis lol) and their mother gives us cookies and every year the three send us thank you notes. But this year this has caught my attention! I kept laughing everytime I read this.

I am a packrat; I save everything. Or at least I did for the 22+ plus years in my library career... heck who am I trying to kid...?? I have done it my whole life... lol
Now it is time to clean things out and get rid of the clutter... I decided I deserve to keep this little note in my retirement... :) [flickr.com]
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I received this email today:

Hello Tia,
Thanks for the feature! It’s a pleasure to read your blog.
Especially to read about the other designers you have featured.
Very inspiring.
All the best from Amsterdam!
Diddo

It was in response to this link I sent to Diddo Velema and it got me to thinking about other people I've featured in my blogs who haven't even sent me a simple "Thank you" after I emailed them.

At least two thirds of them don't know the meaning of the word "appreciation". It's sad to think they're so caught up in their own little world that they just don't get how important it is acknowledge other people's efforts. Yes, even people they don't know or haven't heard of. These are the same guys who say shit like "I'd like to thank my fans...without you none of this would be possible..." when they receive an award and then backstage it's all MeMeMe.

People who act like this pull out all the stops for the Big Cahunas in their line of business but can't be bothered dealing with anyone else. They don't see how we humans are interconnected and that society is more like a chainlink fence than a totem pole or pyramid.

People like this obviously don't believe in karma, and as everyone knows, karma can be a real bitch when she wants to be.
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ANTON KAWASAKI
About
I'm not a professional photographer, but I've been involved or lived around creative fields (film, comics, theater) all my life, and I think I have a decent eye from it. Currently I work at DC Comics as an editor in their Collected Editions department.

I am slowly starting to build my library of photos here -- most of which will have some human element to them, as that's what interests me the most. There are SO many amazing photographers on Flickr taking breathtakingly gorgeous landscapes, detailed flower pics and other beautiful scenery -- and all way better than I ever could. But I'm not really interested in "perfect" photos. I'm much more interested in a photo's subject matter. Does it invoke an emotion? Does it make you laugh, cry, or make you think? It has to be more than JUST pretty for me -- so for my OWN photos, I'll mainly be focusing on capturing real people. Hopefully I can get them in "a moment," and not just their daily routine. I especially enjoy taking pictures that can tell some kind of story.

I mainly take pics with my first-generation iPhone, because it's easy and convenient. But I also love the charming and sometimes dreamy quality the iPhone gives, that most regular cameras can't seem to capture easily. You can't really adjust the picture taking in ANY way on the iPhone, so you sort of just get what you get - and I kind of like that. Takes away a lot of the pressure - it either turns out well, or it doesn't, ya know?

I also had a Panasonic DMC-FS5 which I occasionally used, but it was giving me problems - so now I have a Samsung PL50 (SL202). It's just a cheapo "point and shoot," but I wanted something that would fit in my pocket.
I love living in the best city on Earth: NYC. So the majority of my pics will reflect my life here. About 20% of my pics are self-portraits, though, because I stupidly challenged myself to make every fifth pic on here one of me. We'll see how long that lasts...
Hope you enjoy!
- Anton

Subway Stories
All of the pics here, unless I specifically say they are someone I know, are sneak pics taken with the people NOT knowing (or if they knew, I certainly didn't ask if it was ok!). Yes, even the portrait-like close-up shots were taken with the subject completely unaware. It helps when you have something like an iPhone, where you can be sneaky...
Anyone who lives in NYC knows that there're millions of stories going on every day in the city's subways.
Here're a few of them that I've seen and captured for eternity...

A Weight On His Shoulders
We were on the way to Astoria, Queens, about to enjoy a fun and beautiful day of photography and Greek food. But this guy across from us seemed to have so much on his mind, I couldn't help but notice him so deep in thought.

"Don't Go OUT There!"
After a long commute from the deepest part of Brooklyn, his subway stop in the city has finally arrived.
But something within him says he maybe shouldn't go out there...

Even Grown-Ups Can Have Fun!
A man lugging his musical instrument sat down on the subway, only to notice a string hanging in front of him. When he looked up to see what was attached to it, he discovered that someone else had left their balloon behind.
All of a sudden, it was like the inner boy inside came out - he was so delighted to find a new toy!

Bio
Powers/Skills: Anton has the uncanny ability to immediately tell if a new comic will succeed or fail (unfortunately he still doesn't have the power to STOP bad comics from getting made). He also has the amazing power to burst anyone's bubble.
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NEW POSTS
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The Swimwear Issue
Stylish Men
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