This is Cowboy Bob. He lives in Randsburg, CA. I listened to Bob's stories about Randsburg, cattle and the 46 people that live there for 20 minutes before I ever made my photograph. I love portraiture for this very reason. It intrigues me...it's so much deeper than most of us (including me) can even imagine. I have so much respect for great portrait photographers, these guys who can get to someone's soul in just minutes.

So me and 8 other wedding/portrait photographers headed out to Mammoth, CA for 3 sick days of boardin' and some male bonding time last week. Can I just say what incredibly rad dudes they are??? Seriously, we all just laid it out on the table, put egos aside, dropped our guards and just kicked it-friggin' greatness!

These are some random photos I grabbed on the way back from Mammoth during our little photo safari.

Matt Sloan and Kenny Brady

Justin Lyon and Nate Kaiser

My Taiwan journeys are wrapping up as I prepare to fly back to the States in the next few hours. It's been a fantastic, surreal time. Some of the photographs I was able to create and capture will stay with me for as long as I live. Some will live amongst me on walls, in frames and in books on coffee tables. Last night was probably the best night I've had thus far...singing karaoke with my brother and some of his friends until 3AM. What a complete blast and it's an extremely poplar thing to do on the weekends in Taipei.

Walk. Shoot. Sleep...my journeys boiled down to it's simplest form.

Here's to the Lunar New Year (which is just around the corner in February). Cing Mei Jhu Ma!, which is only fitting since one of the few friendships I've carried with me from childhood is with my little brother Enoch. We just got back from watching Cloverfield together, cracking jokes and reminiscing about the last summer we spent here 17 years ago.

* * * * *

Enquiring minds apparently want to know why I've flown 8,217 miles to Taiwan...and frankly, who am I to deny them that? Several of you are actually from Taiwan or have friends and family that live there and I've really enjoyed hearing from you. It's been fun to hear some of the cities I've trekked through resonate with you guys.

I was born in Taipei some 26 odd years ago and immediately whisked away back to the States. My mom is the only child of six that ever left Taiwan and she's missed her mom with a love typically reserved for family oriented Asian cultures. It was a hot, musty summer in 1990 when I last found myself running amuck the Taipei streets and it's been a distant memory every since. I've been wanting to go back...even more so since I took up a camera. So here I am with my mom...giving my gramma a precious visit, spending time with my little brother whose taken up residency in Taipei and building up my travel photography portfolio. I love it.

* * * * *