From a distance

Family at breakfast
Laval, Quebec, December 2006

Quick note from Carmi in China: I'm still here, fighting the sleep demons that would have me believe that I ought to be awake (it's 3:25 now...I should be sleeping, but can't.) I DID get about 4 hours of sleep just now, so I should be good for another few hours of zees when I'm finished posting this. Don't worry Mom, if you add up all the hours of sleep I'm getting, it amounts to a lot. It's just not coming when I either want or need it. All part of the adventure.

This is a global event, with people coming in from all the regions where HP does business. I'm surrounded by a team of people from Canada who not only answer every business question I've got, but who have taken the time to ensure I had TWO birthday cakes along the way (remember, my birthday's 36 hours-long this year...I've got another 8-and-a-half-hours of celebrating left, woo-hoo!) I'm always amazed at the kindness that people are capable of showing, even for something as simple as a birthday far from home.

In the end, I brought the Nikon in addition to the point-and-shoot. I paired the DSLR with the longer (75-300mm) lens and am using the pocketcam for wider images. Between the two of them, I'm capturing storytelling images of this remarkable place. Shanghai is so overwhelming in scope and pace that it's difficult to absorb the meaning of the things I'm seeing and experiencing. But that will come.

I've been using Google Talk to keep in touch with the folks at home. It's a godsend, allowing me to talk and talk without paying any attention to time or data rates. How neat it is that by being away, I have reconnected with people from all aspects of my life - close and not so close - in all sorts of technologically cool ways. This stuff really is magic.

Which brings me to today's themed image. So far this week, I've focused on family, because it is family that keeps you grounded even when you're zillions of miles away. I took this image a few months back on a trip home, and grabbed it right before we said goodbye to them and hit the road. It has a warmth to it that reminds me why I so love being part of this family, something that is larger than I am, and makes me feel whole, all at the same time. Enjoy...

The rules of composition supposedly dictate tight framing of a given topic and a minimum of extraneous space. We're supposed to go in close to avoid repeating the mistakes of past generations of snapshot photographers, namely tiny little people in the middle of gigantic, monotonous vistas.

For the most part, I follow the tightly composed mantra. But for this image, I broke the rules. I lagged back away from the breakfast table and captured my family - wife, kids, parents, in-laws - in a way that just wouldn't have been possible if I had zoomed in any closer. There's something to be said for keeping a bit of distance.

Your turn: Standing by the edge of the room and quietly taking it all in. Please discuss.

One more thing: I took this picture at our kids' favorite breakfast place, Allo Mon Coco. Family tradition dictates that we go there for breakfast before we embark on the long drive back to London. I wrote about it here. If you look closely, you might recognize the light fixtures.