LOS ANGELES, CA : CHINATOWN

I have never spent much time in Chinatown here in LA, mostly because parking and driving in LA always seems more difficult than worth it to me haha. But, occasionally I find a reason to head into downtown and I never regret it when I do.

My good friend Steph works at THANKYOUCOFEE, which is a cool coffee shop that is inside a stationary store (PAPERPLEASE) - in the heart of Chinatown. Amazing. This past Monday Toshiro had the day off work so him and I headed there in the afternoon to take some pics and try some coffee!

Steph told us about a parking lot behind a big restaurant right across from THANKYOUCOFFEE that is free (for now)!

PAPER PLEASE! What a cute stationary store. The owner said that the interior is the same way it was back in the day when this was an old Chinese gift shop. The orange ceiling and green wall are the original colors that were there before - I love it!

This shop reminded me a lot of the stores in Japan. Super cute curation of high quality goods.

THANKYOUCOFFEE is a little pop up in the corner of the stationary store. Steph works there a few times a week and they have the cutest little logo of a cat!

I got the Kabocha (Japanese pumpkin) Spiced Latte with homemade spice mix and oat milk… and OH MY GOSH It was AMAAAAZINGGGG!!! I’ll never be able to go back to a regular PSL.

Steph is the best barista!!

LOVE LOVE all the cards. A lot of them were made from local artist which was a cool highlight.

The gift card shop the store is in…how cute is it? Such a cool vibe.

Toshiro looking very legit with his new glidecam and wide angle lens! (check out his website HERE)

One thing I really am thankful for is that Toshiro and I share the same love for photography and videography. It is so much fun to adventure around together shooting and creating!

Lovin the colors of these buildings.

twighlight hour <3

We have a lot of camera gear between the two of us so luckily Toshiro has this cool bag from PGYTECH to carry it all in!

golden light, nothing better!

As we were walking around, I noticed almost every door in Chinatown had a very ornate and intricate design.

I especially loved this yellow door with a circular design in it!

I am thankful for another afternoon of inspiration… photographing a place that is nearby home-yet quite unfamiliar. This year has really been strange- so I’ll take all the fun, lighthearted, peaceful moments I can get! If anything, 2020 has taught me to be grateful for the simple joys of life. God is good through it all.

Sunday in Manhattan

It’s been a while since I went exploring with a camera in hand just for fun. I am guilty of thinking that home has nothing new or exciting to see, that the places I am so familiar with aren’t worth photographing or aren’t as spectacular as the shots I can get across the world. But this past Sunday I went exploring with Steph and Toshiro (that’s Kyle’s middle name) and was reminded that there is so much beauty just outside our front door. Just a drive away, at a place that can be so familiar yet still stunning every time you see it. The ocean. Manhattan beach. Palos Verdes. Home.

Thankful for the inspiration and a day with two of my favorite people!!!

The photog crew : Steph and Kyle! Or shall I call us all by our Japanese middle names…Keiko, Toshiro and me, Kiyomi!!

We picked up Two Guns coffee and headed to Manhattan Beach. Look at the back of Toshiro’s car…can’t miss it!

P E R F E C T W E A T H E R!

The beach is a blessing, even moreso in the midst of the pandemic we are in. That fresh air, wide open space, ocean breeze…THANK YOU JESUS.

A California Christmas. Manhattan Beach already has Christmas trees lining the whole pier! We haven’t even welcomed Thanksgiving yet!

Ocean sparkle 🤩🤩🤩🤩

Stillness, solitude, peace.

I am very thankful for Toshiro (I like calling him that haha!) and his love for film and photography! It is very cool to share a common passion for it and yet to also learn from one another’s different style and perspectives. I mean, he shoots with a NIKON camera and I am a CANON girl!!! HAHA.

So much fun with this crew!

Steph and I used to explore Tokyo on the weekends together, often with our cameras in hand, capturing city moments and new things. It was so nice to be adventuring around with her again! The scenery might be much different from Japan, but our love for exploring and capturing moments via photography remains the same.

I have been very into shadow shots lately lol!

After cruising around MB, we drove to Palso Verdes to catch the sunset. On our way I snapped this shot which got this crazy lens flare!

Point Vicente Light House up in PV…another spot I would normally have taken for granted but saw with new eyes on this day. What a STUNNING spot! And that is Catalina in the background which was totally visible all day!

How cool is it that God creates each sunset unique to each day? He is truly the master creator!!!!

Steph and Toshiro - Love these two and the passion for photography we get to share together.

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Some shots from Toshiro’s perspective… also check out his website where he posts his photo and video work- HERE!

And some shots from Steph’s perspective…also check out her blog where she writes about her time in Japan… HERE!!
(I love the shot she got of Toshiro and I under the pier <333)

My best friend's wedding.

11.10.2020

Emiko and J got married!!! And what a celebration it was. Emi and I have known eachother since we were kids…going through every life stage together from our awkward teenage glasses-wearing years, to our somewhat cooler high school days, to our one brief stint at the same college together, to post grad live visiting one another in London, Brussels, Tokyo, Dallas and everything in between. It is a special honor to walk through life with a friend and get to celebrate the beginning of an entirely new chapter of life in marriage! Truly, truly blessed to witness it.

With COVID changing most aspects of life, this wedding definitely wasn’t easy for Emi and J to arrive at. They had plans to wed in August at a cool DTLA venue but ended up postponing until November and having a much smaller wedding than planned. Never the less, it was a beautiful event.

One special highlight for me was attending the wedding with my dad and my boyfriend!!! WOAH. Yes, I said it. Boyfriend. I am still getting used to that statement, but it was pretty fun to have a +1 after all these years of attending weddings flying solo ha!

Covid is definitely making life more difficult- but by the grace of God is it also making life a lot sweeter. An evening celebrating the beautiful covenant of marriage is now more meaningful than ever before. I thank God for Emi & J, I thank God for all those who could attend in person, I thank God for keeping us all safe and healthy and I thank God for love and life!

It doesn’t have to be perfect to be good

art/ärt/noun

1. the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.

My love of art really blossomed in Japan. Being in a big city, I immersed myself in the photography, music, culture, food, architecture and design of a country so familiar- yet simultaneously so new- to me. This sparked a fascination and hunger for the arts that I had never really tapped into before. I felt a deep connection to the way art tells a story, teaches the viewer something, challenges our understanding of self and gives us the space to see the world a little more beautifully.

What began as a habit of observation, slowly turned into a desire to begin creating some art of my own. But this was a world I had no idea how to properly step into. I wanted to live a creative lifestyle, to express art in my life in some form- but I struggled with how. A big part of why I write this blog is an answer to that problem; for this blog serves as an outlet for my creative endeavors. Photography being my main expression…but more recently the creation of graphic design and drawing. But this is where I hit a wall. And that wall is…”wait, this is not good enough. I think I could make it better. How can I continue working on it so it’s perfect?” I have hit this wall many many many times. More than I even want to admit to myself. I once read somewhere that the great achilles heel of any artist is the thought that - “someone has already done this before and is better than me” along with…“I don’t think it’s good enough yet”…two phrases that will stick any creative in quicksand.

So, in order to combat the wall of “it could be better” I have decided to rephrase the thought with, “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be good” and that simple phrase has suddenly freed me from a lot of quicksand traps.

Well, here is that phrase in action. A few things I created that I feel “could be better” but I am choosing to say instead “it doesn’t have to be perfect” !!

Also, a few places of art inspiration on the great big internet that I LOVEEEE: THIS IS COLOSSAL, SPOON & TAMAGO, and BEHANCE.

I shot a wedding.

Last week I photographed a wedding.

My two good friends, Mel and Will, tied the knot in the coziest most intimate family wedding ceremony in the backyard of the house Will grew up in. The pandemic surely has restricted us all in many ways, but Mel and Will managed to make their wedding day so special, thoughtful and most importantly- full of love.

It was an honor to be a part of it. And when I came home and began editing, I started gravitating towards the few images that I knew needed to be seen in black and white - the timelessness of them, the simplicity, the emotion…photography should always tell a story. And these speak volumes to me.

Cheers to love, family… and the new Mr and Mrs Isozaki!!