Virginia is beautiful all years round, at least to me: because there are beautiful people living there!

I could not wait till the full cherry blossom due to a wedding contract in Dallas. I came here early while the flower-buds were still sleeping. And this time, I had my 5D mark II with me – that means I could do some motion pictures – my long time plan finally came into implementation.

It’s been over a half year since I met little Liam and Natalie. I saw them getting bigger and bigger. Liam could speak better in a very proper English style, and Natalie almost started her first walk. They are getting more beautiful and lovely. Aaah, my future kids dream!!!!

Again, we had wonderful time together. Liam and Natalie’s parents were going to work so they were kept by their grandparents. We did not go to the Pactomac river for the cherry blossom like every year. We went to the National Arboretum in DC. Despite the heavy rains days before and the flowers were not yet bloomed, we had great photos and VIDEOS!!!.

This is actually my first experiment on “moving photography” which you film and edit videos in photography styles. I had technical limits and I am still learning, but the video make all of us happy. There are moments which are beyond words or “technical things”.

The video was shot in full HD, so you should try to watch it in highest resolution your screen and computer can support. If the net line is slow, just press Play, then pause to wait for the buffer.

Ah, I sing in here too, hehe. Hope you won’t mind, haha!

There are some scenes with my face in it. I directed my brother to shoot, just some kind of curiosity, I wanted to see how my face is like on the screen, not bad hehe!

So, here it is:

And oh yeah, here comes the photos. Hope you will be happy or simply – feeling fresh looking at these photos!!!

The reason I am posting Autumn photos today. It is because I….did not post them last season, and they are too beautiful to be left out. Also, there is another reason, I will post spring photos right after this. What are the two topics having in common? They were taken in a same place, with same wonderful people: Virginia – where my “god parents” are living!!!

Last year – It was bad, very bad. But there was still one best thing happened to me: I met THEM – who are the kindest and the most wonderful people who I have ever met. Meeting them was one best thing to make up for my whole awful year! They are now my god parents, they care and love me as much as my parents do. Can not say how much I am lucky and happy!

I and my brother came to Virginia for the Autumn. Since I was little, I heard my teacher said: “Virginia is one of the most beautiful state in America. You must come here once, and you’d better come in the Fall”.  What he said marked steadily in my mind, that I decided I must go there whenever I have a chance. And I had – more than just come for a beautiful spring but to have two more people to love and care for you!

Things happened were just like a beautiful dream.

3 days staying there were one of the sweetest days of my life. When I am happy, I take beautiful photos. So here I am sharing with you, my beautiful happiness!

Early morning:

“My room”“

Natalie, little girl – who have been appeared to some people’s profile pictures ever since I posted her photos on:

It is not January, definitely not! But this cool wonderful weather reminds me of a very sweet feeling for my homeland (nostalgia, isn’t it?)

This place is somewhere 60km away from my grandfather’s house, called Yen Tu, located in Quang Ninh, one angle of the northern Vietnamese industrial triangle. The place is famous for its incredible view to the nature. In order to see the bamboos mountains and the pagodas built at the top (and along the way) on very high mountains, you have to climb up thousands of step. In the past, they said: “if you reach the top of this mountain 3 times, you will become a Buddha”. But nowadays, the built steps and….tram, so there’s no way you can become a Buddha anymore!!!

This place is also famous for its origin of a Vietnamese Buddhism created by King Tran Nhan Tong. The King left his family and his throne in 1299. The King became the first founder of “Truc Lam sect.”, known as a Buddhism of Vietnamese. Well, I’m not really good at history, just to give you a brief look!

I climbed up the mountain on a day the…tram closed. It took me 4 hours to climb up, then over 2 hours to climb down. Luckily the weather was quite cool, the higher you climb, the cooler it is, and the more beautiful you can see. I went there with my best friends, and they alternatively carried the camera for me (or I would have to give up climbing), and to admit, even the place is well known but that was the first time I visited it.

The person ahead is one of my friends with me on the trip. On the way, to encourage myself beyond those thousands steps, I kept telling her: "Promise me, that we will....see the top, ok?"

Love the mood for this

A pagoda located in the middle of the mountain, still half way to climb up

Waiting till the rain stops

Just take a break!

Ah, that's me, so innocent!!!

I tried to make them a couple, but... I failed

You see the clouds? You can imagine you HARD we climbed...

Ah, you see the steps???

What's special about it? Not two handsome guys, it is the tower far down, wow, we were really...high!

Finally, we reached the top, that's all at the top, but thousands of visitors come every year just for that little pagoda. A monk took this photo for us, probably!!

As been heard from my mom, she had a research on the internet: there are over 2000 cherry trees around the Tidan Pool, until this year, they are already 97 years old. 3 more years, they are going to celebrate their 100th birthday.

The weather was really great. It has been a long time since I had been out that much in the sun with bare naked hands ( I mean, no gloves), and sure, with a light shirt on instead of long, heavy, ugly coats.

The cherry trees were not that pretty because of the over blooming and it had been raining several days before, but still, nice people and weather had made it up.

I was going with my parents and several other “old” people in the Mission. Going with old people ain’t fun except they would pay ice cream or candy for you. But then I had to wait for them to go to the restroom once in a while or stopped to take boring souvenir photos, (oops, mom is going to hear it!!!).  And you must know my mom, every place she visits; she will try her best to see everything she could. So while we had very limited time, she walked like wind, no, thunder actually. Thanks to the warm weather, I was energetic enough to carry my 10 pounds camera and ran after her like a cute – lovely – puppy, hehehe. But really I had to take photos just like doing some robbery. My father took a role as a “liaison officer”, connecting me with my mother. Well, she went ahead, he was in the middle, I was in the back, I had always been slower because I had to stop to take photos along the way. His job was following her and put his eyes on me so that to make sure we would not be disconnected. Haha, poor papa, what a nice job to do in a trip!

And I have always dreamt of going somewhere with someone I love, with plenty of time and lot of beautiful things to see and to capture. I would take photos of him and he would take photos of me. What a nice dream, huhuhu!!!

I met a “mysterious” boy in this trip. Well, won’t tell you about him, just keep for myself!

This is 1/25 cropped version of the original one!

Can you see the bee?

Right, still have some minutes for flowers on the ground right? Honestly, my mom was behind the flower and she thought I was taking a photo of her, but...don't worry, I did take a photo of her!!!

This is a must - take photo. Otherwise, why did you come to DC in the cherry blossom for? Cherry trees are everywhere and the Capitol House...is always there!

Taken by my father. I had no one to take photos for me this time except my father, but since my camera is so heavy and quite hard to control, even I had every spec. set up, but it was hard for him to control the focal point (his eyes are...old now), so most of the time I had been out of focus in the photos. These are few left. My father used to be a great photographer, but now my old man is...really old, huhu!!!

Here with mommy!! As seeing this photo, a long time friend of mine said I had not been changed much for the last 10 years. I took that as a compliment. I am still 18.

Me "xynh tuoi", taken by the "mysterious" boy!

Again, taken by the mysterious boy@@

I ran to take a photo with it. I had never seen such an expensive car in my life, really "nhà quê", hehe. My father said: "Hurry up, let me take you a picture before the car runs away", haha

I was not the only one who tried to be a part of this million dollars baby, hehe!

This was taken at the Mount Vernon, while I was waiting to get on car, there arrived a million dollars Hummer Limousine. Sure the car was for rent for a wedding. The bride came out from the car, she walked really fast that I just got only one shot of her!

I came to visit the house of the US's first President!!!

And learnt that he was so handsome, ooh hooh. But I bet the American made him up this cool, he must be uglier!

The horse looks so real

The White House, it was hard to take a photo of it, just bunches of people crawling at the fence, trying to take a photo of a boring house, I was one of them. I do agree with Paris Hilton when she said if she is elected as the President of the United States, she would paint this house to pink!

And here is my favourite! Guess what it is? It is the water from the Potomac river, with cherry flowers flowing, sunshine reflection and a mini circle rainbow. I took it in slow shutter speed, in order to bring out the sparkling water and create the "rainbow"!

Haha, look at his face, haha

Ah ah, not nice!! Get down!

Taking photos through car is not something easy and flexible. First, the window is not that clean, then the view is not always in a proper “angle”, and you must be…quick, really really quick, your hands must be stable so not to take the photo up side down if you bump your head to the car’s platform as the driver has an over – excited brake!

But sometimes, the motion might bring in some great moments if you really know how to catch it. There’s one thing I do not like about taking photos through the car’s window, non of the above reasons concerned, it is that I am…car sick.

Imagine you are having a party in your stomach, your head is in a puzzle, and your camera is just around…10 pounds, well, how are you gonna party anyway?

But then I have to, hey, it is my purpose to be a photographer, so I must get used to it, I must train myself to take photos through the window while I am…car sick. I also feel it is a waste of time and…the beauty if just sit and think of the throw- up!

I have been effectively improved. Thanks to the self – training!

Talking about the following photos, there’s something quite interesting I want to say about them, they are partly results from the photography class I have taken!

But I’ll talk about it later! Just wait, I will tell you!

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car.mp3 –

Feel like I started to take photos like...the American, haha!!!

I love the way the electrical robes are well parallel organized.

Love the colors and the structures of the houses combining with the blue sky

The red is originally...blue, but I changed it, and I love this combination of colors, shapes and light!

Something really matches my...signature!

When ONLY is all the ways...

Love the colors, and the drawings.

I had to admit, if I had not gone to class, I would never pay attention to this type of photo. Now I agree they are interesting!

Just a quick shot through the window, the dawn was on it's way, and look how "little" they are, from a far distance.

My favorite of all, isn't it an eagle?

To be continued, next will be the cherry trees, the White House and…me!!!