Check out the first episode of my podcast and make sure to subscribe. Since it is my first one, I felt a little nervous and awkward, but I am sure the more I do it, the better I get. Thanks for your support 😀
https://anchor.fm/chrisrevon/episodes/PhotographerFilmmaker-Traveling-All-Over-Asia--Sharing-His-Experience--Photography-and-Filmmaking-eav1kh
Right now, there's so much I have to do for the photography and video projects I have been working on in addition to other things, but it feels like there's not enough time in the world. Time is definitely the most precious commodity. You can never take it back when you lose it. That's why it is so important to focus more on what really matters. I just realized that I think I focused on my relationships with people more than on myself. Now I am just focusing only on myself and what really matters to me, where I want to go and where I want to be. As long as you take out fear out of the equation, you can pretty much do whatever you put your mind to. It is all about choices, and never limit your choices, thinking it will never be possible and be willing to go out of your comfort zone. Thinking that staying where you are because it is safe will not get you anywhere. It is better to be a little unsafe and to experience life fully than to be safe and to have a monotonous experience day in and day out. Wouldn't it be great to experience every day of your life as if falling in love for the first time over and over again, or feeling the excitement of your first day at school or at work. What I want is to be curious and to learn something new everyday. To taste and eat a different dish every day. To see a new sight every day. To do something I've never done before everyday. Relationships fail. Friendships end. Money goes out of your pocket all the time. Pretty much, everything is not stable. You owe it to yourself to really do what you really want to do, not what the society thinks you need to do. Time, experience and passion, I believe, are the most important things in this world.
I just started my Podcasting Channel and here is the link to it:
My podcast is on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/show/7EaedqG95PMpUVj4jkMztq
My podcast url
www.anchor.fm/chrisrevon
Right now, I haven’t uploaded the first episode yet, but I will do it soon. More likely, the topics I will discuss in this podcast will be the same topics I will have both in my blogs and vlogs.
Please subscribe to my Podcast and if possible, to my other Social Media Channels too.
Now I am gonna try to do or make something great everyday. That includes at least conceiving/writing scripts for two videos, shooting and editing them (which will be at least three minutes long each), writing a blog, of course creating or capturing at least one photograph, possibly making a podcast, continue working on some of screenplays, continue working on my photography and video projects, working on my biz. This can include anything for my personal growth and well being such as physical fitness, healthy eating if possible, reading a good book or a good article that would be beneficial and positive for me. My daily goal is to do something positive, not destructive. To progress, to grow, to experience life fully and not to be held back by fear and not to be surrounded by negativity
Even though I don't live in China or South Korea anymore, my friends in those countries always help me when I need it, and I do the same thing for them. Like what I am doing now with this friend in China and another friend in South Korea. A Chinese friend bought a South Korean - made face mask to protect herself from the Coronavirus, but she wasn't sure if it is enough protection since the packaging is in Korean, and she could not read Korean. So I asked my Korean friend to translate it to English, so I could tell my Chinese friend if it is enough protection. This is called "Guanxi" which is almost like "connections" in the Western world. It is based on Confucious. You don't get this unless you get their trust, and it is difficult to get it. That's why if I go back to any of these East Asian countries, I won't have any problems with getting a job or any other opportunities. But "guanxi" involves full trust. No backstabbing or being "two-faced." Every country I go to, I really learn about the culture and am able to assimilate quite fast. That's because I respect every culture. Of course, there are some cultures which can be like "it doesn't make sense," such as turning your head to the side when having a toast with someone older or your superior (boss) in South Korea or not talking too loud when speaking to a Thai. But no one should question it. It is called compromise and respect. Don't ever think your culture is better than other people's cultures. It is not. From what I see, everyone can learn from each other's cultures.
For the past two weeks, I have been just staying inside. I only went out twice just to buy groceries. It is not because there is a lot of cases of Coronavirus here. It is because I am quite busy working a lot on my laptop. The number of cases of Coronavirus here is not as high as in other countries. But I can see the sacrifice my friends are doing back in China. Not going out for more than a month now. Just staying inside their homes. They are only allowed to go out every two or three days to buy groceries and necessities too. Now that it seems that coronavirus is spreading all over the world. Are other people willing to do the same sacrifice? Is it still going to be "we against them?" Then let's stop the blame game. There were also viruses that came from other countries: the Spanish flu, the swine flu, MERS, Ebola virus, the plague, the bird flu, AIDS, etc, but no one started criticizing those countries and posting videos that made those people look bad. This is called schadenfreude, which means the pleasure derived by another person from the misfortune of another person or group of people. Now maybe it is time to unite instead of criticizing and attacking other groups of people. Use common sense. Just because you see a video of one person doing one bad thing, it does not mean all the people in that group or race are the same, that they're all bad people. Do you think your country can handle this situation better? Does your country have enough medical supplies and hospital beds and staff to handle thousands of patients and thousands of deaths? Think about that before doing any criticism.
Compare Influenza which kills more people than coronavirus. Check the link below. There's so much criticism, racism, xenophobia, negative videos and pictures, and conspiracy theories out there, but no one is showing anything positive things about the coronavirus situation such as what is being done to stop the spread of the virus. People are unfair and have no empathy. I've spoken to a lot of Chinese friends and my foreign friends who live both in Mainland China and in Hong Kong, and they all think that how the Western Media is dealing with this, and how the people are reacting to this with their racist attitude is very unfair and unjustified. As for other Asians, who are going against the Chinese, you are also Asians. You are not of different race. If you go to another Western country, it is more likely that you will be labeled as Chinese rather than another Asian, such as Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Filipinos, etc. Just so you know, a lot of Asian economies are booming due in part because of the Chinese economy. For the Filipinos, hundreds of thousands are employed in Hong Kong as domestic workers. Don't tell me if that doesn't help the Philippine economy. In Thailand as well as other Asian countries, the Chinese tourists bring millions of dollars to the economy. And a lot of products are also now being imported from Asian countries to China and Hong Kong as well. A lot of Japanese and Korean as well as US and European companies have stores in Mainland China and in Hong Kong. We are all connected. Be grateful. That's the reason why the Mandarin language is now the language to learn in addition to English to remain competitive. Some of you might not like the Chinese government. That's understandable, but for what it is, with what they're doing right now, doing its best to treat thousands of patients with limited facilities and medical supplies and to contain the virus from spending some more, I think they're not doing a bad job. I know this, not from the news but from my friends, both Chinese and foreigners, in China, whom I keep in touch with. As for your country, especially the poorer country, can your country do much better? I think we should have empathy ( which means putting yourself in other people's shoes). It is a very important trait that everyone should have in order to understand other people and other cultures. Your religion does not make you a good person. Your words, no matter how colorful they are, don't make you a good person. Your action does. Donate some medical supplies. Send some positive encouragement. Thank you. #coronavirus #christopherrevon
https://www.facebook.com/trendinginchina/posts/2170110533092418
Insular attitude is just not the right way to approach life unless you want your life to be boring and full of monotony. To open up and to see yourself as only a speck in a world that is populated by billions of people makes you realize that there is more out there than what's only around you. Life should be progressive, and it should be. To assimilate, to adapt, to learn, to be curious. It is what makes life much more exciting. Too many people are so focused only on themselves, on their neighborhood, on their country, on their own circle of friends. Life is so much richer if you go out of your own comfort zone, out of your fears.
These past few days, I've been keeping in touch with all my friends in China and they are doing fine. And just so you know, when I asked them about how they were, they seemed to be more concerned about me, telling me not to go to some certain countries such as Japan and South Korea because the cases of the virus are also on the rise over there. Also when I mentioned about going back to Hong Kong and Mainland China, they told me to stay away. I mean, just think they're more in danger than me and yet they're more concerned about me. They even gave me instructions on how to protect myself when I am in a place in which a chance of getting the virus is so much less than they are.
Of course, because of the lockdown and the quarantine, everything is not convenient for them since they are only allowed to go out every two or three days depending on the city, and everyone has a card with a QR code, so the government can keep track of their health and where they are. Some started just working at home instead of going to their workplaces. And they do feel bad about the racism and xenophobia, and some of them, of course, have something bad to say about their government in handling the situation, but for the most part, for what it is, it is not as bad as the Western Media portrays it to be. There were other viruses that happened in other countries too these last few years, but they were not blown out of proportion by the media. And not a big amount of racism and xenophobia happened during those times.What we need is empathy and common sense. What if your country happens to be the one that gets this problem, do you think your country can handle it better? Should we be racist against you? For example, if the next virus comes from Brazil, should we say Brazilians are these and that, that's why this is happening.
Decades ago, the big plague and the Spanish flu happened, yet no one got racist and xenophobic during those times just because those did not come from Asia but from Europe and America. Also just so everyone knows, in every country, there are bad people and good people. Just because one Chinese does something bad, it doesn't mean all or most of the Chinese people are bad. I mean, in the US, when an American goes on a shooting rampage, why doesn't anyone say "Oh the Americans are bad people. We should avoid being with the Americans?" One of my friends and I were talking about this, and she mentioned this is the reason she doesn't want to have a kid in this world. Despite the technology and the internet that's supposed to bring us together, there is not really any progress in this world. It is still the same as it was long time ago.
Check out the link to a video below. This girl on the video is right on the spot. I was about to do a video about this, and I am glad that she made one already. People don't seem to have empathy and common sense 🙄these days.
Video about racism, xenophobia, rumors, conspiracy theories and misconception about the Coronavirus
Well, I've been on TikTok since when it first came out in China. Almost everyone in China had the their app on their phones. But then, like the rest of them, I was only a watcher. But now I am starting to get a little serious about creating content for it. Anyway I've been doing short versions of my videos for WeChat, Instagram Stories and IGTV anyway, so I might as well upload those videos to TikTok. I do have two TikTok profiles. One I installed in Mainland China, so it's mostly Chinese content, and one I installed in Hong Kong, so it's mostly Western content with Chinese and other Asian content. But the profile I upload my videos to is the one I installed in Hong Kong. Anyway if you have TikTok, please follow me. Just scan the QR code below or just look for chrisrevonphotofilm on your TikTok app. I am even thinking of making videos just for TikTok exclusively, so for sure, it would be worth it. Thanks 😊.
I lived in Hong Kong when there were protests almost every day and everyone thought it was a war zone over there. No, it wasn't. Everyone was still working everyday and doing everything normally (watching movies, eating at restaurants, going shopping, etc) but everyone outside of Hong Kong thought life over there was hard and dangerous yet it wasn't. As for the coronavirus situation, I have been keeping in touch with my friends, both Chinese and foreign friends in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chongqing and other parts of China. There is no genocide going on like what some people are posting on the internet. They are just staying inside their homes and only one person is allowed to go out to go shopping for food and necessities every two days. Everyone has a QR code, so they can get monitored if they are sick or break the rules of being quarantined in their own homes. (If this happens in another country, I am sure some people would get bored and escape being quarantined) And some of them do try to escape from being quarantined over there. That's the reason sometimes the police have to force them to be quarantined. Just like in any other countries, there are people who would try to break the rules even at the expense of other people. I am sure if this happens in another country. There will probably be a riot, and people will probably loot the supermarkets and other stores. But in China, there have been no riots. Everyone falls in line for hours just for face masks, toilet paper, and other necessities. At the same time, with a very big population, expect to have a shortage of medical supplies and spaces and rooms for patients in the hospitals. I am sure if this happens in a country that is way too poor and with not enough resources, I don't think that country will do better. And the doctors, nurses and other medical personnels are also risking their lives with not enough medical supplies such as masks, gloves and protective gear and have to work 21 hours with three hours of sleep since there is not enough manpower to handle the enormous number of patients. So we should at least focus on this rather than dwell on the negative stuff spreading on the internet. This is my own analysis based on the news inside China which I have access to through friends and my Chinese apps and also the news outside of China. I also look at the postings of the thousands of WeChat and Wiebo friends I have so I have more of an overview of what's going on over there than just the news you hear from the Western news outlets. Right now, maybe you don't like the government of China, but this is not about the government. This is about the people and the land. What they need right now is understanding. You all need to have empathy which I think most people lack. I don't know if you've heard of MERS, bird flu, swine flu, ebola, the plague and the Spanish flu which originated from other countries. Consider how other countries dealt with it. For instance, the Ebola virus was so lethal, they had to burn the dead bodies right away despite the African traditional way of burying their dead. In a situation like this, what's normally done has to be broken. Now I am now considering to go back there to document the life over there during this situation and at the same time, try to help out. I feel obligated to do something after seeing all the racism, the rumors, the negative stuff being spread around instead of helping out by donating some medical supplies or just showing the positive things which are happening over there despite this situation.
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Kuala Lumpur is definitely one of my favorite cities in Asia. It is not as crowded as Hong Kong and Seoul. Very multi-cultural. It is like being in three countries in one place. It has the Malay culture, the Chinese culture, Indian culture and some Arab culture, so this is like the US, a melting pot with different kinds of people, the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians and with different religions, Muslim, Buddhism and Hinduism. Despite these differences, they get along so well. Of course, because of these different ethnicities, when it comes to food, you have so much varieties, Malay food, Chinese food and Indian food, not to mention other kinds of food such as Japanese, Korean and Western food. That’s why Malaysia’s slogan is “Malaysia Truly Asia.” One thing I love about Kuala Lumpur is its great public transportation. Almost as good as Hong Kong's and Seoul's. Also life here seems much more laid back, not as stressful as Hong Kong, Seoul, or any other major cities. During rush hour, I am surprised that the Metro system does not get as crowded here compared to other cities. It is maybe it has less population. And if you can’t find a train or a bus to go somewhere, they also have Grab, the Southeast Asia’s Uber, which originated from here. So to go from one place to another, it does not cost much. Anyway I will talk more about Malaysia in my future vlogs and blogs, so just make sure to subscribe to/like/follow my Social Media profiles to get updated with future content, both in photography, filmmaking, writing, travel, and anything about life in general (my own opinion, my experience and observation).
When the swine flu or the mad cow disease and virus, which came from the West, happened and killed thousands of people, no one attacked and criticized where it came from, but this... It is not fair. I am not into politics, but people should realize that the government and the country are two different entities. But who am I kidding, this could definitely be a deep-rooted racism that was just subdued and hidden in the name of political correctness, but now it is open and widespread in all its glory, especially when the leaders of the free world are showing what their true colors are.
It's been a crazy journey for the past one year and three months as I travel from one country to another, from one city to another, from one town to another, including living in Hong Kong while the protests were going on. Quite an experience and learned a lot along the way. Now I am quite exhausted. I haven't completed my goal of going back to South Korea, Taiwan and of visiting Japan for the first time due to the winter season, but at least, with a better airfare than a direct flight back home ($650 against $454, not including my baggage fees) I might be able to stop by Taiwan for seven days before heading back to the US (I might have to go home and visit my Mom for a while until this coronavirus slows down. Still considering it and see how it goes in the next few days. My visa is still good until February 13, so still plenty of time to make a decision.) Anyway if I ever go home, I'll be back, and for my next trip back, I should then be able to visit Japan and also go to Busan, South Korea (been to Seoul quite a few times but not Busan). Well, let's see in a few days if I really have to go home.
Over the years I tried to make two independent low budget feature films but failed due to financing and/or technical issues, but I haven't given up and definitely would attempt at making another feature. And for sure, this will be more successful than the previous two since I will have full financing before I start production. Having learned my lessons from the previous projects, I can now definitely feel I am able to complete this successfully. And I am excited about this camera. It is not so expensive, and knowing that Netflix approves this camera for any content that is made for them, I definitely want this camera. What makes this project feasible too is that my screenplay's setting is set in Asia. I definitely want to tell stories set in Asia. I think that Asia has so many stories to tell to the Western world. Now with the success of the South Korean movie “Parasite,” I am inspire more than ever.
Due to this coronavirus, racism is again out in the open as I look at the comments and postings about this situation. When the e-coli, swine flu and Spanish flu happened, no one got angry at US or Mexico, where those viruses came from. And the Spanish flu killed 50 million people worldwide. That disease was even hidden by most of the governments who were exposed to it. At least China came out in the open with this one. Only Spain was open about it. If they did not expose it, no one would have known about this disease, and it would have killed more people. That's why it was called "Spanish flu," even though, it did not originate from there. This kind of thinking and doing the blaming is just unfair. As for other Asians, they're also unfair to the Chinese. Before you judge them, look at your eating habits too. Some of you also eat some weird shit too, so stop looking at yourself as being better. As for Western food, the French eat snails (escargot) but no one thinks it is weird. Most people think it is such a classy cuisine. The Italians and the French also eat rabbits (I bet no one knows that). And to stereotype that the whole country eat these weird food is wrong because for the most part, based on my experience and observation, the majority of these people eat what most people in the world eat and think that these food are also weird to eat. And if their countrymen eat them, it is just a small percentage of the population, not the majority. For the most part, this percentage of people who do it believe that they have medicinal or aphrodisiac benefits based on old beliefs that was passed from generation to generation. By the way, do you know that according to the Bible, we should not eat pigs because it is dirty? But look, the whole world is eating them. Only the Jews and the Moslems are not eating them since they know better. In conclusion, having this double standard is so unfair.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/4ag37q/coronavirus-fears-are-reviving-racist-ideas-about-chinese-food?utm_source=vicefbuk
I will write a long post about this, so bear with me, I will do this soon. For now, follow one of my Social Media Channels to get updated with this.
A lot of beginning photographers are always concerned about the equipment, and most tend to buy the latest and most expensive camera when starting out. First, practice photography with what you have. More likely a phone camera. Learn about lighting and composition and practice with these elements first before getting into learning about the technical part of photography. And if you are ready to move up to a real camera. Maybe start with a point and shoot camera first before getting into DSLR and/or mirrorless camera. As you can see on the video below, I was just using my point and shoot camera, which is about three years old. For me, the only reason I would take out my DSLR or my mirrorless camera is if the lighting condition of the subject I am trying to capture is a little tricky or if I want to do something more creative that cannot be achieved with a point and shoot camera such as selective focusing/shallow depth of field or making the movement of things in the foreground or background burry in contrast with the rest of the image. Anyway check out my YouTube video below, and please give me some support by liking/following/subscribing to one or more of my Social Media Channels. The links are right below.
Few days ago, I went to the Siam Museum and learned about Thai-Ness a lot. It is a lot different than most exhibitions I've been to. It is more interactive and hands on so it is a lot more fun than just staring at things. Whoever came out with this concept was quite creative 😁 I will write a blog about it and also make a long version video about it with narration later. For now, enjoy this short version video about this great exhibition.