I had a shoot scheduled for Las Vegas at the same time a friend of mine from New York was going to be there visiting his mother so I planned a few extra days to hang out. The shoot was cancelled a week before but I decided to head to Vegas anyway.
I stayed with Jaff at his moms house. He is a chef and I think the level of his mom’s (and grandfather’s) cooking might have had some influence. He is a first-generation Chinese-American who speaks Cantonese fairly well (not sure why I was surprised). Stay at his mom’s house was perfect because I had no interest in doing any of the typical Las Vegas things. I just wanted to hang with my friend and take it easy. We mostly ate at home, which was fine with me because the food was awesome. His mother quickly saw that I had adventurous tendencies with food and set about to test my willingness to try things like bitter melon (way bitter) and pigs feet. With an evil laugh she threatened to make a traditional breakfast of boiled eggs and pigs feet slowly cooked in a vinegar broth (or something like that). I told her if she made it, I’d try it, but I was getting worried.
The one time we went out was to a restaurant at the Rio for dim sum. I love going to dim sum with people who speak the language because they offer Chinese people different dishes than they do the gweilo (Cantonese equivalent to gringo). There was a couple from Hong Kong who joined us. The husband noted that the sweet and sour sauce was left for me (the only gweilo at the table) for the egg rolls. I said I never ate that with egg rolls and Jaff’s mom quipped that I ate more types of Chinese food than he did. Everybody laughed. This was all in Cantonese but I had guessed at the exchange.
My last day there, Jaff took me to Red Rock Canyon. I wasn’t really equipped for any rock climbing or even hiking but was drove out there to take a look and wander around. While landscape photography is not my forté, I have been known to make some postcard-looking images.
Decided this one could look really cool with some split toning.
While I was busy looking for the best angles to shoot, Jaff would occasionally take some photos of me (taking photos) with his phone.
Change your viewpoint and your perspective. Photo by Jaff.
I love the different layers in these rocks. Reminds me that our time here is comparatively short.
Looks like I’m precariously close to the edge in this shot by Jaff.
I love the contrast of the red rocks and the blue sky. Note the yellow sandstone on the far left.
The trip was only a few days but it was just what I needed. I really enjoyed the hospitality of Jaff and his mom.