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Penelope's Loom. Get yours at flagrantdisregard.com/flickr
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Most interesting photos, on black
More than you ever wanted to know about me and flickr

Hens and Chickens

My Life
I was born in Taiwan, but lived most of my life on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. Life as one of only a handful of Asians living on the reservation was an experience that I appreciate more in retrospect. There were many things I disliked about living in such a rural, underprivileged area, but I am able to look back fondly on much of what I experienced and be thankful for the unique upbringing I had.

College took me to Claremont, California, where I attended Pomona College and earned a degree in Psychology. My focus in Psychology became Aging and Cognition, mostly because of a certain professor I studied under, worked for, and admired.

Eventually, my attention was diverted after working at summer camps serving populations with special needs (blindness and Autism, both exclusively and simultaneously).

Fresh out of college, I started a teaching job at the New England Center for Children, a private residential school for children with Autism, and began a masters program in Special Education at Simmons College in Boston.

Two years later, with a year at NECC and a year of public inclusion preschool under my belt, I graduated with an M.S. Ed. with certification in Severe Special Needs and decided that Massachusetts was too cold for me.

I moved back to California and currently teach a special day class for elementary school students with Autism at a public elementary school in the East Bay. It's my sixth year as a credentialed teacher with my own classroom and I am thoroughly enjoying it.

In addition, I recently completed a second masters program to receive an Educational Specialist degree in Special Education Assistive Technology and have been busy pursuing photography projects on the side. I also keep myself busy with whatever wedding, portrait, and event photography I can squeeze into my evenings and weekends. I also take advantage of every single travel opportunity I am presented with so that I can experience and photograph as many different places and cultures as possible.

Red Wednesday

My Photography
Both of my parents are artists (painters, specifically), but my drawing skills never progressed beyond a 1st grade level, so we had all resigned ourselves to the fact that I would never become an artist.

It wasn't until I studied abroad in Prague that I realized that I had a decent eye for photography and that being around my parents and their art helped to hone that instinct in me. Family friends, impressed with my photos, loaned me their Canon AL-1 and I decided to devote some of my time and energy to the art.

My last semester in college, I enrolled in a black and white film photography class, which is where practically all of my technical knowledge stems from. Everything else I learned through experimenting and from my photographic peers.

I am a member of the Professional Photographers of America and Wedding & Portrait Photographers International. I am also an Area Coordinator and volunteer photographer for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep.

(Taken from my website's About page)

Week 5/52

Cameras:
Nikon D700
Nikon D300
Nikon D200
Nikon D70
Nikon CoolPix P5000
Canon G3
Lomo SuperSampler 3.0
Lomo Fisheye
Canon AL-1
Seagull DF-1ETM
Fujifilm Discovery 290S

Lenses
Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8
Nikkor 17-55mm 2.8
Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8
Nikkor 14-24mm 2.8
Nikkor 105mm 2.8 MicroVR
Nikkor 18-200mm VR
Nikkor 18-70mm
Sigma 70-300mm
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
Nikkor 50mm f/1.4
Nikkor 85mm f/1.8
Sigma 10mm - 20mm f/4-5.6
Original Lensbaby
Canon Wide Converter WC-DC58
Rokinon Auto Zoom 28-80mm

Other Equipment
Nikon Speedlight SB-800
Nikon Speedlight SB-600
Pocket Wizard Transmitters
Classic Lightsphere Diffuser
LumiQuest Pocket Bouncer
LumiQuest Ultra Bouncer
Hoya R72 Infrared Filter
Hoya Circular Polarizing Filter
Hoya Neutral Density 4 Filter
SLIK Pro330DX-B Tripod
Manfrotto Monopod
Manfrotto Horizontal Grip Action Ball Head
Manfrotto Compact Ballhead
SmartDisk 40GB FlashTrax
Epson P-5000 80GB Storage Drive
Epson Perfection 3170 Photo Scanner
Eye-One Display 2
Adobe Photoshop CS2 w/Adobe Bridge
Adobe Lightroom

Within the Forbidden City

Photos of Penelope's Loom (52)

Penelope's Loom's favorite photos from other Flickr members (1,892)

Contacts (502)

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Testimonials (7)

  • view profile

    Madhu.... says:

    "What can I say except I wish I could borrow some of her talent. I have seen how her work has changed over time. I admire her learning and teaching ability the most...that she constantly is on the move with her camera. Her confidence in portraying her subjects is inspiring . Above all dear friend she is too :-) -thank you flickr for that."

    18th August, 2009

  • view profile

    *Linda says:

    "Pei is just brilliant. Her work is astounding and she is one of the most talented photographers I have come across. Her creativity and talent are such an inspiration to me.

    Pei, you rock!

    :)"

    16th June, 2009

  • view profile

    John Carleton says:

    "I can't believe it's taken me this long to write a testimonial for Pei. She is, quite simply, amazing. I've been visiting her photoblog since '03/'04 (can't quite recall) and have seen her photography go from wow to wowza! She's come a long way (baby) and she just keeps getting better. I'm consistently amazed by her work.

    I'm very happy to have finally met Pei IRL, and can't wait to lure her and Eric up to beautiful Portland (hopefully) for good. ;-P"

    8th September, 2008

  • view profile

    ladder_711 says:

    "Her aesthetic is incredible and her sense of capturing what is real in a moment is a never ending wealth of inspiration for me.

    She is inventive, imaginative, skilled and exceptional. I would trust Pei with my most serious of photo assignments and the most important very often being that of the wedding of two lovers who wish to document their new magical lives together.

    She is reliable, responsible, warm and exceptionally creative. A photographer to be admired and watched for years to come!"

    4th February, 2007

  • view profile

    MOEVIEW is Aaron Molina says:

    "Penelope is in fact born a monster. Over the years her transformation from a monster inside a humans skin has still to this day baffled scientists. Penelope loves water towers, cold soup and the sound of broken children's toys. She is also an amazing photographer. Keep up the good work Penelope."

    5th February, 2007

  • view profile

    * rel. says:

    "a stunning vision pervades
    her aesthetic shell.
    a magic flair she weaves
    instrinsic slices of life's
    momentous beauty.

    a witness to her photo aptitude,
    i have been inspired copiously
    by her craft and humanity that
    distinctly dwells thru this loom.

    it is my fortune, to call pei a friend
    and a flickr p.i.c. (partner in crime :)"

    7th October, 2006

  • view profile

    ~ fernando says:

    "What do people do? Oh, they do many things... sometimes even get married. I think it is a benefit for people to pose for Pei, but I think they do not know this before they do it, only after. That is because they cannot anticipate how Pei is to see them differently than they could imagine. A lot of this comes through hard work behind the scenes, but also rather spontaneously, and that is where Pei excels: she can put those two factors together to show us the world that she sees, that is convenient full of people. It is nice to find out what people do though Pei's camera... just take a peek inside, and you will not see the value of tabloid again :)"

    24th September, 2006

Joined:
December 2004
Hometown:
Tuba City, Arizona
Currently:
Bay Area, California, USA
I am:
Female
Occupation:
Special Education Teacher
Website:
Penelope's Loom
Email:
peiketron [at] yahoo.com