my great-grandfather was a coolie laborer that went from guangdong to trinidad and eventually to the u.s. where he pursued the american dream with a laundromat then a restaurant. when he would return home to relatives who were living off his regular remittances, instead of bringing suitcases filled with foreign exotic treasures--his suitcases were stuffed with rolls and rolls of film of photos he had taken.

all the sensible womenfolk relatives waiting at home scoffed at this kind of uselessness. i love this and i believe this the direct source of my phototaking impulses.