My Origins

So during my little 2 day trip to Washington DC a few days back, I had the opportunity to visit my grandfather who is currently residing at the American Armed Forces Retirement Home in DC. He had moved there almost x3 years ago from southern California. So for everyone who has ever wondered why my last name is Davis, well he’s the reason.

My grandfather was a 30 year veteran of the armed forces and saw action in Pearl Harbor, Korean War and the Vietnam War. He is one of the few remaining survivors of Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was his first station assignment at the young age of 19. His last war was the Vietnam War, where upon he met my grandmother along with my father and 2 uncles. He helped them emigrate into the United States and when they arrived to the states, they had the option of keeping their heritage name or choose to take on my grandfather’s. My grandmother, father along with one of my uncles took on the last name of “Davis” while my other uncle took on “Phan”. So that is how I ended up with a last name of “Davis” and my middle name ended up being my heritage name, “Phan”.

My grandfather is pushing 88, but his mind is still there. He’s recounting his 30 years in the service into a book that he is currently writing. In the book, he told me there will be pictures and drawings from the war that has never been seen before. Apparently, the images he has was from a friend of his that passed away and were never published. So I’m pretty excited to read his book when he does finish it.

So for those who have wondered why my last name is Davis, this is why.

- D^2

HDR

I’ve always had a intrigue in doing HDR photos. HDR photos, also known as High Dynamic Range, brings out the highlights and darks of a picture. To achieve the best possible HDR photo, you need to combine multiple exposures of a certain image. Here are some of the pics from the East Coast that I rendered into HDR, hope you enjoy them.

- D^2

Central Park Frozen Over

Washington DC

With my last weekend of being in the East Coast and having 3 days off, I decided to hit up Washington DC. I spent the night at Julian’s place in Queens and took a morning bus to Washington DC. 4hrs later, I arrived to in DC after spending half my bus ride using Bolt Bus’s free wi-fi! First thing I did was visit my grandfather who stays in the Armed Force Retirement Home (more on that later). I spent the rest of the night hanging with some friends and dinner with another.

The next day I went exploring DC, enjoy the pics!

-D^2

Central Park

Last week I went to another place that was on my New York to-do list, Central Park. It was the perfect day to hang out in the park, it was nice bright and sunny. I ended up spending about 2 hours just walking and exploring the park and definitely wish I could see it during spring time when there is more color around!

- D^2

Philadelphia

So last weekend I had the opportunity to go to another city on my list to visit while I’m still in the east coast, Philadelphia. It was a brief 1.5 hr drive from my place and I ended up first going to the historic area of Philly. Walking around and seeing the sights and places that helped formed this nation was awe inspiring. There is an incredible amount of history that you see and feel within the buildings. Seeing all these places makes you take a step back  and realize how far we’ve come as a nation but at the same time how much further we need to proceed.

Hope you enjoy the pics!

- D^2

Carpenter’s Hall (The meeting place of the first continental congress)