People I Admire

The Daily Edit |9|

/ Amanda N. Young / Leave a comment

So far in my editing process, I’ve been pretty happy with the results of tooling around with my editing software.  I’m not confident in my skills yet, but I would say most of my results have made me feel pretty positive about the exercise.   That being said, I’ve worked on the same photo two or three times over the last couple of days- and I honestly still like the original better than anything that I’ve been able to do as of yet.   I’ll post both the current edit and the original shot for comparison.

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Edited photo.

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Noni. Southamton, New York

What I should say is that in both shots, my friend Noni’s beauty is obvious.  I love the warmth and tone in her skin and have only been trying to highlight how luminous and lovely she is.

The Daily Edit

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Gerald Young. Yosemite, CA. November, 2016

I remember thinking as a young kid that I didn’t want to lose my sense of wonder. That it was important to me to be as adventurous, curious, and brave as I was as a child. I wanted to hold on to that same person inside of me that would run out without fear towards the farthest boulder in the ocean, or climb as high as I could go. I try to remind myself of that person as much as I can. I have these small moments of felling like I desperately miss that girl who would leap without looking- I’m worried that something in me has fundamentally changed and now I step more carefully on to those sharp rocks, and maybe only climb as far as I can reach where someone else might also be able to reach me. At the same time, I do know that I am still that girl. I do still take big risks and trust (or just flat out hope) that I will land true. Sure there are more synapses developed in the part of my brain that tell me that I should probably look before I jump. I’m a little more cautious with my safety than I was as a reckless, fearless child. What I am leaping towards isn’t necessarily as straightforwards as the next big rock, the next highest branch. But ultimately, I often still jump. Sometimes with what feels like both hands tied behind my back. I leap even when it’s towards a lot of uncertainty, new places in my life both physically and metaphorically. I think one of the biggest differences in how I leap is that I am afraid more often. I am not fearless. It may look like it from the outside in, but I try to not be reckless. Yes I jump, but I think about it a lot before I do. A big part of that is that I am more aware of how my actions affect others. I am more considerate of the people who may worry for my safety. Who may end up coming after me. I think that over the years I have developed a fierce sense of gratitude for those people in my life. Who let me run on the rocks, but were behind me (probably freaking out because they had at least a bit of sense where I did not), and willing to jump after me if I needed. I am so grateful. Dear Dad, thank you for 31 years of letting me jump. 31 years of climbing after me. Happy 61st Birthday. I love you.

The Daily Edit

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Doubling up on the photos today, since I missed yesterday due to several technical difficulties. We’re staying on the same trip as the last photo I posted. I had just arrived back to California, and I picked up my cousin from the airport. We drove the nutty mountain roads in the dark to Murphys, California, and then later to Yosemite with our families. An unexpected and lovely trip to welcome me back to my home state. I got to see half dome in person for the first time!

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Angie Yribe. Yosemite, Ca. November, 2016

There are too many things to say about this woman. She is truly the person who I love the most in my life. She has taught me about unconditional love in the best way, by showing it to all who enter her world. I was so happy to enter Yosemite Valley for the first time in my life with her by my side. More love, every day. Thank you Nana.

The Daily Edit.

/ Amanda N. Young / Leave a comment

Remember that quote?

“Dream big. Start small. But most of all, start.” – Simon Sinek

I haven’t given myself time to forget it yet. I’ve decided to give myself small goals. One at a time. So here we go.

First small goal- to edit and share photos from my last year of traveling and exploring- at least one photo a day. Just to make it seems less intimidating, I’m going to start with just one a day for a week. I will try to share a little something with each photo. Even if all it is, is a caption.

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USF Verftet, May 2016

I went to Bergen as a starting point, before I went to Eid. This was where I would have a week in a restaurant where I’d only heard of the Chef through our mutual friends. Then something amazing happened. I fell in love with a community of people. I became a part of something that sucked me in and made me do everything I could to stay. Bergen, and the community I found there, became home base for the 6 months that I spent in Denmark and Norway. I tried to stay longer. I wasn’t successful, and I still find myself a little sad thinking about these amazing people and how much I miss them. A little bit before I flew back to New York, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Irmelin and Anne Kim, a girls night. And just so much fun. I do want to visit Bergen again. But the thing that pulled me in the most was the people. We’re all a bit scattered around now, as is what happens in the restaurant industry. Maybe in this case – to a little bit more of an extreme with such an international community. I like to think that it only furthers my desire to continue my travels. If only to spend more time with each of them.

You Take it, and you Make it.

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I find myself looking ahead at this New Year and already my expectations are high- my dreams are too many-too big- and overwhelming. It’s a typical habit of mine. So, I wonder what I can do to narrow the scope. Towards the end of 2016 I find myself with several notebooks full of lists, brainstorm diagrams, cartoon drawings, concept art, etc. : ideas written on c-folds, post its, pieces of green tape, various restaurant’s menus and guest tickets- of a thing that I’ve been gearing up to do for over a year. Of “this thing I’m working on”. I keep talking about it, trying to narrow down what it is going to be. A website? A magazine? A blog? And who it will serve. Myself? Will it give a written voice to these crazy subjects that I have become so passionate about? I think-ugh. Does anyone even want to know what I think?

An example of my messy brainstorming. A draft half formed.

One of the people who has inspired me immensely this past year to continue to put pen to paper, even when I’ve yet to have something to show for it- is a friend of mine who manages to just make amazing things. Regularly. I frustratingly compare to this truly remarkable ability to work hard to my haphazard collection of notes and feelings of inadequacy. To my concern that nothing I do is ready yet or perfect yet- so it stays in this constant state of gestation. Ideas are happening, but nothing is made. I try to remind myself that it doesn’t have to be “finished”. That just getting notes down is a start. That an outline from those notes is a step, that writing a draft, and even publishing it with all of the fear that entails- is something. Is work. I try to remind myself that I can come back to it. Add in photos. That I shouldn’t stop taking photos because I’m so disappointed in the ones I have. Don’t stop taking things in. Don’t stop trying to make it.

“Don’t stop taking things in. Don’t stop trying to make it.”

To be completely honest- this whole post started because I wanted to share my friend’s end of the year post in a more meaningful way than simply reposting it to my Facebook wall. It was more about highlighting his work and my admiration of it. I hope to start to showcase these people in my life who are amazing! At least, that’s another idea I’ve written down somewhere. So I started to write, but here this draft has sat for weeks. Now that I’ve returned, it’s become a vastly different story.

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Here I work towards yet another goal, better photos through editing.

In any case, before I forget- please take a moment to check out some of what Justin Khanna is doing on YouTube (his Hong Kong Video is still one of my favorites) , and on medium for his 2017 Playbook. A piece that is much more thought out than this writing has turned out to be.

For me- I feel like the pregnancy of “this thing I want to do” has been a big part of 2016. I plan to see it through to being a tangible, made part of 2017. I am willing to grow it as organically, and hopefully less messily than all of my crazy notes. I plan to push myself to write, to create, to continue to take pictures and draw concepts, and this year- I’m going to share them. Really.

A foray into wine studies

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I feel I understand what may have motivated Maryse Chevriere of freshcutgardenhose to illustrate wine descriptions .

I’m currently reading a treatise of a wine style by a Master of Wine.  I stumbled upon the website Tastingworks.com recently in my very broad stab at researching what I refer to as “my next move”.   I have found myself captivated by this academic and erudite approach to wine.  Yet while her very technical knowledge is incredible and worth a second and even third read, I still have eye crossing moments, as I visualize phrases like :

“…like peeking into a barn filled with bruised golden delicious and razor apples”

or

“The tannins resemble vibrating cello strings”.

Now, as a former cello student, I know what a vibrating cello string looks like. How does that translate to the 2007 Château Rayas that Lisa Granik MW was referring too? How does that look? How does that taste? Now I want to know.  Lisa Granik’s writing is challenging in a way that I love.  I am fumbling through. An amateur in the most real understanding of the term.   I have made one of my newest Moleskin notebook acquisitions into a messy list of terms to look up. Wine terms, dictionary terms.  I am reading what feels like an academic paper.  One that showcases an immense amount of knowledge and expertise and yet is still engaging. I would love to find a writing style that is somewhere between where I am now and what she does. It is inspiring.

What my reading has reminded me again and again is that truly I am a wine noob.  I begin to read one of Tastingwork’s blogs about Châteauneuf-du-Pape and find myself flummoxed as I try to understand the context. I can’t at first. I’m lost. Wait, all of the times that my friend John referred to this wine I assumed it was the name of a wine. It’s not? There are different CDP’s? Is it a region? No-not exactly. What? What’s an AC? How does that apply- what? What?  Having to relearn what I was reading about before I could go on reading about it- that’s a new one.   I start to think about the assumptions that John had to have made in his references to this wine. And the assumptions that I made while listening to him.   I started to think about the way he refers to wine as an educated professional. Do I talk that way about food to him? And to others? I’m sure that I do.

I know that I do.   You should see my recipe notebooks. Most of the recipes are simply a list of ingredients. Sometimes there are brackets and arrows as the only instruction. Some that have instruction are written in a restaurant shorthand. Sentences like “Whip eggs as to make pate bombe.” or “Temper in eggs (Anglaise).”  Don’t even get me started on Baker’s percentages. Sheesh.

In my most roundabout way I am trying to get to three general points.

One: People who have immersed themselves in a course of study and a community of other people who do the same have a tendency to forget that everyone else might not know what they know. So when someone- like my sommelier friend John, assumes that I know exactly what he’s talking about- I should take that as a compliment. And then feel free to ask questions.  Lots of questions.

Two: When I talk about things that I am immersed in and surrounded by, I should take care not to assume that everyone around me knows what I’m talking about.

Three: Maybe when we are intimidated by a culture or a person, or assume that there is a level of snobbery associated with it that feels unbreachable- that some of that doesn’t necessarily come from a condescending place.

“…The whole part of the restaurant industry that just seems over the top sometimes: can and should include a certain amount of humor.”

Beyond this- there is something else that I LOVE to point out… Wine descriptions, food descriptions, the whole part of the restaurant industry that just seems over the top sometimes; can and should include a certain amount of humor.  There are a lot of things to learn.  Just, don’t forget to laugh. And don’t forget that it’s good to ask questions. It’s great to find something that makes you pull out a dictionary. Or, well, ask the internet.

And if you haven’t seen Maryse’s amazing illustrations on instagram yet, please do. She’s incredibly talented. Just won a James Beard Award in fact.  But more importantly, she has a good sense of humor.

Relevent Links:

Find Lisa Granik’s brilliant writing at Tastingworks

Enjoy Maryse Chevriere on instagram at  freshcutgardenhose

Stop by and see what I’m up to on instagram at amandavertigo