Noticing the pauses

My name is Joy Ho and I’m a photographer based in San Francisco, California. I’m a New Jersey native but moved out to the Bay Area three years ago for a new job in ad sales at a tech company. Outside of photography, I’m a fan of musical theater and the performing arts. Growing up in NJ meant the occasional day trip into NYC to catch a Broadway show and wander the familiar city streets. Moving across the country meant having to start from scratch and ground myself in a new city.

While SF has a vibrant theatre and performing arts community, I was itching to find creativity outside of the arts. Perhaps it was the loneliness of being across the country from family and friends or maybe it was the struggle of adjusting to a new environment, but I found myself engaging with photography content on social media as a source of comfort. I was drawn to how photographers could capture a moment in time and evoke curiosity and nostalgia. With the chaos of trying to complete a never-ending checklist that accompanied a cross-country move, photography was the answer to the question of how to press pause and ground myself in the present.

The Gear
When I first began my photography journey, I was looking for something portable and convenient. I came across the Olympus PEN E-PL10 which was touted as a solid choice for entry-level photography. Its small size made this decision a no-brainer for me, and I started slipping it in my bag as an everyday carry. I usually paired this with the M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.8 as my go-to lens for street photography, though I occasionally used the M.Zuiko 45mm f/1.8 as well. Since most of my initial pictures were the unique houses and doors in the city neighborhoods, this kit was an ideal setup.

As I got more comfortable using my gear, I also picked up a secondhand OM-D E-M5 Mark II body along with the M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.8 and 12-45mm f/4 PRO. I played around with different setups but found myself gravitating towards the 25mm on the E-M5 II the most. The electronic viewfinder on the E-M5 II was useful when shooting in bright light and the 25mm was the perfect focal length for me without being too wide or too narrow. Even though the E-M5 II was slightly larger than the E-PL10, it was still compact enough to carry without being too bulky. Now if I’m going out for a photowalk in the city, this is the combination I find myself reaching for the most.

San Francisco: A Starting Point
The transition from New Jersey suburbia to San Francisco opened a door of possibilities when it came to deciding what to shoot. Everyone has to start somewhere, and for me that meant fixating on the various architectural styles in each neighborhood. Like the microclimates in the city, the houses in each neighborhood were unique to their location. Picking a new neighborhood to explore each weekend was an easy way to familiarize myself with the city (in addition to getting my steps in as San Francisco is quite known for its hills).

While the houses in each neighborhood were interesting subjects with their vibrant colors and details, I wanted to push beyond architecture. I was hesitant to dive headfirst into street photography, but San Francisco’s Chinatown was the ideal playground to start experimenting with different compositions and framing while choosing humans as a subject rather than houses. Whether it was walking down a bustling Grant Avenue on a sunny weekend morning, or ducking into a side alley where the sound of Mahjong tiles clacking against each other echoed from the open doors, Chinatown had so many characters and hidden details. To this day, it’s still one of my favorite neighborhoods to visit whenever I need a creative reset.

As cheesy as the phrase “being a tourist in your own city” is, there’s never a shortage of interesting scenes when visiting these hotspots in SF. It’s helped me get more comfortable with my camera and has taught me how to look for different ways to compose a scene. Nothing beats having the Golden Gate Bridge serve as a backdrop in the Presidio, or feeling the setting sun on your face at golden hour at Lands End. Although I look to other photographers as a starting point for inspiration, I’ve been experimenting with my own takes on these locations. I’ve recently been having fun trying to find different ways to frame the bridge.

Beyond the Bay
Though most of my shots are local to the Bay Area, I’ve had the opportunity to travel internationally in the last few years. London’s streets and architecture created a new shooting experience. The city is known for so many iconic landmarks, but I was eager to capture different perspectives of the city. On my first trip to London, I had a lot of fun finding hidden corners in the various neighborhoods while also getting my fill of theater. I’ve only had the 17mm and 45mm in the times I’ve visited, but if given the opportunity to go back, I’d definitely want to take my 25mm along.

Taiwan was the first international destination where I tested the 25mm and 12-45mm. I had used the 17mm before, but the 25mm let me get just a tiny bit closer with the details. When walking around Taipei, I primarily used the 25mm. I could (gently) toss my camera in my bag whenever I headed out for a day in the city.

A short excursion to Taichung and Sun Moon Lake had me swapping my lens for the 12-45mm which turned out to be the right choice as I could zoom in on the smaller details while also having the flexibility to shoot the sweeping landscapes. Both lenses were extremely sharp and were well suited for my travels. On a separate note, it was at the summit of He Huan Mountain where I ran into a fellow Olympus camera user!

Off the Beaten Path
As I’ve grown more familiar with my camera, I’ve begun to notice smaller details I would have otherwise glazed over when I first started. I used to be so concerned with getting the “perfect shot” that I would miss out on other different but equally interesting shots. Recently I’ve been training myself to snap sets of images about the location rather than a single one of the place. Contextualizing the location with smaller details brings me greater joy since they give me a feeling of “I was here.” John Koenig sums it up perfectly in his Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows: “With every click of the shutter, you’re trying to press Pause on your life. If only so you can feel a little more comfortable moving on, living in a world stuck on Play.”

These little “Pauses,” whether that’s a pop of color or a reflection in a window, allow me to freeze a moment in time that is impossible to recreate and the post-editing process (I use Lightroom on a tablet) gives me a chance to reminisce while trying to evoke a sense of what I felt when shooting that particular scene. I’ve only scratched the surface in learning the capabilities of my E-M5 II, but I know I’ve found a gem in helping me capture these “Pauses.”