- January 21, 2012, Saturday.
- The lunar new year will be on the 23rd (this Monday,) and I thought of having a photoshoot at home since my mom would be away for the evening. I asked my neighbor Charmaine and my former-neighbor Riezeryl if they'd like to help out with the photoshoot; I promised I'd serve them dinner if they did. Both of them agreed, and thought it would be an unusual but colorful way to hang out.
- I called both of them to come over after my mom left for the night, and set up my living room as a studio, again, while waiting for both of them to come. I was just about to finish setting up when they came. That ought to have given them some time to rest before the shoot. I also played some music c/o my iPod so we'd be in the mood for the photoshoot. I played various folk/world music to get into that cultural mood during the shoot, and played random modern music during breaks.
- Once set, I started the shoot with a makeshift ao-dai to look Vietnamese. The Vietnamese call the lunar new year "Tet." I held a yellow fan and a "lixi," which is the Vietnamese name for the Chinese "angpao," or "hongbao."
- The next two sets were for the Tibetan "Losar" and the Mongolian "Tsagaan Sar." Both cultures share almost the same practices when it comes to the lunar/ lunisolar new year. For both shots, I presented a hada/khada. A hada or khada is a type of scarf that Tibetans (adopted later by Mongolians,) give out for well wishes, or in welcoming special guests.
- Since I'd be having a major costume change before the next set, I asked both of them to join me for dinner. As promised, I served them dinner, and so we all shared a nice tray of dumplings. I would've served more food, but I was out this afternoon (see last post.) Since there were only three of us, the dumplings were enough for us.
- After dinner, we proceeded with the Chinese set. I pretty much wore what I wore yesterday, and presented a small round tray with golden goodies and decors, while holding a Chinese fan (the ones used for fan dances.)
- I soon changed my attire to my hanbok and magoja for the Korean "Seolnal" or "Seollal." Just before my shoot, I had a short intermission number, by trying to do a fan dance, since a traditional Korean song just played in my iPod. Haha. I presented a persimmon (to represent any round fruit,) which is usually given and eaten during the lunar new year. This is also the same for the Chinese and the Vietnamese.
- The photoshoot for the lunar new year was technically over, but I also decided to shoot my "Songkran" set while we were at it. "Songkran" is the Thai new year, and it will be celebrated in April, together with the Cambodian, Lao, Oriya, and Sri Lankan new years.
- After the Songkran set, I had fun with my friends by dressing them up with my costumes. I knew how Riezeryl had a growing interest in the colorful Thai culture, so I decided to dress her up as a Thai. Since she was already dressed up, complete with the golden mokot (crown,) I dressed Charmaine up as an Indian, with a violet cloth as a sari. Later on, I dressed Riezeryl up as a Korean. Since I had an extra magoja in my room, I wore that, so out outfits would match.
- All of us quickly cleaned up after the shoot. I can't believe how quickly I was able to stash my costumes back in my closet properly, while the other two removed the background cloths from the walls and folded them neatly. Just a jiffy after we finished packing up, my mom came home, unaware of the craziness we had during her dinner out. The three of us settled down a bit after packing up, and talked a bit, before the two left for home.
- I'd like to thank Charmaine and Riezeryl, again, for a wonderful cultural photoshoot. Happy lunar new year to everyone!!
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