Mililu Photography

❮ ❯ I have to admit that, over the past few months, I wasn't the most consistent in terms of my well-being. I didn't go out, didn't move around, or eat healthily as much as I would've liked; instead, I constrained myself inside my room, indulging in the temporary pleasures like snacks, screens, and isolation. Frankly, it didn't feel ideal; I regretted doing it. It felt like all the progress I made went to waste, and I betrayed myself and others by doing it. I was reverting to a state reminiscent of my old self—a daily descent into my undesirable self. All the while, I would make plans in my head to get myself back into motion, but I always found myself not having the energy or motivation to do so, until... "Why are you so fat now? You used to be skinny," these words and many variations of them were repeatedly said to me by my mom. I have mixed feelings about how my mom communicates; it can sometime...

❮ ❯ Some of these photos, as you can see, have a creative spin to them. I decided I wanted to create something more artistic with the photos I took. It was fun using my cats as muses in the images, as I could transport them into whatever world my imagination could come up with and see my ideas come to life. I also just wanted to do something where I could portray my feelings and present them in a way that will hopefully make people think and relate. Sometimes I see a photo and imagine a story. Take the "Disgust" gif I made; it was originally a photo of Lucy lying on my chair, and she just so happened to make that interesting face. I thought it was hilarious, it looked as if she was making a face of disgust, and so I created "that", a GIF of Lucy judging something or someone with vehement disgust. It's definitely something I want to do more of in the future.

❮ ❯ Today I revisited Weymouth Beach as I felt I didn’t do it justice during my previous visit and as a chance to hone my skills and apply newly learnt techniques. My favorite photo is definitely the beach under the dimly lit sky.

❮ ❯ Yesterday I took these photos during my visit to One Tree Hill's monument and the nearby Cornwall Park. I went there for Matariki, hoping to see and photograph the iconic stars. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn’t realize the stars only rise during the early morning between 5:00 AM and 6:00 AM. I probably won't photograph Matariki this year due to my lack of resources, but hopefully next year I will be able to do so. Nonetheless, it was still incredible, from hiking up Maungakiekie and seeing the towering monument up close to the lush scenery of Cornwall Park—it’s such an astonishing and beautiful place. My favorite photos have to be the portraits of the man playing an electric flute. Those two shots came about as I walked to Cornwall Park; I noticed a faint yet calming oriental tune in the distance. As I got closer, I spotted a man playing a flute under a pagoda. Fascinated, I walked up...