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Tan-blog

Journal

Reed diffuser and a dark bird figurine on a shelf

2 min readLife

Views: 1

Making a small room feel like home

Students and researchers abroad often live in small, temporary rooms. Some thoughts on why a few deliberate details matter more than space.

Blue smoke rising from a burning match

1 min readNotes

Views: 2

A note about the photos on this site

Most images here right now are by other photographers. Here is where they come from and how they are credited.

A weather vane against a pale sky

1 min readThoughts

Views: 0

Learning to look slowly

Research and photography look like opposite habits. Both turn out to be training in attention.

A woman in a conical hat among peach blossoms

1 min readLife

Views: 1

Peach blossom season

In northern Vietnam, Tết does not really begin until the peach branches arrive.

A river winding through a deep canyon in Hà Giang

1 min readTravel

Views: 4

Hà Giang: notes for a first trip north

Vietnam's northernmost province is all limestone, switchbacks and river canyons. A few things worth knowing before you go.

An alley in Taiwan with old buildings and greenery

2 min readThoughts

Views: 0

Being a foreign student, again

An MBA and now a PhD in Taiwan, with work in between. Some thoughts on what it means to keep choosing to be the newcomer.

The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall under a stormy sky, black and white

2 min readNotes

Views: 1

Seeing in black and white

Removing colour is not just a filter. It changes what a photograph is about: light, shape, texture and contrast.

Koi fish swimming in clear turquoise water

2 min readThoughts

Views: 0

Working with data honestly

Most dishonesty with data is not dramatic. It is a series of small, convenient choices that nobody else sees.

A crowded street market under colourful umbrellas

2 min readLife

Views: 0

In praise of the morning market

Supermarkets are convenient, but the traditional market is where a city shows what it eats and how it lives. A reflection on chợ in Vietnam and morning markets in Taiwan.

Turtle Tower in fog on Hoàn Kiếm Lake

2 min readTravel

Views: 0

A slow walk around Hoàn Kiếm Lake

The small lake at the heart of Hanoi is the easiest way into the city: a legend, a temple, an old quarter next door, and a walk anyone can do.

Reed diffuser and a dark bird figurine on a shelf

2 min readNotes

Views: 0

Keeping a research log

A plain, dated record of what I tried, what happened and what I decided. The simplest research habit with the biggest pay-off.