jeffwongdesign

I went to California recently and I tried taking as little as possible. In retrospect, it was the right decision, and truth be told, I could have subtracted more. In the photo above, you’ll notice a ton of things that are not included compared to the photo below. One of my priorities was to take my laptop and some camera equipment. As a last minute decision, I left behind the extra camera lens.

In hindsight, I probably could have left behind the tripod, lens hood and car charger. By packing lighter, you can do so much more. It also forces you to be a little more creative with the equipment you bring. Packing light translates into being more mobile, which is a good thing for travel.

After SmugMug, Philip and I grabbed some lunch in the Mountain View area.

After walking around, we decided on a Ramen restaurant.

As we entered, you could smell the aroma of Ramen broth. However, as we walked towards the back, they just cleaned the floors… which was reminiscent of a semi-sterile bathroom scent.

Despite the smell, the food was pretty good.

And the ramen was actually pretty tasty.

Philip, thanks for the tour and making some time to catch up. ^_^

While I was out in Cali, I had a chance to meet an old friend and comrade of mine, Philip. He wanted to show me his new gig, SmugMug.

Here’s the entrance.

When you first go in, you’ll see photos covering every wall, including the floors. Just to get to the top of the stairs takes a couple minutes because there are so many stories behind each photo.

As you walk up to the second floor, you get the sense of quirkiness and a laid back kind of environment.

There’s definitely a theme of large awesome photos from their customers, as well as a strange assortment of furniture. While the chairs look comfy, this room is a little crowded with furniture.

There are photos of their team, most of which are family members. SmugMug is a family operated company that hasn’t taken any funding. Pretty amazing that they’ve stayed competitive for the last decade. Props to any company that can do it without taking a mortgage.

Here’s a pic of their café. They’re actually remodeling their kitchen, and from the sounds of it, they have a legit chef that comes in to cook.

While most of the space is dark, there are occasional sky lights that let in a fair bit of natural light.

Almost every surface is plastered with photos, filled with rich detail and history.

Here’s a pic of San Francisco during the great fire. How the photographer managed to get this photo is beyond me. There’s a diagram of the setup, and it uses a kite. It’s mind boggling.

One of their developers had to hack together their own office/castle. You’ve got to love the energy of engineers. ^_^

There are actually office rooms for all the employees. Unlike the open space, these walls provide visual screening, but are semi-open, letting in ambient noise.

I guess the semipermeable walls could be a good and bad thing. Probably not awesome if you have someone really noisy next to you. Noisy neighbors could be a bummer.

I mean seriously, some of these landscapes are incredible. And to see them blown up to a wall mural is astonishing.

And there’s always something on tap. I’m talking about the exquisite, obscure, and most desired beers. These guys are serious about their brew.

Thanks Philip, for giving me a tour of your new gig. The space is pretty interesting, and the relationships that your company has built with customers is remarkable.

By the way, Philip is going to be a dad soon. Congrats to him and his wife! Hopefully I can be other there again soon to check out the kiddo when he/she arrives. ^_^ Cheers buddy!