how it all began

it all began in april 2011 when my aunt sent to me an article in a chinese magazine advertising shu uemura north america’s first ever national competition; the theme of the competition was mystic nature. contestants were to submit one photo reflecting the theme and shu uemura would select 20 finalists to compete. i submitted this photo:

my idea was to contrast the cold winter snow with the sunkissed bronze summer face. photographer mark darren mui did a fantastic job in capturing the look: