I grew up surrounded by 福 — which pretty much means prosperity. And who doesn't want more of that, right? The Chinese version is the louder the better, just like how celebrations are meant to be — crowded, noisy, full of festive spirit.

Here's the thing though. I'm an introvert. I love the prosperity part. Not so much the loud and crowded part. But it seems like one doesn't come without the other. Or does it?

People always say "tradition is tradition", "it's only once a year", "it's not just about you." Tell that to any introvert and watch the whites of their eyes fold up.

I've always found it hard to express my version of prosperity — until I took this picture.

Some background. This was shot in Hong Kong, at a park connected to a temple. When I saw the neon 福 sitting in front of the temple I thought damn… that looks good. Neon isn't unique to Hong Kong but I think they made it cool. Anyway, I snapped it and moved on.

It was really during the edit — adjusting the balance between the neon foreground and the background — where I finally landed on an image that expressed my version of prosperity.

Subtle but present.

That's Prosper Quietly.