Getting the Shot: Ang Cai, Ph.D. ’17

Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences at sunset — “Sunset,” Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences, URI Kingston Campus

URI greenhouses in autumn — “The Greenhouses in Fall,” URI Botanical Gardens, Kingston Campus

gardens under a blanket of snow — “Greenhouse Garden in Winter” URI Botanical Gardens, Kingston Campus

Green Hall in the spring — “Dandelions at Green Hall,” URI Kingston Campus

a rainbow over the Pharmacy quad — “Another Rainbow Showing Up” Avedisian Hall, home to the College of Pharmacy, URI Kingston Campus

Ang Cai selfie — Ang Cai, Ph.D. 17, Pharmacy, is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rhode Isand in the Dept. of Biomedical & Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dept. of Chemistry. He lives in Wakefield, Rhode Island. Here he is crossing over Narrangansett Bay.

“Getting the Shot” features the photography of URI students and recent alumni whose work illustrates the intellectual curiosity and big thinking characteristic of our community.

Ang Cai doesn’t consider himself an artist. Photography is something he does in his off hours for the pure fun of it. “My work creates positive experiences for me,” he says. “Every time that I see the perfect shot in front of me, I cannot wait to share it with my friends.”

Bring on the thunder

Light gives a photo its soul. I am fascinated with light, whether it’s natural or man-made. When there is light, I capture the sunrise and sunset. At night, you’ll find me camping out in my car, taking time-lapse photos of the Milky Way at Point Judith in Narragansett or Charlestown Beach, Rhode Island. I am always excited when there is an upcoming meteor shower or super moon coming. Also, I’m always on the lookout for lightning and thunderstorms because there is always a chance of seeing a rainbow if the timing of the sunlight is right.

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A post shared by Leon Tsai (@leon_tsai_) on Nov 18, 2018 at 12:22pm PST

You just never know

Sometimes I don’t know I’ve gotten the shot until I open up the photo on the computer and something surprising is there. Last fall, I took a time-lapse of the stars and after I went home and pulled up the pictures on my laptop, I noticed there was a rocket launching track in my picture! I immediately looked it up online and found out that there was a rocket with cargo that was launched from Virginia early that morning.

Follow Ang on Instagram @Leon_tsai_