About / life in motion

The rest of me
lives off-screen.

Dogs, a cat, plants, paint, difficult weather, long roads, and a camera that usually comes along.

20 moments / Minnesota + China
01

Home team

The quiet life is mostly fictional.

Sky, Clifford, and Mido keep the house honest, loud, and much better than planned.

Linkai Li outdoors with Sky and Clifford
The three of us / 2025Me, Sky, and Clifford.
Clifford the Great Dane caught in a backyard hammock
Clifford / Great DaneHammock: 1. Clifford: 0.
Mido the cat sitting by a window
Mido / CatFully composed.
Linkai Li holding Sky by a neighborhood lake in Minnesota
MinnesotaLake day with Sky.
Sky the German Shepherd as a puppy
Sky / Puppy eraBefore the paws caught up.
Clifford the Great Dane as a puppy among toys
Clifford / Puppy eraBefore becoming enormous.
02

Made + tended

A few things I kept alive.

Gardening slows the day down. Painting taught me to look twice before deciding what I saw.

A collection of young plants in Linkai Li's garden
GardeningMeasured in new leaves.
An oil portrait painted by Linkai Li in high school
Oil on canvas / High schoolOne of my first serious images.
03

Road notes

The camera goes too.

Long roads, difficult weather, and western Sichuan gave me plenty of reasons to stop and frame the view.

Linkai Li standing above a mountain landscape in Yellowstone National Park
YellowstoneKeep climbing.
A mountain and lake horizon photographed during a trip in the United States
U.S. road tripA horizon worth stopping for.
Water and sky photographed by Linkai Li in western Sichuan
Western Sichuan / Shot by meWater holding the weather.
A winding road through colorful mountains in western Sichuan
Western Sichuan / Shot by meThe road finds the color.
Layered mountain ridges photographed by Linkai Li in western Sichuan
Western Sichuan / Shot by meLayers, distance, light.
Blue sky and green grassland photographed by Linkai Li in western Sichuan
Western Sichuan / Shot by meRoom to breathe.
Linkai Li outside during a Minnesota blizzard
Minnesota / BlizzardWeather making a point.
04

Small detours

I usually take the interesting route.

A family frame, a difficult path, one reindeer negotiation, and very serious strawberry fieldwork.

A portrait of Linkai Li during a trip in China
ChinaA quieter frame from the road.
Linkai Li standing with family during a trip in China
TogetherA frame that feels like family.
Linkai Li climbing beside a rocky stream during an adventure
AdventureThe difficult route was the better one.
Linkai Li feeding a reindeer during a winter trip
TravelReindeer diplomacy.
Linkai Li picking strawberries in a field
Strawberry fieldFieldwork, but sweeter.