Presidentially traditional

This traditionally built pavillion is in the garden of Taiwan's first president's home. While in Taiwan we visited the grounds of his home and it was all stunning to say the least. I'm enamored with traditional Chinese architecture, so needless to say I love this photo. This is actually a very large pavillion. If you notice in the bottom left of the photo I captured the head of fellow wandering about near it. At first I was bummed he made it into the photo, but then I realized how he helped expressed the scale of this structure. It's big, bigger than the photo suggests.

I think this photo would look nice framed with a wide white matte. Maybe I can find some wall space for it.

Moped city

You better keep an eye out when in Taipei, because if you don't you might just get run over by a moped. They are everywhere. The funny thing about the moped drivers is they all congregate at the front of the line at red lights. Then when the light turns green they all take off. Sometimes there are as many as 60 of them taking off at once. I joked that it seems like a real-life mario cart game. And, check out the signage in this photo. It's like that practically all over the city. Times Square has nothing on Taipei.

A new Taiwan facade

Here's another side of Taipei, a more polished side as compared to the previous photo. We went for dinner this evening with our associate architects near Taipei 101 (previously the tallest building in the world). That district has some pretty outstanding new architecture. I love the building from this photo. The facade is treated as a canvas. But, what I really enjoy about this photo is the golden rings in the foreground. These were from an installation at the entry for Johnnie Walker.

Ni hao from Taipei

Ni hao (and if you really mean it, KNEEEE-hooow!) means hello. That is officially 33 percent of my Mandarin speaking capabilities. I went for a walk last night to grab some photos of the area next to the hotel. There is a night market which is where this photo was taken. It's actually much more crowded here than this photo suggests. And, there is no law in Taipei concerning signage, therefore it is everywhere. I have no clue what this says, and honestly I'm not sure any Taiwanese know what it says either, likely because they simply don't read it.

What's really suprising about this photo is that there is no one in it. I'm incredibly amazed by that because there were actually tons of people around. Tons of people are around all the time actually. It's almost shoulder to should everywhere you walk.

More soon.

Cameo appearance

Meet Cameo. Cameo is my friend Shae's dog. Cameo is a sweet pup with a lot of spirit. And, she loves, loves to play. When I looked after Cameo a little while back, we would play frisbee in the backyard. I think "frisbee" might be Cameo's favorite word, because she sure perks up when you mention it. And, she's good at it too. I would sling that thing pretty good and she's be right up under it when it came to the ground. But, when my arm was as numb as Colt McCoy's and it was time to go back inside, Cameo would look at me like, "we're not done, are we?" So, of course, as she'd hoped, we'd play some more.

Cameo also seemed to have fun when we played a little photography game. That or she was simply intrigued with what this massive gadget was that I was sticking in her face. When the shutter would click her head would cock a bit and she'd sniff at the lens. I used my wide angle lens for this photo. I believe I had it all the way down to 18mm (which for you shutterbugs is similar to 28mm on an old 35mm.) So, it was pretty wide, which let me get all of her body in the shot while being fairly close up to her nozzle. Unfortunately, that lens can't focus at such a close range. But, I enjoy the photo nonetheless. However, since taking this photo I've been considering buying a new lens (it's like my version of buying shoes, there is always a great new one to have). The one I have in mind is the AF-DX Fisheye-NIKKOR 10.5mm f/2.8 G ED. It would basically give me the the focal distance capability of my macro lens with the wide angle view of a fisheye.

Thanks Cameo for the photoshoot!

Mockingbird's eye view

I love White Rock Lake. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before how much I love it. I love running it, cycling it, sitting on the benches next to it, and of course, photographing it. This photo is from atop a hill at the end of Mockingbird Lane. This was another of Ish and I's destinations the other night when seeking long-shutter photos. The reflections from the lights on the houses are nice in the water. And, generally this is a calm photo, much like the lake itself.

Nada Gran

A couple nights back, Ish and I went on another photography retreat of sorts. This time we tried for long shutter shots. We've both always loved the Granada Theater sign on Greenville Avenue, so we made our way there and set up the tripod. People were buying tickets and generally disregarding us as we did our "photographer thing". It didn't take too long to get a couple good shots of the Granada. I particularly like this one because the composition of the shot switches the way you read "granada".

And in case you are curious, Granada is a city in southeastern Spain, and apparently an excellent city to name theaters after.