Tag Archives: red

365 Project Progress

Well, I’ve already missed my first day.  I completely FORGOT about this whole thing yesterday after work and instead of getting out my camera, took out my laptop where I played Civilization IV to kill some time and relax after work.  The moral of the story? Civ IV kills photo sessions.

I won’t include photos that have already been posted here, namely the woman in Wulai and a wide-angle view of dancing students.

The first one, though, is a recent favorite. It was taken at Bao-an Temple, near Confucius Temple in Taipei. I used a “film” style filter in Aperture 3 and tweaked things so the door would stand out.  I liked the symmetry and even though it’s not perfectly in focus, I like how it turned out.  I took this on 02-28, when visiting Taipei.

The second two come from some experimentation. When I first started my adventures in photography, I used an apartment Buddha – a gift from a relative – as a muse for playing with depth of field, lighting, and composition.  He ended up in a post at one point, even, and I ended up taking him from Houston to Taiwan.

This time, I was able to practice with my SB-600.

This first image is with the 35mm set to f/1.8 to give a shallower depth of field.  I liked how the curtains blurred out and the effect this gave.  This was the work done on 03-01, though I did take some other photos that day outside.

My second image comes from a tiny makeshift “studio” I was experimenting with to learn more about light on Wednesday, 03-02.  I took a single A4 piece of paper and set it up on a wall to give him the “floating” look.

Some more images from that shoot follow.  I liked the more dramatic light created without a diffuser of any sort, but was also playing around with my diffuser to see how much it affects the image.  Turns out it does quite a bit.

Oh, and no excuses this weekend! I hope to get something created Friday (today) and DEFINITELY will have material tomorrow and Sunday.

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Sunsets and Sights in Jhubei

These are some shots of a recent sunset I was lucky enough to catch in a riverside park in Jhubei.  This park is on the southern edge of the city and borders the river which splits us apart from nearby, much larger Hsinchu.  In addition, it’s next to a set of train tracks, so I was able to practice getting some movement with my camera.

The first two shots of the sunset are HDR – I really think the 3 exposures were important to capture what the sky looked like that night…

…the next few shots feature these red-colored plants which grew up along the side of the hill like weeds.  Not a bad subject for a sunset.

…and lastly the train.  Notice the graffiti on the bridge – there’s not much of it here in Taiwan, but it’s kind of interesting how it’s less obnoxious to me just because it’s written in Chinese.  I’ve certainly noticed the same thing with advertisements and storefronts – odd how being a bit more removed from a culture changes your perception.

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Po Lin Monastery (Hong Kong Post 5)

This is ACTUALLY the last Hong Kong post… these photos come from Po Lin Monastery, which is located right next to the Tian Tan Buddha.

The monastery was interestingly void of most foreign tourists, as I was the only non-Asian I noticed inside the actual temple complex.  In what I noticed as a Hong Kong fashion for temples, there was a place to grab a bite at a vegetarian restaurant – which I’m guessing is directly connected to the temple as opposed to the Starbucks and Subway less than a kilometer away.

One of the first things I noticed were these GIANT incense sticks.  Yuling actually took one and compared it – they were bigger than her arm… while she doesn’t have huge arms, this is still impressive for an incense stick.  If I remember right, they were for sale for about $35 USD, which makes the following photo NOT cheap for the people who placed these…

As you may/may not have noticed through my photos, I’ve always been intrigued by this temple incense.  It really draws you in to this world that is outside the hustle and bustle of daily life and more focused.  I have visited a lot of temples between here and the US, and I can’t count how many people I’ve accidentally run into who were carrying this around some altar.  Something about it fascinates me as being very similar – but very different – from the Christianity I know.

In addition, they provide the perfect subject for a photographer – something still yet moving… something you can focus on… something that is both not too colorful and full of character.  You’ll see more of these in my blog.

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