Summer begins and I am teaching in the street....

Summer begins and I am teaching in the street....

I have been non stop for a couple of months now, and boy am I loving it. Yes I am working long hours, processing lots of shots and driving up and down the island a fair bit, and yes, long may it continue.

We have had a funny bit of weather over here (hey look you can take the man out of England but he will still talk about the weather), it was Winter, and then in like a blink the sun came out and stayed out. The island had a draught, up here in Linkou the pool closed, and the water supply was rationed. For two days a week we had to use water stored in a bath to wash, fill the cistern, etc etc. 

Over the last few weeks though it has more than made up for that, 181mm in Taichung in one night and it didn't stop there. Where the rivers were dry, they are now flowing torrents, driving back to Taipei after an event last week was an experience which demanded my utmost concentration at times, as visibility diminished in the heavy weather. We were a couple of weeks into this rain when I got the call from the guys at Frog in a Sock asking if I was interested in hitting up the pool again this summer. Well, what can a busy photographer do but grab an opportunity to get to hang out on a Saturday afternoon, listening to great DJ's spin the best vibes, surrounded by Taiwan's greatest party crowd. 

And would you believe it, the sun came out, the temperature got up into the mid 30 degrees (No I will not give that in Fahrenheit, I am British.), and global revellers poured in from all around the island to make the fun, and welcome in the start of, judging by this crowd, an epic summer.

If you're in Taiwan then bet along to the Roadcastle Waterpark and bust a move...

Vicar, the infamous crate digger played a cracking set in the heat of the afternoon.

Dj Cross Cutz got the crowd bouncing as the sun began to sink low in the sky.

Always on a good vibe with a tasty, ice cold, Frog in a Sock bucket of punch.

It's arrived, the new flag of Havana Land, all hail.

Winner of this years Taipei round of the Redbull 3Style DJ Championships, DJ Marcus Aurelius - 馬克思 Plays the closing set.

Full to the rafters and beyond, DJ Marcus Aurelius - 馬克思 rocks the crowd with his eclectic funky sounds, keeping the packed dance floor and beyond hungry for more and more.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any hotter...boom in comes the gorgeous Sam Smile and.....

....raises the roof....Literally!

In total contrast to the heady day poolside, part of what I have been doing over the last few weeks is teaching street photography using Fujifilm X100 series cameras. My student is a lovely lady named Mira, she has got herself a Fujifilm X100T, an excellent, and as ever with Fujifilm, inovative camera.

Recently I updated the firmware on my X100, it's like a different camera, thank you Fuji for the updates. I really like the focus peaking function, I am trying to practice using manual focusing as much as I can on my Fuji cameras. The X100T has a little pop up screen which helps even more with focusing, offering a magnified view  of the area in the focus point, within the main viewfinder, brilliant.

Admittedly I had been neglecting my X100 since I got the X-E2, however hitting the streets with it again reminded me what a perfectly designed bit of kit it is for street work. For me, teaching is a great thing to do, I never thought I would do it, or could do it even. Admittedly I may not be the most organised when it comes to class structure, I am very much into practical work and then discussing the shots made in the last part of each session. I enjoy very much the process of looking, and explaining how I see things and get my head and eye tuned in to the world around me. As pretentious as I may sound, I enter an almost meditative state.

It is actually lovely to be out with Mira, she has a great eye and with a little practice and familiarity with her camera it will be second nature to enter the settings to create the shots she sees. Like most things in life, it is about putting the hours in if you want to reap the rewards.

Directions.

The great strength of the X100, spot a shot, make the shot.

Encouraging Mira to explore the scene and look at more varied angles.

Heading out for our first walk around the streets, I pointed out this shop and said to Mira, "Now what we need is an older couple wearing something typical for the everyday to walk past." Sometimes you see the shot, you just have to wait a little for the right moment to catch up with your vision.

Smoking.

It was very hot around Longshan Temple on this morning.

Naked Birds.

So that has bought us to the end of this blog episode, I do hope that you enjoyed it. I will talk to you a bit more about all the editorial work I have been shooting over the last couple of months soon. I have already updated my website with a few of the portraits if you want to take a look.

I am gradually getting around to putting my site through a diet and work out to make it nice and trim, much like myself. Thankfully Mrs. L and I have a fitness centre a short walk from us with a really lovely pool and weight room. I have been trying to make the most of it, photography can be fairly physical work sometimes believe it or not. I wouldn't want to pull a muscle stretching to get the right angle for the shot I want, or even worse, not be able to get to that angle at all.

As ever, thank you for taking the time to look at my work, please go ahead and share it, leave a comment or ask any questions you may have.

Should you need a photographer feel free to get in touch anytime, I am always happy to hear from people around the world regarding any work they would like to talk about. You can reach me here or through my website: www.duncanlongden.photography

Hit me up on Instagram (my following is growing, but I want it to really fly), Tumblr and Twitter for all the most up to date news and exclusive photographs.

Take care, talk of what you love, not what you don't.

Cheers,

Duncan.