Chinese New Year.

I am sorry it has been a while, as you are about to see I have been around the world and making a lot of photographs. I am not going to flood one blog with all of them so I will start with the Chinese New Year.

If you don't know it is the year of the horse, it is not the first time I have enjoyed Chinese New Year, but it is the first time I have been around for the build up. It starts getting very busy, everyone heads out to special markets to stock up on tasty treats and the streets get decorated with lanterns and lights.

January was a very busy month for travelling. I returned to the UK for the New Year there and made shots of the floods (that is another posting so keep a look out for that.), I then headed to Singapore. It was the first time I had visited Singapore and I will do a blog on that too. After Singapore we popped back to Taiwan and then off to Hong Kong before finally getting back to Taipei and a chance to get up to date with everything.

I have been processing so much that I strained my eye. I got a bit worried, but it is calming down a bit so hopefully will stop twitching soon.

Like I said, there will be episodes to come from each of the trips but for now, here are shots from around Asia of the Chinese New Year....

First of all of course, from Singapore, this magnificent Horse. It was the lead of an impressive lantern display near Chinatown.

When I returned to Taipei from Singapore I headed to Dihua Street market, rigged up my Rogue Lightbender onto an off camera, hand held speedlight and headed into the throngs of people busy stocking up.....

Entrance to the market...

Fresh fruit Tea to keep you going.....

Sweet and savoury Rice and Yam cakes...

Toffee Strawberries....yummy!

Hot Ginger Tea....Delicious! 

Of course, plenty of pic'n'mix....

Dried Squid......

A superb spread of succulent Sausages..... 

Dried Fish and Shrimp/Prawn...

Do you want to try? Dried Peach, they were really good.....

The market in Taiwan was great, everyone was super friendly and offered me tasters of all sorts. As ever I will try almost anything and made some great discoveries, these Peaches are something I will definitely keep an eye out for.

A few days spent in Taiwan and I was back on a plane again and off to Hong Kong. Like Singapore it would be the first time I had made it out of the airport and into the streets. 

I liked Hong Kong from the start, it has a great vibe about the place and I look forward to future visits. I shot hundreds of photographs in Hong Kong, the following are from the New Year market in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay and some shots of the lantern display at Tsim Sha Tsui. The market was a bit more lively, with people on P.A systems getting the crowd going. In the evening sun it was a colourful experience and great fun just to hang around.

The Security weren't too pleased that I climbed over the barrier, I just smiled and made the shot, it had to be done.

As always, spread the love and share my blog around, it is for everyone to enjoy.

I go back to school tomorrow to continue learning Mandarin, I also will be finally getting started building my new website. My book will hopefully be back from the printers and then sent out around the world to Editors, Art Buyers and Agents, if you are one of the above and want a copy get in touch quickly as they are very limited editions.

I hope you enjoyed this selection, next time the subject will be the floods in the UK, I put on my Landscape photographers cap and set out risking life and limb (well a wet foot) to make some gorgeous shots.

Spread the word, hit follow and don't be afraid to say hi......

 

Plenty going on.....

My third month in and it has got busy.....great.

I am going to school and learning Mandarin, Monday to Friday sees me on the bus to Taipei at 08:30 school books in my bag. The morning light in Taipei is by far the nicest I have seen since I got here, it is clearer and less hazy as the humidity hasn't filled the air with vapour. I can see that I will have to be up earlier and earlier to make the landscapes I want. That is cool though, I like to be up and about when everyone else is still sleeping. I don't know when the first bus to town is but I will soon find out.

Sadly though the weather has changed and we are in for a week of rain, I am not worried too much about it and will look to make some shots of the wonderful reflections in the wet streets. Writing that has given me a great idea where to start.

It is not just school that has made me busy, I have had several shoots too. First up was an opportunity to cover Taproot. A guy called Tony Collridge is behind Taproot. He is an American Taiwanese with roots in the Taiwanese indigenous people. The short story is that many many moons ago Taiwanese set off from this beautiful land and began to populate islands, they finally ended up in New Zealand. The Maori people are directly descended from indigenous Taiwanese. Tony had organised a cultural exchange and a group of Maori students where coming for a whirlwind trip to Taiwan. I was asked if I could spare a couple of days to cover the trip. Of course I was into that and soon found myself heading on a train to Taichung. I had not been on a train in Taiwan before, I don't have the best track record getting around on public transport. I even managed to get the wrong bus, then the wrong MRT (underground) to college the other day and I had been going there for a week. Seems like luck was on my side and about 5 hours later I made it to my destination. No sooner had I got there than I was out to the night market with the students. What a great laugh that was, they sure knew how to shop. I think it was the best trade that town had seen in a while, shoes, trousers, T's the lot, loaded down with bags it was back to the accommodation to get set for an early, and full day.

I have been waiting for an opportunity to use the Rogue Flashbenders (www.expoimaging.com) I was supplied a few weeks back (I had had a little test and you can see the results below), So as the sun was up and I wanted to use a bit of fill in flash, this was the perfect opportunity. The Rogue Flashbender is a simple but effective speedlight (flash) modifier, they enable you to bounce the flash and therefore not have a hard light that the direct flash would give. I only used one, and hand held it as you can see reflected in the glasses, it softened the flash and filled the subject with a nice even light, perfect.

 As I said I had already had a little play around with the Flashbenders, the main reason for the practise was because Travel in Taiwan Magazine (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/travel-in-taiwan/id588665954) had asked me to cover a feature on Kumquat Farmers as part of their ongoing focus on food in Taiwan and also a great Indigenous Artist. Demedeman (https://www.facebook.com/Demedeman?ref=ts&fref=ts) creates her pieces with a mix of traditional materials, feathers beads and shells mixed with modern materials such as safety pins and nuts, as in nuts and bolts. I have to say the generosity and overwhelmingly warm welcome I got from both the Farmers and Demedeman was extremely heart warming. The people here are amazing, I just love them. The features will be in the March issue of Travel in Taiwan, I am contracted not to show the photographs so you will have to wait, sorry. You can check out other issues from the link above, I certainly will be looking forward to more shoots for them and the opportunity to meet more of Taiwan's wonderful people as well as seeing the beautiful country.

The shots I can show you are from the tests. I first shot a still life, using one Flashbender as a main light and a second formed into a tube to create a snood (spot).....

The second test I made was with portraits in mind. I set up one Speedlight and Flashbender on a stand to light the plants and also bent it to create the light on the shoulder. Two directions from one Speedlight, sweet.The second was hand held and used to fill, and counter the sun. The model is of course my lovely and super patient wife :-)....

And finally, Dominic Paul (http://dominic-paul.com/), a talented Make-up Artist I shot for in the summer got in touch. He had been approached by Zélé (http://www.zelemagazine.com/) who wanted to publish some of the shots....

So like I said at the top, it certainly has been a busy few weeks. I have finished my promo book of "The Collectors" and it is off for a proof print soon. I am very excited about that and hope it will bring plenty more portrait shoots my way. I am back to the UK on new years eve and then am looking at a possible trip to Singapore. At the end of January I am heading to Hong Kong, if you need anything or anyone photographing while I am there get in touch to confirm dates.

Next time I will post the shots from my first Urbex adventure, I got some beautiful shots and am eager to collect more soon.

Hit the follow button and please share....... 

  

Things are going well...here are some photographs.

The last couple of entries on this blog have been a bit wordy, and I think it is time this is addressed.

Things are going ok here in Taiwan, I have met some good people and looks like I will be working on a couple of exciting projects, you will hear all about it before Christmas I guess. Until then enjoy these shots I made over the past couple of weeks.

Don't be afraid to let me know what you think.

Be sure to turn others onto my work, I share it to be shared.

If you need a photographer in Asia get in touch.

Stay tuned for more exciting instalments from Taiwan coming soon!!!

iPhone 5s, photographers thoughts and compositions around Taipei, Taiwan.

Ok, so it has been a month since leaving London to hang out in Taiwan. I am looking down the barrel of starting Mandarin lessons at college, I'll be travelling into Taipei on a daily bases for 2 hours of class. I am going to give it all I have and hopefully the awkward silence in the kitchen with my Mother in-law will start to become a thing of the past.

It might sound strange, and I am really keen to start to be able to properly communicate and understand more of what I hear and try to read, but I will somehow miss the bubble I have been in. Those that know me, know that I am a chatty fellow, they probably wondered how I would get on in a non English speaking world. It has been a very good experience, I have become far more philosophical and contemplative. I have been given a chance to really think about how I see the world around me, how it influences my photography and the direction I want to move in. I hope that I can keep a hold of the almost childlike view I have of the world around me here. Whilst listening to Grayson Perry's Reith lectures the other evening, he told a story of a group of school children being asked, "what does a contemporary artist do?". At first, one precocious young girl replied "hang out in Starbucks looking at their iMacs". Quite a witty observation, and maybe some who claim to be "artists" do just that in the hip parts of town. However after a guided visit of The Whitechapel Gallery, the same question was asked. This time the girl replied "they notice things".

I have never felt comfortable calling myself and artist. I, like one of my photographic heroes Ansel Adams, prefer to think of myself as a craftsman. However over the years and from an early age I have come to realise that maybe I do notice things others may not. Going for walks with my wife regularly offers examples of this. I do believe this is something that I have practised and trained myself to do, I try hard to switch my brain on to my surroundings, slow down my pace and observe the world around me. Everyone is always in such a rush, they miss the beauty in the small things all around them.

I went to see the lovely people at Expoimaging (http://www.expoimaging.com) who have supplied me with a Rogue Lightbender to play with (I have shot something already and will discuss later, so far though I really like it). After the meeting I wanted to head across town and get some good speakers for my PC. My two great loves are photography and music, having spent a month listening via a Wowee gel speaker (which is a great little thing, but not forever), it was time for something better. I am never one for the underground if I have time to walk, so off I set. It wasn't far until I saw a lovely red door and took out the X100 from my bag. Bollocks, I had left the memory card in my card reader, what a massive schoolboy error!

A problem is actually and opportunity right? Haha.

Actually, yes. As I mentioned in my last blog I recently got the iPhone 5s, this is all I had to work with now so, switch on brain and think. Instagram is so popular that iOS7 has added a square format option to the camera. So lets think about composition, just because it is so easy for us all to take thousands of images of our world it should not make us lazy. I actually really enjoy working in a square format, my ongoing portrait project "the Collectors" is shot in a square format. So I set myself the challenge of shooting in that format, it is representative of all the photographs popping up on facebook straight from instagram. Personally my preference is snapseed and google+ but I cover all the bases anyway. Lets get started with the shots I made on that 2km (ish) walk through Taipei from Section 2, Rén'ài Road, to Bó'ài Road, Zhongzheng District, Taiwan. Bó'ài Road is where most of the photographic shops are located in Taipei and I was looking for some flash kit prior to heading to the electronics tower near Taipei Main Station for the speakers.

Well enough waffle, lets get on with the shots and look at making a little effort with what you have can make a difference....

This is the red door that bore witness to my profanity, it seems like a simple shot, and it is but I thought about what I was doing and how I could tell a story and invite the viewer to look around the frame. The shape of the door lends itself to a square format but there is more to it. The door being open invites you to look through it and then question where the steps lead. The white plant stand is bright and draws your eye but by placing the door and the plant stand on the thirds lines they balance. The ironwork on the door sections it into quarters and frame the letterboxes stuffed with junkmail which add to the story behind the door and adds both intrigue and texture. I took a little time and made what could have been a snap into a photograph.

The same subject but different angles. It was the Lemmy sticker that caught my eye, a familiar face perhaps. I apply the rule of thirds all over this shot. The Lemmy sticker is on a thirds convergence point. The metal roller shutter takes one third of the image and the blue wall the other two thirds. The lower right two thirds has the odd circles and line which are in the concrete used to construct the building. The question is, does the piece of wood add or subtract from the shot. I kept it central and was careful to try and make it reach as close to the centre as possible. The wood is an extra layer of contrast and texture but it competes, perhaps a little burning in and toning down would help balance that.

I then moved to the side, switched the proportions of thirds between the roller shutter and wall. I used the depth of field and horizontal lines on the roller shutter to bring the eye back to the foreground. Our eyes are naturally drawn to bright areas and also sharp areas in photographs, both are important compositional aspects. I feel there is a bit of a battle between the weathered texture of the wood and the sticker. It is natural for us to recognise faces and we look at them but the texture of the wood and compositional balance, for me anyway distracts me from the sticker. There also appears to be some barrel distortion from the iPhone 5s. 

  I was attracted to this shot by the light falling on the building with the interesting iron work, and the tree. Although a photograph is a 2 dimensional object as a photographer I am responsible not only for the vertical and horizontal rule of thirds but also for the foreground, middle and background of the photograph. I liked the tree and building so wandered around a bit to compose this shot. I wanted to try and use the balconies of the apartments on the right to lead you into the shot, the triangle created with the cables was also intentional to lead the eye to the tree. This is an example of leading lines to move your eye around the shot. In the background are a group of men walking up the street, I waited for them to reach the pool of light to add just a little depth and further interest. I think perhaps the buildings in the background are too bright, distracting attention away from the tree. This can easily be adjusted using post processing techniques in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop.

Just keeping it very simple always works. Texture and the rule of thirds makes this shot.

This is the same place as the shot above but I have looked at it in a different way. Symmetry is also something to look for whilst thinking about composition. With all the strong leading lines of the bars, and texture in the rusty metal, this shot was calling to me. I could have snapped and walked but I took a minute, tried to level everything up and get that symmetry as well as looking at the subject beyond the bars and incorporating the middle and background into the composition.

In these two shots of a sink at a temple where visitors can wash their offerings you can see my working progress. In the first shot I was looking at the positive negative space ratio of the plain cupboard front in the lower third and the sink and then colourful red trays in the middle and upper thirds. I wasn't happy with this and looked again. I am much happier with the second shot. The taps are interesting and almost monochrome, they are framed in the aluminium splash guard which guides the eye up to the red trays. Behind the trays is a tiled image of a Deity (as I mentioned before we are naturally attracted to faces). The tiles surrounding this image lead up, breaking out of the frame created by the sink and allow you a glimpse of what lies beyond. For me this is a much stronger photograph than the first effort.

There are more shots that I made during my walk but I don't want to go on too long. All the shots are straight off the iPhone 5s, I have to say I am pretty impressed with how it handles contrast and tone. There is a little distortion from the lens but it is a phone and not a n SLR or Mirrorless micro 3/4 camera. My error of not having a memory card was silly, it did throw me a challenge, one that I enjoyed. Next time you are out try and limit yourself to one lens it is a good exercise to help you think about your photography and how to see the shots around you.

As ever spread the word, follow my blog and if you need a photographer or just want a chat about photography and I can help, get in touch....

Immigration and paddy-fields...

I have been to the immigration office since my last post, seems that we got a touch mislead in the UK but we'll be sorted soon enough no doubt. There does seem to be a large amount of bureaucracy here in Taiwan, I guess there is a fair bit in the UK too. Anyway, the immigration officer was none too pleased that we turned up having been instructed to enter the country on a visitor visa and then apply for a residents visa after getting our marriage certified in Taiwan. However he soon chilled out after giving him some seven eleven stamps to help him get the pen collection he wants. As far as bribing officials goes, that it a fairly inexpensive one. Looks like the nephews will have to wait a little longer for their seven eleven pens, seeing as they are six and don't seem to have a concept of time, I doubt they'll notice. At the moment though they are impressed with my paper aeroplane making skills. Hell I am impressed with my paper aeroplane making skills as I modified a design and to my joy it worked beautifully. Unfortunately, explaining this modification and how it made the wing work to create lift just like a real plane was wasted on them, much to the amusement of my brother in-law. When asked how the plane works the 6 year old nephews simply said, "because it go woosh!", oh well, woosh it is then.

I will get on to the photography soon, I promise.

Whilst at the immigration centre there was a curious women outside the exit. She was dressed somewhat inappropriately in a very short skirt, tights patterned like stockings, leopard skin heels and a tight sweater. She was also performing some kind of dance. I pointed her out to Camille and both of us were baffled by her outfit and actions. Whilst Camille spoke to the immigration officer I watched several men approach the women, and looking at their body language flirt with her, she seemed to smile and flirt back. "I think I have figured it out", I said to Camille. "She is a siren, to catch out sham marriages. Well I ain't falling for that!". Of course I am sure this wasn't the case, there must be a perfectly legitimate reason for a women dressed like that to be dancing at the exit of an immigration office.

That evening we got a call, the iPhone 5s had arrived and we were off to get it. Cue further bureaucracy form filling and stress, but 12 hours after picking it up I have it working and am getting into it.

Oh my god, now he is going on about his bloody phone again. Actually no, I am not, I have got to the photography part, honest.

 At the weekend we went to Yilan which is a very flat area located south east of Taipei, and surrounded by mountains on three sides and the sea on the other. The road to Yilan used to take you around a wiggling mountain route, now you can take the kilometre and a half long tunnel straight through the mountain. Whilst driving through this tunnel there are announcements, the first of which we heard stated that the traffic was building up so please drive at the 90kmh speed limit. The second, which came shortly after requested we drive as close to the car in front as we could as there were a lot of cars on the road. Awesome.

To my dismay, the weather wasn't great. Heavily overcast and raining, it was all a bit flat light wise. However I did make a few shots, I also got to use the new camera on the 5s (see there was a reason I mentioned the phone). The features are pretty good, the new photo-burst works very well, keeping the view open whilst taking the photographs. The live view of the filters is also a nice feature, making a screen shot in this mode gives you a kind of cool pop art picture instantly which is a bit of fun.

First up is this evening shot. I had been out with my Nikon making some long exposures with my new ND400 filter, being amongst the paddy-fields though I couldn't stay too long as I was getting eaten alive by Mosquitoes (I bloody hate them!). On the way back I grabbed my phone to make this which is the tree outside the B&B we stayed in.

Although the light was low and it is a contrasty scene I think the iPhone 5s has handled it pretty well. Admittedly I have run it through Lightroom and put a touch of noise reduction on it. That is all I have done though and I would do the same with a file from my Nikon or my X100.

The next two are also from the 5s, again I have applied a touch of noise reduction but nothing else, the results are fairly pleasing don't you think?

This last one has the cameras in built "Process" filter applied for an aged look which I felt worked well in this scene.

The B&B that we stayed in was nice and the owners very friendly. They lent us some bicycles so the nephews could have a little ride around the traffic free, narrow roads which criss cross the paddy-fields. The shallow water in the fields act like mirrors and create this surreal and beautiful landscape. I look forward to getting there again and fingers crossed I can find some dramatic light and sky.

The clouds were low this weekend though, clearing slightly on Sunday afternoon as we headed home. Prior to the first shot above. I made the next photograph on my Nikon. Using the ND400 filter and my trusty Sekonic light-meter I calculated I needed to make a 4 minute and 16 second exposure at F16 to create this.

I turned to my little Fujifilm X100 for the rest of the weekend. It is now in my bag all the time, I am getting more and more into it. For a while we didn't get along so well but as with most things, I just needed to use it more and get to know it (maybe I should give my camera's names, sugestions are welcome). As I am concentrating on travel photography I made some shots with that in mind. The following are all from the X100 and feature breakfast at the B&B, lucky shoes at The Taiwanese National Center for Traditional Arts (worth a visit) and one of the colourful B&B's we passed on the way home. I love the contrast of the bright building and obviously how it reflects in the paddy-field.

Yummy breakfast.....

Lucky shoes....

Colourful B&B (I feel a possible series of these coming on.)

I am sure there will be plenty more photographs to come from Yilan so keep an eye on out for my blog updates. 

Be sure to remember if you need a photographer in Asia to shoot for travel articles or whatever you may need (check out my website or previous posts here for more of my work) I would be very happy to hear from you. 

More updates coming soon, don't forget to share and spread the word. Also feel free to comment, I am always open to hear your views about my work.

Cheerybye...