The South, Tests, Pool Parties and National Geographic Traveler.

Once again I have been super busy, and my plan to blog more regularly skipped by. I am sorry about this, I do mean to write a bit more often. If you push me I will, so be sure to let me know if you like my words and pictures. I like what I make but we all enjoy a bit of reassurance that we are reaching out and hitting the mark, don't be shy and let me know, ok?

The South:

Right, on with the show, as I said I have been a busy boy. Camille and I headed to the South of Taiwan and I had my first experience of Kaohsiung and Tainan. I immediately fell for the lazy charms and lovely light of Kaohsiung, what a contrast to Taipei. Tainan was a little more hectic and boy are there a lot of scooters there, wow. I am so happy to have visited that part of the country, it isn't a long journey on the High Speed Rail  (HSR), Taiwan's answer to Japan's bullet train. It isn't too expensive either, especially compared to the UK's ridiculous train prices, as you can imagine the travel experience is worlds better than the UK too.

First up Kaohsiung...

As a travel photographer it is always good practice to shoot the hotel room first and resist jumping on the bed, which let's be honest, we all want to do.

The room, although nice wasn't the largest or most inspiring, however I always find something interesting (or at least try to), in this case I liked the light shades and had a little play around photographing them.

As usual, after freshening up from the journey and very hot walk from the station in Kaohsiung. It was so hot that the rubber tyre on my suitcase wheel melted and split in two. I set out for my usual walk to see the lay of the land and get a feel for the place. Kaohsiung is pretty chilled out, the ladies gossiping away the afternoon where amused at me taking pictures of the guys manually splicing steel cables together. Being a working port there are signs of the industry everywhere.

Having worked up an appetite walking around the streets I looked for something to eat. If a place is busy with locals, it is usually a good sign so I popped in and enjoyed a delicious bowl of the Taiwanese favorite Beef Noodles. The Taiwanese take great pride in this dish, each chef has their own recipe, often handed down through the family. It is to our benefit of course, I strongly recommend trying a few bowls of this great dish should you have the luck to find yourself in Taiwan.  

Refueled and revitalised  it was back to the streets to see where my feet would take me. Spotting an old house down an alley I walked off the main streets and into a little maze of narrow lanes between the buildings. I love that these communities quietly exist seconds away from the main streets, this somewhat ramshackle but traditional little house sums it up perfectly. 

The old port-side buildings are gradually being developed, this one was currently empty and a bit run down. It was a great space, this bit of graffiti was really beautiful. Should there be someone out there reading this who is feeling generous and wanting to invest in me then get in touch, I would love to develop one of these units (if this one then this piece of art would be preserved). It would make a great studio with gallery and coffee shop to boot. The area is growing as a creative area, I am sure it would work and be successful, so seriously if you or anyone you know want to make an investment then lets talk.

I was lucky enough to get entered into a photographic scavenger hunt organised by one Crysta Rae. Crysta is a mover and shaker on G+ and keen photographer. The scavenger hunt is basically a fun contest in which you receive a list of words to be interpreted photographically. It is open to everyone on a first come first served bases. The first 500 applicants are entered, given the list under strict conditions and allowed about 3 months to collect your photographs and submit them. It was my first time, I hope to enter more hunts as they are good fun. Although I didn't win any of the 4 categories I entered, I am happy to say that the above image received an honorable mention from the judges in the category "Square, straight out of the camera". I also received an honorable mention for my entry to the category "Colourful". The photograph for "Colourful" was planned and executed perched on a central reservation, in heavy rain, on a busy road. The shot above was spotted hours before the final deadline whilst walking around the old docks in Kaohsiung. At the time of writing this I am in a hotel room in Hong Kong and sadly do not have the the "Colourful" shot to hand, if you wish to see it click this link https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/yourphotos?pid=6013215674773876610&oid=117833274868607645375&authkey=CO_i46GVhsu-uAE.

Part of the redevelopment of the old docks area consists of art installations, along with the fantastic walkway photographed for "Square" there were multiple sculptures and artworks around the area. This large red demon dog was among them, That is not a tail by the way and caused many a giggle as passers by noticed it, even more so when they saw it had a human head, as a head if you get my meaning.

For me one of the biggest attractions of Kaohsiung other than the wide roads with little traffic, laid back feel and friendly locals, is the gorgeous evening light. It really was lovely looking across at the financial side of the city, just to my right as I made this shot was a couple having their pre-wedding photos made. I would be very happy photographing loved up couples in this light, it really was rich and warm.

After only a couple of days in Kaohsiung it was back on the train and off to Tainan. Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan, it's name translates as "Southern Taiwan", the city was established by the Dutch East India Company and boasts the highest number of Buddhist and Taoist  temples in Taiwan. 

We arrived at the Hotel Shangi-la and were told we would be in a twin room. We looked a little dejected, the receptionist had a quick chat and we were upgraded. This is an example of great Taiwanese customer service, I am not saying expect an upgrade everywhere but in my experience they will do everything they can to help you out.

Like before it was interiors time....

As you can see the suite was fantastic and the bed was huge. To really demonstrate the size, there was only one thing for it...

I am sure you understand this is actually a certified scientific hotel bed test.

The rest of the hotel was none too shabby either, a moonlight swim, as ever, was lovely and refreshing after a busy day around the city.

Camille recognised this little eatery which is pretty famous for a gluten rice cake, it wasn't what I ordered but I am assured it is very good. Just up the road from the eatery is the Chihkan Tower. The original building was known as Fort Provinitia, it was a Dutch outpost built in 1653. Fort Provinitia was destroyed in an earthquake in the 19th century, and rebuilt as the Chihkan Tower you see here. The building contains a library of dictionaries, and documents the Siraya language spoken by the native inhabitants of the region during the Dutch rule.

All the history aside, the Chihkan Tower is typically beautiful, tranquil and elegant, a great place to check out in the afternoon sun.

Wanting to explore the area a bit we hired a car and hit the road. Tainan farms and produces sea salt, I wanted to have a look at the salt farms. We didn't end up in the area I had researched but in a place with a huge mountain of salt instead, it was like the Disney world of salt, if that was just a big pile of salt with a bunch of people standing on top of it. Not really my thing, so I headed off and over a fence to have a look to see what I could find. 

Other than this little fellow, I found a very shallow estuary, partially man made and obviously once used in the production of salt. It was teaming with fish and we watched them leap and feed as I made my shots.

Hanging out and watching sunsets is undeniably a romantic part of being a photographer. You aren't always rewarded with a glorious fire like sky, however these times do offer an opportunity to meditate a little, relax and enjoy the moments we are often in too much of rush to experience, they are also a great contrast to making portraits and photographing people. I find that practicing contrasting areas of my craft keeps me learning and in love with what I do, I think if you don't strive to keep this passion then it will reflect in your work. So whatever you do, be sure to do things to keep it fresh and alive when you can.

Leaving the car at the hotel, it was time to explore the area and find a bite to eat. Just along the street there was a thriving row of second hand shops. I wish I had had more time and more space in my luggage to really check them out, there were a few rare looking pieces of vinyl on the shelves in one of the stores. These guys though, were busy hunting through a dense pile of books and magazines for a good read.

We had a little walk around but there wasn't much that really caught our eye and we ended near the hotel at this small place which seemed to be full of farmers and their families. After a bit of a wait and generously feeding the local mosquitoes for a while we picked up our food and headed back to our room.

Camille suggested the next day that we head out to this old town and have a look at the traditional buildings. It reminded her of being a kid and getting a treat of sweets on her way home from school. For me it was just interesting to witness a taste of a time gone by. I could see by Camille's face she was enjoying happy memories and this made it a special experience for me too, not to mention how cool the old apothecary was. Check out the old draws and pots, they obviously still use their trusty abacus to add all the orders up too.

It isn't just the shops that continue in their traditional ways, this lady was quietly sitting on her porch and making vine-leaf rice pouches, tasty, full of goodness and easy to carry. Noodles are also hand produced in Tainan, hung in the air to dry before folding and packing for the shops. We made sure we went home with enough to last a while.

Making the most of the day and the car, next stop was the Tree House. As you can see in the shot below, there is a lot of European influence in the architecture which reflects the Dutch history. I expect you are wondering why it is called the tree house, this refers to the building at the rear. It has been completely overgrown by a tree, the roots, branches and vines of the tree have wrapped, enveloped and replaced the walls, roof and even some of the floor. It is an impressive example that nature will outgrow and reclaim what man tries to place on the earth. 

Amazingly we still had time to stop by the Chi Mei Museum before having to return the car. What an impressive building, it was constructed by the Chi Mei corporation's founder Shi Wen-Long. Not only is Mr. Shi very good at running his business, he is also a keen and talented Violinist, this explains why part of the collection in the museum holds several Stradivaris' alongside other classical instruments. The wider collection held by the museum consists of European art, weapons collections and and exhibit of industrial techniques amongst other priceless collections.

The museum is in the process of being taken on and run by the local authority so was not open during our visit, however as I think you will agree it is a very impressive building and well worth a visit just to walk around the grounds and enjoy it's grandeur. 

National Geographic Traveler:

The title of this blog episode promises more than just "The South", it mentions "Tests", Pool Parties and "National Geographic Traveler" too. I will continue with the later, National Geographic Traveler (NatGeo). 

When I was in the UK last I had several meetings as I mentioned in my last blog (if you haven't read my previous blogs, then please go and have a look). One of the people I was trying to reach was the editor of NatGeo Traveler. Although I didn't get a meeting with him I was only too happy to hear that they wanted me to go to Japan and make photographs to illustrate an article due for publication in the October issue. Living in Taiwan it is an easy journey to Japan, much like the rest of Asia it is only a short flight away. Think of it like flying to Spain from the UK, or to Washington DC from New York.

I have always wanted to go to Japan, yes I have a little concern over the Fukushima situation but I was heading to Tokyo, well away from that end of Japan. 

I find myself increasingly curious about the area affected by the disaster. This is a fascinating and moving short documentary about living in the affected zone, if you have a 20 minutes then it's worth the watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llM9MIM_9U4.

As I said though I would be heading to Tokyo and then on to Hakone. Sadly this is all I can tell you at the moment, other than I had a great time and met some lovely people. I will be able to write more and share the pictures once the article has been published. I hope you can wait until then, I can assure you it will be worth it. I did tweet about my trip while I was there, you can always follow me on Twitter too https://twitter.com/DuncanLongden or, if it is only pictures you want then hit me up on Instagram http://instagram.com/duncan_photo.

Tests:

I did a little shoot which I set up for my photography students a while back, the make up artist for that shoot was the very talented Crystal Shien. Not only is Crystal talented with the brushes, she is also a great stylist, not a bad model and half of the fantastic synth' based electronica duo Dronetonic. I will tell you more about Dronetonic next time as I have been shooting for their promotional material in preparation for their forthcoming album release. 

I had a couple of ideas I wanted to work through and Crystal was up for helping out, she is fun to work with so we have been making a few shoots together, I hope and am sure there will be many more to come.

These two weren't really planned, after shooting what I had thought about we had a little walk and found this small decked area, quickly setting up my lights we threw these shots together.

This was the location I planned to use and had made my sketches for the shots I wanted. However you can't plan for the reactions of the random passer by you get on location, you've got to be ready to make the shots when they present themselves though, I just love this guy...classic!

I had seen something similar to this shot with the umbrella. I have always been a fan of the surreal, growing up watching productions by David Lynch and David Cronenberg along with many other off the wall films. Cinema has and continues to be huge influence on me, and my work.

It was actually going to meet Crystal for a coffee and a chat about collaborating when I found myself in this lane not far from Guting MRT, I immediately felt there was potential for a shoot here. I expect it will not be the last time I use the location, however there were and inordinate amount of incessant biting flies, so next time I will be liberally drenched in repellent. 

I was so badly bitten on my legs that the pharmacist found it hard to believe I had only been in Taipei and not in the jungle. I was to head to the jungle later, but I will have to tell you about this epic trek in another episode.

Pool Parties:

My legs were in such an unsightly state that when my friend asked me if I shot events and would I be interested in photographing his pool party, I realised I would be the typical English man wearing long trousers at the poolside, but of course I said yes.

I spent most of the second year whilst studying photography photographing in clubs. It afforded me free entry and I really like to get to hang out with, and hear great DJ's and Musicians, I have had many a wonderful experience shared as a result. It had been a while since I shot anything like this, to be honest, the last time I photographed in a club was on my old Nikon F4s on film. I remember being on stage at the O2 Arena photographing the crowd, listening to DJ Rap, and bringing in the New Year. That was a special moment.

On the line up for the first party I would be covering was DJ Rasp, Rasp is the current UK DMC Champion, not someone to miss if given an opportunity to see and enjoy. It rained heavily from the get go, but the people that were there paid it no mind and made it great. DJ Rasp played a great set, as did the other DJ's on the line up, NekBrace, Marcus Aurelius and Robi Roka. Pool Parties are always good, the tunes are varied and not so much simple four to the floor, these are fun times. times to let your hair down and just have a laugh without any pretense. I was very happy to hear that they liked my work and be asked to continue to shoot for them as and when I was available, no problem at all. I mean, wouldn't you like to be here....

I even got a little credit in the local paper: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2014/07/04/2003594294

The Vinyl Word - Taipei Times

www.taipeitimes.com

As the party runs through the day from midday to eight, they are friendly for all ages and more like a mini carnival.

DJ Chamber fills the dance floor with his unique cuts and breaks, just like DJ Rasp, Chamber is a super cool guy, after the party we jumped on the MRT together as he was heading to get his ride back to "The South", where we started this episode to Koahsiung, and I was heading home too. 

I hope that you all enjoyed this lengthy Blog. As I said at the start, please feel free to comment, feedback is welcome, sharing is a must and I request wholeheartedly that you do share this blog for me. The more that see it, read it and enjoy it and share it the better.

If you need a photographer in Asia, or anywhere in the world, I am more than happy to travel to photograph what you need. Simply drop me a line via my website www.duncanlongden.photography and I will gladly chat with you about what you need and hopefully make photographs for you.

Coming up for me over the next few months, I have a couple of meetings here in Hong Kong, then back to Taiwan where I have a portrait to shoot, and more at the poolside. At the start of August I am back in Hong Kong, if you are in town let me know we can grab a drink. After Hong Kong I will be heading back to the UK for September and then back to Taiwan for a bit. I am still shooting portraits for "The Collectors", if you missed it I got featured on DJBROADCAST.NET  http://www.djbroadcast.net/features/featureitem_id=307/Gallery_Duncan_Longdens_Collector_Series.html, there are two more in the bag, two lined up needing to be shot and I have a few to organise when I am in the UK.

Hopefully I will stay busy, I want to pick up more travel work as I love to experience new things and places. Honestly I couldn't do it with out you guys, opportunities don't come on their own too often so please spread the word about my work.

Until the next blog, and as ever I will try and do it sooner rather than later. Take it easy, spread the love, don't perpetrate the hate and remember to look up, smile and have fun.

     

Look Both Ways.

Once again Mrs L and I found ourselves flying back to the UK for 12 days and then on to Hong Kong. It didn't seem too long since we were there last, this time though my portfolio book was printed and ready to show. First thing first though, down to Devon to see our wonderful friends, The Spettigues. It was great to spend time with James, Emma, their little girl Isabella and the new addition, the not so little baby Sam. I hadn't had much experience of kids until I moved to Taiwan, where I now live in the same house as my twin nephews who are 6. I may not be up for nappy changing but I felt privileged and relaxed to have Sam strapped in his harness to me for a walk around the park on a glorious sunny afternoon. It was a bit nerve-wracking heading down the slippery steps, a terrifying drop plunging to certain doom into a raging river only half a mistake away to go and see "The Devils Cauldron". I think Sam picked up a bit on my raised heart beat, James did well to trust me and only after we were safely back to the car said, "I had to fight it not to say anything about taking care down there". Looks like I can handle these responsibilities now, maybe in a year Mrs L and I may be ready to start our own family.

We were lucky to have good weather most of the time we were in the UK, but it is the UK so only right that on the day we went for a walk up to Dartmoor it was blowing a gale with a threatening sky. We only just got to the car before the clouds burst and ice cold rain pelted down, glad to be in the car and not on a motorcycle.

The more I use my Fujifilm X100 the more I like it, this is from the X100 in panoramic mode, does a great job of stitching the frames together don't you think?

Back up to Leicester and time to get on the phone to see if I can arrange some meetings. First on the list, the Editor of Photography at The Independent. I have never really liked the phone, I get a bit nervous making calls, just silly really. I got to speak to the Editor, what a lovely person she is. I told her who I was and that I had sent her a copy of my promo book. She remembered it straight away, this was a really nice surprise as she must get a lot of photographs and mail shots. Turns out not only did she remember it, she really liked it telling me, "a lot of people don't get it, but you have got it spot on, really good.". I was thinking "wow that's really amazing that she likes it so much". My joy was a little tarnished however when she told me "I can't remember us ever needing a photographer in Taiwan in 20 years.". Ever the optimist we both laughed when I said "well, there's always hope",  to which she replied "if ever we need a photographer out there you are my go to guy.".

To me it was just great to hear that someone with a lot of experience on a picture desk liked and rated my work. Bolstered by this I got straight on to The Guardian and within 10 minutes I had arranged a meeting in London with the Director of photography, fantastic. The meeting with went well, it was really good to meet him. He too liked my work and told me to stay in touch, forwarding my details to weekend supplement photo Editor too. I felt pretty good about all of that on the train back north, but there was more to come.

We had to return to London for a couple of days and stayed with another good friend, Gemma. One day spent in Croydon followed by a few pints, the next day I was back on the phone and had a long conversation with the newish Picture Editor at GQ. Although he didn't need a portrait photographer, he did give me a lead to Q Magazine. I followed this and the next day had a very positive chat over coffee with the photo editor at Q. He really liked my project "The Collectors" and also the rest of the work in my book. Once again, a request to stay in touch, and a good possibility for some work. All in all it was a good experience and has really given me more belief in what I can do, and an increasingly better attitude about the phone.

As any of you who have read my waffle before you will know I like to walk a bit when possible. It was on on of these little walks from Battersea to Vauxhall that I found myself with a slight case of the giggles. I am getting more accustomed to living in Taiwan, but some old habits die hard. One of these is which way to look first when crossing the road. The case of the giggles I got was when I realised now I was back in England, I was now getting this wrong here, revert to mild panic mode and look like a demented chicken at a Wimbledon final, hence the title of this blog; Look Both Ways.

Being in the UK for Spring made me a little sentimental about long summer evenings, pints of ice cold and often ice filled cider. Barbecues and fresh dawn motorcycle rides with friends. There is something wonderful about spring in the UK, the countryside is getting greener, it seems to simply open its arms with joy, blossoming with reproduction. 

I am yet to get used to the seasons in Taiwan, it may take a while. One thing though, the light in the UK on a good day is amazing, it can be so clear in the morning you can see all the way across London. Literally for miles, this is the view from the back of our friends house in Battersea.

I have seen nice light in Taipei but it's mostly hazy and a bit grey, well has been so far. We had a trip to the south of the island, I will write more about this little weekend away in my next blog, one thing though the light in the south of the island is noticeably better. The panoramic above of London was shot in a traditional one frame at a time style, then stitched manually on Adobe Photoshop CC, Can you name all the skyscrapers?

Back up in the Midlands, and the evening light was doing its thing. I grabbed my camera, nabbed my Dad's tripod and headed up to Beacon Hill just outside Loughborough with Mrs L in tow. I was a bit rushed and at the time didn't really feel like I had got the shot I would have liked. Processing it yesterday for this blog I realised I had made a beautiful photograph. A photograph which I know I will find pleasure in for a long time. It just shouts England to me, clear air, cows grazing, a patchwork of fields to the horizon and a lovely sunset. Thank you British countryside, I now which way to look when I am with you.

Next time it will be back to Hong Kong, down south in Taiwan, news of connections with the AFP, hopefully I can tell you about a job or two that are in the pipeline and more exciting stuff. 

As ever please share my blog, it is for everyone so don't be selfish, it is easy to share. Feedback is appreciated and noted so if you wish to let me know something, ask me a question or want to offer me some work then please get in touch.

Until the next time.........Take it easy.....

At last Hong Kong, and just before another visit..

I have been promising since February that I would write about my first proper, get out of the airport trip to Hong Kong and so here it is.

What can I say about Hong Kong other than I liked it and felt relaxed and comfortable there. Maybe it is just a little more familiar as I am used to Taipei, and Hong Kong is like a condensed version. Yes it is crowded, the streets are busy and the MRT is packed most of the time. However, if like me you prefer to stay above ground and walk when you have time quiet corners can be found.

I really enjoyed the Star Ferry, what a nice way to get from Hong Kong to Kowloon, super cheap too. That is the one thing that is cheap in Hong Kong, transport. It is so easy to get around, buses, trams, MRT, ferries and of course no shortage of cabs, as you know though I like to walk, even cheaper!

Heading over to make the obvious photographs of the Hong Kong sky line in the morning as the sun came up afforded me an opportunity to wander back along the marina front at causeway bay. There isn't much going on down here, fishermen sleeping in their cabins during the late morning after a nights fishing and later on men gather to play cards and have a drink in the evening sun. This scene seems miles away of the crowded streets just a few hundred feet away.

Wanting to get even further away I took the MRT all the way to Lantau Island to go and see The Big Buddha, or Tian Tan Buddha to give it it's correct name. The statue is bronze and stands 85ft (26m) high. Sitting it it's plinth at the top of a long flight of steps, which left many wheezing as the laboured up it looks back over the beautiful parkland of the Island towards Hong Kong. Yes it is touristy and yes I got corralled by Chinese tourists so they could have their picture taken with the western man, I find that simply good fun. Somewhere when they get home and are showing their photographs to their family and friends, their will be me an unknown white guy they thought it fun to put their arm around for a picture. Somehow that makes the world seem like a big place still, it just makes me want to grab opportunities to travel and see more and more.

I will be back in Hong Kong in a few weeks time, I am not sure how many pictures I will be making, I hope to have a few meetings and also spend a few days by the water's side fishing and relaxing, it has been along time since I have done that.

I have told myself that Monday's should be blog days and I will try to stick to this. Sadly I have a PC issue and it is at the menders while I write this on my iPad. Since my last blog I spent a month teaching for the first time, I had two great students and, bright and eager to learn all they could about photography and post processing techniques in the limited time we had. They told me they enjoyed the lessons and I certainly had fun teaching them what I could.that will be in a future blog. For now though I have to go and get into Taipei, I am looking at a studio space for Wednesday's portrait shoot, picking up a light from the repair shop and then heading to the protest that is now in its fourth week at the Legislative Yuan to make a portrait with the occupation as the background, who knows what will happen there. Finally at the end of the week I am off to a wedding fair with a make up artist friend to shoot, I am hoping to get some great shots by the pool and see what else I can make, fingers crossed the weather will be on our side and we can create something beautiful.

So until next time, I hope you enjoyed this, remember to share this and all my blogs, that is what I write them for. Most importantly if you need a photographer here in Taiwan or anywhere around the world then please feel free to contact me with whatever you may need photographing.