Epic Taiwan Scooter Tour Pt3...... Taroko Gorge National Park.

Epic Taiwan Scooter Tour Pt3...... Taroko Gorge National Park.

Having ridden into Taroko Gorge National Park from the north, I had headed over mountains and then steadily desended into the beautiful gorge itself. I could write about the gorge, how the river cuts its' route through marble and is a beautiful cool blue colour. I could tell you that within 60km the Central Cross Island Highway rises from sea level at the Hualien end to 3000m and then on up beyond that as it winds over Huashan. Huashan is for the next leg and blog, and all the information about the gorge you want can be found here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Taroko_Gorge.

I would like to tell you more about what was on my mind as I rode the tight and twisting road. Although it is named Central Cross Island Highway, it is narrow, very narrow in places. The road is cut into the side of the gorge, it runs through tunnels and overhangs. Rock walls rise steeply on one side, and fall equally steeply to the river on the other. If it were only two wheeled vehicles travelling this route all would be fairly easy, but you will come across all sizes of transport hustling along. So it gets busy, and with Taiwan's regular rumbles and weather, this road is classed as one of the top ten most dangerous in the world, coming in at number 7 I believe. That sounds bad doesn't it, but don't worry if you travel here, the risk is well worth it as you will see, just be aware and take it easy.

Across the road bridge and then a foot bridge from Silks Place is Hsiang-Te Temple, I would recommend making an early visit to this temple. It will be quiet then, and you can have time to contemplate. You may even come across a trope of Monkey's hanging around, watch them though, they are indeed cheeky and may take a liking to something shinny.

As I walked around in the morning sun the busy start to my journey was on my mind. I felt like I had been on the go non stop and rushed, today was going to give me a chance to slow down a bit. A chance to go from two wheels to two feet and slow down. My plan was to ride to the Hualien entrance to the park and walk the Shakadang trail.

The Trail is clearly marked and follows the river, on my visit some of the trail was impassable due to the river flooding and washing it away. This worked to my benefit though as it was easy to get to the actual river bed dip my toes, and get some special and unique shots.

I think every tourist visiting Taroko stops at The Shrine of the Eternal Spring, not so many make the journey up to the nearby Zen Buddhist Temple. It is at this Temple and across a rope bridge you can visit a shrine to all the men who died building the Central Cross Island Highway. Brave the bridge and ring the bell whilst giving a thought to those men who made it possible to enjoy this amazing place.

The gorge truly is breathtaking at times, scary at others and will always be one of my favourite places in the world, not just Taiwan. Make a visit there, spend some time walking the trails and enjoying nature. Don't go looking, go there to experience the moment, that is my best piece of advice when travelling. So often we neglect to actually be there at that moment, and that is what this day of my journey was about. It was a timely reminder to be in the moment of this experience as much as I could be, that I was doing something special and I was allowed to enjoy it as well as document it.

I had one last night at Silks Place before a long leg over Huashan where the road climbs to 3660+ meters before arriving at Sun Moon Lake and The Lalu. 

Hopefully you are enjoying this journey with me, feel free to let me know and ask questions should you wish too. So next time the ride to Sun Moon Lake.

Until then, check out my Website, Instagram , Tumblr, Twitter and Linkedin. Remember to LIKE COMMENT and FOLLOW.

Feel free to get in touch, if you have any questions, bookings, assignments etcetera, I am always interested to hear from you (contact me).

Love to all...

One last thing (which is amazing), my blogs are now becoming available in Chinese and can be found here.

Quick and Sleeklens...

Quick and Sleeklens...

Hi, this is going to be a quick rest bite from the road and a look into Sleeklens Lightroom presets bundle.

So just before Christmas I was contacted by Sleeklens and asked to have a look at their new preset bundle for Lightroom or Photoshop. Now I shoot mostly commercial work, but you will know that I also hit up a lot of street and landscape work during my travel pieces for Nat Geo Traveller. 

For my commercial work I use both Lightroom and Photoshop to produce the final images, mostly with my travel work I predominantly work with Lightroom, so I opted to test the Lightroom pack.

Honestly I am not a big fan of presets, I find that they can lead you down a generic path and make everybody's work look similar, lets face it there is nothing more important as a photographer than your individual style. Having said that I ran through the preset library and brushes to see what they had to offer for my workflow. 

As I suspected the preset library offers a selection of fairly generic looks, remember presets should only be used as a base to start from and develop further. The brush set on the other hand does offer, for me at least a more useful collection.

Overall, I would say that the Sleeklens presets for Lightroom are useful, if just for the brushes. I don't think my workflow will be revolutionised, but I expect I will employ the brushes in my processing work.

Here are two editions of the same image, one processed using Sleeklens and one with just Lightroom, you can decide. If you like the Sleeklens look, get on over to their site and order your package.

Without Sleeklens....

With Sleeklens...

Next time we will be back on my tour and exploring the beautiful Taroko Gorge, so plenty of landscapes to enjoy there.

Until then, check out my Website, Instagram , Tumblr, Twitter and Linkedin. Remember to LIKE COMMENT and FOLLOW.

Feel free to get in touch, if you have any questions, bookings, assignments etcetera, I am always interested to hear from you (contact me).

Love to all...

Epic Taiwan Scooter Tour Pt2...... Silks Place Taroko.

Epic Taiwan Scooter Tour Pt2...... Silks Place Taroko.

Having ridden all day and over some challenging roads which demanded constant and complete concentration, I was feeling tired and very much looking forward to arriving at Silks Place Taroko. Silks Place holds a special place in my heart, Mrs.L and I stayed there during my first ever visit to Taiwan. I have been fortunate enough to return a number of times since, and was looking forward to some peace, a rest from the road and a chance to contemplate the journey past, and ahead.

Riding into the gorge I had met two other Brits enjoying a motorcycle tour, no sooner had we said hello to each other than we found ourselves posing for photographs. Apparently three white guys on motorcycles are more impressive than the gorge to those in the tour buses. Personally I didn't think we were, but now regret not making a picture of the three of us. JJ and Jamie have become friends and we stay in touch through Facebook. You can't really blame me for being distracted though...

...it is rather spectacular isn't it.

Located in Tiensiang a small town in the middle of the gorge, Silks Place Taroko was once used by Chiang Kai-shek to relax and entertain, the hotel now offers a luxurious experience available for everyone. A place to pamper yourself, enjoy the tranquil atmosphere and fantastic facilities, which is what I was looking forward to when I rode my scooter from the road and up to the entrance.

The ride had been long and I wanted to get out of my leathers and shower as soon as I could. However when I arrived I was greeted and immediately went into a meeting to discuss the photographs I was to make of the hotel, it seemed the list was endless and I was to practically shoot a new brochure. Now, I am really happy shooting interiors, food and exteriors, I enjoy it very much. To do that properly takes time and a plan, I was on a travel piece and so had neither, not to mention only one speedlight. I did get to shower and change eventually but the marathon of photography began as soon as I reached my room. I always photograph my room before unpacking so it doesn't get messed up...

 Then I grabbed a welcome shower, and went to make the food shots...

Finally after 2 hours of shooting food I got to eat, but my day still had not finished. After dinner I was requested to photograph the entertainment and rooftop cinema.

Eventually at around midnight I managed to get back to my room, I set up my laptop, uploaded the shots from the day. Took a cold beer from the fridge and the delicious chocolates left by the turn down service, relaxed in the bath and soaked away the aches of the day...

....bliss.

The following morning I got up early to start the rest of the shots on the list, so here we go...

The roof top pool (probably my favourite pool in the world)

The roof top hot tubs...

Breakfast...

Spa...

Yoga studio..

Gym...

Finally of course, the conference room..

At last I had completed the list requested from the hotel and was free to head off and explore the beautiful Taroko Gorge National Park properly. I packed my cameras and headed off for a hike.

The next part of this story will follow soon, I hope you enjoyed Silks Place, they worked me hard but I love to stay there and highly recommend it. It is a treat to swim in the spring fed pool and watch swallows stoop and drink as you do, all in the most beautiful mountain surroundings.

Until then, check out my Website, Instagram , Tumblr, Twitter and Linkedin. Remember to LIKE COMMENT and FOLLOW.

Feel free to get in touch, if you have any questions, bookings, assignments etcetera, I am always interested to hear from you (contact me).

Love to all...

One last thing (which is amazing), my blogs are now becoming available in Chinese and can be found here.