Making a Panorama

23 08 2010

Making a panoramic image is a fairly easy process these days.  There is lots of software out there that will easily stitch together several photos into a very wide panorama.  But there are a few things you need to remember when taking the photos that will make things much easier in the end.

Below is a panorama made up of 6 separate images of a very nice sunset over Taipei, Taiwan, stitched together in Photoshop.  Read on to learn how to do this for yourself…

A beautiful sunset over Taipei.

A beautiful sunset over the Taipei, Taiwan skyline.

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Exit 3 – A Study in Light

10 08 2010

Had a great time shooting some beautiful light tonight so I though I’d share.

The following photos were all shot within about a 30 minute period in the late afternoon here in Taipei.  I shot 270 images in that time, and decided to share the best here, and make a video of the rest.

Every image was made with a 50mm lens set at various settings and they were only lightly retouched in post.  They’re all in chronological order, except for the first one.  What’s important though, is to look at the light, how it changes, and the things that can be done with it.

Light…
Shadows…
Lines…

Enjoy…

Stairway 1

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Must See Taiwan – Shiding and Shenkeng

3 08 2010

Shiding (石碇) and Shenkeng (深坑) are two small towns found just to the east of Taipei, Taiwan.  They’re both withing 3o minutes of Taipei’s  convenient MRT system and together, they make for a great day trip out of the city.

Shiding (石碇)

Shiding is a simple mountain village located at the convergence of two small mountain streams.  It’s got an old-time Taiwan feel to it, and in fact has many stores that are over a century old.  It also has two very clean, fish-filled streams that come from virgin forests high above, in the nearby mountains.

Tree roots overgrowing an old doorway in Taiwan

Doorways don't get much cooler than this.

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Categories : Must See Taiwan, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN, TRAVEL

Hiking Jade Mountain 玉山

7 07 2010

Jade Mountain (玉山) is Taiwan’s tallest mountain at 3,952 m (12,966 ft).  It’s located within the Yushan National Park (玉山國家公園) just next to the famous Alishan National Scenic Area (阿里山國家風景區) in the central mountains of Taiwan.  If measured from the nearby ocean floor, the Jade Mountain Main Peak rises an impressive 8,000 m in only 100 km.

Getting a permit to hike Jade Mountain is no easy task.  My friends an I applied 14 times before finally receiving a permit to hike it on a weekend (A big thanks to Stu Dawson for his tenacity).  We received a second round of good luck by getting perfect hiking weather on the 4th of July weekend.  The trail to the peak is beautiful, and this hike is an absolute must-do for anyone with an adventurous soul living in Taiwan.

The Jade Mountain Main Peak as seen from the West Peak hiking trail.

The Jade Mountain Main Peak as seen from the West Peak hiking trail.

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Categories : "Formosa Adventurers", Hiking, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN, TRAVEL

Hiking Xiaozi Shan in Pingxi (孝子山平溪)

21 06 2010

I went on another weekend hike with Stu recently, this one to Xiaozi Shan (孝子山) and its nearby mountains located just to the south of Pingxi (平溪), Taiwan.  We had a good time as usual, enjoying the first rain-free Sunday that Taipei has seen in months.

XiaoZi Shan and it neighboring mountains, Cimushan (慈母山) and Cimufeng (慈母) are all just a few minute’s hike from the 106 highway and downtown Pingxi.  They all feature sheer-rock faced peaks with awesome views of the surrounding mountains and the Pingxi valley. What’s unbelievable about this area, is that all of the peaks are accessed by a trail “intersection” that has 4 different trail heads withing 40 meters of each other, and the peaks are all within a 30 minute hike from there!

Stu and I spent a few hours hiking up and down all the different peaks, then wandered home on a back trail and still got home for a late lunch, which has to make this area THE most accessible and best bang-for-you-buck hikes in all of Taiwan…

Hiking near Pingxi, Taiwan

A couple of men descend from the peak of Xiaozi Shan (孝子山) on a aluminum ladder in Pingxi (平溪), Taiwan.

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Categories : Hiking, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN

Yangming Shan and Taiwanese Volcanoes

17 05 2010

I’m pretty sure that most people in Taipei don’t realize that they live at the base of a volcano.  What might be even more unsettling is that all indications show that there are still active magma cambers under northern Taiwan.

The Tatun Volcanic Group 大屯火山群 is a group of volcanoes that make up most of Yangming Shan National Park 陽明山國家公園, the large mountainous park that is just to the north, but technically within Taipei City limits.  The largest is Qixing Mountain 七星山 (Seven Star Mountain) at 1,120 meters (3,675 ft); the next is Datun Mountain 大屯山 and there are many smaller parasitic volcanoes whose peaks can be seen around the park.

One of the most obvious to the naked eye is a mountain called Huangzui Shan 磺嘴山, to the northeast of Qixing Shan and Taipei City.  It’s also one of the only ones with an obvious cauldron that you can hike into…

Unfortunately, we chose to visit on a day that you could barely see you hand in front of your face…

Hiker in Bad Conditions

A hiker in a rain storm walks through tall grass in Yangming Shan National Park in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Must See Taiwan – JiuFen 九份

15 04 2010

JiuFen (Jeoufen), Taiwan (台灣九份) is a popular destination about an hour east of Taipei.  It’s popular with tourists and locals alike, but has a certain charm to it that can’t be missed.

I recently visited Jiufen for an evening and had a great time wandering around.  I wasn’t planning on writing a full blog post about it, but I left with some fun photos that I thought I might share…

Jeoufen Taiwan Old Street at Night

Jioufen Old Street, as seen at night after the tourists have left.

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Categories : Must See Taiwan, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN, TRAVEL

Hiking the Central Taiwan Mountains – NengGao 能高

12 04 2010

The mountains of central Taiwan are remote and beautiful.  Some friends and I recently made a two day hiking trip to the old NengGao Historic Trail 能高越嶺古道. Starting near Puli 埔里, Taiwan, the Nenggao hiking trail is a long but relatively easy ascent to the “Spine of Taiwan”… the high mountain “Backbone” that runs north to south through its center.

Most of our trek was cool (perfect for hiking) and foggy (not so perfect for seeing the nice views), but we had a good time and saw some interesting things, so I thought I’d share.

Giant Earth Worm on the Neng Gao Historic Hiking Trail

A hiker in the Central Taiwan mountains finds a giant earthworm.

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Categories : "Formosa Adventurers", Hiking, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN

Taipei Cosplay

21 02 2010

“Cosplay” is a combination of the words “costume” and “play”.  In Taipei, it’s an event held about twice a year at NTU in conjunction with a manga (Japanese comic books) exhibition called Fancy Frontier.  During a cosplay event, people dress up as their favorite manga character and parade and pose for photographers.  It began as a Japanese phenomenon but it’s caught on in many other places in the world, including Taiwan.

Cute girl in a cosplay costume

A girl poses while dressed in a "cosplay" costume at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Random Taiwan Images

12 02 2010

Been busy lately.  Haven’t been out shooting the fun personal projects that I’d like to be shooting, but hopefully I’ll have a little more time over the next few weeks.  So, instead of a full sized blog post on a project, I offer you some random images from Taiwan that I’ve recently shot.

It’s quite a mish-mash this time, with photos like the peaceful one below, to skateboarding, to screaming heavy metal bands.

The Taipei City Skyline and Taipei 101 and a swastika carved into a rock

Two swastikas are carved into a boulder facing Taipei, Taiwan. The swastika is a symbol of peace in the Buddhist religion.

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Must See Taipei – The Jade and Flower Markets (建國假日玉花市)

11 01 2010

The Taipei Jianguo Jade and Flower Markets (建國假日玉花市) are a must-see for anyone in Taiwan.  Located next to each other on Jianguo South Road, the two markets stretch for nearly a kilometer (1/2 a mile) under the elevated highway.  They are only open on weekends and can make for a wonderful escape from Taipei’s often dreary rain.  But even on a sunny day, the Jade and Flower Markets (along with the adjacent Daan Forest Park) make for a nice afternoon walk for tourists and locals alike.

a giant lily blossom for sale at the Taipei Jianguo Flower Market

A big, beautiful lily for sale at the Taipei Flower Market.

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Categories : Must See Taiwan, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN, TRAVEL

Random Photos from Taiwan

14 12 2009

Here’s the latest batch of photography from Taiwan. Just some random pictures that I’ve come across in my daily adventures.

Check out my new website and archive for more photography from Taiwan.

Taiwan - Camping under the Stars

Our camp, high atop SongLuo Hu (松羅湖)... another mountain lake.

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Deaflympics Opening Extavaganza

9 12 2009

As a pre-opening event for the Taipei Deaflympics, a company called New Substance put on a fantastic performance with acrobats on cranes, a girl hanging from a helium balloon and colorful dancers in a strange bungee-box.  It was very reminiscent of a Circ-De-Solei performance, but all for free!

I shot it in conjunction with Craig Ferguson who also blogged about it, so I’ll save myself some typing and let you read more details about it over on his site.

(Click “Read the rest of this entry” to see more pictures)

A pre-opening event for the Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan, New Substance put on a beautiful, dreamy, circus-like show. This girl is flew on a helium filled balloon high above the audience and would sometimes come down to touch their hands.

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The Golden Grotto (黃金峽谷)

10 11 2009

The Golden Grotto (黃金峽谷) is a beautiful slot canyon up a remote river valley near Hualian, Taiwan.  Located a few kilometers south of the entrance to Taroko Gorge National Park (太魯閣國家公園) or a few Kilometers north of Hualian (花蓮), the entrance to the Pratan South River is in Pratan Village (aka SanJhan South River (三棧南溪) and SanJhan Village (三棧)).

Jumping off one of the waterfalls behind the Golden Grotto near Hualian, Taiwan.

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Categories : "Formosa Adventurers", Hiking, PHOTOGRAPHY, TAIWAN

Urban Skimboarding

1 10 2009

There are currently three typhoons out in the Western Pacific.  Two of them are forecasted to hit Taiwan next week.  This has most people scared, but it has me excited.  During the last typhoon, I went out with my buddy Ed to do some “Urban Skimboarding” and I’m hoping conditions will be good this week for some more photos and fun.

Skimboarding at Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall

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Categories : PHOTOGRAPHY, Portraiture, TAIWAN, Techniques

Formosa Adventurers – FINALE!

28 09 2009

If you know me personally, or follow my blog, you probably know that some friends and I entered a contest called “The Best Trip in the World” put on by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.

It’s a contest that gave the opportunity for selected groups of bloggers to travel Taiwan for 4 days and blog about it.  We were one of the lucky groups selected and we completed our 4 day itinerary back in June. The final stage of the contest has arrived and we put our adventurers into a finale video, complete with a goofy music video at the end.

Remember that this was the first time any of us ever tried to put a video together and we had a blast!  We highly recommend that everyone get their friends together, plan a trip (to Taiwan, of course!), and make a fun video!

Also have a look at my friends’ websites about Taiwan:

Stu’s Taiwan Hiking Blog

and

Phil’s 老外的臺灣旅遊日記 (in Chinese)

Thanks again for all the support!
-neil


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Daan Model Shoot

7 09 2009

Photographing models is probably a lot of men’s dream.  What most people don’t realize, is all the work that goes into those pretty pictures.

I recently had a shoot in with a model in Daan Park 大安公圓 in Taipei, Taiwan and would love to share them with you.  Usually for big shoots like this, I like to try to tell you how we did the photos and all the technical information.  But… I’m on vacation right now and just can’t wrap my head around it!

Like my last post, I’ll just tell you the basic-basics, and let you have a look at a pretty model from a fun afternoon of shooting.

Taiwan Model Photography

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Random (Skate) Photos from Taiwan

26 08 2009

I just-so-happened to get a lot of good skate photos in the last few days so I thought I’d share them in a “Random Skate Photos from Taiwan” post.

I’ll keep it quick with just some details of how I shot each one:

(Below) Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f/1.4, 1/25 sec at f/5.6, ISO 320, Nikon SB-24 on a lightstand approximately head high at camera left shooting straight down the wall (zoomed in to 85mm), Nikon SB-800 with a homemade grid sitting on a wall over head high to camera right (zoomed to 105mm).

Gav with a big wallride.

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Categories : PHOTOGRAPHY, Skateboarding, TAIWAN

Controlling Ambient Light – A Commercial Portrait

14 08 2009

Portraiture of all types can be the cornerstone of many photographers’ business.  Sooner or later, in one way or another, someone will want you to take a portrait.

The difference between a good portrait and and a great portrait is in the details.  Below I offer you the details to what might look like a simple location portrait, but was actually quite complicated to shoot.  Lucky for me, the most unpredictable factor in many portrait sessions, the subject, was incredibly natural and easy to work with.  Unfortunately, another important factor in a portrait, the light, wasn’t as cooperative.

Read all about this photo after the jump.

Taiwan Portrait Photography

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Random Photos from Taiwan

25 07 2009

It’s time for another edition of “Random Photographs from Taiwan.”

Whenever I have a handful of photos and no ideas for a specific post about them, they go into this category.

I guess it’s sort-of a weekly or bi-weekly gallery…

anywho…

This first one was taken on my recent four day trip to promote tourism in Taiwan.  Most of the trip I was worried about getting video footage and not photos, but when whenever we had a few minutes to take some goofy pictures, we did.

Here, Phil from 老外的臺灣旅遊日記 (A travel blog in Chinese) jumps over me and my camera.  It’s definitely a quick and dirty shot, and I hope to take more with more proper lighting in the future…  On camera SB-800 shot TTL… 1/250 sec at f/22.  14-24mm at 14mm…  And the lens was real dirty from the previous four-wheeling shoot.

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Taipei Photo Walk

20 07 2009

This past weekend I joined the Taipei chapter of Scott Kelby’s Photo Walk.

It’s a annual social gathering of photographers in cities all over the world.  Basically, photographers get together, go for a walk, then all meet up for dinner.  Afterwards, you can upload your two best pictures for a chance to win some great prizes, but I think the main idea was just to go out and have some fun.

Craig Ferguson set it all up for us and I think it’s safe to say that we all had a great time.

Here’s a link to a Flickr page with some of the photos from the day and a handful of the photos that I shot:

Taipei Photo Walk 2009

Taipei Photo Walk 2009

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Formosa Adventurers – 4 Day Trip!!!

14 07 2009

Formosa Adventurers just got back from our 4 day trip to promote Taiwan.

We had an absolutely fantastic time and it will be one of those events in my life that I’ll always look back at and smile about.

In four days we went river tracing, white water rafting, 4-wheeling, paragliding, hot springing, local food eating, and we also learned a lot about the aboriginal culture here in Taiwan.

There’s nothing like a fun trip with your friends…  you should plan one now and make some videos like we did… seriously!

These are  the things we do on many weekends, but the fact that we were doing it to try to win a contest gave us a bit of extra “umpf” and made it really special.

You can learn a lot more by reading our official contest blog and watching the videos below.  (If you’re short on time, day 1 and 3 are my favorites!)

Day 1 – River Tracing and an Aboriginal Festival


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Categories : "Formosa Adventurers", TAIWAN, Video

Photography from Taiwan

1 07 2009

Here’s the latest of my occasional offering of Taiwan photography.  It’s just a few random photos that I took in the past few weeks.

But first, I have an announcement that I’m quite proud to make (so I’ll set aside the little dignity that I have and toot my own horn!):  This month, I was lucky enough to be selected to have a photo in a special edition of National Geographic!  I haven’t seen it in print yet, but here’s the online gallery (mine is the first one).

Enough about me, here’s my offering of random pictures from Taiwan:

An electrical storm lingers over Taipei, Taiwan.

An electrical storm lingers over Taipei, Taiwan.

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Formosa Adventurers

20 06 2009

Things are really starting to roll for our team!   Thanks to My Several Worlds, we have some more publicity for our entry to Taiwan’s “Best Trip in the World – 世界最棒的旅遊”!

If you haven’t seen our video, have a look below, then go vote for us and leave some comments!

Thank you all so much!


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Formosa Adventurers

19 06 2009

The Formosa Adventurers got a write-up in today’s China Times!  We haven’t been able to find an online version, but if you can read Chinese, pick one up and check out page A10!  Woo Hoo!

Also, if you want to follow the Formosa Adventurers on Twitter, click the link below:

If you really want to help us out, go to our contest blog, give us a vote, watch the video and leave a comment.

Update:

Here’s Phil’s translation of the China Times article:

”英美聯軍”來勢洶洶”

觀光局初步認為有特色及網友回響多的參賽組中，來自英國及美國的四個大男生組成英美聯軍“FormosaAdventurers” （美麗島探險家）擁有高人氣的影片點選，他們規劃運動探險記原住民文化體驗的旅遊主題，包括花蓮溯溪，泛舟，臺東高臺飛行傘，入住原住民部落，體驗臺東知本及金崙溫泉

臺灣冒險及原住民文化的結合比臺灣人更道地，四個英美聯軍大男生還在個人部落格中，分別以中，英文介紹臺灣自然美景與有趣的旅遊經驗。

UK and USA United Forces

Taiwan’s tourism bureau believe so far that the team with the most special qualities and a lot of interest online is the Formosa Adventurers. Comprising of four guys from the UK and the USA, the Formosa Adventurers have had a lot of people watch their introductory video. They are planning a adventure sports and aboriginal culture-themed trip including river tracing and white-water rafting in Hualian, paragliding and visiting an aboriginal tribe in Taidong as well as experience Zhiben and Jinlun’s hot springs.

A combination of Taiwanese adventure and aboriginal culture that is very authentic Taiwanese. The team also write about Taiwan’s natural beauty and their own interesting travel experiences in their blogs which are written in English and Chinese.

Thank you!!!
-neil

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