Lmst

Sloshing up thick red mud.
#Kauai #Hawaii
#sonyalpha #sonya7r #A7R #carlzeiss
#nature #outdoors #mountains #forest #photography #natura #geology #gooutside #exploration #goexplore #wanderer #hiking

Before we moved to Oz, my wife and I met and lived in the Philippines where I was working at the time and were married. For our honeymoon we visited New Zealand. During our time driving around the South Island, I of course had to visit the lone tree in Wanaka and was lucky enough to be there before it had the limb cut off.

This print hangs near our dining table as a reminder of that wonderful trip that we had.

#Tree #NewZealand #Lake #Mountains #Landscape #Photography #LandscapePhotography #Sony #a7R #Nikkor80mm28 #HDR #HDRPhotography

A tree stands in a large lake under a cloudy sky with snow-topped mountains in the background. The water covers the base of the tree, there is no earth visible, it emerges from the water.

Midnight Oil Tank

Shot on a friends’ property in regional Queensland.

#NightSky #a7R #Sony #Stars #NightPhotography #Nikon14mm28 #Queensland #Australia

An old oil tank stands under the Milky Way shining in the night sky. The tank is lit by a nearby security light.

Cecil Plains Shakedown

While living in Queensland, a friend and I went out one July night for some Milky Way photography. The night sky did not disappoint. This is a multi-image panorama shot with a 14mm Nikkor f2.8 on my Sony a7R.

#MilkyWay #NightSky #Astrophotography #Sony #A7R #Nikkor14mm28 #LongExposure #NightPhotography #Queensland #ThisIsQueensland #Australia #WinterNights

The Milky Way arcs over a grain elevator in a rural setting of regional Queensland. The grain elevators are lit with the taillights of a passing vehicle. Light pollution is visible on the horizon that are Toowoomba and other nearby locales.

Anna

I don't share many personal photos here. This is one of my favorite photos I took of Anna this year. There were many beautiful stretches in 2023 but also many tough ones. She helped me get through the latter, and to enjoy the former even more.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #maokong #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #貓空 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #portrait #portraitphotograpy

A curled young woman standing on a stone path on Maokong hill close to Taipei. The sun is shining through the leaves around her. She is smiling warmly.

A Different World

"Having a baby teaches you to see the world with new eyes" they say. I guess having visitors from Europe over does just the same, especially if they have not been to Asia... ever.

At the beginning of November, our mothers visited us for a few weeks. (Or "stepmothers," as a friend phrased it jokingly.) It was a great time and Anna and I both very much enjoyed to show them around, to experience their curiosity and wonder, to see their wide-open, mesmerized eyes. "Now I understand why you want to stay."

Even when coming, I was very happy that I felt like being friends with my parents. It was work, of course, but very much worth it. It allowed me to be candid about my experiences here, also in hard times; to visit them for extended periods when traveling back home and enjoy that shared time.

Having my mother over now was even better. She had not traveled outside Europe yet, and I loved how she lived the time here as if re-living a youthful adventure. I am glad to have shared that time with her.

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🌏 | #taiwan #jiufen #臺灣 #台灣 #九分 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #portrait #portraitphotography

A portrait of a woman, wearing a white shirt and a grey jacket and looking joyfully into the camera. The image is taken spontaneously in the streets of Jiufen. Some of the houses can be seen warm and blurred in the background.

Proud & Open

In a different timeline, I would be spending the next two months packing. Moving to Taiwan was an opportunity taken, not a decision made on a clean slate. I had no idea what to expect. We hence decided to first commit for three years to this place - until January 2024. Yet, having the option we decided to stay for another one-and-a-half years earlier this year.

Here and now, I am very happy with this decision. Staying here is the right thing for us for many reasons, and leaving here would be wrong for many others. The island itself is a great reason to stay - see yesterdays photo (or basically any photo of the last six months). There are many private reasons. And there is the Taiwanese society.

"The people are so great" is one of the first things any visitor or have-been-visitor tells me and I have to agree. Most Taiwanese show many virtues, hospitality, kindness, respect, openness - to name just a few. I learned to love Taiwanese society, too. Like any it has its edges of course, some of them shielded away by our living situation and my lack of speaking Mandarin properly. But there are many parts I deeply admire, its cultural stance between "West and East;" its cultural tolerance, curiosity, and liberalism; its openness towards technology and the future; its pride and humility.

More than traveling, living abroad teaches you a lot about not only other countries but especially your own. I feel very grateful to be offered these experiences.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #taipei101 #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #architecture #architecturephotography #urban #urbanphotography

Taipei 101, as seen from a street below it. The branch of a tree seem to stretch towards it. There are warm fairy lights on the branch. At its north side, Taipei 101 is dressed by a giant LED screen which points towards us. The LEDs are lightened in rainbow colors.

Be Water My Friend

November is coming to a close. I will do a social media sabbatical in December, my photo blog too will go into hiatus. We will meet next year - likely with fresh ideas and a new approach. I have shared a photo and a short story every day for the last half year. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work. I am curious what form this channel and its siblings will take in 2024!

But! November is not over. There are four days left and I will use them to share some of my favorite images of the year. This is one them, the view down into Liwu river in Taroko Gorge. 2023 was the first year since moving to Taiwan where we had visitors over. Taroko is definitely one of the natural wonders of Taiwan - it has found its spot in my heart and my list of my favorite places just minutes after entering the gorge.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taroko #tarokogorge #臺灣 #台灣 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander21mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #nature #naturephotography

The crystal clear turquoise water of Liwu river, as seen from the street snaking its path through Taroko Gorge.

Determination
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 7/7)

Another favorite, re-posted in black and white.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #street #streetphotography #basketball #urbanbasketball #streetbasketball #girl #determination

A small young girl standing in front of a much much larger basketball basket, bending down to throw a ball towards it that is a fourth her size.

Flow
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 6/7)

Not directly on Xiangshan Mountain, but rather in the park below it of the same name, you can meet many more Taiwanese doing their morning exercise routine. This group is doing Qigong.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #street #streetphotography #qigong #exercise

A group of four Taiwanese practicing Qigong in Xiangshan Park in Taipei.

So Many Steps
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 5/7)

Of course, just climbing the hill is a form of exercise on its own...

(Reposting an older photo in black and white. I kind of get the hang of it!)

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #nature #naturephotography #street #streetphotography #hiking #exercise

An exhausted boy stepping up the stairs towards Elephant Mountain, his friends in the background waiting for him.

Various hikers climbing down the stairs at Xiangshan Hiking Trail in Taipei.

Don't lose the ball
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 4/7)

Finding badminton courts tucked into the slopes of the hill was probably what surprised me most. They are not necessarily in the best condition, but still celebrated by the mountain athletes. You usually meet groups of older Taiwanese very very early in the morning.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #nature #naturephotography #street #streetphotography #stretching #exercise

A group of older Taiwanese playing badminton. Their court is surrounded by a dense jungle forest of trees. Some of them are resting and chatting at the side. There is a small shrine to the left of the court.

The mountain gym
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 3/7)

Among my favorite places on Xiangshan (next to the lookouts) is this Mountain Gym, a bunch of makeshift weights and steel bars, of course once more "hidden" just some 30 meters behind the "elephant rocks" where most tourists stop their journey. It's usually a crowded place, of an easy-going and encouraging atmosphere. The men and women coming here know each other, and they are not trying to one-up each other in the size of their biceps but to stay healthy. And healthy they are!

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #nature #naturephotography #street #streetphotography #workout #gym #exercise

A man doing exercise at an outside gym at the top of Elephant Mountain in Taipei.

Two images
- A makeshift weightlifting rack and bench outside on Taipei's Elephant Mountain.
- An iron bar with weights, lying outside on top of Taipei's Elephant Mountain.

A woman doing crunches on an outside bench.

Stretch and run
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 2/7)

I have high respect for those runners cresting the many steps onto Taipei's Xiangshan Mountain. When I extend my jogging route towards the hill, I often end taking the steps as an excuse to walk a bit. It's exercise enough as is...

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #nature #naturephotography #street #streetphotography #running #exercise

A woman in jacket, stretching with her arm lifted high while she looks down through a dense jungle onto Taipei.

A man stretching while looking onto a forested hillside. He is wearing light shorts and no shirt.

Stone Elephant Baby
(Elephant Mountain Exercises, 1/7)

Let's revisit Elephant Mountain. (This means less preparation for me at a time where I'm rather busy ;)).

Elephant Mountain is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Taipei, offering a "jungle experience" close to the city and a postcard view on Taipei and Taipei 101. We have been here a couple of weeks ago, mostly focusing on nature, the hundreds of tourists, and the view.

Yet, coming as a regular, I quickly learned it's much more than that. There is a candid group of locals. It's a bit hidden from the crowd, coming early in the morning, mostly walking the side-trails. You recognize each other by the swiftness with which you both crest the steps; by the fact that both of you are here even in the humid summer months.

While some of the locals just come to enjoy the view as I often do, many have quite sporty routines, running up and down the hill, using some of the exercise facilities. Many of the 60+ „uncles“ walk the slopes topless, showing their Bruce Lee-like abs. It's this crowd we will visit in the next days - a crowd greeted by the elephant baby in the picture whenever they ascend or descend the sidetrack of the mountain.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xiangshan #臺灣 #台灣 #臺北 #台北 #象山 #🇹🇼
📷 | #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🏔️ | #nature #naturephotography #art

The stone statue of a baby elephant, resting at the side of a stone hiking trail.

Bubbles
(Street Performance in Xinyi, 7/7)

Sometimes, it's the simple things that make a smile.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xinyi #臺北 #台北 #臺灣 #台灣 #🇹🇼
📷 | #photography #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🌊 | #street #streetphotography #streetperformance

A young girl carried on her mother's arms, excitedly pointing at some bubble-making-machine.

A young girl looking excitedly at some bubble-making-machine.

Tick Tock makes the clock
(Street Performance in Xinyi, 6/7)

Dance groups are always fun to watch in Taipei's Xinyi district - often featuring elaborate costumes, well-trained choreographs, and a professional videography team around them.

(If you want to watch the rehearsals of these group, walking to Taipei's public buildings like its concert hall or various memorials is a good guess, where you are likely to find them in the evening hours).

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xinyi #臺北 #台北 #臺灣 #台灣 #🇹🇼
📷 | #photography #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🌊 | #street #streetphotography #streetperformance

A dance choreography group doing their performance in the streets of Xinyi, Taipei.

The lead dancer of a dance choreography group taking a short break and waiting for her next appearance.

The boy group
(Street Performance in Xinyi, 5/7)

Next to athletic and gymnastic feats, music is the main attraction in the street performances around Taipei 101. Taiwan was once world-renowned for its cheesy boy bands, melting hearts of (mostly Asian) girls all around the globe. While both Korea and China have seen opportunities in this market and are now building their own talents, Taiwan's handsome singers still find their fans at least in person.

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xinyi #臺北 #台北 #臺灣 #台灣 #🇹🇼
📷 | #photography #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🌊 | #street #streetphotography #streetperformance

Two young man performing their music in the streets of Xinyi in Taipei.

Shoppers relaxing on a bench in the street, listening to a small boy band.

Wheels and Wows
(Street Performance in Xinyi, 4/7)

The athletic and gymnastic feats of the performers are celebrated by old and young. But even more so by the young!

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🌏 | #taiwan #taipei #xinyi #臺北 #台北 #臺灣 #台灣 #🇹🇼
📷 | #photography #a7r #voigtlander #voigtlander40mm #manualfocus
🌊 | #street #streetphotography #streetperformance