Danshui ‘Freshwater’ City.

October 26, 2011March 9, 2013

Whilst in Taiwan, it was mentioned to me that the city of Danshui was very popular for shooting sunsets. Taking into account a typhoon had recently passed through Taiwan, I was keen to be out photographing, capturing the after-effects from the typhoon. Danshui was the centre for shipping and commerce in the 19th century; now it’s more popular for viewing sunsets into the Taiwan Strait. It is named after a river whose name means ‘Freshwater’, offering both river and mountain views.

I caught the train from Taipei main station directly to Danshui, which takes approximately 45 minutes. The MRT(Municipal Rapid Transport) system is clean (due to not being able to eat, drink or chew whilst on the train), quiet and relatively fast – I was really impressed and enjoyed using the metro rail system.

A storm was brewing upon my arrival into Danshui, heavy clouds filled the sky and it was evident rain was not too far away. After 30 minutes of one of the heaviest downpours I have ever witnessed, the clouds began to break and brief glimpses of sunshine where seen throughout the day.

After spending the rest of the day visiting the shops and traditional Taiwanese stalls, I made my way over to the Danshui River to find a good location to shoot. Here you can see the the great views and catch the ferry boat to the Fisherman’s Wharf or Bali Village, famous locations when you visit Danshui.

And did I mention famous for photographing sunsets? Photographers everywhere. Standing room only – well that was until the rain started to fall again, this downpour only lasted 20 minutes and was nowhere near as heavy as the rain that had fallen earlier in the day.

Once the rain had passed, I was the only photographer to be seen. The clouds were providing some great mood and the light was ambient and deep blue, illuminating the scene before me.

I fired off a few 30-second exposures that captured the movement of the clouds and the ambient light filtering through, lucky enough to have the ferry boat cruise through at that moment to create movement and blur in the foreground.
I kept photographing the scene for another 30 minutes before heading over to shoot the Red Castle, which is over near Danshui Old Street, with its beautiful architecture and background of famous landmarks which include the Guan-yin Mountain and Danshui River.

Darren J.

The all conquering Ocean, part 2.

October 16, 2011March 9, 2013

Although I was still armed with my back-up camera, I thought it was best to make my way back to Taipei and have Canon assess the damage; if they were able to bring the camera back to life, that meant leaving the camera with the technician for a few days.

In the meantime I managed to track down a 5D mkII from a hire shop in Taipei. Considering I was heading to China in 2 days, I thought it best to take the hire camera with me for the couple of weeks I was going to stay there.

Luckily I managed to keep the hire camera out of any deep water whilst in China. Canon had my camera fixed and ready for pick-up upon my return to Taipei – the bill for the repairs was quite substantial, costing over $1300.00 Australian. But I must say the camera is in better condition than when I first bought it.

My 16-35mm camera lens remarkably survived the accident, minus the auto focus and a nice grinding noise whilst zooming. The lens was only 3 months old, replacing another, due to a fall I had taken whilst photographing at the Great Ocean Road. I had slipped and my shoulder and face hit the deck (green algae and slippery rocks), camera and lens also hitting the deck – the lens snapped clean off the camera leaving the bayonet mount inside the camera. I lay on the rocks watching the sea water swallow the lens, the camera body sustained two large cracks but kept working.

I’ve had my fair share of slips and falls over the years, proving to be very costly indeed. Luckily I have avoided any serious physical damage upon myself, could have been a whole lot worse.

Best thing is to take care whilst out there, never think you’re invincible and that it won’t happen to you. The ocean is a force to be reckoned with; always watch your step and keep an eye on the incoming waves and tide, be cautious at all times.

Darren J.

The all conquering Ocean

October 11, 2011February 27, 2012

I recently returned home to Australia after spending 4 weeks in Asia – two weeks in Taiwan and another 2 weeks in Guilin, China. My first stop was Taiwan, the first week was spent in Taipei, catching up with my partner’s family and friends.

I was eager to make my way over to the North-East coast of Taiwan, the city of Keelung, where the coastline is rugged and menacing due to the many Typhoons and strong winds around the region (a typhoon was making it’s way through the South of Taiwan whilst we were in Taipei). The rock formations are quite amazing and the swells are mind-blowing, I was in total awe of the prospects for great seascape photography.

Upon our arrival in Keelung I hired a motorbike and hit the coastline, scouting for some destinations to shoot. Unfortunately, the weather and conditions were not in my favour, with lots of haze and very little cloud form to create mood. My third sunrise shoot was looking really good with nice cloud cover and soft morning light, creating soft hues with the high tide on its way in.

I planted my tripod heavily in the sand, a tiny black and grey variety which took a brilliant-looking sheen when wet. The waves started coming in a little stronger at that moment so I decided to take a couple of steps backward and tripped over a rock that happened to be at the base of my feet behind me, toppled over with tripod and camera in tow and a wave following, engulfing me and camera.

The next thing I knew I was desperately dragging myself and camera up from beneath the surface of the water; I was in shock, realising what had just happened. The shutter was still firing away as I must have tripped it on whilst falling. The rest of the morning was spent in a daze as I tried to console myself, for I still had 3 weeks of travel ahead of me without my canon 5d mkII.

Two images posted from the morning shoot, one had been taken whilst the camera was under water and one image taken before the accident. I will continue with the saga and rest of my travels shortly.

Darren J.

I'm into you, north east coast, coastal region, keelung, taiwan — Coastal region, Keelung, Taiwan