This summer, I spent some time in Taiwan. I was blown away by almost everything about it.

Taiwan has dense jungles and mountains

It also has small narrow alleyways

And incredible cityscapes

Other countries in the near vicinity are quite well documented, especially for photography. Japan is obviously the number one spot. It seems like you can’t go a day on the internet looking at photographs without Tokyo or Kyoto popping up on your feed. Korea is also another hotspot, Bali as well, even Thailand, Indonesia etc. However, I never see anything to do with Taiwan and I think that should change.

I already documented my experiences with nature in Taiwan, when I trekked upstream through the rain-forest, which you can read about here. But this time, I want to show you some street photography of what life is really like in Taiwan.

I spent roughly one week in a village called Yuanlin, in Changhua county. It’s relatively small, yet after dark it comes alive with people just doing so many odd things, that it’s the perfect spot to take your camera around. Everyone here is friendly and most people invite you to take a picture of them and whatever they’re doing, a stark contrast to the cold Londoners who want to do everything possible to not be in your shot.







On every street, people are fixing their car or motorbike, buying food from street vendors, waiting for their friends to go out for drinks, doing their washing or laundry, taking their dog for a haircut even getting a tattoo in a parlor with a giant window where you can watch. Everyone is going somewhere or doing something.







I was really surprised by just how great it was to be able to walk through the streets and document what people were doing in their everyday life.

















Next, I went to Taipei. Obviously, Taipei is much larger, and there are even more things going on. You definitely lose some of that friendly village feel, people here don’t want their picture taken as much and won’t come and talk to you about what you’re doing. However, it’s more than made up for by the sheer number of things happening at all hours of the day. The architecture is also stunning and can provide some real interest for your photographs.









My favourite place to go was to the night markets. People crowd through the street to investigate what food they can grab from stalls on the side of the road. Every type of food imaginable is being prepared and consumed.

There are bright neon lights everywhere, the lighting was even more delicious than the food, and despite it being late at night, when I was shooting at f1.2, I was sometimes only using ISO200 or 400. Meaning, less noise, sharper images.















If you want to book a holiday to experience the authentic Asian experience, I’d highly recommend Taiwan. Everywhere I went, I didn’t see commercialised experiences. Instead, I just joined in with everyday life, and managed to capture some beautiful moments.











So, when you’re planning your next trip away, maybe you should think about paying Taiwan a visit. You might be pleasantly surprised!



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