Moved!

This is the last post. Ever.

And an old-fashioned “please follow me elsewhere” post. I now blog at http://blog.joshfahler.net, so please update your bookmarks and e-mail subscriptions accordingly.

-Josh

Changes!

八家將 (Ba Jia Jiang), or the “Eight Generals” at a festival in Tainan.

When I first started this blog in 2010, I had no idea how much it would help my photography develop.I started out as an enthusiast with a DSLR and while I’m still an enthusiast, I feel I developed my skills in real ways – of course I was in “cheat mode” living here in Taiwan, but I worked hard to learn quickly and it certainly paid off.

My wife and I have decided to move back to the US soon. When exactly is not known, but I will be changing my blog into a general photography blog in the next few weeks. This WordPress.com blog will remain up, but will not be updated. The site is located at http://joshfahler.net and this photoblog will be moved over to my new WordPress.org site, http://blog.joshfahler.net.

Joshintaiwan.com will redirect to that site in order to appease the Google gods, but will be a bit of a misnomer, to say the least – at least after I move back to the States. Because I now have family (by marriage) in Taiwan, I’m sure there will be new photos of Formosa in the future – I’m just not sure when we will return.

I should say a quick thanks to the family and friends who followed this and also to the complete strangers who joined me in exploring Taiwan! I’ve really enjoyed getting to know people around the world through this site and am grateful for the people who have expressed interest in my photography. I was always excited to see what countries my visitors are from and I hope that I represented Taiwan well!

Temple Ornamentation in Sanxia

Taken in Sanxia at the main city temple, these are located on the second floor of the large building, which includes pretty traditional but ornate architectural elements. While it’s similar to most other temples in Taiwan, it’s a bit special in that there just seems to be a bit more. Sanxia is one of my favorite places to visit. I’ve posted about it a few times before.

Reprocessed Shots: Places of Worship

Since I’ve been lazy with the camera as of late, I decided to at least reprocess some photos I have backed up as NEF (“raw”) files. Some of these date 3-4 years.

While I’m not personally an overtly religious person, places of worship have always fascinated me – something people who have followed this blog will notice. In a way, they encapsulate a place’s culture. I think a perfect example is this first church, located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Note the differences in architecture compared to the American churches below.

Something else that interests me is the difference between more rural and urban churches. In League City, Texas, a small farm town until it expanded recently due to suburban expansion, Saint Mary Church’s old building is now a historical site for the town. I found its humble stature interesting, especially compared to St. Paul, located in nearby Houston.

For good measure I included a few Buddhist temples which also show differences in geography. This is less evident however in these photos, but can be seen when visiting these temples in China/Taiwan/Hong Kong versus Thailand and Cambodia.

Above: a church located in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

A Buddhist temple located on the Chao Praya River in Bangkok, Thailand.

A Baptist church in Taipei, Taiwan.

The “Big Buddha” of Po Lin Monastery, Hong Kong.

  

Left: Wellington First Congregational Church in Wellington, Ohio. Right: Wellington First United Methodist Church in Wellington, Ohio.

  

Left: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Houston, TX. Right: St. Mary (Old) Catholic Church, League City, TX.

Black and White Shots from Daxi and Jiufen

These are oldies, taken in January and September, 2011 while visiting Daxi and Jiufen. They’ll have to make up for the fact that’s been quite a while since I’ve even touched my camera between a few different factors like half marathon training and other hobbies.

Starting off with a shot repeated on this blog. This was taken and posted the first time I visited Daxi.

These are from Daxi:

From Jiufen. I wasn’t paying attention to the gentleman smiling big, so he was out of focus. I’m guessing that’s why I didn’t include it the first time around, but I kind of like the photo, actually.

 

Single Shot: Taiwanese Guerilla Art – in Thailand?

This was actually taken years ago while visiting Thailand. I did NOT do this, but thought it was photo-worthy when I noticed it by chance while out walking in Bangkok.

Single Shot: Javanese Kuda Lumping Dancer

Kuda Lumping is a Javanese traditional dance employing a horse made of woven bamboo. The dancers are sometimes in a trance, during which time they do remarkable or unusual things like eating glass or being whipped. While we didn’t see either of these while watching these dancers a Prambanan, it was an interesting facet of Javanese culture to learn about.

Here’s a Wiki about this style of dance.

Single Shot: Buddha Statue in Bali

Located near a seafood restaurant in southeast Bali, Indonesia.

Bali Odds and Ends

This is the last of what I took in Bali. These are from the limited time I had there, mostly around Nusa Dua. If you venture away from the beach resorts, there is much to see in terms of daily life and culture. I realize much more can be seen elsewhere on the island – I’ll just have to return someday!

Above: a woman prepares offerings for local Hindu statues.

 

Above: detail of completed offerings.

 

 

 

Kraton, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The kraton, or palace, of Yogyakarta is an interesting site as it hearkens to both pre-colonial and Dutch colonial Indonesia. The center of the Yogyakarta Sultanate, it has been a center of regional power since 1755 with the current building having existed since 1790. Today, the Special Region of Yogyakarta, a sort of autonmous territory which includes the city, is ruled by the Sultan, Hamengkubuwono X.

During our tour, which cost 15,000 rupiah (about 1 USD) with an English-speaking tour guide, we were guided through the palace grounds and given chances to take photos.

Above: a palace guard dressed in traditional attire poses.

Above: the official seal of the monarchy.