The Daily Bubble Tea

After more than five years together… we’re finally getting married this December!

Green Skimmer [Orthetrum sabina sabina]

Catherine and I went to the nearby lotus ponds to check things out and wondered behind one to a large natural pond with an unbelievable variety of dragonflies all in one place. We spent awhile there taking turns shooting the wonderful creatures that graced the pond. Scientific names are given on the species I could positively identify:
Continue reading ‘Dragonflies, Damselflies, and a Butterfly’

The Lotus Flowers [荷花] in the ponds near Jhongsing Gate began blooming a couple weeks ago. Given my current work schedule, the only time I have daylight to photograph anything is before work, so 4 of the last 5 days I have dropped by the ponds to get in a few minutes of shooting before clocking in.
Continue reading ‘Jhongsing Lotus Pond’

One late afternoon we took a trip to see the Tung blossoms [油桐花]. We didn’t have nearly enough time to make it up to Miaoli, so we opted for the New Era Resort [牛耳石雕公園] on the way to Puli.
Continue reading ‘Tung Blossoms at New Era Resort’

As mentioned in the previous post, Petit Fancy 8 was held at National Taiwan University’s campus over the weekend, here is the picture heavy post that I promised. David Reid wrote a post about the event over the weekend, as did Darren Melrose on his new WP-powered blog. My anime phase passed after Cowboy Bebop aired on the Cartoon Network, so I have no idea who most of these characters are.
Continue reading ‘Cosplay at NTU - Petit Fancy 8 [the extended post]‘

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting up with bloggers/photographers Craig Ferguson, David Reid, and Darren Melrose for the cosplay event Petit Fancy 8 held at National Taiwan University. The event also marked my first time shooting in RAW and right now I am trying to get used to using Adobe Lightroom as opposed to sorting and adjusting pictures in iPhoto.

I’ll have a longer post, with more pictures, in the next few days.

The Nantou County Culture Park [南投縣文化園區] sits in Nantou City. It’s main building [pictured above] is the County History Hall [南投縣縣史館], which resides in the former Wu-de Temple [武德殿]. Built in 1937, the building has served several purposes over the years: when Taiwan was a Japanese colony it was used by policemen to practice Kendo and Judo, after the Kuomintang arrival it was used as a police department, followed by a series of bureaucratic offices. It was unveiled as the Nantou County History Hall in 1997 and later closed because heavy damage suffered from the 921 Earthquake of 1999. After a year of repairs, it was reopened to the public.
Continue reading ‘The Nantou County Culture Park’

I was shopping at the nearby Poya when I noticed a vending machine stocked with Tommy Bear Co.’s new Betel Nut Spice Girls version 2 series [檳榔辣妹二彈]. In this series each character is sitting or standing at identical betel nut stands while in the first series each character includes a completely different scene.
Continue reading ‘Betel Nut Spice Girls version 2′

Catherine and I were looking for some space-saving solutions in the early evening last Sunday when we were startled by the abundant sound of firecrackers going off outside. The sound was close, so we went outside to check out the commotion. Luckily I had my camera with me to take a few pics of the festivities.
Continue reading ‘Parade in Caotun’

Fried Spring Rolls - Cha Gio [招牌炸春卷]

For the longest time, I thought that if you wanted foreign food nearby your only choice was the McDonald’s in neighboring Caotun. So needless to say, I was quite delighted to be taken out for Vietnamese food at a restaurant near Cathy’s office.
Continue reading ‘Foreign Food in Nantou’