Serenity

Incapable of clicking on the shutter;

taking my breath away, far away

never can a photo depicts this serenity. 

The heat blazes on my skin; a sunshine massage

The salted wind soothingly passing through tangled hair 

The symphony of the waves crashed onto the white sand beach in harmony 

The softness and tenderness of the sand under my body

The greenness of the mountain behind, standing there

The hotness of the guy next to me, reading 

Life; 

live it out, live it better. 

Lombok 2015

Light and Shadow

今天，想來談談光與影。

2015年10月3號，在一個Photowalk中認識了從紐約來的Noah。

我問他的職業是什麼，他說：「用心生活的人」。
接著，他慷慨地借我他的高階黑白攝影機，試著教我光與影的關係。

法文Photographie 攝影，字首"photo" 意思是 « lumière 光 »; 字尾 "graphie" 意思是 « écrire 寫 »，顧名思義，「攝影」為用光影寫作，不但貼切，還非常有趣。而中文的「攝影」，不也是收取光影的意思嗎？

Today, it's about light and shadow.

2015, October 3, I've met Noah from New York at a photowalk. Later on, he's kindly lent me his high-end camera in black and white; he's taught me all about the light and the shadow. It was fantastic.

In fact, in the french language, "photopgrahie" (photography); the prefix "photo" signifies "light" and the suffix "graphie" means "to write"; using light to write is photography.  It's not only very imaginable but also very interesting. 

台北天橋。
Taipei pedestrian overpass. 

樓梯間。
Staircase.

廟宇。
Temple.

天空與樹影。
Sky and tree shadow.

小家庭，台北街頭。
Small family, at taipei. 

Balinese Hinduism 巴里島印度教

經過一整個學期被印尼朋友洗腦和推薦一定要去印尼玩的情況下，終於在畢業後踏上旅程。

簡單的介紹一下印尼，它是一個由17,508個小島所組成的群島，其中又有6,000個小島是無人居住的。最有特色的地方就是它的每個島嶼都有自己的文化習俗、傳統服裝、當地語言，讓印尼成為一個不折不扣富有多元層次的文化國家。

宗教方面來說呢，印尼是全世界最穆斯林人口最多的國家，於2010年的統計占了87.2%，全國只有 1.7%的人口信奉印度教，而大部分的印度教徒皆為巴里島人。

事實上印度教早在五世紀時由印度傳到印尼，但是後來又被中國人口主要信奉的彿教給取代。直到十四世紀，巴里島被伊斯蘭的勢力放逐。而今日，巴里島成為印尼所有島嶼中，唯一主要信奉印度教的島嶼。

After being brainwashed and recommended by my Indonesian friend during the entire semester saying that Indonesia is a great destination for voyages; finally, after graduation, I embarked on the journey. 

To have a brief introduction of Indonesia:  It is an archipelago consists of 17,508 islands and 6,000 of which are inhabited. What's special about having so many islands is that each island has it's own culture, costume, and dialect, making Indonesia a country that is rich in culture and diversity. 

Religion-wise, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation, at 87.2% in 2010; while only 1.7% of the country's population is hindu, and most of them are Balinese. Actually, Hinduism came to Indonesia from India in the early fifth century, and it was gradually replace by Buddhism, a religion believed mostly by the Chinese population. Until in the 14th century, Bali was displaced by the coming of Islam. Today, Bali became the only part of Indonesia to remain predominantly Hindu.

印度廟的大門。
The front door of the Hindu temple. 

地板上遍佈著用來祈禱的鮮花。
Prayer flowers scattered everywhere on the floor.

依我的觀察，他們每天早上都會摘取新鮮的雞蛋花放在草編的坐檯上禱告。
My observation told me that every morning they pick up the fresh plumerias and put them on the grass-braised base for prayer.

在廟裡的每一個角落都可以祈禱。
They can put their prayer at every corner of the temple. 

每隔坐檯都代表著一個願望。有的時候他們還會放糖果、米或是香在上面。
Each base represent a prayer. Sometimes, they put candies, rice or incense. 

滿地散落的願望，不知道他們有沒有定時清理，還是隨風飛翔。
Wishes scattered on the floor. Not sure if they tidy up regularly, or let them fly with the wind. 

在廟裡的最高處。
At the highest point of the temple. 

A balinese woman doing her morning prayer.
一位巴里島的女性在做早晨禱告。

巴里島的女性從小就學習可以把這樣很重的竹編籃子頂在頭上，非常厲害。
Balinese women learnt from a young age to carry this kind of heavy bamboo-braised basket on top of their head. It's really fascinating.

Venice

I could spend my entire afternoon at the dock, watching the boats come and go, enjoying the heat of the sun as the salty wind mildly pass by. Time to time, the seagulls would fly down to tease me; they want food, even I don't have any.

Venice amazed me.

The main avenues are uncomfortably filled with curious tourists and loud vendors; noisy and touristic. Not very ideal.

But if you quietly turn into the little lanes area, You would find the heart of Venice. The design of this ancient neighborhood is like a maze. You don't always know where you are going, even you think you do. There are way too many turns to try, and each turn offers a new surprise. The little lanes could horizontally fit about three to four people, sometimes only one person. It's easy for a person to occupy a lane, and I love it this way, I feel like a local, like I own the place!

Life is sunny and beautiful. The same moment would never pass twice. It's either you go on, or let time pass you.

Home is where your heart is

Found myself to be blissful and grateful to be back home. Even though, comparing to Paris, the buildings here have no relation to aestheticism nor history; they are still Taiwanese style. They are where I belong. 

The fist thing I noticed was the sense of security. No longer do I need to watch out for my belongings. They are safe here, no one robes. It's so much easier to relax and enjoy under such condition! Later on, I found out the trees are so beautiful in Taipei. The city is green not gray! The weather is super nice and it's not cold! Follow up, it's the MRT and buses. It's hard to imagine how clean, cheap and comfortable the public transportation here can be! No more beggars, drunk people, unbearable smell! Most important of all, toilets are available at every station and they are free and clean! And then it's the food here. They are hot, yummy, everywhere, anytime, and affordable! 

Perhaps, to all my friends in Taipei, these are just trivial everyday details but they really made me so happy and alive. Can't believe that we've taken all these for granted. However, to be fair, there are still a lot of things that I miss about Paris: the art museums, the bars, the café, the delicate desserts, the friends, the home-made pastas, the language, the buildings, the people, the sale season shopping .......

But still, home is where your heart is. I'm happy to be home. If people can find a desirable job here, who wouldn't want to stay on this little island forever?

我的阿嬤 私の祖母

在最近國片的興起下，越來越了解台灣的歷史

從之前的賽德克巴萊，到最近的蘆葦之歌，

反覆的提醒我們 1895-1945年的日治時代。

看完蘆葦之歌後，更是體會到，原來戰爭結束也沒多久

又看到最近因為戰爭歐洲的難民問題，

偷偷地慶幸自己國家的戰爭時期已走入歷史。

原來，以前在教科書上讀到的明治維新、同化政策、皇民化政策、慰安婦等議題

再也不是書上死板板的考試試題，而是台灣老年人的回憶

前幾個月遊歷了花蓮太魯閣，部分步道是日本人為了管理原住民所特別開設的

走起來，心情特別的複雜

眼前的美景，是所有台灣人的寶藏

但日治時期，那侵略性的佔領，又令人毛骨悚然

其實，看再多書籍、再多電影，我們這一代永遠都無法深刻體會那一段過去。

所以今天，我想談談我的阿嬤，生長於日治時期。

我的阿嬤從小在澎湖長大，為當地有錢人家二媽的養女

阿嬤還特別強調在日治時期治安非常的好，夜不閉戶，馬路也相當乾淨

她有三個哥哥，是大媽的小孩，對她非常的好，但是他們不喜歡他的媽媽

阿嬤說她國小畢業之後，爸爸就去逝了

哥哥們想把二媽趕走，然後把她留下來

但是重感情的她，情願跟著收留她的二媽一起流浪。

阿嬤的日文相當流利，平時最喜歡去日本玩。

每次去日本就好像回娘家一樣，最喜歡和年輕的日本男生搭訕聊天。

上次我們一起去北海道的時候，她叫我去跟老闆要湯匙，教了我一句日文

跟老闆說完之後，他狐疑地看著我，好似我是從別的星球來的

原來，阿嬤的日文還停留在西元1945年

而，西元2013年湯匙已經有新的講法了

這是第一次體會到語言與時間的微妙互動。

最近一次一起去九份黃金博物館遊玩

88歲的阿嬤還在服務台當起了臨時翻譯員，幫忙兩位日本太太釐清旅遊資訊

看者這兩位太太拼命點頭的樣子，也挺逗趣

有阿嬤這樣歲數的人來幫忙，按照他們長幼有序的文化，我想他們壓力也挺大的

同時，也竊喜著，我以阿嬤為榮。

我的阿嬤 2015

阿嬤於北海道女子修道院前方的樹下。2014

Dream

I want to grow old with you;

You envision me a Future, together. 

On the bus to the city center of Brussels, Belgium. 

Believe

"Every moment inspires"

then, you realize

Behind each slogan, hides a marketing lie

Like in every believe, there is a lie


Suffocated.

Worried,

If one day, your soul compromise

What if, it wears out and dies out

Gradually, you lose it all

little by little,
without any notice.


The soul in which he was talking about,

A photographer in Venice wrote gently behind his photo and handed to you,

"I like your soul"

It was a black and white photo finished by a few strokes of colors,

the lost wonderland of his childhood,

Venice has become another city as he grew up

: More tourists, less originality.


That's what we try to avoid.

Brussels, Belgium. 

A black lady praying at an old cathedral. 

颱風蘇迪勒 / Typhoon Soudelor --- 都會叢林/ City Jungle

Typhoon Soudelor is one the the hugest typhoons in the decade that caused serious damage to Taiwan. 

颱風蘇迪勒是台灣十多年來帶來最多災害的颱風。

In Taipei, the green city, which the citizens were proud of, was seriously damaged by this Typhoon.

Especially, the trees which have long been breathing with this city.

在台北，我們所驕傲的綠色城市裡，有許多行道樹被颱風摧毀。

這些老樹，都是多年來和台北一起呼吸的靈魂。

The power of the nature.

大自然的力量。

The power of the wind.

風的力量。

Taipei Jungle.

台北叢林。

This is not in a movie.

這不是一場電影。

This is an adventure.

這是一場冒險。

No winners, but only losers.

沒有贏家，只有輸家。

Old trees were gone.

老樹不見了。

Roads were blocked.

道路不通了。

Everyone is taking photo.

大家仍不忘照相。

Construction site.
工地。

Cleaning squad  working timelessly.

清潔隊不紛晝夜的工作。

Residence stepped out to help.

居民集結幫忙。

Still, we need time.

依舊，我們需要時間。

Militaries helped out.

軍人也來幫忙。

Directing traffic, cleaning our home.

指揮交通，打掃家園。

Taiwan, are you ready for the next typhoon? 

台灣，你為下一個颱風準備好了嗎？ 

The kinds of love- Paris.

It is said that there are different kinds of love. 

In the city of love- Paris. 

世界上有各式各種愛。

在巴黎- 愛的城市。

Friendship- the love of music.

友情- 對音樂的愛。

Marriage - romance.

婚姻 -  浪漫。

Dance - the love of movements.

跳舞 -  對律動的喜愛。 

"Ya pas kelkun ki veux tomber amoureu de moi ? "
" Is there anyone who wants to fall in love with me?"--the shout of the street. 
"這裡有人想和我墜入愛河嗎？" -- 街道的吶喊。

Family- the love between mother and daughter.

親情- 母親與女兒的愛。

Street artist- love of the performance.

街頭藝人 - 對表演的熱情。

Newly-weds - trust.

新婚夫妻 - 信任。

Museum - the love of art.

博物館 - 對藝術的愛。

Metro - love being together.

捷運 - 喜歡在一起。

On the streets - the love of books.

街上 - 對書的喜愛。

Agostino's Masks Art Studio

In 2014, I traveled alone in Italy and stayed in Florence for two days, trying to find something "less touristy".

 While waiting for a local friend to visit the city together, I came across this tiny little shop filled with a huge variety of handmade masks.

It was a breathtaking view. 

Agostino was the owner of the shop and like every Italian, he was very warm and fun. He said that he made all the masks by himself, using different materials. 

Some of his masks were even used in Operas. 


He's a very passionate artist; you could see his sparkling eyes embedded with passion as he introduced his masks. Behind every mask, there was a story. 

I told him that I'm a professional freelance photographer, and he was pleased to know that. 

He started to put on his favorite masks, and we started to play, to take photos. 

In the end, he wrote me a card saying, “Con affetto e amicizia”, meaning “ with affection and friendship".


 Although the journey carries on, the memories will forever be well-kept within these photographs.