brappy!

Starting Tomorrow, originally uploaded by brappy★.

As some of you may know [1], I'm having a small solo photographic installation at the 1600 E Olive Way Starbucks starting Thursday 3 April 2008, running through the end of the month.

It's a collection of transportation images from Taipei. No blue trucks, though. They don't work hot in black and white.

While it's small, this has been a great year for my development as a photographer. I've had photos in two books and now, two installations - with one of them being just my work.

If you're in Seattle, come check it out. Come buy something.

This card is not my best work; I'm way out of practice with graphic design! [2]

movement: taipei

[1] After getting very excited phone calls from me last week. Heh.
[2] While making this, I kept wishing I had QuarkXpress 2.0 because I can use it really, really fast (a holdover from using it at a daily newspaper on deadline).

Posted by arion at 04:35 PM | Permalink

I walk a mile with a smile.
I don't know I don't care where I am,
But I know it's all right.
Jump the tracks, can't get back.
I don't know anyone round here,
But I'm safe this time.

Posted by arion at 05:54 PM | Permalink

I very much miss my good friend Chen. Everytime I see him in Taiwan, we get along famously and laugh like idiots. Plus, he reminds me a lot of myself, actually. And he's a bit weird. Last time I stayed with his family, he repacked my suitcase because my dirty clothes "were too messy"... or something like that... While looking for a shot of the time that Coco Lee checked me out on the street, I came across this photo I took of him and his sister ascending the staircase in the pedestrian tunnel underneath Zhongxiao West Road right near Taipei Train Station. I was about to say goodbye to them for the foreseeable future and we were all quite sad (but full, after eating duck for lunch).

Posted by arion at 02:35 PM | Permalink

Flying out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Aiport for Hong Kong...

The old Terminal One, captured in a wide-angle lens. It's modelled after Dulles International Airport in DC.

Good Morning, China Airlines! Lots of big planes ready for a busy day of flying...I love airports in the morning. The light is great and there's this newness in the air...

My reflection in the airshow display, showing me clearly over the Taiwan strait.

Flying through a typhoon, we were at 38,000 feet and still in clouds. It was crazy, and bumpy.

But I still got my "Oriental" vegetarian meal [1]

[1] I'm not a vegetarian, but I think meat doesn't travel well on airplanes, especially long-haul flights. It just gets gross at the end. I'll soon blog my encounters with duck on an airplane flight. Yuck.

Posted by arion at 02:31 PM | Permalink

train waiting, originally uploaded by brappy!.

I visited my good friend Chen and his family in Taizhong. I ended up taking the train from there further south... it was a fun time visiting him. He's one of those people that I just understand instantly. Sadly, he lives in Rome, so I don't get to see him often.

This shot is from the train station in Taizhong. I shot it from quite a distance away. I like the people and the colors they have.

Posted by arion at 01:42 PM | Permalink

sugarcane blue truck.. and a goose!, originally uploaded by brappy!.

This truck selling sugarcane had a guerilla marketing tactic: using a goose to get attention. I don't care for pure sugarcane, but I sure do like watching geese walk around a major urban street. It's kind of ... endearing.

Posted by arion at 01:36 PM | Permalink

drinking beer, originally uploaded by brappy!.

On one of the weekends I was in Taiwan, I got some of my friends together and we ended up drinking many, many beers in Ximen's Red Theatre (Honglou) area. Three-for-two beer specials are troublesome, especially when they're fairly cheap.

Posted by arion at 01:33 PM | Permalink

waiting at Zhuwei, originally uploaded by brappy!.

After arriving in Taiwan, I was struck by how hot and humid it was. How could I have forgotten the humidity?

The best part was seeing some of my really good friends, relaxing and just enjoying life with them. I was especially happy to spend time with my friend Matt. I think he's one of the most hilarious people on earth and spending time with him is a riot. I'd say he's the king of the obscure reference.

While in Taipei, I went to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which seems to always have really interesting exhibits on display. Unlike my hometown Seattle Art Museum, which seems to invest in tacky 1970s art made out of plastic, TFAM's art is mostly local, and the exhibitions are coherent. I really enjoyed the results of a calligraphy contest that were displayed.

I made the obligatory visit to 故宮 - The National Palace Museum. Every time I go here, I get a bit confused, as the exhibition halls are pretty small. Considering that Gugong has one of the largest collections of Chinese antiquities in the world, why do they have such a small facility? Every time I've gone (I think I've been 4 or 5 times now), I have trouble locating the paintings, and they only seem to have 3 or 4 on display. I don't get it. Am I missing a floor or something?

Being in Taipei, however, made me feel really alive. Everything was familiar and fun. Within 24 hours of arriving, I got two job offers. Two good job offers. Tempting stuff...

Posted by arion at 01:29 PM | Permalink