Taiwan: At The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall

Modern Taiwan was founded by the former president and revolutionary leader Chiang Kai-Shek, after Chinese civil war in 1949. It is only understandable that the people wanted to dedicate a special memorial place to him. So, the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall was build. This huge complex was build between 1976 and 1980.

People gathering to hundreds inside the gigantic hall to watch the hourly change of the guards of honor. It’s an impressive performance of the skilled guards. A great subject for photo- and videographers too, if you get a place in the front row though.

Nowadays the people enjoying the huge park with ponds and cherry trees. Especially a warm, sunny day like lucky me got here. Certainly there are many people taking selfies and group photos for memories. Amongst them was a young lady i got into talk with. Sofia took a few photos for her Instagram account ( https://www.instagram.com/sofiameeow/ ) and agreed for a quick, spontaneous photo session on this beautiful location.

photo shooting with Lyster

On another fine day i drove south to discover new beaches. The menu at a beach bar offered masala tea, wich i chose over a thin coffee. The tasteless tea was rather disappointing, but at least i met a cute, young woman to talk with. She revealed her dreams of becoming a photo model. Her t-shirt said ‚be happy‘, confirming her sweet smile. There’s just a little chance for a real career, i told her honestly. However, i could offer a simple photo shooting, if she likes a few shots from herself. She agreed immediately and we had a funny time shooting at the beach…

 

Photo Session With Leopard

We’ve been lucky in Etosha Nationalpark spotting lots of wildlife such as rhinos, giraffes, elephants and even lions. To see cheetahs are rarer and to observe and photograph leopards needs much more time, patience and luck. I remembered a guest farm who offered wildlife watching with a guarantee. Not really my thing but just right to give my parents the opportunity to observe those proud animals from close-by.

The driver entered a gate, called some names and get off the car. He elicits the animals with big lumps of raw meat. Two cheetahs appeared, well known their food arrived. For the sake of the tourists pleasure he plays with the animals, teased them with the meat and give them some strokes.

That’s different with the leopard within the fence. Those animals stays really wild and are not to trust, the driver explains. With big precaution he puts the meat on several places, also on big branches of a tree. A pair of eyes already watched him. A tense silence amongst the tourists in the open safari car, when they spotted the back of the leopard in the high grass. Some whispers started when that proud animal lifted its head. Then the cameras began to click, the photo session started.