Jiufen is a old mining town in northern Taiwan east of Taipei. Gold and copper were produces mostly during Japanese occupation and for s short time after.
During that period, it had many inns and restaurants with heavy Japanese influence in architecture and decor. When the mines dried up, the town lost its attraction until 1989 it was used as the main location for a popular Taiwanese movie.
The revival of Jiufen meant the restoration of the many old buildings and structures. The good thing was the restoration kept it’s historic charm and feel. Today, many people visit for the historic significance and the nostalgic feel of the town.
This is the side door to an inn here, what attracted me is the detail in the door’s carvings and the old lock and latch. I bet there are many stories to be told behind this door.
This is the exterior of this inn. The architecture has Japanese and Chinese influences. looks to me that this was probably a tea house or a sake house back in the day.
You will see any winding stair paths through out Jiufen. This is near the bottom of the main stair. However, it continues into a residential area. Once again, I wonder about the people who walked these steps in the past.
I love travel photography. When I travel, I look for things that might strike an emotion in me. It could be the people, the history, culture or anything that might carry that emotion through a photograph. Sure, iconic tourist attractions are nice, but when you dive into what really makes a place chances are you will end up with something you will remember for a long time.
I’ve done some food photography for local restaurants and I’ve always been interested in how food is presented so they look the best.
This is a traditional Taiwanese street food presented in a food court. it is short grain rice cooked with a basic meat sauce in a round container. In the old days the container was bamboo stalk, these days is a stainless cup. However, the presentation has remained simple and elegant. Who’d thought this is just simple street food?
Some of the Asian restaurants I’ve worked with should take notes. 
Hong Kong is a place where everything moves fast, everyone looks busy, but everything is interesting to a visiting photographer. However, with all the tightly spaced buildings and skyscrapers, late afternoon light like this is rare in areas like Central, Causeway Bay, and Wan Chai. This seems to be a major complaint from many photographers who photographs Hong Kong.
I had 7 Hours to kill in Korea’s Incheon International Airport before I board my flight to Taipei. Normall, there are lots of shops and restaurants that will help pass the time. However, I landed at 4:30AM and I think I am one os 40 people in this huge terminal.
Since I was starting my vacation, I decided to take photos around the terminal.
Around 6 am, I saw the sun starting to peek, and I knew I had to wait for the perfect moment for the beautiful color to show, a plane to land, and a great point of view. It was worth the wait.
Shortly after this shot, the cafes opened for business and I was off for some much needed coffee.