Bits & Bites

4s @ f/8, ISO 100 and 1.6s @ f/8, ISO 800, 5D Mark II, Rooftop of an 阿姨’s apartment complex

Happy 2012 everyone! I’ve been paying my annual visit to Taiwan these past two weeks, and between a wedding, eating (and photographing), meeting up with friends and family, and working remotely (a fringe benefit of being in tech), I haven’t had much time to photoblog. But expect a slew of updates over the next few weeks as I get around to processing an almost two-thousand photo backlog, and writing reviews for many of the restaurants I’ve been fattening up at here!

Having been near Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 one New Year’s Eve several years ago, I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to brave the crowds again. Especially this year’s crowd, projected to be particularly intense due to it being the 101th year of the Minguo calendar. The lot of us decided to welcome in the new year from a distance instead, away from (most of) the insanity. And while we were lucky to find this vantage point, the fireworks show was both too short and a bit too far to be satisfying. Next year, if I don’t join the partygoers, I’ll very likely just welcome in 2013 from my deck in Taoyuan, which is supposedly home to some large firework factories.

1/25s @ f/5.6, ISO 3200, 5D Mark II, Hooker’s Sweet Treats

“I had my first experience with Hooker’s last week.”

But, to give some context: Hooker’s is a little cafe in the Tenderloin that serves up a variety of sweets, desserts, and of course, coffee. The bread pudding there? Amazing. And I don’t really even like bread pudding.

1/80s @ f/4, ISO 3200, 5D Mark II

The Klout office held a toy drive today, with all proceeds going to Walden House. Among the donations were an Angry Bird, lots of Barbies, and… a bottle of beer?

No no. While we may be sponsored by PBR, this was just an amusing product misplacement.

1/500s @ f/8, ISO 400, 5D Mark II, The Leary Traveler

As if a fried egg alone doesn’t already make everything better — add bacon, and you really have a winning combination!

1/10s @ f/2.8, ISO 100, Canon S95, Radius

Like with risotto, I’ve developed a certain infatuation with soft polenta over the past year (much of this can be attributed to some of the amazing dishes I had during my Seattle stint): so much so, in fact, that one can be fairly certain I’ll order it if it appears on the menu!