More than the camera, it is the eye of the photographer
Once a year, all the foreign scholarship students in Taiwan are invited to participate in a photo contest called “Fabulous Taiwan”. In the form of four original photos taken inside the island, every participant must communicate his or her impression of the culture, ethnicity, customs, heritage or nature. The contest also requires a short composition in Mandarin Chinese and English that tells a story or expresses the feeling of being in Taiwan. According to the organizers, any camera system is allowed, from professional cameras to tablets and mobile phones.
I heard about this contest in my first year in Taiwan, and immediately felt the thrill of taking part. However, by that time I had very little material to submit for the competition, so I decided to document as good as possible every place I traveled to and, after two years, I was confident that I had something good between hands.
The mix between happiness and surprise came altogether when I found out that I had won the third place among hundreds of other students. I felt I was doing something good in the field of photography considering that the first and second place used professional DSLR cameras for their compositions, while all I had at that moment was my iPhone 5 (8 MP, f/2.4).
With all that said, here is my composition and my award-winning photos.
Mandarin Chinese:
這葉狀的小島不僅止於旅遊觀光的魅力。不只是豐富的大自然景觀與科技化的和諧。Formosa其難以預料的美在於小細節、美食。在於體驗騎單車橫跨城市或全國、在於搭乘火車穿越城鎮、樹林。就如同寺廟燈禱文所敘：“國泰民安”
English:
There is far more than this leaf-shaped island’s undeniable touristic charm. It is not merely the harmony between deep natural richness and culture
