It’s been a while since our last interview here on My Several Worlds, so today I’m happy to post this interview with Rich Matheson, one of my long-time favorite photographers in Taiwan. Rich is probably best known for his cultural images of Taiwan’s folk religions. (In case you missed it, his photography and writing on Taiwan’s Folk Religion: Guanjiang Shou, was featured here on MSW a few months back.) Rich’s images have been published in many print publications, including Eva Air inflight magazine, Xpat, CNN Traveler, and Taiwan Fun. Rich To view more of Rich’s work, please visit Rich Matheson’s professional photography portfolio or visit his blog, Lief in Taiwan.

RM: Hi Carrie, thanks so much for this timely interview. I am trying to increase on my online presence and an interview with one of Taiwan’s preeminent English webmasters is invaluable.

MSW: You’re welcome! I’m happy to be featuring you again here on My Several Worlds. We had a terrific response to your article on Guanjiang Shou. Can you tell us a little about yourself? When did you first become interested in photography?

RM: In a Tainan coffee shop run by a Canadian photographer, I was mesmerized by the owner’s B+W photos of India and, on his recommendation, I bought the venerable Nikon FM2. That camera was later stolen from under my cot as I slept on a packed ferry in the Philippines and the second one plummeted to its death from my tripod a few years later. I still fantasize about those lovely, fully manual FM2s; they were simple, durable and reliable.

Taitian Temple of Nankunshen, Kun Chiang Village, Beimen, Township, Tainan County, Taiwan

MSW:  How did you get started in the business of photography?

RM: I’ve pretty much been boot-strapping my way in. I was first published in the China Post in the late 90’s to accompany an article written by long-time friend and writer, Steven Crook. From there I published sporadically as I continued to develop my photography. The now defunct South Magazine was great for developing editorial skills and Matt Gibson’s Xpat Magazine was a great outlet for creative work, but photography continued as a background income to teaching English.

After Typhoon Morakot in August 2009, my family’s plan of opening a small guesthouse on our land in the mountains was put on hold and we decided it was a good time to throw my lot in with photography. Two years on, I am starting to work out how to make a steady income but I still teach English two days a week for stability.

Recently, some work has started coming by way of the internet, and I have also lost some work when potential clients found my decidedly unprofessional blog. I have changed my blog format so potential clients know I am actually an able, working photographer. I am also struggling to get my archives online.

Mexico 2006

My favorite photos are the one’s that attempt to unmask the subject. Mexico, 2006

MSW: You’ve been living in Taiwan for many years now. What inspires your passion for this country?

RM: Taiwan’s great, it’s an ideal place for me. I love everything about this country; the geography, language, people, opportunities… Photographically, Taiwan is amazing. Remote mountains, rugged coastlines, colorful Aboriginals, hospitable locals, vibrant folk religions, tropical jungles and beaches, and high tech cities brimming with historical and cultural treasures; this small island has a bit of the best of everything. Further, for foreign English-speaking artists, the ability to pursue one’s passion while making a decent income teaching English is something I am grateful for.

MSW: How have your experiences in Taiwan affected you on a personal level?

RM: I’ve lived here for over half of my life so, for better or worse, Taiwan has made me what I am.

Southern Cross Island Highway: This photo was taken during a solo bike trip on a yet-to-be-paved South Cross Island Highway. No vehicles had been through for quite some time due to a landslide, but I was able to pick up my Taiwan bought Merida and carry it over the offending landslide. 1991

An older favorite. This place is special to me. I vividly remember a tiring ride up the South Cross Island Highway and arriving here for sunrise. I cracked a can of Mr. Brown as the sun gave theclouds a silver lining and bathed the misty drainage in a golden glow. A day of photography had begun. It ran as a full page lede for Steven Crook’s ‘Cruising East, across Taiwan’s South’, in Verve’s April 2002 issue –my first of three enjoyable South Cross assignments and one of many trips. Fuji Velvia and a horrible home scan, circa 2002.

MSW: What kind of gear do you pack when you’re on the road?

RM: I’m partial to prime lenses. I’m never without a 50mm lens. I now have the Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM which is not so compact, but still smaller than most zoom lenses. The D700 sensor coupled with f1.4 I can pretty much take a picture in the dark. The 50mm lets me get within an interactive distance with a person and covers any subject in a pinch. Otherwise, I have the Nikkor 105mm f2.8, which I really like. And I usually carry two zooms, one wide (Tamron 17-35 — remember, I’m boot-strapping) and one long (Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR — love it, but hate the weight). I still carry my heavy old tripod out of habit, but am using it much less nowadays. Finally, I carry speed-lights when needed.

MSW: What are your favorite photography web sites?

RM: I’ve followed The Online Photographer from it’s inception and I used to look forward to the weekly Sunday Morning Photographer (both Mike Johnston) on the Luminous Landscape site. It is well written, not always about photography and not too techie, so has never really bored me like so many other photography blogs and magazines tend to do over time.

Performer in Taiwanese Opera Troupe

A current favorite. Her name is Little Dream and she kindly let me take photos backstage while she applied makeup. Nankunshen Temple, Tainan. June 2010 for Jiali’s Meifang Taiwanese opera troupe.

MSW: Do you have a favorite photograph from your collection? Any memorable travel moments you’d like to share with us?

RM: My favorite photographs are often not ones that resonate with other people, but ones where I had a personal connection to the subject, and of those I have many. In over twenty years, I haven’t yet begun taking my travel experiences for granted, I still find every encounter and experience memorable. I’ve gotten lost in a Sumbawan jungle, swum in Fraser Island’s glowing freshwater lake at night, slept atop Yushan in a lightning storm, been rescued after falling down a waterfall into a whirlpool cave in Kakadu Park and listened to barking deer yelping in the forest while sleeping under the stars on a sandy beach of the Nanzuxian River. But it’s usually all the little, unexciting things that make travelling great, like exploring an alley outside my house or being invited in for tea by a lovely Timorese family in Dili.

But, here is one story about me and photography:

I was just finishing up an assignment and wanted to get some more information about the Taiwan Literature Museum and free buses 88 and 99. I had the kids for the day (my own two and two of my wife’s nieces who live with us) and we climbed on the bus. The bus was great, but being a free tour bus, it was a long and circuitous route to the museum. I left the kids in the reading room and went to gather information. When I got back, my youngest was reading a large picture book — sitting in a puddle of pee. The workers were very gracious and helped clean the mess as I cleaned my son. We walked home rather than waiting for the bus and as we passed McDonalds, tired from a long day, I treated the kids to an ice-cream for putting up with me for the day. Later, when we finally got home, I realized that I had forgotten my camera gear at McDonalds. Thankfully, it was still there, the people sitting next to us had given it to the workers. When I told my wife about our day, she was relieved to hear that I hadn’t forgotten one of the kids in McDonalds. I think she was secretly happy to finally know what was more important to me, my camera or my children!

Another personal favorite because I had a connection with this young Mexican and his friends. Was scrambling up a peak and some local kids latched on to me and showed me some cool places. The kid in the picture clambered up this rock so I could take his picture. Without him it would be pretty mundane. Somewhere in Mexico, 2006

MSW: Your work has been featured in dozens of magazines and books. Can you tell us about your favorite photography assignment?

RM: My favorite assignment so far has been writing and photographing the Southern portion of the recently launched Michelin Green Guide, first edition. I had never written and photographed for such a large project and was initially daunted by the amount of writing and photographs needed in a relatively short amount of time. In the end, with so many years of exploring and learning about Taiwan, the hardest part was not in the amount of writing but rather deciding what to leave out. The editor and project manager were incredibly helpful and it was an amazing learning experience for me.

MSW: That is exciting! I can’t wait to read it. You are probably best known in Taiwan for your fantastic imagery of Taiwan’s folk religions. Can you tell us how you got into your niche?

RM: Thanks, I too consider this my niche. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find a way to monetize this aspect of my photography, it is generally travel scenics and local color that I manage to sell. I began shooting nature/scenics on hiking trips in Taiwan and thought that was my strength. When I was putting an exhibit together I realized, much to my surprise, that it was my folk religion photography (with people in particular) that I was drawn to, and I ultimately find this more rewarding.

MSW: What are the most important qualities that a travel or editorial photographer needs to succeed? What advice would you give to aspiring photographers?

RM: If I ever find out, I will certainly let you know! I feel for photography in general, compassion with your subject is paramount. I attempt to treat subjects with respect and to be as authentic as possible, not strive for a romantic ideal, but more of a photojournalist/documentary approach. I never assume I understand some facet of Taiwanese life, but try to keep an open mind. It’s much more interesting that way; you don’t see what you want to see, rather you see what your subject wants you to see.

Me and my Nikon FM2, Kai Yuan Monastery. Tainan. 1991

My family: Alas, Vaji and Vilian, Sz Cao Beach, Tainan. Sep. 2009

Today’s guest blog is written by Ava Apollo - a lover of travel and a social media blogger at Super Blogettes.

While studying abroad in Taiwan, I couldn’t help but notice how much the Taiwanese love their dogs.  On any given day, I could see a happy, well-taken-care-of dog walking around Taipei city with his owner, taking in the sights just as I was.

Alas, I also became aware of another sad but true circumstance: for every happy dog I saw, there seemed to be an equally large number of stray dogs, usually larger breeds, running around in the outskirts of Taipei.  Given how cramped space can be in Taiwan, larger breeds are at the highest risk of abandonment.  Sadly, most of these dogs are either euthanized or are turned out onto the streets.

Luckily, there are programs, like The Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles Rescue’s Project Taiwan - Bring Them Home, which goes to great lengths to help one large breed in particular – Golden Retrievers – find new homes. The following is an interview detailing the organization’s efforts:

Originally found stabbed, Ollie is now happy, healthy, and bi-lingual!

MSW:  How did you go about starting the rescue efforts in Taiwan?  More specifically, how did you find people on opposite sides of the world to unite for this cause?

Found at just 31 pounds (about half of what a healthy golden should weigh) Tai is a happy, healthy dog now

MSW: That’s quite a remarkable story.  So, what is the process of nursing the dogs to health, and then flying them to the U.S.?

*As per Project Taiwan – Bring Them Home’s website,  they’ve already helped rescue 66 Golden Retrievers.

MSW: Are these dogs able to assimilate into life in the states and lead happy lives with their new owners?

Once sick with erlichiosis and Babesia canis, this dog is now happy, healthy, and has a home

MSW: How can readers, especially those who don’t have the ability to adopt a dog, help the organization continue to do such important and noble volunteer work?

If you want to donate, please click here for monetary donations. You can even help by shopping online with the listed partners, or by buying a calendar of our rescued dogs.

Thanks to The Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles Rescue for their time and interest in sharing the story of this amazing organization.  If you want to see regular updates, you can follow them on Twitter or Like them on Facebook.

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Want to see more by Ava? Connect me on Twitter.

Visit my home blog or facebook page for good measure.

Today’s guest post is written by Yi – Creative freelancer and lover of photography, travel, sneakers & street art.

How great would it be if you got paid to use Facebook and Twitter at work? This is exactly what Standard Chartered is offering one lucky student to become The World’s Coolest Intern. It’s a paid 6-month paid internship based in Singapore and the intern will be promoting Breeze through various social platforms.

I had the opportunity to virtually chat with Katherine Liew, one of the top 10 candidates to go through to the final stages of this competition. She’s currently a law student in Adelaide, Australia.

I came across Katherine from a random Facebook page invite. At the time, I had no idea who she was or why she should be chosen for the internship. I was about to hit the ignore button, but realized five minutes of procrastination couldn’t hurt me.

Five minutes soon became 10, then 30 and before you know, I had spent an hour reading about Katherine and stalking her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Formspring and her blog. Yup, that’s what I call a great online campaign.

So Katherine, how did you come across this internship and what made you apply for it?

The job listing caught my eye on LinkedIn, and the moment I read it I knew it was a dream job!

I’ve been involved with social media since 2008, and while I haven’t always had the time to be active I’ve been listening and and learning a lot. I’m passionate about marketing and very interested in technology so it suits me well. Plus, it’s been a great way of networking with people from interstate and overseas.

I’m always keen to learn more and I think it’s a great opportunity to work with a vibrant social media team as well as mentors from companies like Edelman, Jamiq, Goodstuph and Qais Consulting – not to mention the hands-on experience of doing social media for a bank that’s pushing the boundaries!

The company has also shown that they’re receptive to making cool ideas into reality with this video.

It’s a chance to work at the cutting edge of business and create something new; how can you pass that up?

I understand you’d be surfing the internet all day with this internship. But what exactly would the role involve?

Apart from generally exuding cool, the World’s Coolest Intern will be using social media to promote Standard Chartered’s new mobile banking app called Breeze.

It’s a pretty cool interface which doesn’t just do money transfers but also helps to make money management easy and… Actually kinda fun!

And yep, that means getting paid to be on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube all the time, plus meeting and getting to know as many people as possible!

I’ve already come up with some ideas that I’d like to pitch if I win, including this idea for making saving social.

How would you manage to stay productive and not procrastinate on these sites? Surely you’d get tempted to chat with friends and tweet about what you just ate.

I think it’s all about getting the right balance between the personal and the professional aspects of the brand. It would be almost impossible to NOT be productive; @StanChartBreeze seems to be going for a young and dynamic brand, so every conversation would just be adding to goodwill.

The role would involve you moving to Singapore, so what would you miss most about Australia?

Real milk! And real Italian coffee!

It goes without saying that I’ll miss all of my friends and family (although I’m doing my best to convince them to come along).

One of the differences is that generally Australians are a bit more casual and there’s less pressure to fit in with a societal norm.

Ok, so what do you look forward to in Singapore?

Stores that open past 5pm. Great food for $3 or less. Incredibly convenient public transport + cheap taxis. Easy access to South East Asia. Getting to meet lots of new people and catch up with some familiar faces!

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It takes a lot to impress me these days and I have to say that Katherine has definitely won me over with her bubbly personality, professionalism and her knowledge in social media. I would like to wish her all the best for this competition and I’m sure she’d get far with marketing regardless.

[UPDATE 20 Nov: BIG Congratulations to Katherine Liew as today she was announced the winner of the World's Coolest Intern competition! Good luck with the internship!]

SC: I was born in South Africa in 1969, and lived in the south of England from the age of two to 22. I’ve been in the Tainan area, mostly, since 1991. Like lots of other people I started off by teaching English. I then moved gradually into freelance writing. I spent two-and-a-half years in Taipei, working first for the Taiwan News newspaper, then for the Government Information Office. After getting married and moving back to the south (my wife’s from a small village in Tainan) I’ve been keeping busy writing, editing, and the odd bit of consulting (government bilingualization projects, for instance).

MSW: I’m interviewing you today about two books that you have recently written and published about Taiwan, Do’s and Don’ts in Taiwan and Keeping Up with the War God. Can you give us a brief introduction to each book?

SC: KEEPING UP WITH THE WAR GOD was my first book. I hope the subtitle, “Taiwan, As It Seemed To Me” makes it clear that it’s a collection of personal experiences and impressions. Some parts are straightforward descriptions of journeys to places like Jade Mountain. Others are observations or snippets of history that I think are worth sharing. I wanted to go into these topics more deeply than is possible in short newspaper and magazine articles.

DOS AND DON’TS IN TAIWAN is part of a series published by a company in Bangkok. Each of the books aims to introduce the culture and lifestyle of a country for the benefit of tourists, business visitors and expats. Hopefully, my book will help outsiders avoid causing offense, and increase their tolerance and understanding when local people behave in ways that, to Westerners, seem illogical or incomprehensible.

MSW: I enjoyed reading both books, but I found Do’s and Don’ts in Taiwan to be particularly informative because it covers so many aspects of life in Taiwan. I think this book in particular would really appeal to my readers on MSW. Where did you get the idea for the book?

SC: The format of the book was decided by the publishers, who’ve produced several similar guides for Thailand, Vietnam and some other places. It was up to me to apportion space to each section – eating, love and marriage, religion and so on – as I thought fit.

MSW: I found the sections on Holidays and Festivals and Gods and Ghosts to be very interesting. It must have been a real challenge to write about these topics. How were you able to conduct such thorough research?

SC: There’s actually a great amount of English-language information about Taiwan out there, it’s just that some of it isn’t easy to find. You have to really dig on the Internet, and then cross-check what you find. Some fascinating and obscure books have been written about Taiwan. In my daypack I have a copy of a 1970 privately-published book about Taiwanese folk religion, written by a Protestant missionary together with a Taiwanese Christian.

I’ve spent most of my time in Taiwan in the south, which is more traditional than Taipei. When teaching adult students back in the 1990s, we often got talking about customs and folk religion, and I’ve done quite a bit of background reading. A book I highly recommend is David K. Jordan’s GODS, GHOSTS AND ANCESTORS, the title of which inspired the title of the religion chapter of my second book. I interviewed Dr. Jordan a couple of years back for Culture Taiwan.

When I started writing I felt I was 80% sure about many Taiwanese customs, but 100% certain about very little. It was very interesting to delve a little deeper and confirm or refute some of things I’d previously heard. I should thank my wife. Not only did she grow up in a pretty traditional environment, but she takes an interest in local culture, and her English is good enough to explain the subtleties.

MSW: Which aspects of Taiwanese culture and/or lifestyle were challenging for you to learn about when you first moved to Taiwan?

SC: Gosh. It’s a long time ago. After backpacking for months through India, Nepal etc before coming here, I was pretty used to Asian cultures. I don’t recall any particular problems. I did notice that those Westerners who’d never spent a day in Asia before getting off the plane in Taiwan struggled a bit. Not a useful answer, I know.

MSW: Keeping Up With The War God reads as both a history book and a personal travelogue. Can you talk a little about how you decided to organize the book and why you wrote it that way?

SC: At first I wanted the book to follow geography or chronology. Neither approach worked, and actually I’m glad it ended up as a book that can be dipped into at random. I put my account of the Yanshui fireworks festival at the front because I thought it would draw in bookstore browsers and then they’d buy the book.

MSW: I hope it works. That was one of the best introductions I’ve read to Taiwan in a long time! What were some of the challenges you faced while writing Keeping Up With the War God?

SC: With both KEEPING UP WITH THE WAR GOD and TAIWAN: THE BRADT TRAVEL GUIDE, deciding what to include and what to exclude was the major challenge, aside from the physical slog of getting the words onto the computer screen and then rewriting and editing until you’re happy. For KEEPING UP WITH THE WAR GOD, I had a list of topics I wanted to write about. Some could be dealt with in a single paragraph. Others required several pages. Some were mainstream. However, many were little personal things that I couldn’t fit into magazine or newspaper articles, but which I felt strongly about.

MSW: How did you go about getting your books published?

SC: Like many other people who’ve come to Taiwan and found it a fascinating place, I noticed the almost total lack of book-length travel narratives about the island. One of the few exceptions is Douglas Fetherling’s book THE OTHER CHINA. (Don’t waste your money on this book).

In 1998 or 1999, by which time I was writing regularly for the China Post, I pitched my ideas for a travel book (a description of traveling here, not a guide) to at least a dozen publishers in the UK and North America. Most of the responses were along these lines: “There just isn’t the interest in or demand for the kind of book you propose.”

So I went ahead and self-published in late 2001. People often confuse self-publishing and using a vanity press. The former means you do everything yourself; designing the cover, finding the printer, checking the proofs etc. Thus it’s cheaper but more time consuming. A vanity press, I understand, will – for a fee – handle every part of the production but won’t help much with distribution or marketing. I got KEEPING UP WITH THE WAR GOD printed, then went about selling and promoting the thing.

Bradley Winterton of the Taipei Times gave it a very favorable review; the China Post also wrote a short article about it. Thanks to Paul LeJoy (author of BLACK IN TAIWAN), I had some contacts at Caves Books and the Eslite chain. Caves have sold quite a few copies over the years; Eslite moved fewer than 100 before calling it quits.

After KEEPING UP WITH THE WAR GOD, I decided I wouldn’t write another book unless someone paid me. Self-publishing wasn’t a bad experience; it was enjoyable and interesting if not financially rewarding. It’s just that writing feature articles for inflights and government publications makes sense when you’ve a living to earn. Anyway, early in 2007 someone did offer to pay me to write a book. Not a fortune, by any means, but enough to make it worthwhile. That project was DOS AND DON’TS IN TAIWAN. For various reasons, the gap between finishing the writing of that book and actual publication was 20 months!

Just after I’d finished DOS AND DON’TS, Bradt Travel Guides in the UK contacted me, asking if I was interested in writing a guidebook for them. After a bit of negotiating, a contract was signed and I got down to work.

MSW: If you could offer one word of advice to someone moving to Taiwan, what would it be?

SC: One word of advice? Explore! Don’t stay in your apartment. Don’t stay in your city. Get to the east coast, get to the mountains. Look inside that temple you walk past every day. Wander down the little lanes and alleys.

MSW: What does the future have in store for Steven Crook?

SC: Right now I’m working on a bunch of articles for various magazines. The most interesting topics are Taiwan’s foreign-language publishing industry (that’s to say, companies that publish books in English, French, Japanese etc) and volunteers who serve in Taiwan’s national parks. These articles will appear in the first half of 2011.

Have you ever wondered what it takes to travel around the world as a professional cyclist? Daniel Carruthers has been racing around the world for several years. Read on to find out how he combined his love of travel with his passion for biking.

MSW: Hi Daniel. Thanks for being here today. Can you start by giving us a brief introduction to yourself?

DC: I’m a kiwi, married to a lovely Texan girl and currently live in Hangzhou, China. I am also over 80% deaf in both ears and require high powered Hansaton hearing aids to hear. I proudly represented New Zealand at the Deaflympics in Taiwan in 2009 and will be representing New Zealand again at the upcoming Tour de Formosa (30 October through 7th November) where Deaf Cyclists will be coming in from all over the world to race. I will also be going to Quebec, Canada next year to race in the World Deaf Cycling Championsships.

I currently work part-time for cyclingnewsasia.com as their business development manager and race editor as well as racing for the Hong Kong based Champion System Cycling Team. I am also working towards completing my PhD in Tourism at Zhejiang University.  My field of interest is tourism and cycling. Eventually my aim is to work for Tourism New Zealand to help promote our beautiful country to Chinese people and the rest of Asia.

I have travelled around the world, living in several countries including China, Taiwan, Israel, United States, St Helena Island and Kiribati. One of the most awesome places to visit in the world is St Helena Island. It’s a world away from this world and the only access is by Royal Mail Ship that takes 2 weeks from Wales or 6 days from Cape Town, South Africa. While living on this island, I compiled over 100 sketches of the island.  I actually do sketches in various countries around the world and make some extra cash with them. I love drawing old character buildings which serve as an artistic diary as well as the normal photo taking. You can find me on Facebook or on Twitter at BikeDan.

MSW: Why did you decide to move to Asia?

DC: I first came to China in 2000 when my brother was working here and he convinced me to come and visit China before going to the UK to do a  2-year working holiday. I had my UK visa, but I ended up staying in China longer than I intended. I ended up doing a variety of work including working for a start-up dotcom company -Meetchina.com for six months. I worked as a model, taught English, and sought out investments for an investment company.

When I went back to China in 2001, my objective was to master Chinese, by no means an easy feat by someone who is profoundly Deaf. I went straight to Heilongjiang in the far Northeast of China and endured two cold freezing winters to study Chinese at Heilongjiang University. In 2003 I returned to New Zealand to start my Masters degree and I completed my research thesis on Sister City Relationships between Chinese and NZ cities, and their implications for tourism development. I spent 4 months in China in 2004 conducting my research in 23 Chinese cities that had Sister Relationships with NZ cities. I conducted the interviews myself in Mandarin and had them transcribed by a native speaking Chinese person. Since my previous research has been revolving around China, it made sense to come back in 2010 to embark on a PHD with the view of establishing myself as an expert on tourism in China and playing a role in marketing New Zealand as a tourism destination for ‘interactive travelers’. Furthermore, I really wanted to steer clear of the ‘mass tourism’ that seems to be going on with the Chinese tourists right now.

MSW: Please tell us a little about your experiences while studying abroad in China.

DC: I was in China from 2001-2003, where I was mostly focused on studying Chinese and passing an exam called HSK – the TOEFL equiliviant for Chinese language. I taught English on the side to pay for my tuition fees. I also bought a mountain bike for touring during the summer holidays, and I managed to save some money for travel. Prior to commencing my official studies at Heilongjiang University, I spent the summer in Macau teaching at the School of Nations summer camp where I was able to generate enough money to get set-up in China.  As I was single back then, I had plenty of attention from Chinese girls at the university, and thus numerous opportunities to practice my mandarin on dates…

MSW: What brought you to Taiwan?

DC: Initially I came to Taiwan to participate in the 2009 Deaflympics held in Taipei. It was a fantastic event, the biggest one Taiwan has ever held with 5,000 athletes in attendance and stadiums full of crowds. Taipei at that time was simply buzzing with the Games.

My wife and I had recently gotten married (July 4th 2009) and had planned to stay in Taiwan once the Deaflympics were over. We stayed for six months and thoroughly enjoyed our Taiwan experience. We still miss it  and would love to have an opportunity to go back and live there. During our stay in Taiwan, we taught business English and I got to check out a lot of the amazing cycling tours in and around Taipei. I called it a “cyclist paradise”. You can visit my blog to find out why.

MSW: You’ve recently moved back to China. What prompted you to move back to the China? How does life in China compare to life in Taiwan?

DC: I moved back to China as I am enrolled in a PhD program under a scholarship from the China Government. This was also planned before we came to Taiwan and since my research area is specific to China while also being able to speak, read and write Mandarin, well, it makes sense to further my education in China. My topic area for my PhD is going to be cycle tourism.

Life in China is actually very different to Taiwan.  It was easier living in Taipei. We lived in Shida, where there are plenty of nice food choices at good prices. It’s more expensive to eat good food here in China. Regular Chinese food is good, but I get sick of it – it’s the same everywhere and it’s very oily.

Getting things done in China always seems to take longer. Things seemed more  efficient and stream-lined in Taiwan.  More people speak English in Taiwan and you can  get around there without having to know too much Chinese. But here in China, it is almost essential to master basic Mandarin if you want to get around. Not many people speak English unless you are living near a university campus where most students know some English.

One big disadvantage about living in China is that you have to cope with the pollution levels in the cities. Where we are in Hangzhou is good by Chinese standards, but still no where as good as Taipei with its clean air and surrounding mountains (Yes, Taipei traffic with all its scooters can be very dirty, but overall the air quality is still better in Taiwan). However, there are still some absolutely stunning places to be found in China that can surpass Taiwan.  Once you are out of the cities proper and into the country side, the air quality is noticeably better. A good example is Moganshan, a beautiful mountain area 55km outside of Hangzhou with pristine scenery and clear skies.

China is like a wild frontier. It can be quite exciting here. Lots of opportunities are cropping up and you can do quite well  if you are prepared to learn the language and can tolerate  inconveniences such as traffic, pollution and the way people do things.   I will be in China for several years, but we will not be settling here forever. We’ll likely settle down somewhere else in Asia like Singapore or Taiwan. Maybe we’ll go back to live in New Zealand.  I miss my own country at times, we have a beautiful land down-under.

MSW: In the past year, you’ve forged ahead with several online projects. Please tell us about your web sites and your goals for them.

DC: I have several online projects yes, but not all are actually live online yet. My main one is the www.danielcarruthers.com website where I aim to bring my readers the cycling adventures and racing I experience, provide some product reviews and top cycling tips for people who are new and just starting out with cycling.  I am working on getting a website up and running that will cover popular cycling locations throughout Asia and the Pacific region. This will be an informative website that will detail maps, places to stay, what to see, where to cycle etc.

MSW: You’ve written about some truly amazing rides in the past few years. Which journey first comes to mind when you think about all the rides that you have done in Asia?

DC: I’ve had a couple of epic rides in China, but my favorite ride is probably cycling in Qinghai. It was an amazing time there with all the mind-blowing cycling that can be had at altitude. I was there in July covering the Tour de Qinghai Lake race for cyclingnewsasia and after every stage I would go riding. I even went riding with some cycling legends including Mike Carter, who has done all the Grand Tours and is the current 45-50 age group World Champion. I learned a lot from these riders. I am just chomping at the bit to get back to Qinghai again in the future to do more road riding. I recently wrote a 3-part series on Qinghai so if you are interested in checking this place out, take a look at my website for photos.

Another amazing place would be the route from Zhongdian, Yunnan through the back route to Litang in Sichuan and on to Chengdu. I did this in 2002, and things did not go all to plan. So this is a route I dearly would love to do again. It is a cycle touring route and not really suitable for road bikes.

In Taiwan, Sun Moon Lake struck me as a awesome place to ride as well as the East Coast of Taiwan. The Taipei City area has numerous riding opportunities and you can spend countless hours exploring and never go over the same road twice.  Favourite areas in Taipei include the Wulai gorge, Jinshan and over the mountain back to Taipei and the Danshui area.

MSW: If someone were to consider touring a country by bicycle, what are some tips that you would offer to help them prepare for their journey?

DC: My number one tip for cycle touring is to try to travel as light as possible. As preparation for the journey, it is recommended that you do a couple of short trips over 2 or 3 days to see how your body copes with riding for up to 8 hours each day. You will want to put in an adequate level of training so that you do not get too fatigued during the touring trip – you want to enjoy the scenery and take lots of photos.

Make sure you have a good sturdy bike that will not fall apart and ensure that you have the bike fitted to you correctly. Invest in some good waterproof panniers (I just use rear panniers) and have a handle-bar bag that would be sufficient to hold your camera, maps, snack food, and your passport/wallet.

It is a good idea to split up your day into manageable chunks of time. For example, be on the road by 7am or earlier and ride for 3-4 hours before stopping for lunch. Break for one hour and continue riding for another 2-3hrs. Take a 30min break for afternoon tea and then ride till just before sundown and either pitch your tent or find accommodation.

Always ensure you are drinking and eating enough throughout the day to keep your energy levels up.

MSW: Could you provide us with links to some of your favorite travel tales?

DC: Some of my favorite traveling tales include Riding with the Wife Part One and Riding With the Wife Part Two. This article on Tian Mu Mountain in China is also an entertaining read.

MSW: Thanks very much for taking the time to answer all my questions. Best of luck to you in your upcoming race in Taiwan!

The Taipei Players are back with their newest musical production, A Night at the Cabaret, at Alleycats in Tienmu, Taipei on on Saturday, October 9, 2010 and Sunday, October 10.

Sing along with the Players as they bring your favorite musicals to life, and enjoy an evening of entertainment and fun at A Night at the Cabaret. The Players will be regaling guests with musical selections from Cabaret, Chicago, Avenue Q, The Little Mermaid, The Fantastiks, Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors, Rocky Horry Show, Oliver, and many more favorites in store for the night.

What good is sitting alone in your room? Come hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, old chum! Come to the cabaret! ~ Cabaret

Taipei Players was formed in 2008 by Canadian actresses Sarah Zittrer and Mandy Roveda. It is the only English Speaking Theatre Company in Taipei and has already met resounding success for its young age. The Players have produced four sold-out shows and have played to young and old audiences alike. The future for the Taipei Players is bright with their plans to expand and travel around the island.

And now, on with our short interview with Founding Artistic Director of Taipei Players, Mandy Roveda.

MSW: Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer a few questions, Mandy. I’ve been an admirer of the Taipei Players for several years. So, how did you and co-founder Sarah Zittrer meet?

MR: Sarah and I both studied theater and have been performing professionally for many years. We met when I moved to Taiwan from Korea. At that time, there weren’t any companies performing regularly in English so we decided to form our own theatrical group. We called it the Taipei Players.

MSW: What were your goals for Taipei Players initially?

The group aims to regularly create and produce English theater in Taiwan. To date, Taipei Players has produced three highly successful productions, including two short play festivals.

This will be our fourth show in the past year and we have been so lucky to watch the company grow. The Taipei Players have become quite popular in the English-speaking communities in Taiwan.

MSW: How do you decide on your scripts?

MR: I read hundreds of scripts and shortlist the ones that I like. Then I look to see which ones will work together in terms of common themes. Whatever I decide on has to fit into an evening of entertainment and I have to find something to fit everyone’s tastes.
MSW: Do you have any specific plans for the future?

MR: Our future plans are exciting. Keep an eye on Taipei Players. You don’t want to miss it! We are working on a tour around Taiwan and have more amazing shows coming to Taipei as well.

Thanks for your time, Mandy. I’m looking forward to the production. Good luck to you and the Taipei Players!

Email: taipeiplayers@gmail.com

PLAYERS INCLUDE:
Brandon Thompson
Brook Hall
Colin Norman
Daniel Munns
Douglas Rapier
Holly Harrington
Kevin Yao
Klaire Wu
Mandy Roveda
Sarah Zittrer
and other Special Guests!

MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT:
Tony Tung (Piano)
Slawek Kolodziej (Drums)
Maxx Ta (Bass)

WHEN: Saturday, OCTOBER 9th and Sunday, OCTOBER 10th
TIME: 8:00pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
COVER: $200NT (at the door)
WHERE: Alleycats (in Tienmu)
No.31 Lane 35 Chung Shan N. Rd.Sec. 6, Tien Mu
(near ZhiShan MRT)
(02) 2835-6491 www.alleycatspizza.com

For more information, please contact Sarah Zittrer at:0938437161 or Mandy Roveda at:0983020978 or by email taipeiplayers@gmail.com. Please also check our website www.taipeiplayers.com for updates and information.

Canadian photographer and web designer Kyle Merriman has called Taiwan home for the past five years.

Kyle is probably best known in Asian photography circles for his talents in HDR photography, but a quick glance at his professional portfolio reveals a visual treasure trove of delights of every photographic genre. Kyle’s skill at transforming the day-t0day images of life that we tend to take for granted are immediately apparent in every one of his thought-provoking images.

View more of Kyle’s work on his web site, Brand Knew Me or Flickr photostream. His collection of photographic works can also be viewed at Stock 20 Warehouse in Taichung City until July 4, 2010.

MSW: What got you interested in photography?

KM: Over the years I’ve owned a countless number of point and shoot cameras, and was always tinkering with my photos, but back home in Canada, I never really felt I had anything to shoot where I lived. So I never took my photography seriously. It was more just to share my experiences with family and friends.

In Asia, however, there is always something to shoot that is different from what I grew up seeing. So I decided to buy a D90.

I’ve always been fascinated with gadgets in general. I’m always the first person to jump into the settings menu and see what’s going on with any given device. The thing with photography is that you can never reach stalemate.

You are constantly learning new things, and there is always so much more to learn. I try to get out and shoot everyday, and I’m still really engaged in it. It’s a great hobby to have, as either an amateur or professional. You can shoot for decades and still improve.

MSW: What are you shooting with? Favorite gear?

KM: I’m currently still shooting with my D90. It’s a great camera. As for glass, I tend to use my 35mm a lot as well as my 18-105mm. I’m hoping to upgrade my camera body to the D700, but I might wait to see what Nikon brings out next in that range. Then hopefully my 50mm 1.4 will get some more use. It’s not happy with me right now.

MSW: For me, what really stands out about your work how well you process your images. Can you tell us a little about the process?

KM: I’m probably reaching my actuation limit soon because I shoot almost all of my landscape photos bracketed with 3 RAW exposures for HDR (High Dynamic Range).

I have to blame Trey Ratcliff over at StuckinCustoms for that. Maybe he’ll help me pay for the new D700 when my D90 dies.

HDR photography kickstarted me into taking photography more seriously. I loved the end result of having that dynamic range, because you’re never really sure what you’re going to get. It gives you so much more flexibility to make creative images.

Another big part of my workflow is Adobe Lightroom. I’ve made the switch from Aperture, and back to Lightroom a few times, but I’ve safely nestled myself back into Lightroom. It’s the tool that works best for me.

MSW: What genre of photography are you most interested in? Which genre would you like to spend more time exploring?

KM: I don’t like to pigeon hole myself because I feel it almost does me a disservice, but I think I shoot landscape the most.

Recently, I’ve been trying to delve into portraiture more but in the end I really just love photographing people, places and cultures.

MSW: What’s the number one piece of advice you would offer to beginning photographers?

KM: Spend time looking at photos, and think hard about how other photos have been created. Go out and try to imitate what you have seen techincally, learn new techniques and become familiar with it. Treat it almost as exercise.

MSW: What is one piece of gear that you think every photographer should have?

KM: For me, it’s a decent camera bag. Buy something that gives you easy access to your gear so that you can get your camera out quickly and get great shots, especially when changing lenses in the field.

MSW: What are your favorite photography sites?

KM: I like to listen to a lot of photography podcasts like TWIP (This Week in Photography) and PhotoFocus.

Alltop.com/photgraphy is a great site that aggregates all the best photography sites into one page.

Other than those I try to keep all my favorite photographers sites in my Google Reader and stay up to date.

MSW: Are you working on any special projects at the moment. I know you’ve hosted a photography exhibit recently. Can you tell us a little about it?

KM: This month from Sunday, June 13th until July 4th, I am showcasing my work at the Stock 20 Warehouse in Taichung City. I was fortunate to have Jon Renzella, an incredible wood carving artist, see my work and offer me space in his studio. He chooses a different artist every month and dedicates the front of his studio to them.

A friend of mine, Ryan Harrington had it for the month of April, and another friend of mine Johan Vosloo will have for the month of August. It’s a great place with lots of foot traffic, and an incredible opportunity to get your work out there to a whole new audience.

MSW: Do you have a favorite photograph?

KM: It’s so difficult for me to have a favorite photograph. It’s like choosing which offspring is your favorite.

They all mean different things to me. A lot of my photos portray a different memory or feeling, which is one of the reasons I love photography.

I can look back at older photographs almost feel how I felt being there. Most of my favorites are from when I was on vacation somewhere.

I guess if I had to choose it’d be any of the photographs from the header of my site BrandKnewMe.com.

The boy trying to sell me a bird for a dollar in Laos, Ha Long Bay or the Cow photo seem to be favorites amongst people who have bought my prints.

What’s sweeter than candy? A candy that can be a standalone miniature art itself.

Papabubble is an exclusive candy franchise that currently has stores in Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo, New York, Amsterdam and Barcelona. Papabubble refers to itself as caramels artisans. The candy rocks usually have an image in the middle and come in various flavors ranging from strawberry and passionfruit to chocolate and banana.

Ann runs the Papabubble store in Taipei, and when she invited me for a sneak peek at the delicious art of candy making, the sweet-tooth in me rejoiced like a seven-year-old kid. Just the thought of starting off my morning with a mouthful of sweet candies made me drool.

Arriving at Papabubble, I was immediately hit by the delightfully sweet, fruity scent of the candies. Looking around the store, it was like I have entered a fantasy world for sweet-lovers. The colorful candies and lollipops glistened under the lights and I literally felt like a kid in a candy store. The blueberry candy sample was all too tempting and I couldn’t help myself but to pop two in my mouth.

Ann informed me that I had just arrived in time to observe how they make the strawberry candy from start to finish. I could already smell the strawberry syrup brewing in the kitchen.

Ann’s sister and business partner, Christine, came out with a large pot of melted sugar syrup. She poured it evenly onto a large, shallow-depth metal basin. As the thick, smooth liquid slowly dripped out, my eyes widened with excitement.

They began to pour other various colored flavors onto the large block of sugar syrup. Now the rectangular slab mildly resembled something Mark Rothko would’ve painted, with the colors honey yellow, deep red and emerald green.

Christine and the assistant quickly cut up the colored squares before the sugar syrup cools down too much and turn into rock hard candy. Before I knew it, we had already moved on to the candy stretching part.

The stretching part really fascinated me. With each step, I began to see how it all fits in to how the final product would look. There were lots of pulling, shaping and rolling. It’s tough work and Ann tells me that she’s definitely gained some arm muscles from candy-making. When you’re kneading 8kg worth of sugar in dough-like texture every day, you’re bound to get toned arms.

All this molding is done on a specially heated rubber mat to prevent the candy from hardening. Protective gloves are worn throughout this process to protect the delicate hands from being scorched by the 165 degrees Celcius candy.

Christine pulled off a bit of the hot, stretchy candy for me to try. Being too eager, the honey consistency of the candy burnt the tip of my tongue. It was worth it though, just to feel the thick liquid texture of the candy harden in my mouth.

Individual candy pieces are carefully placed together to construct the final candy. The thick candy loaf is then stretched and rolled out into a thinner tube before being cut off. The candy rods are cooled on a metal surface before being diced into the final candy rocks that are ready to be packaged.

A typical batch can roughly make around 4,000 candy rocks. As the candy rocks are made by hand, Papabubble welcomes custom candies too. Ann tells me that they receive more than two custom orders weekly, mainly for weddings where the initials of the bride and groom can be on the candy, along with a cute love heart. Other custom orders have included well-known brands and even designer brands for promotional events.

Papabubble in Taipei has been a success so far and they’ve even been featured in Taipei Times, Taipei Walker and on the news numerous of times.

Ann does look to expand her business in the upcoming year so look out for more Papabubble stores popping around in Taipei. For now, she’s also looking for more candy makers. If you want a sweet job, just inquire. within.

Where: No. 12, Lane 151, Ren-ai Rd., Sec. 4, Da-an District, Taipei
Phone: +886 2877 30955
Website: www.papabubble.com

**For more global tales of food and drink, visit Wanderfood Wednesdays.

Welcome to MSW Interviews. Today’s guest is Alita D’Bone (aka Alita Rickards), one of the stars in the burlesque dance troupe based in Taiwan, Rock in Hose. Rock in Hose Burlesque has been entertaining on stages throughout Taiwan since March 2009. This talented dance group is comprised of six members who came to Taiwan looking for adventure and found it. Don’t miss the first act of their island-wide tour which kicks off at Roxy Roots in Taipei tomorrow night.

MSW: Hi Alita. Thanks for being here today. Can we start with an introduction to the group?

Alita D’Bone: I first came to Taiwan from Canada 10 years ago. I’ve taught English here, worked as a columnist for the China Post, and work now as a freelance reporter for Taipei Times. I’ve taken over 4 years off from work (in the last decade) to travel, and to live in Prague twice, and India and Thailand for a year each. This burlesque troupe takes the cake though, for interesting things I’ve done in Taiwan. It rules my world right now.

Duke Vita, aka Tinus Stander, and Anja Whitehead aka Onyx, both hail from South Africa. Duke was involved in dinner theatre, stage productions, and TV at home; he’s been in Taiwan for 5 years now. He teaches English and is involved in the Taipei Players theater company in addition to being a Hose.

Onyx calls Taipei home after living here for 5 years. She has a great love of the arts and creative expression and likes to get dressed up and design costumes. She’s also one of the few teachers who loves working with children.

Kitty N. Heat, aka Kathleen Batchelor moved to Taiwan from America in 2006 and is also an English teacher. She has an extensive background in dance (we’ve all seen videos of her dancing from when she was 4 years old until now…won’t mom be proud!). In addition to ballet, hip-hop and jazz, she also dabbled in theater classes as a kid.

Cresencio Victoria aka Amor Galore is also from America and has been in Taiwan teaching English for a year, this is his first theatrical experience.

Trixie Treatz, aka Marika McTague moved from Canada to Taiwan 3 years ago, teaches English, and also acted in an ESL video series and has written and directed numerous plays.

I guess what this shows is that it takes all types – some of us have a lot of previous experience and some of us are doing it for the first time.

MSW: When did you first become interested in burlesque?

Alita D’Bone: A few years back I had a band in Taiwan called Creepy Susan. At that time I had been doing spoken word for over 10 years, and though I loved singing, I wanted to do something more theatrical. When I saw the Lustsluts, an early burlesque troupe from Hualien do a show, I was hooked… I knew I wanted to do something with burlesque. It’s a way to combine theatre, singing, dancing, costumes, and mad creativity.

MSW: How did Rock and Hose get its start?

Alita D’Bone: One of the members of Lustsluts moved to Taipei and we became good friends. I told them I wanted to do a show and we looked for other performers, one of whom was Onyx who is a member of Rock in Hose now. We formed a short-lived group called Rockin’ Hoes and did one show at Paris Nightclub for Halloween in 2008. It was so amazing that when the couple left, I had to have more. Onyx was on board from the beginning, so we formed a troupe. Her roommate Kitty N. Heat joined us. Then we hooked up with Duke Vita and Trixie Treatz and Rock in Hose was born. Later we added a final member, Amor Galore, who will unfortunately be leaving us after our upcoming tour and Spring Scream.

Photo by Olivia Wychech

MSW: Tell me about the name…

Alita D’Bone: Well, we rock, in hose – we actually have quite an array of hose, from solid colors to fishnets, stripes, and animal prints. Really, I wanted a name that had a double meaning – one that our grandmothers could read in print without getting offended, that was funny and had another meaning when said aloud. As a writer I’m a fan of word plays – I love the name, actually. We call each other Hose all the time.

MSW: What can you say about burlesque as an art form? It’s sexy, humorous, obviously entertaining, and very powerful. What message are you trying to convey to your fans?

Alita D’Bone: I am no expert in the form, but we have all done a lot of research about the origins of burlesque – I think it is particularly appealing to us as a way to parody or satirize sexual norms. People take sexuality way too seriously. We’re coming out of the closet in a thousand outfits! We put the ho back in hose, come back into comedy, and form back in performance. It’s also great to be able to see all kinds of body types on stage, refreshingly so, I think. We have everything from petite to tall, slim to really curvaceous, youthful to more mature, delicate to strong.

MSW: How often do you get together to practice?

Alita D’Bone: Everyone is incredibly dedicated. We have the first show of our tour on March 5, and will be rehearsing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as Wednesday the following week. We generally rehearse at least once or twice a week in a dance studio with full mirrors. Since I recently moved to Taichung and we are based in Taipei, I end up jumping on the Ubus so often I should get frequent rider miles!

Photo by Olivia Wycech

MSW: Who does your choreography?

Alita D’Bone: To be attracted to this kind of theatre one has to be a very creative type as it is. Everyone comes up with their own solos and ideas for duets or group acts. Then we brainstorm together to create the skit or choreography. We’ll watch someone act out their idea and then give feedback but ultimately we respect each other’s choices. We are lucky to have an outside eye in our friend Neil Pretorius who has been an invaluable support. He’s involved with theatre back in his home country of South Africa and has assisted us with everything from props and lighting to being in one of our skits (as spider bait!) Check out our Rock in Hose Burlesque photos on facebook.

MSW: How do you choose your music? Do you have any favorites you’d like to share?

Alita D’Bone: The music is often where we start when coming up with an idea for a scene – Onyx, Kitty, and Trixie have all been invaluable when it comes to helping find music for group acts. Because we perform at so many live music festivals and nightclubs we need a pumping sound track. Sometimes a song will be the initial inspiration – for Duke Vita’s “Dolls” the powerful track really influences the emotive quality of the visual element. I worked with Shiuan Liu aka DJ SL (劉軒) who composed original tracks for live songs that I do vocals (and wrote the lyrics) for: POGO (Put Out or Get Out), and Rockstar. The whole troupe does back up vocals as well. There are also a couple of songs that I wrote and perform accappella including Quit Smoking and Little Girl.

MWS: How do you choose your outfits? Do you have a favorite?

Alita D’Bone: It’s funny actually, when we first hooked up we all came in with ideas for costumes – and we all had basically the same idea – brightly colored tights, bustier, fishnets, and feather boas. For POGO and a machine built of our bodies called Zorba Zebra we hand made pink tutus that we pair with black and white striped stockings – that is one of our favorites. Onyx and I are always coming up with new ideas for costumes, and everyone designs costumes for their solos or duets as well. 

MSW: Do you have any upcoming shows this year?

Alita D’Bone: We are about to go on tour of Taiwan with different DJs for each show, with a mix of classic Rock in Hose act and brand new material as well. We start on Friday, March 5 in Taipei at Roxy Roots with DJ Al Burro, hit Kaohsiung the following Saturday March 13 at the Brickyard with Marcus Aurelius – which we are really excited about as it will be our first show in Kaohsiung. Then we play Taichung on March 26 at Light Lounge with DJ vDub (Shawn Kidd). We are in the middle of applying for Spring Scream and hope to have as good of a show there as we did last year, which was a blast. You can help us get in (it only takes a minute) by voting for us here.

MSW: Tell us about the process of putting a show together. How long does it take to put a show together?

Alita D’Bone: No way! That is the boring, difficult, not so glamorous part. All sweat, blood, and tears. Literally. Skinned knees and bruises in the studio, and hours online trying to promote, getting fliers designed and posters printed. The amount of work is beyond anything anyone would ever expect – but it’s all worth it when we hear the crowd screaming for more! We’ve been incredibly lucky to have enthusiastic, mad crowds at all our shows – and they are the ones that make it all worth it. We LOVE our fans, and the energy that passes between them and us. It’s like a drug.

MSW: Are you guys giving classes or workshops? Where can people get information for your classes?

Alita D’Bone: I did workshops at a resort in Thailand in the fall which were great fun and highly successful. We even managed to put on a show at the resort after only 3 days, and everyone had a really great time. Right now we are busy with the tour but you can contact us at rockinhose@gmail.com for more information. And come to the show! Live entertainment needs your support. Support Hose! Ha…

Photo by Olivia Wychech

MSW: Today, I am proud to bring you MSW’s latest interview with Mr. Alton Thompson. When the opportunity to meet Alton Thompson presented itself a few weeks ago, I was eager to learn everything I could about this a global educator, fine art photographer, conductor, and musician. Not only is Alton suave and cultured, his enthusiasm and love for the arts becomes apparent within minutes of meeting him.

If you’re interested in meeting Alton and viewing his art work in a formal setting, you’re in luck. Alton will be at the Taipei Artist’s Inaugural Members Show at the Taipei’s Mayor Salon. The exhibit starts on  February 9, 2010 and ends on February 27, 2010.

Location:
46 Xuzhou Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei 100

Hours:
Daily 11:00am to 6:00pm

Event details are here.

MSW: Hi, Alton. Thank you for being here today.

AT: Hi, Carrie. It’s an honour.

MSW: When did you move to Taiwan and why?

AT: I visited Taiwan while on holiday in the summer of 2004. I fell in love with the place at once. Anyone who lives here can guess most of the reasons—natural beauty, fascinating cultures, welcoming people. I also liked the way musicians are trained here. I’m a native of Florida, so the climate was a plus. Some Taiwanese colleagues told me about some universities here that were looking for faculty. I was interested, so they helped arrange a few interviews. I was offered a position. I left my university job in Michigan and moved here.

MSW: You’re an educator, a musician, and a photographer. Wearing all of these hats must keep you quite busy. Where do you find inspiration and how do you mesh all of your interests together?

AT: Well, I’m still figuring out the meshing part. But there’s nothing unusual about working in different art forms. A long time age I stopped being surprised at the ability of a musician, for example, to draw or dance or act. Creative people tend to be creative in many ways. We could take your own career as Exhibit A here, couldn’t we? You sing, you write, you make visual art.

Art forms aren’t segregated by nature. For practical reasons we often treat them that way. But clay, paint, voice, film, JPG files—we all know in our bones that these are just routes that creative energy can take. We rightly call them media. They operate in the middle, between the source of art and the audience. The source of art is not a form. It finds one.

Artists tend to be artists first. We tend to be musicians, photographers, sculptors and poets second.

MSW: Music and photography. What strikes you as particularly similar? Particularly different?

AT: I’m finding that, regardless of the medium, challenges are similar. Whether you’re expressing yourself through a camera or a clarinet or clay or actors, your medium gives you thrilling potential and maddening limitations. And you’re expected to show something meaningful, something true, in the way you shape your material. It’s a paradox: people expect artists to tell the truth by artificial means. So you have this challenge of acquiring technique, of learning the rules so you can break them. The world we create also requires a frame of some kind. It might be a picture frame or a stage curtain, a moment of silence or the margin of a page, but there’s always a need to recognize that place where everyday life ends and the created world begins. Artists like to challenge this frame and obscure it in many ways, but it is never completely absent. Of course, we also owe our audience clues as to how our created world works. Once they give themselves to it, they want to be able to find their way around in it. They aren’t asking to be shown what’s behind every door, but they do like to have a few keys.

Differences? Other than the obvious distinction to be made between aural and visual information, I don’t see many differences. As a teen I would have told you that one reason I was pursuing music rather than visual art as my livelihood was because music moves while still images remain frozen. But that’s not quite right. Sure, music, like dance and drama, depend on our linear experience of time. But time plays a role in visual art, too. Statues don’t move, but viewers do. Eyes do.

MSW: You recently put music and visual together in your Taiwan Mussorgsky Project. How does that work?

AT: Most of your readers are likely familiar with Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. It’s a suite, composed in the nineteenth century for piano originally. Each movement depicts a work in an art exhibit. There’s also a theme that represents the viewer walking from picture to picture.

The piece is popular all over the globe, as you know. Countless versions have been made for orchestra, wind ensemble, synthesizer, rock band, you name it. I thought it would be interesting to test that universality a bit. I made a series of 400 photographs that are projected as a slideshow during a live performance of the music. The exhibit follows the music turn by turn. In the process it interprets this very Russian, very nineteenth-century music through visual images of modern Taiwan.

Mussorgsky’s viewer strolling through the art gallery becomes, in the images, a sightseer making a walking tour of Taiwan with a camera. The ‘pictures’ are what she sees of the island through her lens.

The Sightseer  ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦

AT: Trying to explain this idea was difficult in the beginning. I didn’t have any pictures to show. Musicians were wary of messing with a masterpiece and models thought it was weird to have photo shoots at a mausoleum. It didn’t take off until conductor Apo Hsu introduced me to the perfect model for the part: Mandy Weng (Weng Chun Yuin). Ms. Weng is a professional musicologist with a taste for dynamic, tormented, big-canvas composers. She understood right away what I was up to. We brought the score along with us on shoots and discussed the musical turns being taken as viewers see each shot.

In the House of Baba Yaga

Island World     ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦

AT: Last year conductor Apo Hsu exhibited the Taiwan Mussorgsky Project in three concerts: two in National Concert Hall, one in Taichung. On April 10 of this year she will perform excerpts of it again at the National Palace Museum. I’m getting the photos ready for that.

MSW: When did you first become interested in photography?

AT: Visual art has interested me for as long as I’ve been looking at the world. When I was a child a drawing of mine won a Florida newspaper contest. That gave me my fifteen minutes of fame on the playground. As an adult I’ve spent many rewarding hours in art galleries. Baltimore had many treasures in easy reach—the BMA, the Walters, the Visionary Art Museum. That last one by the way, is one weird place. It’s like nothing else. An hour down the road is DC with the National Gallery, the Hirshhorn, Corcoran and all that. Philly and New York lie a short distance up I-95 with all those museums as well. I saw them all.

I turned serious attention to photography as I finished grad school. It was something I had always wanted to do that had waited its turn. My colleagues always needed portraits for use in publicity, and as a musician I knew what they needed. I also felt I had something of my own to say in the medium.

Encounter ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦  2000

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA

AT: Around the same time a close friend of mine, Hope, was diagnosed with breast cancer. That set time on fire. You feel every moment going up in flames. You kick yourself for all the pictures you could have been making, but didn’t.

Photographs offer a way to catch and keep something, of course. I soon learned that, for someone whose outdoor movement was restricted, my photography could also provide a window. I could be Hope’s eyes on the world.

Climb ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦  1999

Baltimore, Maryland USA

Boy Selling Pumpkins ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦  1998

Boalsburg, Pennsylvania USA

Sky Pillars ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦   2000

New York City, New York USA

AT: I learned that photography is a form of contemplation. It pulls you out of the worries and spilkus that so easily clutter our minds and places you in the moment. Notice what the light is doing. Notice that colour, that texture. Notice.

Hope died after a five-year fight with the disease. She was a healthier person on the day she died than most people will ever be their entire lives. Sounds strange to say that, I know. But it’s true.

Since then I’ve studied photography informally with Brian Parmeter, a professional photographer in Michigan. I made the transition to digital when I moved to Taiwan. Even today, though, I often get the feeling that I’m someone’s eyes on the world. It’s as if I’m sending dispatches.

Grail ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦   2007

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

MSW: Which genres interest you most?

AT: Subjects interest me. People interest me, so I’ll always want to make portraits and collaborate with models. Narratives interest me. Taiwan fascinates me, absolutely. Any subject that fascinates a photographer is the best place to begin exploring.

Of course, you can mine any vein to the point where it’s time to try something new. Henrietta Shore once told Edward Weston that he needed to take a break from nudes. His most recent pictures, she said, were just nudes. “You are getting used to them. The subject no longer interests you.”

He agreed. If one can tire of looking at beautiful naked people, one can tire of anything.

I think more of subjects. Not about genres so much. To the extent that genres are sets of conventions. I’m interested in playing with the conventions. Learn it, then turn it inside-out. I enjoy Ang Lee’s approach to this in his films. He stars with a genre so familiar that we know it by the numbers: martial arts, cowboy Western, coming-of-age comedy, espionage. He then wrings so much story out of his characters that by the end of the film anything can happen and genre is irrelevant.

I think often about the way we view photos now. We look at them on computer screens. Everyone knows the drawbacks. You work to get the color and contrast exactly right, upload your photo, then cringe the instant you see how it looks on another monitor. Logos, ads and comments gather around the image like ants at a picnic. But I’m intrigued by that omnipresent glass screen. I like to play of the tyranny of that thing.

Abundance

Counterpoint ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦    2007

Taipei, Taiwan 台灣 台北

AT: I get concerned when new photographers feel a lot of urgency about genres, about deciding ‘what kind of photographer’ they are. Why limit yourself right out of the gate? Yet how often we see it: people buy their first camera that isn’t disposable and rush onto Flickr to post a manifesto. ‘I believe this! I reject that! I always do this! I never do that!’ Only yesterday they learned how to take off the lens cap, and already they decide what they will never do.

Artists thrive on ambiguity, experience, open borders. They are not terribly interested in limits, other than to test them.

MSW: How would you say that your photography has changed and grown since moving to Taiwan?

AT: That’s hard to say right now. I keep learning. I do more playful things here. And I notice I don’t make black-and-white images as often as I once did. Some of that has to do with the strengths of Taiwan as a locale. Living on a tropical island and shooting B&W—it’s a bit like going to a seafood restaurant and ordering steak, isn’t it? You can do it. But you would need a good reason.

Colocasia   ©Alton Thompson 唐博敦 2009

Taipei County, Taiwan  台灣  新北市 三峽

MSW: Who are some of your favourite visual artists?

AT: For photography, the usual suspects. I’ve always enjoyed Edward Weston. You never forget that powerful nude image of Charis Wilson.

I like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, the portraits by Robert Mapplethorpe, photographer Miru Kim, and sculptor Ariel Moscovici.

In painting, anything by Marc Chagall. The surrealism of Rousseau. Anything by Matisse. One of my favourite paintings is Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

As a photographer I’m enthralled with the films of Krzysztof Kieślowski. Powerful images, like that grieving scene at the end of Veronique. It interests me that he began as a documentary filmmaker. As he explored human nature ever more deeply he found he needed to work with actors—fearless actors. But he kept shooting the stories like documentaries. Of course, Ingmar Bergman is another film director who gives you one unforgettable image after another. We live in exciting times for films here in Taiwan. I do enjoy the work of the directors this island produces. I like the way Ang Lee always goes, in his subjects, where the ambiguity is. And you get these gems of images. As in Eat Drink Man Woman, when you see the chef and his friend joking with each other in a dark hallway outside the kitchen.

Sculpture—well, so many . Anything by Constantin Brâncuşi. The first time I saw Taipei 101 I was struck by its resemblance to Endless Column.

Rodin, of course. In Baltimore I was surrounded, indoor and outdoor, by compelling sculpture. Like many Peabody students, I bonded with the Naiad by Alice Turnbull. I like Alberto Giacometti . On the subject of Taipei 101, I find much to enjoy in the work of Ariel Moscovici. He’s the sculptor of Between Earth and Sky, that circle of rose-coloured stones you see at Taipei 101.

I enjoy looking at very ancient art, and timeless art. Medieval art, Asian temple art. Mythic themes, the kinds of theme Brâncuşi and Moscovici carry forward. I’ve also interested in popular forms and the way they eventually inspire great art. Many great opera characters in Mozart or Verdi, for example, originated as puppet show characters crowds encountered at town fairs. I wonder what ballets and great stories will emerge from the Pili puppet shows, manga characters, and Second Life fantasies that surround us now.

I saw an impressive treatment of the opening act of Carmen once by Opera Memphis. Everything–the fort, the uniforms, the factory, the women’s gowns–was beige, khaki and brown. It was a monochrome scene. Then came the moment when Carmen slyly produced a rose from the folds of her dress—and that red just leaped off the stage.

Wow. If we get into stage works, this conversation could go a long time! Maybe it’s best to draw a line here.

MSW: Do you have any projects in the works right now?

AT: I haven’t settled yet on a new big project, but I want to make more series. I am collaborating with models who have a real presence, and that in itself suggests projects. I am setting up a studio later this year. I plan make portraits, especially images of performing artists. I’d like to make some figures studies, and I’m interested in documenting art works. It’s not easy for sculptors, for example, to get good photographs of their work. That’s an area where I think I can help. Still, I will always want to shoot outdoors and use natural light. Taiwan itself is an inexhaustible source of inspiration.

MSW: Do you have a favorite photograph?

AT: Thanks for asking that, Carrie. I just had a wonderful mental image of works by Cartier-Bresson and Weston, flipping past like the ‘album view’ on a music player!

As it happens, my favourite photograph is the work of an amateur photographer. And it’s a sunset photo at that!

In November 1969 the astronauts of Apollo 12 were returning from the moon in their ship, Yankee Clipper. They incidentally became the first people to witness an eclipse of the sun by the earth. This is the last moment before the sun slipped behind earth’s shadow.

Image courtesy of NASA

Isn’t that sublime?

Every place we’ve ever travelled, every being we’ve ever met, is contained in that round shadow. It’s all there. And you can cover it with your hand.

MSW: Any thoughts for photographers starting out?

AT: Only some advice I can pass along. We’re all starting out.

Shortly after Michelangelo died, his apprentice went into the studio to gather the artist’s personal effects. The apprentice found a note in the desk, in Michelangelo’s handwriting. The note was addressed to him.

It said, “Draw, Antonio. Draw, Antonio. Draw, and do not waste time.”

Details:

• Gallery: Alton’s Images
• Twitter: @altonsimages.com
• E-Mail: altonsimages@gmail.com
• Alton @Ipernity
• Alton @Flickr