Li Hsiang
  rookie030

Li Hsiang, also known as “Chai Chai”, is a photographer who worked at the post office for nearly 15 years. He is known for recording his daily life with a camera. While delivering letters, he would observe his environment and use his lenses to capture the changes to the landscape and people’s lifestyle and emotions every year. His images are known to encapsulate rich human emotions and thoughts.

When I arrived at Orchid Island, the greeting “Thank you, sir” left a deep impression on me. Compared to the anticipation that I was feeling as we touched down, this show of gratitude by the people was even more moving. When I was young, coming to bus stops always brought a mix of emotions—sadness from leaving the place and joy of returning home. Stepping onto the island evoked a gush of emotions, only this time, it is more excitement for all the adventures I’d have on the island! 

For this trip, I brought along three lenses: FE 35mm F1.8 (SEL35F18), FE 20mm F2.0 G (SEL20F18G) and FE 85mm F1.8 (SEL85F18). They are all compact lenses with large apertures and fast-focusing speed, allowing me better mobility when taking pictures. 

Orchid Island is simple. There is only the Huandao Road that connects the tribes, and goat flocks would surprise me at unexpected places. While going around the island, besides the endless sea, the mausoleum line of the mountain is equally stunning.  

In the direction towards the Iraraley Tribe, I worked with the postman on the island and tagged along his delivery van to take photos. Despite its small body, the Alpha 7C’s full-frame specifications helped me to capture wide and pure landscapes. When the van was moving too quickly, I would use the SEL35F18 to capture the scene better and increase the stability and quality of the pictures with its rapid focus. The straight road headed directly to a towering mountain, where you can see the changes in the mausoleum line. The visual transformation from sea to mountain left me in awe. At this moment, I switched to SEL85F18, a large aperture telescopic lens, to create a subtle sense of compression. Whether for close-ups or far scenery shots, a larger aperture will give distinct layers to the picture. 

A subject I enjoyed capturing during this trip are the mountain goats, that seem to live such carefree lives. Whenever I take pictures of goats on the island, I use it to discover different perspectives from a single lens, and then capture the most interesting ones. 

The island holds a fish summoning festival pioneered by the Imorod Tribe. The main ocean fishing activities take place at Badai Bay and Xiao-lan Yu. 

When visiting the underground houses in Orchid Island, I switched to the SEL20F18G lens for a wide angle and large aperture to fully capture the delicate intricacies of the houses even in low light conditions.This lens is light and thin enough to not draw too much attention and lower the guard of the subjects in the pictures. 

In Orchid Island, the tourists would happily capture the moment for just about any scenery. The island and its people have a way of making one feel at home. Sitting in the car, as the damp sea breeze blew against me, I felt a moment of tranquility, as if time stood still. 

Celine and Cynthia
 Celine and Cynthia 

With 199,000 YouTube subscribers, travel is a way of life for Celine and Cynthia. As they see different faces on their travels, the girls  encourage everyone to step out of the house and see the world around them.  

This is my fifth visit to Orchid Island. I brought Cynthia, who is here for the first time to see Taiwan’s bluest waters in its southeast coast. A bit distanced from the rest of the country, Orchid Island offers a unique kind of serenity that’s perfect if you are looking to take a break and go on new adventures. Simply spending a whole day in the cooling courtyard without doing anything can make you feel relaxed. If you’re up for a bit of an activity, try walking up a mountain for 15 minutes, and you’ll be rewarded with a glimpse of an unbeatable sea view. 

At Orchid Island, you don’t need to go searching for a hidden paradise. Just climb the nearest rock, and you’d be able to enjoy an exclusive view of the entire sea. Cynthia and I discussed for a long time whether we should take pictures of the sunrise at Mount Nyuto (or Lover’s Cave) or see the sunset at the entrance of the highway or seaside. 

In the end, since we didn’t want to miss any of them, we agreed on one thing: “Why not do all of them!” 

The people in our group asked us how we were so energetic despite being up since 4:30 a.m. till the evening every day. Our answer: On this island, we are embraced by tranquility all the time, which has in turn recharged us. As we rode across the island, its pavilions and sea view simply refuelled us, giving us the energy to explore more each day. 

During our trip to Orchid Island, we made a short video using the ZV-1. It was so light that I often forgot that I was carrying a camera. Its flip screen was very useful for shooting vlogs and the focusing speed is so fast, it could even take pictures of us while we were playing with water. There is another reason that I love this camera: its natural soft skin effect that flattered our complexions even after doing physical activities without makeup. 

We used the telephoto focal length to take time-lapse images of the sunrise, close-ups of the waves and footprints on rocks. The wide-angle focal length allowed us to capture the scenery at the peak that includes both the mountain and sea. My favourite picture during this trip is when I reduced the aperture to the minimum to capture the moment when the sunlight hit the entrance of the Lover’s Cave. The ZV-1 was sufficient in recording all the awe-inspiring moments we had at Orchid Island. 

IR
 ir47363

IR, simply read as the letters “I” and “R”, never considered herself as a “blogger”. Instead, she wants to become an internet personality who shares her adventures with her audience through pictures. She posts travel pictures and invites her followers to join her in taking beautiful pictures of the world. 

In the past, I used to travel to the scenic spots around Taiwan with a single-lens camera. It It took a lot of effort to carry around and adjust the focus. I then started thinking about my initial purpose of starting a travel vlog. What I wanted to do is to convey the things inside the images, so whether I use professional tools is not that important, as long as I stay true to my purpose. 

I started looking for a small camera with a fast-focusing speed that allows me to take pictures without thinking too much. Not only must the camera be light, but it should also allow me to get the right focus easily. For this trip, I took the RX100 VII to Green Island. The pocket-sized camera is easy to carry around. When I want to take a picture, it’s easy to just take it out from my bag and begin taking snapshots! 

I like to perform dynamic actions when taking pictures. The RX100 VII’s excellent burst function keeps pictures in focus, while ensuring that the images are not overexposed under direct sunlight. The compact camera uses RAW format, which retains more details and makes it easy to adjust areas, whether they are overexposed or underexposed. 

I was told that Atlantis is the most suitable place for beginners to practice taking pictures. You don’t need to dive too deep to take pictures. Initially, I wanted to do this in the coral reefs, but this place has the mysterious feel of an ancient city, which I liked a lot! 

Cuihu is a dreamy place on Green Island with a scenic spot that only the locals know about, which takes a long walk along a rocky path to reach there. Thankfully, the RX100 VII is small and light, otherwise, it would have been an exhausting walk. I swam alone to the middle of the lake and floated there. My boyfriend climbed up to the rock wall to take a picture from above using the RX100 VII with a focal length of 24-200mm. Its wide-angle can capture the entire Bihu. At the same time, it has a telescopic range that can take pictures of distant objects with great detail. The camera is great for beginners who are still learning to take visually interesting photos, especially when they go on adventures. 

This trip to Green Island feels very relaxing. With the RX100 VII, I no longer need to carry so many bags and can roam the streets and alleys lightly, without compromising on the quality of my pictures. 

Celine and Cynthia
 Celine and Cynthia

With 199,000 YouTube subscribers, travel is a way of life for Celine and Cynthia. As they see different faces on their travels, the girls encourage everyone to step out of the house and see the world around them 

We took the ZV-1 for a three-day quick trip to Green Island. We were already looking forward to our adventures as we travelled via boat toward Niutoushan. 

When we arrived and saw the sun setting, we quickly put down our luggage and set off right away. We walked up the plains on Niutoushan with the breeze blowing against us and were rewarded with the gorgeous Green Island sunset. 

I love backlit silhouettes against a sunset. The light is not too bright, so you can preserve the outline of a person and the image is dyed orange by the sun. I opened the aperture to maximum and looked for a few strands of grass in the foreground. The grass, the sunset, and the subjects form the perfect photo, with neither of them stealing the spotlight. 

We were not satisfied with the pictures we had taken on the first evening, so we went up Niutoushan again the next morning. We watched the gradient violet pre-dawn sky slowly turn orange and then blue, as the sun rose from the sea. Unfortunately, we did not get up early enough, otherwise, we would have witnessed the sky still full of stars. 

The ZV-1 weighs less than 300g even with a battery inside, and even with a stabiliser, its total weight  does not exceed 1kg. We do not usually travel with a stabiliser, but thanks to the ZV-1's compact frame, we had room to bring one. The camera allowed us to achieve greater mobility while walking around and finding a picturesque scene in Niutoushan. We looked for something in the foreground to give more layers to the picture and use horizon-breaking movements at the mountain peak to create the false perception of an aerial shot.  

During this quick trip, we did not have the time to go diving. However, our visit was still worth it  since the landscape of Green Island was enough to amaze us. The journey to Gold Cave required a short swim. We swam into the pitch-black cave until we saw a hole where light could pass through. Since the ZV-1 is small and easy to carry around, we had no worries about using it under water as it was easy to put it inside a waterproof bag. 

To capture a different Sea Cave, we arrived at 5:00 in the morning and used the 24mm wide-angle lens to take shadows of people in the Sea Cave, which was lit in pink-purple hues. Then we used the 70mm lens to record our journey towards our destination, which featured many shots of footprints and rock climbing.  ZV-1’s quick focusing allowed us to easily snap photos of us playing in the water and running around. We specially reserved the entire afternoon for jumping into the water and swimming. 

Although we only stayed for three days, the portable ZV-1 let us record the beauty of Green Island without any burden. We highly recommend it for beginner vloggers!  
 

Edocolala
  edocolala
  edocolala

I am an Advertising Director. Outside of work, creation is still an outlet for my interest and life, whether it is a video or still image.  

Yilan is in the northeastern corner of Taiwan. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides, and it faces the sea on the other side. This short journey took me from south to north along the coast, starting from Dongshan Station all the way to Daxi Fishing Port. I brought along the reliable RX100 VII, which allows me to travel without too many worries and burdens. Gear on hand, I was able to savour every moment and slowly embrace this journey. When I see a story/scene I like, I quickly take out the camera to shoot or record it. 

I saw sporadic surfers happily going up and down the waves, enjoying their hard-earned summer freedom. I sat on the beach and took pictures using the RX100 VII in my pocket. With a long focal length of 24-200mm, I can create a simple composition with fishing boats in a distance and the surfers in front of me. 

There were fewer tourists in Yilan, and in their place were local fishermen going on about their work. The RX100 VII’s 20fps burst mode with auto exposure tracking and high video resolution of 4K HDR allows you to capture every single moment. Besides the smooth and stable autofocus, the camera also has eye-detection focusing on the people in the picture. So whether it is a close-up portrait shot or a wider composition, you can do anything you want with this small camera. 

Using the 24-200mm focal length and precise focusing, I have the power to comfortably choose to record the scenes in front of me and things that are happening in a distance.