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![[Bonus] Photographing Taiwan – Interview with Chris Stowers](https://getpodpage.com/image_transform_gate_v3/hmrS8wZCANlp5SnTQqscb3kSda7Q48ml0DIuKIdYl8w=/?image_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com%2Fredwood-labs%2Fshowpage%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2Ff6addbd4-c6ed-4899-a956-ab0dfa89721d.jpg&w=1200&h=630&fill=blur "[Bonus] Photographing Taiwan – Interview with Chris Stowers")
John chats with photographer Chris Stowers. In 1988, Chris sailed a traditional Indonesian boat on an epic sea voyage (a trip described alongside the three-part series on the Free China junk, S3-Ep23-25). This led to his first story and photos being published, and the beginning of his career in photography. He came to Taiwan on a political photo shoot in 1991 and made it his home base for covering Asia later that decade. Work and wanderlust have taken Chris to over 70 countries, and his pictures have appeared in numerous publications, from Newsweek to the New York Times to numerous guidebooks. In an interview full of practical recommendations, Chris tells John about a recent book, “Discovering Taipei on Foot,” gives insights on getting great pictures of people, and shares his favorite temples, festivals, and photo spots.
Cover image: "Snake Alley" in Taipei, by Chris Stowers (2005).
READ: Chris Stower's book Bugis Nights, which tells the true story of Stowers and a group of French adventurers on a remote Indonesian island and their wild idea: buy a traditional wooden sailing ship from a people once famed as pirates—the Bugis—and sail it to distant Singapore.
Below: The cover of Discovering Taipei on Foot (2022).
Via Amazon: "In 'Discovering Taipei on Foot,' author Scott Weaver and photographer Chris Stowers draw on their combined 50+ years of living in Taiwan to lead travelers on nine tours through the city and nearby locations."
WATCH: A Chris Stowers documentary first broadcast on the TaiwanPlus channel in early 2023 - What’s Life Like After 43 Years of Martial Law? An Exploration of Matsu Island | The Secret of Matsu.
Below: British photographer Chris Stowers in 1997. That year, Stowers was invited by the Council for Cultural Affairs to serve as a resident artist in Qinbi Village, Matsu Beigan. Photo by Central News Agency reporter Ye Guanyin.
The impressive work of Chris Stowers can be seen on his website, PANOS PICTURES PHOTO AGENCY: chrisstowers.com.
All images below are courtesy of Chris Stowers.
1. The Taipei Performing Arts Center
2. The tri-Annual festival on Xiaoliuqiu Island celebrated by all residents (and those who have returned from overseas especially for the occasion) honoring the Gods who protect this southern island, populated by fisherfolk. The week-long event culminates in the burning of a huge model boat on the beach at Baisha Port following its procession around the island where it's engulfed in a cacophony of firecracker explosions. Photo taken November, 7th 2012.
3. A "waterfall" of scooters descend from a bridge in Taipei (2011).
4. Umbrellas/Art (1991).
5. A man imitates a martial arts move, with a poster of Bruce Lee in the background. Photo taken in Penghu (2022).
6. The Nung Chan Monastery in Beitou, Taipei (2016).
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
