One of the wonderful things about being as clued out as I tend to be is that you are sometimes rewarded with some very pleasant surprises. Today was just such a day. Just as I was walking towards work, I heard a commotion on the street. Little did I know, but today was the birthday of Matsu, the Goddess of the Sea.

Taoist celebrations are always full of smoke, colour and sound. Lots of each; these are not for the fainthearted. They are a lot of fun though, lots.

Today’s rain did little to dampen spirits. Rain ponchos are cheap and easy to find; no need to stop the festivities.

Did I mention the noise? Drumming is non-stop.

The colours are always great too, and there are happy smiles from the (mostly) older ladies participating.

Of course, being a temple celebration, a little prayer is apropos.

The generals had to protect their headgear.  Even wearing plastic bags, they are impressive and somewhat intimidating.

Carrying the deity is very important, but sometimes checking out your latest SMS takes priority.  Some can do both.

Then, while walking home, I wandered past another small temple right at the end of their festivities.  All I got to see was a few of the faithful dashing across the pile of ghost money:

Before making their offerings to their gods.

Like I said at the top of my post; this was a completely welcome surprise; were I more “in the loop”, I would have known in advance.  Now, most times this would leave me quite upset, as I probably would have liked to go to a larger temple to take some better photos.  However, serendipity was on my side today, as I had a meeting in the morning and the photography I did was all that time would allow anyways.  I got the benefit of a surprise without the usual downside of a lack of planning.  A pretty nice surprise.

Here it is, my first post on this blog.

Saturday saw the sunniest day in sometime here in Taipei. Not ideal weather to be out shooting midday, but a fun event was underway, so I did get out. Bad light, but nice weather.

David, Todd, Craig, Selina and myself met up at NT and took in the scene.

I have to be completely honest in saying that I am a complete fish out of water when it comes to the comic scene. I barely know the classics such as Spiderman or the Hulk, let alone what is popular in Asia now. Not knowing anything didn’t stop me from completely enjoying the scene and appreciating the efforts and imagination that were put into dressing the way these folks did.

A fun day, great weather, a chance to meet new people and catch up with those I have known for a while. All of that more than makes up for the bad light we were fighting (especially me without my flash).

To see more of the photos, please have a look here.