Taiwan 2025 - Monkey Post #1

This highly-cropped image needed a little massaging to make it presentable.  On virtually all of the monkey images some work was needed to make the eyes appear brighter, which included not only lightening in various ways but also an increase in color saturation.  Because of the clack of the mirror on the Bigger Cahoona, many shots captured a curious stare right at the camera.  The monkeys are obviously not used to hearing such, now that a vast majority of tourists take pictures silently with their phone cameras.

Indeed it was worth the trouble lugging around the D850, as technically the pictures of these critters have proven to be far superior to those taken with the iPhone.  But for wildlife shots like these one really needs a quality 500mm lens.  To demonstrate perspective, the image below - the same one from which the above was cropped - was zoomed to its full 300mm, which is as close as I could get to these critters:

Taiwan 2025 - Bare Tree on Mountainside / The Monkey Situation

We noticed last year that a certain species of tree on the mountainsides was not faring too well.  By this year they were completely bare.  Whenever seeing one I would think, "Wouldn't it be great if these branches were a favorite perch for the monkeys...", which would be ideal for taking pictures of the critters.  No luck on that front, however.  While the population of macaques has noticeably increased, they favor the broad, leafy trees down low that provide cover from prying human eyes.

And because of the greater population, sightings of these creatures are far more common.  Last year I identified where a certain troop - perhaps just a single family - lived, and approached the area with the Bigger Cahoona as if on a hunt.  As seen in posts from last year's series, sometimes there was success.  This year, however, the troop obviously has grown and, from what I saw, numbered in the range of 10-12 individuals.  And they were predictable enough to photograph if you knew when they'd be at a certain location.  For example, based on dozens of hikes through their territory, I concluded that in the mornings they descend to the river for water.  Then they make their way up the mountainside onto higher ground, and settle within 50 yards of it once they cross the road.  This is where they keep an eye on things from a high perch.  When they do see someone on foot, or a large group such as from the tourist buses, they scramble down to the lower canopy so as not to be seen.  This defeats the purpose for them, however, because they aren't careful and crash loudly through the brush, giving away not only their location but the direction to which they are headed.  Of course for me that serves as a beacon for quick positioning to hunt them photographically.

Taiwan 2025 - Very Different Grapes (sort of)

Have you ever seen grapes growing on the branches of a tree instead of on a vine?  Don't think these are true grapes, but whatever they are they were in season and everywhere.  They do taste like grapes, but different in that the skins are thick and bitter, not edible, and there is only one seed in the middle.  I was the only one in Chenjean's house that claimed to like them, so got a big bowlful both in the morning and also during the heat of mid-afternoon.  The skins filled up an entire teacup by the time I finished each serving...

Taiwan 2025 - Pinkish-red Flowers in Town

During the past couple of years I've seen more fancy flowers in front of the houses down Chenjean's street - some because the owners simply like them there, and others no doubt to attract the eyes of tourists passing through.  Either way it's a win-win for all of us, including the Bigger Cahoona, which captured these two perspectives of the same potted plant...

Taiwan 2025 - Dried by the Fire

This picture was taken on April 13th and, if one can believe it, the temperature was cool enough to warrant long sleeves for my daily morning hike further up the mountain.  Saw this while passing through the edge of town and stopped for a while to warm up by the fire before continuing.  What are they doing?  Those are thickened tofu skins (made from soy beans) being dried, and presumably smoked as well.  The sign touts the fact that they are "purely handmade".

Taiwan 2025 - More Purple Flowers

A post of this type of flower was published earlier in the series, back on July 7th.  Played around and decided that this iPhone capture was blogworthy after the busy background was blurred and completely desaturated of color.

Taiwan 2025 - Scraped Bark

We were intrigued by what looks like something animals did, scraping and eating the algae off of the branches of these trees.  Could it have been the monkeys?  What else could have done this...people for some reason?  Looks like a tool may have been used.  Interesting...

More evidence nearby on the branches below:

Taiwan 2025 - Derelict Vendor Stand

As mentioned during last year's series, many of the old vendor posts from days gone by were not pressed into service during the recent surge in tourism, so are left derelict along the sides of the road.  Doesn't bother me, as this leaves more opportunity for the occasional decent rustic shot...

Taiwan 2025 - Beneficial Haze

One of the advantages of being in a humid, steamy climate is chances for photographs such as this.  In certain pics the dehaze function in Photoshop is called for, but in this case, captured on an early morning walk, the haze provides beautiful contrast between mountains near and far.

Probably my favorite pic of this sort was published from last year's visit on a hike to the waterfall itself.

Taiwan 2025 - Glowing Flower Under Leaves

One more of this kind of flower, partially obscured by leaves.  And while I'm at it, the pic below was taken with the iPhone, while the Bigger Cahoona is responsible for the awesome frame above.  While they both look nice, the technical superiority of a full-frame DSLR is evident when comparing these two shots: