Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #12

It's been stated by several review sites and professionals that the D850 is the best camera ever made by Nikon, and I believe it.  Even a beginner like me can coax a pretty good image out of its awesome sensor and technology, manipulating the most basic of features (plus a little Photoshop).  But one thing I've been having trouble agreeing with - and this is to my advantage - is the assertion that you absolutely have to have a tripod to get decent pictures from it.  99.5% of the pics posted here since acquiring the Bigger Cahoona have been hand-held or supported with whatever happened to be around, such as a side wall or horizontal surface such as the top of a post or countertop...

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #11 / The End of My TV Career

[continued from yesterday's post]

The summer of '77 ended, and at the age of 19 so did my time in television.  Larry and the gang liked my work and my work ethic, and there was even talk about sending me up to Dallas for more formal training at WFAA, our sister station there.  However, that idea was quietly dropped when it became obvious that my plan was to go to college instead.  Sometimes I wonder where I would have ended up if I'd stayed in the business, but don't regret the decisions I've made.

Many have asked, With the experience you had, why didn't you major in communications when you went to college?  That was for two reasons, one being ego and the other being the nature of the business:  One) I'd heard that at UT Austin, the number one school for mass media-related careers in the US and the one I would have chosen if I'd gone that route, students weren't allowed to even touch any equipment until their junior year.  With the experience I'd gained, following such a course would have been like a demotion;  The other) after having seen my older friends bounce around from one station to the other I saw the business as being inherently unstable, and wanted to pursue a steadier course into adulthood.

So the value we're left with is a little pride in having held my own doing what I did, even for a short time, and a few good stories now and then...

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #10 / Camera Duties at KFDM

[continued from yesterday's post]

I worked both with the news team and on the production side as studio cameraman at Channel 6, two part-time jobs.  As a result my name rolled twice from the character generator on air after the 6 and 10 newscasts.  Sometimes that was a source of pride, but on a few days I'd've given anything to have my name removed from the scroll due to my own screw-ups that, due to the nature of the beast, were literally on display to tens of thousands of viewers at once.

But working in both departments was also unique in that I was behind the camera (typically camera three, responsible for bump shots and Gary Powers doing the weather) that broadcast my teammates live for both half-hour casts, with production work for commercials, PSA's, and the like in between.  This is when occasionally something interesting happened.

One observation that stands out was how they did serial programming for daily broadcasts, such as one religious program that was aired every day in the very early morning.  If memory serves, the preacher's name was Pastor Daphney, and he would come in during the weekend to record all five weekday programs at once.  He brought with him five different jackets and ties, and after recording one five-minute program in the studio we'd wait for a few minutes while he changed into the jacket and tie that he'd chosen for Tuesday, and on from there until all five programs were in the can.  This was interesting to me and, as I didn't mind pulling weekend duty, I was often the one behind the camera during these recording sessions.

Another time a religious singing husband-wife duo came in to record a half-hour program of preaching and songs.  This was done during the week between the two newscasts, so we were kept busy with taping that program in addition to our other regular weekday duties.  Even so, I was on camera for their program, and was greatly moved by their singing - I have always been spiritually sensitive, and the sincerity and beauty that came out with those songs resonated deeply even at the tender age of 18.

After their show was taped, this couple seemed interested in how things worked at the station and decided to stick around to watch everyone do their thing.  Each evening at 9:30 we did a live teaser from the newsroom to promote the 10 o'clock newscast, and the three of us cameramen rotated this duty, getting the camera and lighting into position so that Cecile Burandt, or less often Larry Beaulieu, could do the cast.  Well, the religious couple decided to watch this, and were just out of camera range, when, less than a minute before the teaser aired I took off my headphones, peered out at them from behind the camera, and told them how much I enjoyed and appreciated the songs that they sang.  They appeared to be shocked, startled that this young kid behind the camera during their taping really noticed and felt edified by their ministry.  They nervously mumbled a thanks, and were still staring at me when I put the headphones on and began the cue sequence for Cecile.

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flowers #9 / Brush with Greatness at KFDM

[continued from post of two days ago]

I was at Channel 6 for just three months, but in that short time had experiences and met people unique to the industry that most don't encounter.  One of the more interesting of those times was the day that CBS came calling.

Being a CBS affiliate, whenever a news story of national interest happened in the area the network would use the facilities at our station to produce the story.  On one such day (this was the summer of 1977) the Secretary of Energy in Jimmy Carter's cabinet, James Schlesinger, was in Port Arthur on the nation's business.  Since he was our first Secretary of Energy, the press followed him closely as he carved out this new role.  And for CBS Eric Engberg was tapped to do the story.

Naturally there was a heightened buzz at the station as preparations were made for Mr. Engberg.  Upon returning from Port Arthur he and his sparse crew showed up and sequestered a desk.  I didn't really know what to do with these people around - and my role as newsfilm processor certainly wasn't needed, as the networks by then already were using the newfangled videotape - so after a bit I took my place on the stool in front my darkroom and just watched.

The desk that Mr. Engberg was using happened to be directly across from my perch.  He was on the phone when I heard him say, "Let me talk to Walter", and he started talking in earnest with none other than Walter Cronkite as they arranged how his story would fit into the 5:30 evening newscast.  Here I was, an ungainly teenager with no real experience in the business, looking at a man who at the moment was speaking the the most trusted man in America!  Honestly I was a little star-struck.

A bit later, as we were all scurrying around doing our jobs for the day, I passed the film archive room, the door to which was opened a crack, and heard Mr. Engberg doing his voiceover for the story.  Pretty neat, I thought, knowing that those words would later be heard by millions of viewers across the country.  Remember that this was before the internet, or even cable TV to speak of, so everybody turned to one of the three networks (CBS, NBC or ABC) for the news of the day, and it was very highly competitive.

Then, when the time came at 5:30, Mr. Engberg went into the station lobby and watched on a TV that was in the corner always tuned, of course, to Channel 6.  He and his little crew were sitting on a couch with a few of us local guys standing directly behind them as the story aired.  My impression was that they were relaxed enough, but there was also an undercurrent of tension as they silently critiqued their own work.

So those are some of the highlights of my time as newsfilm processor at Channel 6 in Beaumont.  Just like CBS was top of the network heap in terms of ratings and integrity, KBMT was at the top of the heap locally thanks to the leadership of Larry Beaulieu, and I was mighty proud to be a part of that team.  When it was time in the fall to go off to college at SFA in Nacogdoches, I left feeling like a winner.

But that was not near the extent of my duties at the station.  In fact my job with news was only part-time.  After the newsfilm was all processed and my work was done there, I trotted off to my other part-time job in the studio to man the cameras for the live newscasts at 6 and 10, with production work in between...

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #8

Don't know what kind of flower we have here, but certainly captures the attention.  Angled perspective of same below:

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #7 / Allan Gets a Ticket

[continued from yesterday's post]

While perched on that stool I got to watch the goings-on in the news room and sometimes was asked to help with this or that.  The Gong Show came on at 3:00 or 3:30, which the reporters would watch religiously (and raucously) if they weren't out on a story.  Occasionally a school group would come in and I'd show them the dark room and some film canisters to demonstrate where the stories came from.  The prop master was an old black man, whom they called "Deac" because he was a deacon in his Baptist church, and I'd talk to him or help him out with heavy lifting.  Or sometimes I'd just sit on my stool and zone out, saving energy for the pre-air rush to process the incoming film.

This being a TV newsroom, there was a shelf with all kinds of radios monitoring what was going on in the area, including fire, police, and other services of potential interest.  This shelf with these radios happen to be above the door to my darkroom, and on one of my zone-out days I was listening to the chatter with mild interest when I heard something that made me perk up.  Not sure I was hearing right, I stood up, turned around and tried to focus...which radio would that be coming from, and could it be so?  Yes, there it was again - they were saying MY NAME on the police radio!

There are virtually no other Mahood's on earth, so it definitely had to be me or someone connected with my family.  Sure enough, as the transmissions continued I learned that my brother Allan was in the process of getting a traffic ticket!  HA!  Have I got one over on him this time!

It was anticlimactic, though, because when I got home he just shrugged his shoulders and said that Yes, he got a ticket, no big deal.  If it had only happened a few years earlier...

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flowers #6 / My Channel 6 News Job

[continued from yesterday's post]

So I was on my way to interview with the news director at Channel 6, Larry Beaulieu, but wondered how a teenager like myself might be of value to a news team.

Turns out they recently had a guy that quit, and were in need of what was called a "news film processor".  This was back in the days of 16mm acetate film, before the analog video cassettes had caught on in medium markets like Beaumont.  Larry showed me the darkroom with the big cabinet-sized film processor used to develop the film that the reporters used to capture their stories.  After the orientation he asked, could I do it?  Sure, I said.

During my first few days a reporter named Olin Frazier was the guy that trained me on the processor - a big cabinet-sized contraption that took up most of the space in the tiny dark room with vats full of the chemicals necessary to develop the film.  I was amazed that, after the stories were turned in by the reporters, he turned the lights off and worked totally in the dark, unloading each canister and spooling everyone's undeveloped stories onto a big reel, stapling them together as he reached the end of one and beginning of another.  Then, still in the dark, he loaded the reel full of stories onto the machine and turned on a switch.  A very long leader then served to thread the undeveloped stories through each chemical vat in the right order and for the correct amount of time (the more loops in the vat the more time it spent there).  Once that started we could turn the lights on and monitor progress...it took about a half hour for a full reel to make it through the vats and the dryer section at the end.  Once the day's film was done it was delivered into the newsroom where a sort of cattle call took place and the reporters all scrambled to get their stories, which had to be edited and spliced before air.

This was 1977, when Larry was News Director and principle anchor, Cecile Burandt was co-anchor, a guy named John Pronk covered the human interest side, Carl Pendley did the noon news, Olin Frezier did general reporting, Cy Hurst was on sports, and Gary Powers did the weather with Jim Lago doing the weather on weekends.  There was also a short red-headed girl reporter whose name I've forgotten.  Of course I'd seen them all on TV growing up and it was a kick hanging around watching them bustle around getting their stories ready for air on the 6:00 and 10:00 p.m. newscasts.  And, as their new newsfilm processor, it all funneled through the little darkroom that had become my territory.  A heady experience, but I didn't dwell on the importance of my role, just the mechanics of how to do it right.  And most times I was successful, but on a few sad occasions it didn't turn out so well.

It was a bit tedious but not rocket science, and by the end of the first week I was handling everything on my own.  It became my routine to arrive at about 2:30 in the afternoon, make sure the equipment was tuned and ready for the day's work, and otherwise busy myself before the stories came trickling in as the reporters returned to the station.  If I got things done early and there was a little time, I sat on a stool outside the dark room door and watched whatever was happening in the news room.

It was on that stool when, one day, something caught my ear that caused me to perk up and listen very intently...

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #5 / My Channel 6 Interview

My birthday passed not long ago, and lately I've learned to make things easier on the kids by just texting a list of what they should get for me.  This year it was a power cord for the Bigger Cahoona so that we can get serious about time lapse, and a book by David Attenborough called Life on Air.  Only am about ten pages deep, but already am hooked by his sense of adventure and easy style of writing.  And the stories he relates about the earliest days of television and what was done to produce programming had me reminiscing about my own not-quite-so-early days in the medium.

As stated in this post, I was recruited to be on the charter production crew to inaugurate the broadcast of Trinity United Methodist's Sunday service in the spring of 1977, having been recommended by the associate pastor as a result of my experience in radio.  It was exciting to jump from radio to television, and I was eager to learn.  It's obvious by the picture posted on March 23 (2019) that I started on camera, but by the end of the spring I was setting up equipment and had moved up to switching.  The guy from Channel 6 (KFDM) that directed us all was named Ed Smith, who was on their sales team but, like us, did production work when he was young.

Ed and I got along well, and he encouraged me to apply at Channel 6 for a position on the camera crew.  I submitted an application to the programming director, Jeff Pryor, in person so that he would remember who I was, but he informed me that there wasn't anything available at the time.  I said OK, I'd be back later.

And I sure was.  The following week I stopped by again, but still no bite.  A week after that I peeked into his office for a third time, by which time we were getting to know each other...or at least he was getting to know of my tenacity and the fact that I was not going to go away.  Not long after that third visit I got a call to report to the station because they wanted to interview me for a position on the news team.  Wow - finally in!  But what would I do on a news team?

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flowers #4

Focus shifted to the pink variety below (click to enlarge):

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flowers #3

Saw these in lots of places in New Taipei, though not in this great a concentration.  They have pink ones also, as will be seen in tomorrow's post.

Taipei - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #2 / My Friend Javid

When I think of flowers I can't help but remember a friend in Beaumont by the name of Javid Jalali, an Iranian.  It was during our senior year at BCP when this fellow decided to exercise his sense of humor by showing up at the door of his prom date with a bouquet of flowers.  The comic element in this saga was that they were dried and wilted!  Ha ha.  Said it was not received well, and from that moment nothing went as planned...

But nice fresh flowers for a girl are one of the best things you can do, and I've relied on that ol' standby for 31 years and have never regretted it.

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Pretty Flower #1

I'll be posting the flower pics all in a stream of posts together - about a dozen - then will explore some of the other elements of this magnificent garden.  In many cases the flowers appear to have been planted in places where they can be enjoyed against a contrasting background, great for photography.  The end result is what I consider one of the better flower series in this blog so far.

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Panorama

As an overview, this is a panorama taken from within the garden, next to the walled-in stream that makes up its western border.  I'm not a superfan of postcard-ish pictures, but could not help but snap pic after pic of the unique flowers and scenic elements which were built into the property.  What you'll see in this series was captured on two separate hikes to the location...

Taiwan - New Taipei Garden Area, Through the Trees

Not many people know this, but there is Taipei and a separate municipality called New Taipei City to its east.  My sister-in-law's family owns an apartment in New Taipei right next to the Ming Chi University of Technology.  This is a great location while in the Taipei area due to its proximity to good public transportation and some neat things to see nearby.  For example, it is a very short distance to a large Temple for pictures, and from there a steep hike up a hill where Taipei stands visible in the distance (on a relatively smog-free day).  Pictures of what can be seen on that hike have been posted from a previous trip.

Something that has recently been developed adjacent to this path is a beautifully manicured garden area that we hadn't seen before.  When this view opened up to us no more than a hundred feet from the main path we were amazed.  Naturally the Bigger Cahoona and I sprung into action, capturing the layout of this garden through the surrounding trees.  Later research revealed that the exact location is 25.044600 N, 121.423189E.

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Hippo Sidewalk

So I close the series with this, one of the more clever displays of statuary that I've seen.  This was a rare and awesome day to take pictures at the Taipei Zoo; the temperature remained perfect despite the time of year, the clouds stayed overhead which kept the light even, and the gentle breeze from a leftover front kept the bugs away.  I am thankful for the experience.

Next stop - the environs around my sister-in-law's house in Taipei, where we stayed while in that city.

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Knobby Fruit

Don't know what this is but was attracted to the shiny knobs on what I guess is the fruit.  Focused and photographed well so here it is...

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Expressive Chimp

Since he was so sedentary I stood in place for a bit capturing his mood and expressions.  Was able to get these four as keepers, each of which could generate its own set of questions as to what's going on in the mind of this distant cousin of ours...

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Sentry Chimp

Equally as interesting is watching the wizened adults doing their thing at play and at times of rest.  Seems this guy is on a favorite perch just watching the world go by.  Lots of questions here, too.  Is he actually thinking and analyzing what he sees? (probably)  Is he content just sitting there? (looks like it)  Does he realize that the swarm of people passing by every day are very similar to him? (maybe)  What does he think about all the colors, clothes and jewelry on those people? (likely provides interest)  Does he recognize visitors who come by regularly? (possibly)  The questions can go on and on...
_______________

As interesting as these guys are, and as calm and peaceful as they may seem in these moments, they are vicious creatures that will rip your face off, as one literally did here in the Houston area a few years ago to a lady that supposedly was its friend.  Rare is the wild animal that can be tamed to the point of domestication once it becomes an adult.

When our daughter Allison was in Girl Scouts we had a friend-of-a-friend that owned a couple of capuchins.  They were a necessary part of her livelihood, as she was a clown and had trained them as part of her act doing birthday parties and the like.  We had an opportunity to go to her house to interact with these monkeys, which she housed in converted bedrooms so they'd have plenty of room to do their monkey things, and I was excited at the prospect.  But at the end of the day we just could not do it.  Though they were relatively small they are still wild creatures and all it takes is just once and your daughter could lose her eyes or worse.  So that one didn't make its way into the memory bank, saving deposits for more practical and safe adventures.

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Junior at Play

Very interesting to watch one of these youngsters when they're off on their own at play.  What captures their interest?  How long is the attention span?  Do the parents seem alarmed when they're dangling upside down ten feet above the ground?  Are they having fun?  What is going on behind those eyes?  I'd love to bring a chair one day, park myself in a good spot, and just watch (and take pictures of course) for several hours instead of just in passing...

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Chimp with Toddler

No matter the species, tender moments like this between parent and offspring have been going on since the beginning of time...

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Couple of Chimp Couples

Chimps are so human-like, but even more so the bonobos.  Just finished watching the series Life Story, narrative by the venerable David Attenborough, which made clear the differences in the two species - the chimps demonstrate a more aggressive nature, depending on violence to settle differences, whereas the bonobos "make love, not war", as they say.

Even so, the behavior of both have remarkable similarities to the human species - i.e. us.  The couple in the background are passing the time grooming one another while dad and junior pore over a map to plan their escape from the enclosure...

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Chainmail Terry

In what is probably the ultimate of getting a shot of something through something, this is my nephew Terry.  He's slightly into the creative arts, so understands when I make odd requests during a jaunt...

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Crested Crane

Pretty good view of the crest on this crested crane, also called the grey crowned crane.  Kind of an odd bird, but seems to get along with people pretty well; at another zoo we saw one of these walking down a sidewalk between two keepers as if it were one of the gang...

Different angle of the crown below, with full plumage at bottom:

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Scarlet Ibis

Other than the lack of reptiles this is a very good zoo, with exhibits, enclosures and spaces that far surpass just about any other zoo I've been in.  There is a huge bird enclosure with loads of natural settings for species such as the one above and the one you'll see in tomorrow's post.

Picture of said enclosure below:

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Palm Cone

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Yellow Frog

Easily the biggest disappointment with the Taipei Zoo was its reptile collection.  The building was nice and fancy looking, but inside there wasn't much worth seeing.  We were hoping they would have at least the full spectrum of indigenous snakes, but no such luck.  So, amazingly I took only about 20 pictures, this being the only one worth sharing.

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Pretty Flower #3

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Pretty Flower #2

Surprises me - but maybe not - how some of the stock photo websites such as Shutterstock don't accept flower pictures because they have just too many.  I considered contributing to those at one time with my non-flower pics, but don't think I ever will.  No control over where your work will end up or what is done with it, if anything.  So I'll be satisfied with just making a few folks smile and think about the beauty of life once in a while.

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Pretty Flower #1

Taiwan - Taipei Zoo, Poo Poo Toilet Sign

Yes, poo poo-themed toilet signs.  Click to enlarge and read everything on the right side...