Taiwan 2025 - Chiang-Kai-Shek Residence, Cattle Egret Shot #4

And finally, our friend here is seen against a backdrop of complementing colors.  Catching this guy when we did was a real bonanza, and we hadn't even entered the park yet!

Taiwan 2025 - Chiang-Kai-Shek Residence, Cattle Egret Shot #3 (with color variation)

Same guy but a few steps over where he ended up against a much darker background.  Seeing the consistency of its coloration, I decided to make a layer of him and fiddle with the hue.  How could I not?

Taiwan 2025 - Chiang-Kai-Shek Residence, Cattle Egret Shot #2

I just absolutely love this bird, adorned as it is with the color of our wedding (peach).  This opportunity to capture it with the flowers of the same hue was way too good to miss.  Those flowers were color-desaturated by about 20% so as not to outshine the star of the frame...

Taiwan 2025 - Chiang-Kai-Shek Residence, Cattle Egret Shots #1

This remarkable bird, a cattle egret, was wandering around on its own at the entrance, pecking around for insects or anything else that was edible.  I saw this species at the Taipei Zoo doing the same thing...wandering around where the people were, picking up French fries or any other scrap dropped by the visitors.  Not too skittish, therefore an easy target for photo capture.

Later that morning we saw two of these guys doing a low duet fly-by.  Neither I nor the Bigger Cahoona (lens-wise) were fast enough to do it justice, but the frame below was a near-keeper:

Taipei 2025 - Chiang-Kai-Shek Residence, Dandelion Garden

Another pic of the Dandelion Garden, this one captured with the iPhone.

Taipei 2025 - Chiang-Kai-Shek Residence, Dandelion Sculpture

One thing that Chenjean and I hadn't done in a while, and thought our friends the Bishops might enjoy, is touring the Chiang-Kai-Shek residence in Taipei.  They've done some remarkable things there, and the actual house where he and his wife lived out their days is open to visitors for a small fee.  The Bigger Cahoona and I ended up with some 40 keepers from this remarkable venue.

The pic above was captured at the entrance on Fulin Road, and immediately brought to mind this series, from back in 2011, of the Wortham Fountain on Allen Parkway in Houston.  Little did we know of the wonders that lay ahead...

Taiwan 2025 - Interesting Building in 101 Area

 

Taiwan 2025 - The Biggest Billboard You've Ever Seen

Taipei 101 certainly doesn't stand in isolation with regard to shopping, business, entertainment, and living space.  It's a swanky area with very expensive real estate...might be compared to Times Square or Fifth Avenue in New York City.  But the billboard seen here is undoubtedly much bigger than anything that can be found in NYC, or anywhere else for that matter.

Taiwan 2025 - Flowers on First Floor of 101

These were captured on the first floor of the mall...

Taiwan 2025 - Ceiling Pic from 101 Shopping Mall

The huge mall at the base of 101 is just as much an attraction as the observation floors atop the building.  This is a ceiling shot from one of the levels below; the tower itself can be seen through the glass at the top of the frame.