The Shot Book

Getting there 🚶 ~15-min walk from Via Hotel · or 🔴 Red / 🟢 Green Line → CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂), Exit 2, then ~10-min walk down Nanhai Rd.

• Signature — Lotus pond in bloom at first light — July is peak season · 16–35 wide for the pond + Qing-era hall, Tamron for single-bloom close-ups
• Sleeper — Heron on a lotus stem, backlit through morning mist · 200mm

Getting there 🚶 ~15-min walk from Via Hotel · or 🔴 Red / 🟢 Green Line → CKS Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂), Exit 5 — the hall is right in front of you.

• Signature — White hall + blue octagonal roof through the Liberty Square archway, dead-symmetric · 16–35 @ 16mm, centered
• Sleeper — Plaza reflections after rain, or the National Theater's palace roof at 85mm against dawn sky

Getting there 🚶 ~10-min walk from Via Hotel · or 🔴 Red Line → NTU Hospital (台大醫院), Exit 1.

• Signature — Colonial pavilion mirrored in the pond, soft morning light · 16–35
• Sleeper — Tai-chi practitioners under the banyans — candid, 85mm from a respectful distance

Getting there 🟢 Green Line → Beimen (北門), Exit 3, then ~15-min walk NW · or bike the riverside greenway straight from the door.

• Signature — Golden hour over the Tamsui River from the wharf — pier + boats · 16–35, or the greenway's leading lines for the chest-mount POV ride
• Sleeper — The floodgate mural + bike path vanishing point at dawn, empty · 16mm

Getting there 🔵 Blue Line → Longshan Temple (龍山寺), Exit 1 — surfaces right at the temple. 1 stop from Ximen (2 from Taipei Main).

• Signature — Incense smoke in skylight shafts, worshippers silhouetted · Tamron 50–85mm, from the sides
• Sleeper — 3:45 PM chanting shot through the hanging lanterns

Getting there 🟢 Green Line → Beimen (北門), Exit 3, then ~10-min walk to the south end of the street.

• Signature — Baroque shopfronts compressed down the arcade · Tamron 100mm+
• Sleeper — From inside the tea shops, out through arched doorways · 16mm

Getting there 🔵 Blue / 🟢 Green Line → Ximen (西門), Exit 6 — straight into the pedestrian zone. ~8-min walk from Via Hotel.

• Signature — The mini-Shibuya crossing at blue hour, slow shutter for foot blur
• Sleeper — Neon in rain puddles after the daily storm

Getting there 🚐 Day 5 charter (DIY: TRA train to Ruifang, change to the Pingxi branch line → Shifen).

• Signature — The train sliding past stall awnings, low + wide from beside the tracks
• Sleeper — Your lantern rising, framed through the crowd, not clean sky
• Waterfall — ND1000 · 0.5–2s · 16mm from the lower deck

Getting there 🚐 Day 5 charter — roadside stops on the Jinshui Highway, no MRT out here.

• Signature — Rust-orange cascade full frame · 16mm roadside, best after rain
• Sleeper — From Changren Pavilion: two-tone sea + S-curve road + ruins in one 200mm frame
• 🚁 Drone — Top-down 90° over the bay mouth — the yellow-blue boundary is THE aerial · launch from the Shuinandong pullout, climb first then slide seaward · midday sun makes the colours, clouds kill them · same CAA-map check as Bitou

Getting there 🚐 Day 5 charter — your drone stops on the open coast.

• Signature — Top-down waves on Bitou's wave-cut platforms; ridge-trail pull-back reveal
• Sleeper — Low slow slide along Nanya's striped rock, Yin-Yang Sea behind
• If windy — Bitou cliffs first, then Nanya · ND64 on at launch

Getting there 🚐 Day 5 charter (DIY: TRA train to Ruifang, then bus 1062/788 up the hill to Jiufen).

• Signature — A-Mei Teahouse from the opposite stairs, lanterns lit, cobalt sky · in position by 6:15
• Sleeper — Turn 180°: the crowd on Shuqi stairs lit by lantern glow · boats' lights at 200mm
• Shoot hard 15 minutes, then put it away and be there

Getting there 🚐 Day 5 charter — a roadside night stop (Changren Pavilion viewpoint) on the drive home.

• Recipe — Beanbag/tripod on the pavilion rail · Tamron 70–100mm · 1–2s · amber ruins on black mountain

Getting there 🔴 Red Line → NTU Hospital (台大醫院), then Bus 1717 from the 228 Park stop (Gongyuan Rd) direct to Xiaoyoukeng. Departs 8:30 / 9:00 / 9:30 AM — tap EasyCard on AND off.

• Signature — 16mm low behind the rails, steam towering, ridge behind
• Sleeper — ~8 AM backlit steam against dark mountainside · Nano clipped low for POV

Getting there 🔴 Red Line → Beitou (北投), then cross the platform to the Xinbeitou (新北投) branch shuttle → Xinbeitou, Exit 1, ~10-min walk.

• Recipe — Shoot against the light so steam glows over the emerald water · 16mm for scale, details of mineral rock

Getting there 🟤 Brown Line (Wenhu) → Taipei Zoo (動物園), Exit 2, then the Maokong Gondola up to the top.

• Signature — Tea terraces in raking light · 200mm turns rows into corduroy
• Sleeper — Crystal-cabin glass floor, straight down onto canopy · 16mm flat to the glass

Getting there 🔴 Red Line north to Tamsui (淡水, end of the line), then Bus R26/836 to Fort San Domingo — or a ~20-min riverside walk.

• Signature — Red fort walls vs blue sky · 16mm corner to corner
• Sleeper — Fishermen silhouetted against the silver river · 200mm, softest light of the week

Getting there 🔴 Red Line east to its Xiangshan (象山) terminus — ride to the end of the line — Exit 2, ~10-min walk to the trailhead.

• Signature — 101 from the Six Giant Rocks as city lights ignite · stay 20–30 min past sunset
• Sleeper — 200mm: 101's crown floating in haze above rooftops · Nano runs the timelapse beside you

Getting there Raohe: 🟢 Green → Songshan (松山), Exit 5. Shilin: 🔴 Red → Jiantan (劍潭), Exit 1 (NOT Shilin station — common mistake). Tonghua/Linjiang: 🔴 Red → Xinyi Anhe (信義安和), Exit 4.

• Signature — Vendors lit by their own stalls through rising steam · Tamron f/2.8, 50–85mm, WB 3200K
• Sleeper — The hands: kneading, flipping, wrapping