Chinese New Year Market at Dihua Street

 

Vantage Point

Vantage Point

Crowded. :lol:

But it’s Taipei. It’s a street market. It’s Chinese New Year. What else would you expect? And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

 

Elderly Shopping Ninja

Elderly Shopping Ninja

I’ve been living in Taipei for 10+ years now and, amazingly, this was the first time I had ever been to the Dihua street market. Even though I couldn’t stay long and only had 1/2 roll of film left (and not even black & white film, at that) I’m really happy I tagged along with the Taiwan Photo Club post-meeting and thankful to TC Lin’s friend for the ride.

 

A treasure trove of goodies.

A treasure trove of goodies.

With all the energy and activity that CNY brings to an already active street market, there was tons to shoot. The real difficulty was in getting a composition that had a central focus and not something that got too much in and thus was visually confusing. Because of the intense crowds and the narrow street, 35mm scale-focused to a couple of meters worked well and I was able to shoot quickly as people passed by, even if I could not myself move quickly.

 

 

CNY Snack Hawkers

CNY Snack Hawkers

Before Chinese New Year arrives and the street shuts down for the holiday, I really want to go back with some Tri-X. If anyone else out there is up for some street photography, let me know. :)

 

This Way!

This Way!

 

Sign Making

Sign Making

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About the Author

Brian Q. Webb is a multi-medium photography enthusiast from Los Angeles, California but spending most of his time in Taipei, Taiwan. He is especially interested in street photography as well as large format and pinhole photography. Professionally, he practices traditional and lifestyle portraiture and occasionally acts as an agent for American local newspapers wanting event coverage in Taipei. He was also on the staff of deviantArt and is co-founder of PhotoMalaysia, the largest photography community in that country.