We also took some other shots for both our portfolios. I won’t talk about them now, but I will definitely be showing you once they are ready. Not only are Paul and Shalan talented, but they are great people! We plan to work, and continue to work together in the future.

Once again, if you are looking for some great shots, whether it’s for professional uses (such as a headshot for acting, some modeling pictures) or just some nice shots of yourself for friends and family, make sure you check out their website at www.cprophoto.com!

Going back to the main topic, I spent most of last weekend working on a short film called “Under the Influence”. We got all the footage we needed in those two days, being a short and having shot until almost sunset. It was a great experience! The project was being led by Jamal Hashemi, who I’ve worked with before and met through Pascal Aka (who was part of the crew). Nawid Orokzai, from Toronto, also played a big part in the production, also having a lead as my friend in the film, as well as taking part of the camera work with Pascal. Nawid will also be editing the film. His brother and friend, who also came from Toronto, helped out on set and had small roles in the film.

I had a great time while having the chance to meet, work with and befriend some great people! I hope to keep in touch and work with them again.

Finally, just yesterday I had a special extra role as a waiter in a locally shot TV series called Family Biz, produced by Muse Entertainment. Didn’t have to do much in terms of acting in this one, but it was fun regardless.

Actually, I don’t usually mention these roles, but I’ve done a lot of un-credited work with the same production company in the past. This includes another silent role as, how to put this, let’s say a “casual hookup guy” of one of the lead’s in a Movie of the Week called The Watch. In this one, while the two female leads were talking in the living room (Cassie and Andrea played by Clea DuVall from “Heroes”, and Elizabeth Whitmere), I happen to come up the stairs wearing only boxers. They notice, and start talking about me as I grab some orange juice from the fridge. We then make eye contact, I wave with a smirk on my face, and head back downstairs. If you happen to get that scene recorded for me, I’d love to see it!

Some of the shots have already been worked on and I’m more than willing to share a preview of one, as seen on the left. Paul and Shalan actually offer professional photographic services which you can learn more about on their website www.cprophoto.com. Make sure you check it out!

To finish, as I’ve implied earlier, Paul, Shalan and I worked together before, but not in photography specifically. It was actually on a short film which Paul Crivellari wrote and directed himself, called “Nothing Left to Say”. I’m happy to say that after a long (but understandable) wait, it’s nearing completion. I’ve seen an early cut of it and it looks great!

On the way back to the apartment, I was finally able to get a good picture of this stray dog I named Wolfy. In Taipei, stray dogs aren’t uncommon. There was one I kept seeing, and kind of looked like a white wolf, hence the name Wolfy. Anyway, you can see him on the left. Unlike most people, I’ve tried to approach him a few times but he was scared. Actually, it seemed like most strays there are as well.

On a higher note, later that day we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things and was offered some tea as we were about to head back home. We tried it and after the man serving it to us saw our positive reactions, he seated us at his stand and started brewing more and more tea, as we all just talked. Another foreign guy joined Marko and I, followed by a local who seemed to also work for the place (maybe an owner or supervisor). There was no pressure to buy anything and as we drank and talked but I would notice some things I wanted to take back home. The name of the man who was serving the tea was Aber.

Once, during my trip, I tried this tea which had this interesting aftertaste, which you could feel in the neck area, beside your jawbone. I wanted to share this unique experience with family and friends back home, so I was looking for that particular kind of tea. Aber kept sampling us more and more teas, and at one point as he was offering yet another kind, and I was trying to say that it was too much. I didn’t want him to use up so much of his tea! He said something along the lines of “you’re not a customer, but a friend”.. what a great display of hospitality.

I ended up buying the kind of tea I wanted, some “accessories” if you will, and Aber even gave me a bag of another tea that he noticed I liked, while putting his finger over his mouth in a “shhh” manner. As we left, I could see that he was sad to see me leave. We were actually seated with them for over 2 hours, drinking tea together, and having great conversations! All this with no charge for the tea they served, Aber said it’s just in their culture! They gave me their business cards and said that if I came back to Taiwan, I’d be welcome, anytime, to come and sit down for tea. What great people!

On my last full day in Taiwan, I dropped by the PT Models agency to finalize everything, drop off and pick up some last things. They were asking me to take off my hat because noticed something about my hair. I eventually did, and they noticed my shaved head. I couldn’t cut my hair while I was working, so after my last job I just grabbed my trimmer and did it myself. They actually all liked it, and were impressed with the job I did. Even Justine, the manager, liked it. I could tell because when I asked her if I would have worked well with the shaved head, she hesitated and said she couldn’t really say since that they never had someone with that style.When I was all done, I said my goodbyes to everyone. I don’t think anyone was as sad to see me leave as Justine. They told me that I had to come back. It was such an amazing experience for me, so I hope I have the opportunity to! Justine walked me to the elevator and was the last to see me, as she waved while the doors closed. I will miss them!

Finally, the next morning, with no sleep from the previous night since I spent a big part of it packing and preparing for my trip home, I took a cab to the airport. The driver was actually someone who transported the models from the agency on a regular basis, so I had spoken with him a few times before. I already knew he was a nice guy but that was even more apparent after the drive. We had great conversations and he gave me his card, with his email and asked me to keep in touch. He told me that if I come back, he would invite to dinner with his family! After I was all set, he saluted me one more time as he drove off.

Overall, my experience in Taiwan has been great. It will forever stay with me. I honestly don’t have many bad memories. If I could change something it would be the living conditions, especially because of one particular roommate (again, not Marko, but the other one which I’ve kept anonymous). I hope to one day return to this great country, and I wish its people the best with their newly elect President!

It was pretty simple and the posing was particular to what I was wearing. It was a good time and we were able to finish early. Apparently these costumes are sold all over the world, which means you might be able to catch my picture on the packaging of these costumes in North America. Hmm.. not sure how I feel about that… hahaha!

I eventually got on another bus, which was driving down that same street and showed the address to the driver. He nodded and drove as he looked around.. but he was confused. He was even asking passengers inside, and ones getting on board. This was a bad sign. He then let me off, back on the same street, and wouldn’t accept payment. Well, since there was a police station close by, I thought what better place to get directions. I made the right choice. The officer at the desk consulted his colleagues and finally told me that that lane number didn’t exist. He then noticed phone numbers on my voucher, called my agent and got the right address. They didn’t seem too busy at that time and really made an effort to help me out!

After that I couldn’t believe what they were doing.. because it looked like he was getting another officer to drive me there! Well that’s exactly what happened. The other officer not only drove me to the location, but escorted me inside, and helped me find the studio. Wow, they did all this with nothing to gain.. helping a foreigner (and a male one.. point being I wasn’t a good looking girl or anything like that) by driving him and walking him to his destination. They really went above and beyond. I felt like some sort of VIP.. and was smiling as I wondered what the guys at the studio thought when they noticed my “police escort”.

Since I had been some fifteen minutes late, they right away sent me to get prepped and changed. Another model was working on the set, so when I got started we alternated and had a few shots together. The clothes was by Kinloch Anderson from Scotland and was composed mostly of business casual wear. At lunch the other guy was finished but I continued after, doing more shots and ending with traditional Scottish attire (as seen in the picture on the right). Everyone was so nice and friendly while Vincent the photographer was great as well as very easy to work with. He gave me his card and, since I’m leaving Taiwan soon, asked me to contact him when/if I come back. The whole thing actually went by pretty quickly. I then bussed back with no problems, but on the contrary, with the same great hospitality and kindness of the Taiwan people. Yep.. I will definitely miss this country.

Concerning work, the catalogue was for Liukoo, a local Taiwan clothing label. I worked with one of the new, recently flown in female models from PT, Lindsay. For most of the shoot, it was one after the other. While one of us was shooting, the other was changing. Some we had some together, usually with golfing equipment. The half day job went by pretty quickly and we were offered lunch at the end. Another good photoshoot spent working with some great people!

As I got back to the apartment, Marko had already begun cleaning our ex roommate’s aftermath. I joined in and then the cleaning lady got in and took care of the rest. It was quite the job but now, everything’s finally clean and organized. I’m excited about my last days here, finally living in comfort and ease.

They put a lot of work into my hair because it had to look like I was underwater. The whole concept behind the shoot was (as you can see in the picture above) trying to thread a needle underwater, using the goggles, and with a lot of effort. The reason why the goggles are off in that shot is because the photographer wanted to get a clear picture of my eyes to then superimpose into the pictures with the spectacles. That’s because you barely see my eyes behind the goggles.. and a lot of emotion comes from the eyes.

Then other shots were taken with different props as well as simpler shots for other purposes. Before I knew it, we were done, not to mention early. The whole thing only took about 3 hours, including all prep time. It was bittersweet because I was really having a good time and we were all getting along and working well as a team. It was almost like we had this chemistry going on. I think they would agree, because they happily gave me the main pair of goggles I used, as well as a swimming cap and this unique pair of Swimming Webs (cut off gloves with webbing between the fingers). They even gave me a second pair of goggles when I mentioned that I quite often went swimming in a nearby indoor pool with my roommate Marko. I was also asked when I was leaving and if I was coming back to Taiwan. Well.. days like these make me want to!

In the end, the female model that was about to start getting photographed agreed to take a group picture for me, with everyone involved with the shoot (myself included). I was grateful to people at Sable as well as the photographer and his team for a great shoot along with their gifts, and thanked them one more time as I said goodbye.

As I mentioned when I talked about my job last Sunday, the photographer wanted to work with me again. Well, I had a half day job with him Tuesday, and two half day jobs Wednesday!

Tuesday’s job was for Grouse Collection. I got picked up nearby the apartment/agency and got to the location in the afternoon. We shot outdoors which I loved because it was a nice sunny day. However, the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. I didn’t say anything at first but they noticed I was cold due to the raising hairs on my arms. To make it worse I was changing outside in public, shirt and pants. Doesn’t really bother me though, it’s just the cold that gets to me.

I was glad when we finished, because we went for dinner. Had some good beef noodle soup. It was so much bigger and better than what I’ve had in Canada.. not to mention cheaper. Afterwards, Marc had to drive his assistant home so he could shower. So he took me to a nearby cafe and insisted on buying me cake and tea. After that, they drove me back home. I was grateful to Marc for everything, including the fact that he lent me his sweater for the evening!

Wednesday was a full day, with two half day jobs. Unfortunately, I barely got any sleep (maybe 2 hours) the previous night because of a certain roommate which I will not name (not Marko, he’s great). Regardless, I had a great morning. I took a cab to where I was supposed to meet with the clients and found out I was early. My agent told me 6:00am when I really had to be there at 6:30am. However, there was a man there, who despite not speaking English, explained that the place wasn’t open. He offered me his jacket (I showed up with a short sleeve t-shirt but had an extra shirt in my bag), even opened his car door, adjusted the seat so I could sit and wait. I was so grateful but declined his offers, explaining I wasn’t cold, that I came from Canada and I would just wait around.

Later the client got there, and packed up all of what they needed and together we all drove to the shooting location. There, Marc and his assistant were waiting and we started shooting almost right away. This morning’s job was for Hardy Aimes, while the shooting location started as the side of the road, with these nice restaurants nearby. We shot in other areas nearby, around these nice buildings near the beach. The wind really picked up and they offered me a jacket in between some of the pictures. However, there wasn’t much break time because, as usual, there was a lot of clothes to go through and once again I was changing outside. Then we headed to beach itself and took more shots there. I enjoyed it despite the cold (and the cold water which my feet were in for a few shots). I mean back home in Canada, it’s really cold and they’re having so much snow. So I consider myself lucky. I’ll take changing outside on a day comparable to a windy Canadian fall over living in the winter they’re having. After we were done with those shots, we drove to another location. It was like a park and harbour with boats docked, restaurants, etc. We wrapped up the shoot there and then went for some food. I then got a ride with Marc to his studio, where we would start the other job.

I had a bit of a break and so I just lied down on a couch. I didn’t really have the chance to fall asleep when I was called to start shooting. The clothing company was Sina Cova and some from N,Centro (yes the name has a comma in it). By the way if you’ve never heard of these, and actually many of the clothes I’ve done photoshoots for, don’t worry, I hadn’t either. So we started off with basic shots with a big bunch of the clothes, with only a white backdrop. And once again, there was a of clothes to get through. These were all catalogue jobs, like most of the work in Taiwan. Anyway, Marko (the good roommate) made a short appearance as they hired him to do some shots for a couple of hours.

He did the same simple shots as I did, then we used another part of the studio with some different backgrounds and props as we posed for some shots together. We did a few of those and then Marko left. I continued to shoot with more clothes, then finished with more of those simple shots. When I say simple, basically we took two shots, changed shirt (and sometime pants), and continued with racks full of clothes. When we were done, I thanked Marc once again and went home via walking and bus.

Funny enough, the bridge of my nose was red from all the changes over the past few days. But I’m still having a good time doing all this, getting a lot of experience and learning so much. That night I fell asleep in no time. And now, I’ve just got news that I’ve got a confirmed job on Saturday. More on that after the shoot!

I had to do a lot of changes, probably more than any other job despite it being a half day. When I felt that it went on for longer than expected, I was right. We went overtime.. and this is the first time it happened since I started working here in Taiwan. Regardless, I made the best out of it and worked with a good photographer who expressed interest in working again before my return to Canada.