Last night I bought a new Camera.

I have been yearning for a camera with more manual control so I can have a bit more fun creatively. My little Canon Ixy is great, and I can take it everywhere but I do miss taking time to compose photographs. I do still have my venerable Olympus OM10 SLR from the 1970s, and I would continue using it, were it not for the hassle and price of film processing. I looked at quite a lot of digital SLRs, but they were both huge and I always had the feeling that the technology was much smarter than me. I wanted something compact and with proper manual controls – so I opted for a second-hand Panasonic Lumix LC1. You can read about it here, should you be so inclined.

Incidentally, the photo below is taken with the web-cam built into my new MacBook. I kind of overlooked this gimmick, but it has been really great. I had a fantastic full screen video chat with Dad last night, and the software Photo Booth is hilarious fun and great for taking ad-hoc photos on the fly.

Anyway, I had a nice walk through Taipei today. The weather is just perfect at the moment. Cool and breezy, lowish humidity and clear skies. The folks back home will hate to hear me writing this but we are still walking around in t-shirts. Indeed, the first time I wore a thin jacket was this week. This will change in the next few weeks as Autumn and Winter catches up with us.

On the way I enjoyed taking plenty of photos and I am looking forward to playing with it more. The manual focus is not all it could be, but it has been lovely to really have full control over aperture and exposure.

In my room last night playing with the exposure

Walking past the Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation today … I saw this rather charming sign … not to self: visit the Taiwan Beer Bar …

I love coming across old Japanese colonial buildings. It is an architectural heritage that Taiwan more or less ignores, even as the country scrabbles to find and define its national identity. I have this hope that one day these dwellings will become as desirable as a loft in the Docklands of London, but I think there is some way to go yet.

Sticker near Main Station … the mood has changed in the last few weeks as people seem to have lost their interest in trying to depose Chen.

On my way to Ximen

Sushi Express has turned into a safety net for me … and I love the way I never eat too much. Just pay for each mouth full

Local old lads discussing gambling

And some feet further along the same street