First sunrise of 2004 from 3.95km above sea level ...

[Avatar]

Spent my last few days of the year 2003 trekking and mountaineering in the Central Mountain Range of Taiwan with my wife and a couple of friends whom are also avid adventurers. Thanks to the pleasant weather condition, we managed to reach our summit campsite as planned, 3016 meters above sea level, in the evening of New Year's eve and in time to welcome the first sunrise of the year 2004 ...

When dusk approaches ...

The sun set for the last time in 2003 moments after we reached our summit campsite

The First Sunrise

The first sunrise over Yushan's tallest peak, 3952 meters above sea level and the tallest peak in North-Eastern Asia.

The sea in the mountains

A sea of clouds surrounding the southern approach to the peak. Sea of clouds in this region are common sights but smooth pastel-like ones like the above don't come by everyday

Tree, tree and more trees

We trekked through temperate forests such as the one shown above for the past few days

Racing with time

Taken at around 1100hr before the storm clouds to the left rushes across the horizon casting a brief downpour over our decending route. We decided to take an alternate route, bypassing the now slippery and dangerous path.

Hailing from Nantou's 4th ranger station lodge, here's yours truly signing off! Happy New Year everyone!


Avatar @ Nantou county, Taiwan

 

[waisj]

:bigeyes: :bigeyes:

wow really good pics there :thumbsup:

Personally like the first picture, the gradient tone of the sky ranging from orange to blue is superb and smooth

 

[isis]

wow!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I like the 1st pic most, tho the rest are really nice too!

 

[lhjz]

very nice composition and colours :thumbsup:

 

[tmc17479]

fantastic pics. much be a great sight

 

[Falcon]

Fantastic sunset and sunrise shots. In addition, I like the forest shot as well. Nicely composed.

 

[KNIGHT ONG]

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Kei]

lovely! :thumbsup:

 

[megaweb]

excellent shots

 

[Jer76]

Smooth and wonderful colours :thumbsup: Last pic polarizer used?

 

[behyx]

excellent!

 

[espn]

I'd want to see more hope there's more to come.

 

[Avatar]

Thank you all for thy kind comment, I hope I am able to convey the majestic beauty of this locale properly with my work.

I just got back to my place in Hsinchu, a week since I left for this trip. I was really a sight to behold, the thin air up in the mountain slowed our progress but it did not dampen our aspiration to move on.

The beauty of Mother Nature is truly something we should all treasure. I am just glad that this part of Nature is still very much well protected despite the incursion of mankind and the destruction done to it since the 921 earthquake.

More to come as soon as I get my things (and work schedules) organised.

To Jer76: No polariser used in this picture, I stopped down a little bit to retain more contrast and shadow details, that's all

 

[chngpe01]

Great series, esp the 1st 3 shots. These are my dream shots. Well done, when are coming back? Hope to see more great shots.

Cheers

 

[nuts]

I like the 2nd & 4th pics. The First Sunrise was particular well captured to give the star effect as well as the allowing a shaft of light to illuminate the lower left. :thumbsup:

You & your friends are on your own? Do you need permits for trekking & camping? Thanks for any info!

regards
..NuTs..

 

[Crysania]

I really love the trees... the shots are really nice!

 

[MasterKnight]

Good shots! :thumbsup:

These shots will be memorable for years to come and the feeling of sharing this spectacle with close friends and your wife. Cool!

 

[tmc17479]

Shucks man, I want to go trekking at Tai Ru Ge National Park some day.

 

[Avatar]

Thank you all the kind input and comments everyone

chngpe01: I should be back by mid-Jan, been stuck with lots of work of late. Couldn't wait to relate to ya what kind of avian species I encountered in the mountain ranges.

nuts: You don't need a permit to do so but it is highly advisable to register yourself with the local ranger station. Also, make sure you know what is your route and that it is in a charted region, there are quite a many uncharted regions in the Central Mt Rng, some of which are home to the native black bears and other predators.

tmc17479: Tai Lu Ge you mean? I will advise you take the more majestic and diverse route from Tai Dong into the Central Mt Rng or the one I took from Nantou. Tai Lu Ge National Park, though is beautiful as a whole is not as safe as before since the 921 earthquake some years ago so unless you are an experienced trekker/mountaineer, I will advise against doing it. Just my 2 cents

 

[wkcheah]

hi Avatar,

Nice shots, but as always, to improve ourselves, I always strive to find out how else to improve or whether there are rooms to improve on the pictures. Based on the composition, would you consider the vast sky area too much? Would it be better to crop out the excess sky and get more of the mountains?

Just for sharing purpose, I learnt from a class recently of taking the night skies:
(1) Firstly, what our eyes sees and what the film captures over a long exposure are different. For example, just before the sunrise, say at about 4 ~ 5 am in the morning, you can also get pretty good shots by setting up a long (Bulb) exposure, e.g. 30 to 45 minutes, at f/8 or smaller. Because of the long exposure, even a dark sky will turn up purplish, orangy, or reddish color. (ref: some technical thingy about reciprocal failure).
(2) Secondly, the night sky (if not cloudy), especially on the mountains, can be one great way to get a good trace of stars. If you use a fisheye or wide-angle, point your angle on to the North or South, and open a long exposure, you will get a result that shows you the movement of the stars at an angle. It can be an interesting and artistic showpiece.

Have fun.

-WK