Skies of Bitan 碧潭的天空
Tri Geek Tom | 100 Strangers / 003
On day two of the Chinese New Year holiday I went out wandering to look for some people to photograph and stopped by a friend's beef noodle restaurant. As we chatted I noticed someone in a familiar style of dress walk briskly past. It was the definitive "tri geek" look, which features lots of expensive lycra, running shoes, advanced computerized heart rate monitor and/or GPS watch, sunglasses, and a FuelBelt for carrying water. The particular red cap this fellow was wearing was emblazoned with the letters "DWD", the name of a rapidly-growing local triathlon club known for its sense of fun and cohesiveness ("DWD" sounds like an English acronym, but actually stands for the cheeky self-deprecating phrase 對不著 in the local Taiwanese dialect = "can't keep up").
I stepped out towards the figure and said, "Hey, DWD!" He turned to me, surprised to see a foreigner speaking Mandarin - not to mention one that recognized his club. We chatted for a few moments about the club and his race schedule for 2013, and naturally I had to ask him for a portrait. I've been out of triathlon just long enough so that few of the hundreds of people that have come into the sport in recent years know me as an athlete or the former Taiwan national triathlon team coach; instead they recognize me as a photographer at the races - something I find kind of refreshing.
His name is Tom Chang, and he had run 21 km. from the north part of town to my area, and was about to go on to visit his grandmother another few K's away. Mad props to him for visiting Grandma and getting in all that training during the holiday!
Tom is #3 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com
Tri Geek Tom | 100 Strangers / 003
On day two of the Chinese New Year holiday I went out wandering to look for some people to photograph and stopped by a friend's beef noodle restaurant. As we chatted I noticed someone in a familiar style of dress walk briskly past. It was the definitive "tri geek" look, which features lots of expensive lycra, running shoes, advanced computerized heart rate monitor and/or GPS watch, sunglasses, and a FuelBelt for carrying water. The particular red cap this fellow was wearing was emblazoned with the letters "DWD", the name of a rapidly-growing local triathlon club known for its sense of fun and cohesiveness ("DWD" sounds like an English acronym, but actually stands for the cheeky self-deprecating phrase 對不著 in the local Taiwanese dialect = "can't keep up").
I stepped out towards the figure and said, "Hey, DWD!" He turned to me, surprised to see a foreigner speaking Mandarin - not to mention one that recognized his club. We chatted for a few moments about the club and his race schedule for 2013, and naturally I had to ask him for a portrait. I've been out of triathlon just long enough so that few of the hundreds of people that have come into the sport in recent years know me as an athlete or the former Taiwan national triathlon team coach; instead they recognize me as a photographer at the races - something I find kind of refreshing.
His name is Tom Chang, and he had run 21 km. from the north part of town to my area, and was about to go on to visit his grandmother another few K's away. Mad props to him for visiting Grandma and getting in all that training during the holiday!
Tom is #3 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at www.100Strangers.com