The monkeys have been at this for a long time as they are all relatively tame and non aggressive. I even saw several of them eat straight out of peoples’ hands and cross the street casually in front of passing cars. Luckily for me, the monkeys are not camera shy at all.

As we were watching the monkeys, a local Chinese man told me that wild pigs would probably come down from the jungle within the next 30 minutes. Just 1 minute later, about 10 wild pigs appeared as if on cue. This event caused a flurry of excitement, as lookers on showered them with apples and grain and people jostled with each other to get a photo of the pigs on their camera phones.

Monkeys descend from the Jungle outside of Kuala Lampur

Monkeys really do like bananas, it’s not a false stereotype

A young monkey perches in a tree

A mother monkey carries child while eating a rambutan fruit

Mother and Child Monkeys eat Rambutan together

A juvenile monkey on Monkey Hill near Kuala Lampur, Malaysia grasps rambutan in his hand

Monkeys eat rambutan fruit directly from a man’s hand

An adult monkey eats a mango in the middle of the street with little regard for passing traffic

Wild pigs emerge from the jungle on Monkey Hill as onlookers take pictures

A woman attempts to feed wild pigs directly from her hand on Monkey Hill

Pigs are showered by grain thrown by enthusiastic observers

The pigs are more shy than the monkeys, they will not come very close to humans

Kuala Lampur, Malaysia – Monkey Hill from Peter Tsai on Vimeo.

Mosaic artwork at the Imiloa Museum

A hill made of ancient lava flows

A Hawaiian welcome sign with a pineapple

Ala Moana park near Waikiki Beach

Banyyan Tree near Waikiki Beach

A local man rides an ATV up the mountain towards Kona

Not sure what these native plants are

Purple Banana Flowers in Bloom

Mai Tais at the Luau

Hawaiian Waterfalls

Fruits of the Jungle

The Ae Fern – a species unique to Hawaii

Perilous Sea Cliffs in Hawaii on the southern edge of the Big Island

Bronze statue of Duke (the one to popularize surfing) adorned with flower leis

Closeup of a Model Japanese Aircraft Carrier at the Arizona Memorial in Honolulu / Pearl Harbor

Fruit for sale at the Hilo Farmer’s Market – Rambutan, Starfruit, Breadfruit, etc

My Brother swimming up close and personal with a sea turtle

A Pheasant running wild on Hawaii

A Chinese Lantern Plant on the Big Island

A Spanish Cowboy Petroglyph (Rock Carving) – Hawaiians called the cowboys paniolos, which is a transliteration of the word Espanoles

View of the Punch Bowl on Oahu, Hawaii from the sky

Daytime View of Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii

Waiting at the Honolulu Airport Hotel Bus Stop

Tiki Statues at the Place of Refuge – Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau

Hawaiian Tree Ferns Close Up

Shaved Ice at Matsumotos on the North Shore – celebrities like to go here

Oil Spill Art at the USS Arizona Memorial

Park Bench at Ala Moana

Cows Grazing on the Big Island – Most people are surprised to hear there are a lot of cows and a cowboy culture in Hawaii

This Sea Turtle looked like it needed a nap at Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau on the Big Island

Coffee Trees in Kona – Coffee beans are the seeds of the red berries (you can see some on the far left side of the photo)

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory in Hilo

Backlit dead Tree Ferns

Volcanoes National Park – Active Volcano!

No lie, it was hard to take a bad picture in Hawaii. Of course I had my Canon 5dmkII and all of the associated gear in tow to document the experience. Here is the first batch of photos from the trip (and a video!) Be on the lookout for more in the future!

Sulphur – y Fields Forever at Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island

Ferns in the rain forest on the Big Island

Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau (Place Of Refuge) on the Big Island – these were holy sites in the past

Tiki statues at Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau (Place Of Refuge)

Stand up paddle boarders on a black sand beach in Hawaii

Fishing on the pier at Ala Moana near Waikiki

Downtown Hilo Streets

The View of Honolulu and Diamond Head

USS Arizona Memorial shortly after the shootings at Ft Hood

Hawaiian Rainbow

The Royal Hawaiian AKA The Pink Hotel on Waikiki Beach

Eating Fire at a Polynesian Luau

Sea Turtle on the Beach from Peter Tsai on Vimeo.

I recently had some time to look back on photos from that trip and there’s tons of images I want to get out there that didn’t make the first pass. It’s funny how sometimes your best work doesn’t come out until long after the experience, when you have the benefit of hindsight. This post gives a small glimpse of what I saw in Cambodia during my 5 day stay.

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

One of the temples of Angkor Wat – This reminds me of Machu Pichu for some reason

Tourists climb to the top of Bakheng Hill Temple to watch the sunset

Cambodian stone relief

A long tunnel at Angkor Wat

Cambodian Guard Monkey

Cambodian Propaganda – We No Longer Need Weapons

A Cambodian fruit stand at night – selling Longans, mangos, bananas, dragonfruit, etc.

Cambodian Street Vendor

The view from Bakheng Hill Temple close to sunset

Ravana Shaking Mt. Kailasa carving in Banteay Srei

Faces of Kings in Cambodia

Angkor Wat Ruins

On the way from Paris to Madrid, I flew over this little town built around a church. Yep nothing like this in the States! I know that this image has the trendy “fake tilt shift” look to it, but no Photoshop trickery here – the blur is caused by the heat of the jet engine.

Perros Calientes! The Spanish take their translations literally here. If you are ever in Madrid I wouldn’t get these… I think the hot dogs are the best here in the US. Also, Gofres are belgian waffles w/ syrup on them.

The old meets the new in a street scene on the streets of Madrid.

Looking into one of the many courtyards of the Palacio Real, the Royal Palace of Spain.

The exterior of the Palacio Real in Madrid, Spain

The city wall of Toledo protects this old city

Christmas decorations and storefronts illuminate the night in Toledo, Spain.

A street performer dressed up as bull fighter stands perfectly still on the streets of Madrid (in front of a currency exchange).

A family looks through the window of a tapas bar in Madrid, Spain. I didn’t get to eat the calamari there, but the tapas in Madrid were all delicious (with the exception of the raw sardines – yuck!)

Back in February, I was in New York to cover the runway shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion week in New York! It was an awesome trip, had a lot of fun covering the shows and meeting lots of photographers from all over the country, but freezing cold was something I wasn’t used to! After one week of nonstop shooting, long trips on the subway, a few “dirty water hot dogs”, amazing runway shows, open bar in the tent, and lots of celebrity sightings, I came away with some amazing images.

Here’s a taste of what that week was like in a 10 photo essay.

Historic Bryant Park during Winter – This was the last fashion week to be hosted in Bryant Park – It’s moving to the Lincoln Center next season.

Backstage before a big show – Brunette makeup artists work on blonde models 30 minutes before they walk the runway.

Before the show, dramatic lighting sets the mood and security makes sure that everything is under control.

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn talk to the cameras and to the crowd before the start of the Project Runway Season Six Finale.

And the show begins – models strut their stuff down the runway during the Project Runway show.

A model poses at the end of the runway during the Ralph Rucci show at NYC Fall Fashion Week 2009

A very interesting look from Narciso Rodriquez during NYC Fashion Week 2009

Not all of the runways are white, Akiko Agawa put on an amazing show complete with moody lighting and dramatic looking models and makeup.

The crowd applauds at the end of the Rebecca Taylor show at NYC Fashion Week Fall 2009

Tommy Hilfiger waves to the crowd after showing his Fall 2009 collection

I went to Tokyo in 2006 for 8 days… I had not walked so much in my whole life. Our feet were so sore at the end of each day that we had to soak them in hot water for 10 minutes at the end of each day. If I lived there I would be pretty skinny and in shape for sure.

It was a good trip, I got to experience the Tsukiji Fish market, riding in the subway crammed in like sardines, some amazing food, seeing lots of sights, and hanging out with a buddy I had not seen in 5 years!

Here are the photos I managed to capture, hope you enjoy.

A fish monger slides fish scraps around in the early morning at the Tsukiji Fish Market. (stock image available)

Kabukicho in the Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo, Japan (stock image available)

A menacing spider statue (Louise Bourgeois’ Maman) stands outside of Mori Tower at night. (stock image available)

A mosaic made entirely of colored Suntory bottle caps pays tribute to Mozart’s 250th birthday at the Tokyo International Forum (stock image available)

Another shot of the Tokyo International Forum, site of many conventions

A store called Condomania that sells, you guessed it… condoms. Notice the happy cartoon characters on the walls :)

A man relaxes against a mosaic depicting the life of Hachiko, the faithful dog (stock image available)

A giant chef head in the kitchen district of Tokyo called Kappabashi, which literally means Kitchen Town. (stock image available)

People browse the shops leading up to Sensoji Temple. We went to Japan when the cherry blossoms typically come out (stock image available)

Taipei is where both of my parents grew up, and all of these photos are from my March, 2008 trip back to Taiwan. This was my 4th time going back to Taiwan and I had the privilege of going back with both of my parents for the first time.

Taiwan is a very interesting place to me. I have probably a hundred cousins and about 30 aunts and uncles living there, while back home I don’t have much extended family at all. It’s cool to be around so much family even though I don’t know them that well.

The culture is very different in Taiwan – I would say that Taiwan is a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, native Taiwanese cultures, and western influence.

Oh yea…. the food is amazing too (more posts on that later)

If you would like to purchase any of these images for stock, follow the hotlinks below:

Kaohsiung at night

Taiwan 101 (World’s Tallest Skyscraper) Tuned Mass Wind Damper

Speeding through Taipei on a Scooter

Dam outside of Taipei

Taiwan Temple Dragons

Kaohsiung Train Station

Taipei near National Taiwan University

Boats at Yilan

Shilin Night Market Arcade

Peikang at Night – next to Matsu Temple

View from Taipei 101 – Sun-Yat Sen Memorial

View from Taipei 101 – 3 Bridges

Praying at Matsu Temple

Traffic Hour near Taipei Main Station

Want to See More?

In my last post from my trip to Southeast Asia in March 2008, I highlighted portraits of Cambodian people.  This post is a portrait of a city (Hanoi, Vietnam) using transportation as the common thread that connects the photos together.

You can tell how far along a country is in it’s development by what the people are riding around in. Gone are the days of the ubiquitous bicycle all over Asia… as more money flows into Asia, scooters and mopeds are in. In the richer Asian cities, cars have replaced mopeds.

Vietnam is an emerging country but it’s still a little bit behind by western standards, but it’s really moving up in the world. The streets here are full of great opportunities for photography, and it was quite easy to get candid shots, as no one really paid any attention to me.

I was only in Vietnam for a few days, but I really enjoyed my time here.

Traffic moves around a huge roundabout outside of the Hanoi Sofitel

Ho Chi Minh’s Russian made luxury car

People on a rowboat in Halong Bay, an hour outside of Hanoi

Fisherman at work in Halong Bay

A crew member of a tourism boat in Halong Bay

Young men on a smoke break in Hanoi

A man sends a text message on a mobile phone on a street where no cars are allowed

Smoke break and a nap in Hanoi

Stores and vendors along the train tracks

A beer delivery boy in Hanoi

A resourceful man moves large packages on a bicycle

Afternoon nap on a motorcycle

A homemade motorcycle truck

I got to go to Cambodia in March 2008 with my parents. We didn’t stay long but it was a pretty awesome experience.

We stayed in Siem Reap near the Angkor Wat temples for the most part so I guess we didn’t get a great picture of Cambodia, but what we did see was pretty eye opening. The people there definitely don’t have much – it’s a much more simple place and it feels like a different time.

My dad said Cambodia now is a lot like Taiwan when he was growing up – very rural, not a lot of money and life is pretty hard. Still, there’s an energy about the people that was fascinating to capture and it was interesting to see how people can persevere in any circumstances (and Cambodia has been through some terrible times in recent history) and even be happy in spite of a lack of wealth or material things.

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Motorcycle for Four

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Floating Market Banana Vendor

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Family Outing by Boat

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Cambodian Mother and Child

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Child Boat Hand

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Young Boat Pilots

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Playful Boy at Angkor Wat

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Angkor Wat Street Vendor 1

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Angkor Wat Street Vendor  2

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Angkor Wat Street Vendor 3 (Candy Girl)

Siem Reap, Cambodia – Boy with Knife

I went out to LA to cover the runway shows at Mercedes-Benz Fashion week in October 2008. It was my third time in LA, and I had a good time. LA Fashion week is a bit more low key than the other bigger shows in cities like New York and Paris, but it was still cool seeing how fashion is on the West coast.

The weather was great and I got to take in some sights in addition to shows and see some celebrities as well. Some of the bigger names at the show this year were Christian Audigier of Ed Hardy Fame, Lana Fuchs, and Kevan Hall. Some celebrities that made appearances were Lauren Conrad from the Hills, Kim Kardashian , and Holly from The Girls next door.

Check out some of the shots I got from the runway – not a bad way to spend a week.

Breakdancing kids take center stage during the very colorful Ed Hardy runway show

Models show off swimwear looks from the Ed Hardy Line at the end of the show

A teal dress from the Julia Clancey line

All of the girls come out at the end of the Julia Clancey show

Beach Bunny Swimwear

Lana Fuchs Wedding Gown – This dress was a sensation at the show

Models show off the dresses of the Lana Fuchs line

Joseph Domingo shows off a layered dress

October 2008, Lauren Conrad shows off her Spring collection in Los Angeles

Underneath a lighted bridge on the “Love River” on the Kaohsiung Waterfront

The brand new Central Park Station on the Kaohsiung MRT

My family waits for a train on the MRT

View from the former British Consulate

The stairs leading up to the former British Consulate in Kaohsiung at Takao (means hitting the dog – I have no idea why it’s called that)

Mount Rainer from the airplane. We got a pretty good view – flew around a couple of times while we were waiting to land.

A closeup view of Seattle’s skyline. On the left you can see the Safeco stadium and the space needle.

The view from our hotel in Bellevue, WA (about 20 mins away from downtown). You can see the seattle skyline in the distance. Also, you can see lake Washington in front of the skyline too.

View of Bellevue from my hotel window

My hotel room. Microsoft hooked it up.

Museum of Flight – I think this is a 737. They also had Eisenhower’s Air Force One and a Concorde

Museum of Flight main exhibition hall

WWII exhibit – this is P-40 fighter from the Flying Tigers. My dad said he saw some of these planes when he was a little kid

Microsoft Museum in Redmond.

Bboy circle at The War Room – Circle of Fire and about 20 other bboys were there that night.

A piece of the Berlin Wall on Microsoft Campus. This thing is huge – 12 feet tall. Check out the vintage graffiti too!

I just got back from a beautiful week in New York City spent catching up with friends, eating till my heart’s content, and shooting photos.

I took my Canon Digital Rebel and my Canon A540 pocket camera to capture all that NYC has to offer. New York is an architectural and people watching haven. I’ll be posting probably 3 or 4 different entries about NY – this first one focuses on street scenes.

A view of Manhattan from the Brooklyn Bridge at Night

Pedestrians and Cars in front of Toys R’ Us in Times Square

The omnipresent Hot Dog stand greets tourists in Times Square in front of nicer restaurants. Mmmm dirty water dog.

Times Square 42nd St Subway station.

A couple waits to cross the street in Midtown

A view of the City from FDR drive (looking from east to west)

A food truck parked in front of the Parsons school of Design near Union Square

Diddy in the City. The Sean John sign towers over Times Square. This is the view from the roof of 1600 Broadway condos.

Enough talking about Vancouver gere are the pics:

Barges in the English Bay

You see the Burrard bridge entering the city

Beautiful Cherry blossoms

Inside the forest of Stanley Park

Beachside condos with kayakers in the foreground