Selective Preference of the 5th Cyber-Island Photography Contest
Photographer: Guo-Lin Zhuang
Date and place photos were taken: 2009; Wuchieh Township, Yilan County

Casting is a term in the traditional foundry work. In Taiwan, this kind of factory has become a sunset industry. On the one hand, the metal craft highly values experiences and skills; on the other, it is the kind of work that young people despise. The working environment can only be described as dreadful and backbreaking, especially in the process of casting when the temperature is 1,000℃ high, the odor is irritating, and the smoke is eye-stinging. The environment is highly dangerous; it is not something that many people can endure. However, this kind of factories is.....

Selective Preference of the 5th Cyber-Island Photography Contest
Photographer: Yao-Xiong Huang
Date and place photos were taken: 2010; A newly constructed temple at Hongmao Harbor, Kaohsiung City

Temples in Taiwan are centers of religion and social activities for the neighborhood inhabitants. A small group of people have always quietly passed on the beauties of temple arts and crafts. These are the temple artisans. All the basic architecture, wood carving, color painting, decal pasting, cut-and-paste sculpture, clay works, koji sculpture, stone crafts, and face painting.....

Selective Preference of the 5th Cyber-Island Photography Contest
Photographer: Wen-Fa Chen
Date and place photos were taken: 2009; Xindian, Taipei County

Chou Meng-tieh, the poet, is the subject of my photographic work in 2009. He devoted all his life into the writing of poems. Being more than 90 years old and suffering from ailments lately, he still persists in writing which engraves “poet” as his longest occupation.

Chou Meng-tieh‘s profile: He studied at Normal College in Yuan-Xi Village, Henan Province. He joined the China Youth Corps in 1947 and, after retiring from the army, worked as a store clerk, elementary school teacher, tomb keeper, and book stall owner. In 1980, he was forced to close his book stall due to gastric ulcer surgery. He was a member in the “Blue Star Poetry Association.” His poems reflect.....

Selective Preference of the 5th Cyber-Island Photography Contest
Photographer: Xiao-Min Hong
Date and place photos were taken: 2010; Off the eastern coast of Taiwan

“Sea-men” is the kind of “riders to the sea” who I adore the most.

In summer, boiling sun accompanies sea-men; in winter, it’s cold, biting wind. The environment of the vast ocean has changed in the past twenty or thirty years, but the fishing method stays the same as that in the Japanese colonial period. To live off the sea, a sea-man requires not only persevering endurance, sharp eyesight, and physical prowess but also years of fishing experience. He has to.....

Selective Preference of the 5th Cyber-Island Photography Contest
Photographer: Sheng-Zhang Li
Date and place photos were taken: 2006; Hualien County

Driving along the Northern Coast highway from Danshuei to Shimen, one will see scenery of farms and fields which one will never imagine existed in the greater Taipei area. Terraced fields and beautiful landscape accompany farmers working hard under the blazing sun. Shimen Township faces the ocean and lies in front of the mountains, with little flatland in-between. Generations of farmers cultivated hills.....