The pulse of Taipei: How nature photographer Alex Kydd fell in love with Taiwan’s bustling capital
You’ll often find Alex Kydd underwater.
It’s his playground. A second home and a place of wonder and beauty that he explores and captures as one of Australia’s finest nature photographers.
Kydd’s aquatic oeuvre is cinematic in its presentation, moving through the colours and species and awe that lies below — swimming with humpback calves in Tonga, the aquatic enchantment and patient reefs of Maldivian waters or Raja Ampat, following spotted eagle rays off Australia’s Heron Island.
Taipei, quite obviously, is not a gentle, slow moving watery wonderland. The Taiwanese capital — increasingly a city of attraction for Australian tourists seeking something new — talks fast and moves faster.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.It’s here that Kydd recently found himself — chasing scooters through night markets and listening to the sounds of a city that hums; capturing locals as they move through a given day — laughing, jostling, bargaining, living.
“It was a great time, the city’s so vibrant and alive and it’s also a bit underrated,” Kydd tells ROAM via a cackling and at times broken phone line — he’s on the road, again remote, again exploring.
“A lot of what I do is in nature but then I’m always travelling and cities come into those travels. For me having the camera forces you, in ways, to get out and explore a bit further.”
In this exclusive visual exploration of Taipei for ROAM, Kydd works across shadow and movement and light and people — from alleyways to markets to moments otherwise passed by.
“There was a lot of colour to the city and I loved the night markets for the food and the smells and the sights. We didn’t really have any trouble making ourselves understood. We got out Google Translate sometimes, but I like it when the menus aren’t in English and things aren’t convenient. It adds to the sense of adventure.”
Authentic is another word Kydd throws about in relation to his time in Taipei.
“It’s not a mainstream tourist hotspot, like Tokyo or even Seoul. It means fewer Western tourists and a bit more of a local vibe. And those locals — so friendly and helpful and welcoming.”
ROAM’s Rapid Taipei City Guide
FOOD
TAKEFIVE Red Queen Bistro The Public House Peacewave
BARS
Weekend Chicken Club & Bar Double Check Asylum Xiaomo Liquor Store Placebo Taipei Mikkeller Bar Taipei Tickle My Fantasy
COFFEE
Hima Cafe D23 Coffee Roasters Ura.219 Sand Coffee Fourninetine Bakery
SEE & DO
Dopeness Art Lab
Taipei Fine Arts Museum
Taipei EXPO Park
Dadaocheng Wharf (Dihua Street)
Kydd adds: “We did a daytrip out to Teapot Mountain, hiking up this beautiful mountain by the coast in the afternoon. It’s got temples at the top. There was no one really around and we were back in Taipei that evening.”
