My window to the invisibles
Lin Yen Ting
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 2000, F4, 1/60 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 800, F3.2, 6 s
Blood pools on the ground, dim color chandeliers, and the shouts one after another compose my impression of traditional markets at an early age. Market is a combination of all my imaginations of fear when I was young, not only the visible bloody images (livestock meat with blood in the stalls) but also, those invisible to the naked eye--the ways of interaction between people who are here for sales and purchases. To put it another way, a fear of communication. For these reasons, I have always felt alienated from the market. If there was no special reason, I would not choose to stay particularly long in the market. However, this impression changed dramatically as I turned into my 30s and became a photojournalist. Now, I am fascinated by the diversity in the market.
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1250, F2.2, 1/60 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 2000, F1.4, 1/100 s
The scope of this project includes two large markets in downtown Taipei and several regional markets. The First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market, and Binjiang Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market provide almost all food sources in the entire Greater Taipei area, from fresh fruit and vegetable leaves, livestock and meat products from all over Taiwan, and fish caught from seas far and near seas. Whether it is high-end restaurants or night-time restaurants, or the fast food restaurants in the alleys, all have food sources from here. The market opens every morning at three o'clock: trucks from all over Taiwan enter to unload, and then the auction begins. While most of the people are still in their dreams, this place is already full of vitality hours before the sun rises.
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1250, F2.2, 1/80 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1600, F2.8, 1/200 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1600, F2.5, 1/200 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1600, F1.6, 1/200 s
Taiwan's regional market is different from other countries in that the diversity of market stalls is quite high. Next to the pork vendor, you can see a large number of wholesale clothes vendors, fortune-telling booths, and even some household utensils vendors. This feature seems complicated, but it is also like a fully functional assembly car, gathering everyday items here. During election periods, the market is a place where majority parties and candidates compete, as if whoever controls the market can grasp the public opinion of the place.
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp,
ISO 1600, F7.1, 1/160 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp,
ISO 1600, F2.2, 1/200 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp,
ISO 1600, F3.5, 1/160 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp,
ISO 1600, F3.5, 1/200 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp,
ISO 200, F4.5, 1/125 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp,
ISO 1600, F1.4, 1/50 s
35mm is the focal length I use most often for shooting. In Taiwan, due to field restrictions, the streets of the market are usually crowded. Compared with standard lenses, a 35mm focal length lens can include more of the surrounding environment in a frame. Whether shooting on the news scene or on the street, I can achieve the ideal composition at a moderate distance.
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 200, F2.5, 1/125 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 100, F1.4, 1/40 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1250, F1.4, 1/200 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 800, F2, 1/50 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 1250, F2.5, 1/200 s
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, SIGMA fp, ISO 200, F7.1, 1/125 s
When I used DSLR in the past, SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art lens oftentimes sat on my camera. I had a good experience with this lens no matter whether I shot on the street or indoors for portraits.
This time with a mirrorless camera, in the overall use of 35mm F1.4 DG DN | Art, I feel that this lens' focusing speed is fast, and the sharp image quality can still be maintained when the aperture is large. The image quality is quite impressive when the light source is low at night. It is especially useful when the ISO is not required to be pulled too high, and the speed can also be controlled in an ideal state. Personally, I have always liked the color of the Art series lens, which is quite close to the vision of the human eye.
Locations
The First Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market（第一果菜批發市場）
Taipei Fish Wholesale Market（臺北市魚類批發市場）
Binjiang Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market（濱江果菜市場）
Shuanglian Market（雙連市場）
Taipei Flowers Auction Co., LTD.（台北花市）
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