While randomly wandering the Four Beasts Mountain trails in Taipei, I discovered 黃蟬園 (Golden Trumpet Garden) – a hidden sanctuary built over 40 years by retired Professor Yi Xianshi using salvaged materials. This 6×6 pinhole photography captures the garden’s dreamlike atmosphere, where handcrafted structures nestle among the vegetation. The slow exposure times and soft focus of pinhole technique mirror the timeless, contemplative quality of this mountain refuge, which continues to serve as a rest stop for hikers passing through.

This series, Taipei Dreams: Purple Light and Silver Shadows, focuses on the small details that locals might overlook—those everyday elements that fade into the rhythm of daily life. Using LomoChrome Purple 100-400 and Potsdam 120 black and white film with a pinhole camera allowed me to freeze time and absorb these details in their whole glory, revealing the city through a dreamlike lens where the familiar becomes extraordinary.