On a sunny autumn day in southern Taiwan, these wisps of clouds appeared in the deep blue skies. They are left open to imagination… Is that a fish? Or a chicken? Or perhaps you see one of those cartoonish “thinking clouds”? Natural fun for everyone.

I was flying from Toronto to Tokyo in February 2010. We flew over eastern Russia and probably Siberia. This is what we saw outside the plane’s window. A vast mountainous area covered by snow and ice. The mountains seemed endless, and probably no one has set foot on these harsh and terrifying terrain. Yet it looked so pristine and beautiful, definitely one of the most spectacular aerial views in the world. Too bad the plane’s windows were dirty which contaminated the image…

This is a picture taken at Vienna’s Stadtpark, or “city park.” It’s a park with large green spaces dotted with busts of classical composers. On a stroll through the park on a summer morning, I found this random guy relaxing on the green lawn and took this shot. It gives a sense of peace and calm within this busy city of about 2 million people.

Having just received a new camera, I went out around Taipei Main Station and did some test shots. This photo was taken just outside the station. Something about this photo felt really good, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. Perhaps it’s the grand scale that is captured in one shot? Or the surprising colours that it revealed about the night? In any case, it certainly caught my eyes and is my favourite during this early life of my camera.

This photo was taking at the University of Western Ontario in the fall of 2004. Missed the fall colours, but the leafless trees along with the bright blue skies are nice.

I’ve been to the Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls many times. Each time I go, I get very frustrated about photographing the butterflies, primarily because most of the times they were flying. I went again with my family in June 2008, and this time I photographed so many butterflies while they were resting. Lots of awesome pictures from that collection, and this green butterfly is one of them. Actually, I don’t know why I picked this one over others, but maybe I’ll include other butterflies later.

In summer of 2002, my mom and I made a trip to New Zealand in what turned out to be one of the most memorable trips ever. At the town of Dunedin in the South Island, we went to this park by the ocean. The surrounding views were beautiful, but the birds flying around also caught my eyes. Somehow I got this picture in by following a flying bird around, which turned out surprisingly well. This was in the days of the traditional film camera, so I didn’t have the luxury to do this many times…which makes it even more amazing that this photo could be taken with just one or two trials.

I believe this is the building for the College of Agriculture in the University of Saskatchewan. It is one of the most important field of study at the university, so they have this huge modern building for it. The outer layer is completely in glass, so while it has a nice clean look and gives great reflections, it also wastes a lot of heat energy, apparently, especially during the cold winters of Saskatoon.

It was June of 2008, a rare occasion where my entire family was together in Waterloo, all for the sake of my PhD graduation. On one of those days, we made a trip north and somehow ended up in the Elora Quarry Conservation Area. It was an absolutely gorgeous place, with blue-greenish waters surrounded by a circle of limestones with trees on top. But among the photos taken that day, it was this photo of my parents that caught my eyes. This was obviously a candid photo, taken before they were ready. The way my mom awkwardly (or lovingly) stared at my dad was so hilarious, and to do it in front of such a beautiful background makes for an awesome picture.

“Land of the Living Skies.” That’s the slogan for the province of Saskatchewan. It’s printed proudly in every Saskatchewan license plate. Appropriately illustrating the slogan is this photo that I took from one such car during my visit to Saskatoon in April 2007. The Simpsons-esque clouds playfully fill the deep blue sky. It was an instant favourite of mine, and has been my msn display picture ever since.