Documenting the unseen Taiwan from the clouds - Po-lin Chi at TEDxTaipeiChange

During the past 20 years, Po-lin Chi has documented the beauty of Taiwan through his lens in the sky, as well as the change in Taiwan's mountains, forests and streams. With higher altitude and a different perspective comes clarity. While the beauty of the island is captured, the scars upon the land are also vividly seen.

Good afternoon, friends.

I'm glad to be here again

to share something that I've worked on
for the past 20 years.

I'm an aerial photographer,

someone who works above the cloud.

(Laughter) (Applause)

I have also been inside the cloud.

Though being in the cloud while flying
is very dangerous.

My way of seeing Taiwan
might be different from yours

since I stand at different altitudes
with a different point of view.

I don't have any way
to avoid the dark side of Taiwan,

but I believe that the people of Taiwan
have worked hard on this land

in the past 50 years.

People have put forth a lot of effort.

However, we have ignored the care
of our environment during this process.

I saw many parts of Taiwan
during my flights,

often those parts
that will be missed if lost.

That's the reason why I decided
to start a project 10 years ago:

To record Taiwan.

I wanted to tell everyone from Taiwan
what I've seen and known.

But it was not a smooth
beginning for this project.

Because I published my
photographs through a blog,

its influence was slow.

Fortunately, I had an opportunity
to express my perspective

at last year's TEDx.

And my friends at TEDx have provided
tremendous mental support this past year.

(Applause)

But I still needed more tangible support

to complete this project successfully.

We obtained supprt from
Delta Electronics Foundation last year

since we have common missions.

With their support,

we shot a series of
aerial photographs of Taiwan.

Now, I would like to share some of them.

We edited a 3-minute short video for TEDx

to give everyone a sneak peek.

[Through the clouds: Meeting. Formosa.
The beautiful island.]

[Splendid, but fragile.]

[The sinews of the earth is a masterpiece
molded by the passing years.]

[Memories of glaciers;
Await, and listening.]

[Unexpected moments, become legends.]

[Inseparable lives,
linked with one and other.]

[A showcase of talents
on the stage of survival.]

[We have demanded everything
of the Earth.]

[But when the test comes,
do we believe in ourselves

or rely on our deities?]

[What drives us

in our unquenchable desire to pursue?]

[From the vision of cities
we derive our desires;

from the surge we recover our power.]

[This is our common story.]

[Supervised and produced
by Hsiao-Hsien Hou]

[Aerial photography by Po-Lin Chi,
his debut on the silver screen.]

[Co-directed by environmental writer
Chin-Huei Fan.]

[The first aerial photography
documentary of Taiwan.]

[2013.
Inviting you care for Taiwan together.]

Po-lin Chi: The effect of Delta projector
is not bad, huh?

(Applause)

But the computer playing speed
was a tad slow.

In the past year, I observed the lives
of the commonest of people in Taiwan.

I began documenting a series
of folk cultural activities since March.

We've experienced and recorded first hand
all the bustling excitement.

Our hope is that through our photography,

we can tell the story
of the unknown parts of Taiwan.

I want to be your eyes
to see Taiwan from the sky.

We are hoping that this series of movies
will be published next year.

We have a warm-up event in advance:

from May 31st
to the end of November, 2013.

in cooperation with Delta electronics

we will hold a large scale
bird's eye view exhibition

at the National Taiwan
Science Education Center

using mixed media to present Taiwan.

We hope you will all
have a chance to see it.

And it is thanks to the wealth
of attention and support on this project

that we have the power to keep going.

Although this is a huge
personal dream and idea of mine,

I believe that every Taiwanese
should have a common vision:

that Taiwan will be better.

It is with your participation,

and by fostering a friendlier
attitude towards the Earth,

that Taiwan will have
a chance at a better tomorrow.

It is also our hope that
by getting to know Taiwan,

we will all grow to protect it,
and treasure it.

Thank you.
(Applause)