Pinching Tainan with Your Fingers – The Marathon Photography Contest Kicks Off

Travel Center / Taipei Report


▲2012 Tainan Grand Jury Prize: Pinching Tainan’s traditional architecture between two fingers. (Photo / Provided by Tainan City Tourism Bureau)

Pinching Tainan’s traditional architecture between two fingers and holding it up to admire closely, with the city’s green trees and blue skies in the frame. This eye-catching photo of Tainan, which won the 2012 Tainan Grand Jury Prize, also captures the contemplative gaze of appreciating the ancient city. This year (2013) on July 27 and 28, Tainan held the “12th City 24-Hour Marathon Digital Photography Competition,” using creative photography to showcase Tainan. The contest encourages the public to pick up their cameras and document the happenings around them, capturing the full spectrum of Tainan’s morning and evening scenes through a non-stop 24-hour marathon.


▲Diverse themes highlight local characteristics and allure. The event invites participants to express their unique perspectives on the locale. (Photo / Provided by Tainan City Tourism Bureau)


The goal is to uncover the diversity of local life and culture, allowing participants to experience Tainan’s people, places, moments, and essence, and to take a closer look at the surroundings they inhabit, promoting the beauty of Tainan. Chen Chun-an, Director of Tainan City Government’s Tourism Bureau, stated that the 24-hour marathon photography competition allows young people to fully unleash their energy, enthusiasm, and creativity, expressing their unique emotions and worldviews of Tainan through photography. He welcomes photography enthusiasts from all over Taiwan to travel Tainan in a new way, experiencing a different kind of marathon photography, creating limitless possibilities within a limited time, and discovering Tainan’s distinctive charm.

The Far Eastern 24-Hour Marathon Photography Competition is a creative-style photography contest. The Tainan leg kicked off on the morning of July 27 and is divided into five segments. The organizers will distribute themed prompts at different competition sites in Tainan every 4–5 hours. Participants must submit their works at the sites and receive the next prompt for their next creation. The event concludes on the morning of July 28. There are seven award categories, with the top grand prize valued at approximately NT$100,000. The city government plans to add special awards to further encourage public participation. Registration is open now until June 23 (or until filled), with 300 two-person teams available. For details, please visit the Tourism Bureau’s “Tainan Tourism” website.


▲Capturing the beauty of Tainan through photography. (Photo / Provided by Tainan City Tourism Bureau)