Summary
Every year, May and June are the seasons for enjoying lotus flowers. Although I usually make it a point to find a spot to take photos every year, I completely forgot about it this year without my friends’ reminder… In terms of locations in Taipei, the top choice for photographing lotus flowers is undoubtedly the “Taipei Botanical Garden”. Perhaps it’s because of the clear pond last year or the continuous heavy rain, but this year’s lotus flowers are more beautiful and spectacular than before. By around 7 o’clock in the morning, many photography enthusiasts were already shooting by the pond. ▼ The lotus pond at Taipei Botanical Garden is the top choice for Taipei residents to enjoy lotus flowers because of the large number of lotus flowers and convenient transportation.
If you want to capture the blooming lotus flowers, you have to wake up earlier than others; because the flower buds start to close slowly around noon. I used to go to take photos in the afternoon and ended up only seeing closed flowers… In terms of equipment selection, since most lotus flowers are in the center of the pond, it is more suitable to choose a focal length of 70mm or above. If you have a zoom lens with a longer focal length, you can make better use of it!
▼ This year’s lotus flowers are blooming more than ever, and you can see many blooming lotus flowers even by the pond.
▼ The weather was great on the day of the shoot, and you can adjust the exposure appropriately by using spot metering and EV adjustment.
▼ Among the green leaves, the blooming pink lotus flowers are particularly eye-catching.
▼ If you use a focal length of 200mm or more, you can capture the lotus flowers in the center of the pond.
▼ Among the blooming flowers, there are still lotus flowers waiting to bloom.
▼ By using the flip screen of the Nikon D750 and shooting from a low angle, you can achieve a different feeling.
▼ It is also rare to see blooming white lotus flowers this year. In the past, most of them were out of focus.
▼ Shooting the white lotus flowers from a backlit angle allows you to see their pure and flawless side through the sunlight.
Taipei Botanical Garden Visitor Information (from Taipei Botanical Garden official website)
Opening hours: From 5:30 am to 10:00 pm.
By bus:
(1) Get off at the Botanical Garden stop, then walk to the entrance on Heping West Road. City buses 1, 242, 624, 907, Blue 28, and Heping Main Line stop there.
(2) Get off at the Botanical Garden stop, then walk to the entrance on Heping West Road. City buses 204 and 630 stop there. (Note: Currently, this stop has been canceled due to MRT construction.)
(3) Get off at the Sanyuan Street intersection, then walk to the entrance on Heping West Road. City buses 204 and 630 stop there.
(4) Get off at the Botanical Garden stop, then walk to the entrance on Heping West Road. City buses 242, 624, 907, and Heping Main Line stop there.
(5) Get off at Jianguo Junior High School (Elementary School) stop, then walk to the entrance on Nanhai Academy. City buses 1, 204, and 630 stop there. (Note: Currently, this stop has been moved to the location of the (4) bus stop due to MRT construction.)
(6) Get off at Jianguo Junior High School (National Museum of History) stop, then walk to the entrance on Nanhai Academy. City buses 1, 204, and 630 stop there.
(7) Enter from Bo’ai Road and take city buses 38, 660, 252, 304, and 503.
MRT: Ximen MRT Station / Exit 3, enter from Bo’ai Road.
By car/motorcycle:
(1) From Heping East/West Road to Nanhai Road intersection.
(2) From Roosevelt Road to Nanhai Road, then to Heping West Road intersection.
(3) From Chongqing South Road to Nanhai Road, then to Heping West Road intersection.
(4) From Aiguo East/West Road to Bo’ai Road.
(5) Paid parking lots around the Botanical Garden as shown in the map. In addition, there are also roadside paid parking spaces on Section 2 of Heping West Road, Sanyuan Street, Bo’ai Road, and Yanping South Road.
