FIRSTLAPSE

FIRSTLAPSE [ Professional timelapse photography worldwide ] Instagram: henrikmatzen

02/08/2026

I'm really happy I managed to squeeze in some days in the south of Taiwan in lovely Kaohsiung. Catching a few friends here, and not least, trying to tick off some more bucket list timelapses ✅

This view from Cijin Island I've been waiting for quite some years, and finally I made it. It is quite interesting how Cijin, just a few minute ferry journey or a short car ride away, is even more chill and relaxed. I finally got my day to night sunset timelapse over the colorful houses, and in the end my friend Ivan also came to find me, bringing some refreshing ice tea for my session, before we headed to dinner after I was done. Another beautiful day and night in Kaohsiung, I really always love so much being back here in the south 🥰 🇹🇼 #旗津

28/07/2026

📍 Hong Kong - Had the most fantastic day-to-night time-lapse session high up in the mountains of Kowloon. I arrived late in the afternoon, found a peaceful spot, and set up my gear. It was such an incredible view — being surrounded by nature while overlooking HK from a completely different, less touristy angle.

​I finished around 9 p.m. after nearly 5 hours and started hiking down the narrow mountain road. The night views on the way down were absolutely breathtaking 😍 It took almost an hour and a half to get down with all my heavy equipment, leaving me completely soaked 💦

​Finally had dinner around 11 p.m. at the first place I found... which turned out to be McDonald's 🍔😅 So glad I brought a dry T-shirt to change into before stepping into that freezing AC 😁🧊🥶 My calves were sore for three days after, but was it worth it? TOTALLY! 📸🥰

VisitHongKong HKPhotography

Taiwan 🇹🇼 – I still have so many locations and spots I wish to shoot one day, but so little time to do so. This spot on ...
27/07/2026

Taiwan 🇹🇼 – I still have so many locations and spots I wish to shoot one day, but so little time to do so. This spot on the outskirts of Taipei (Sanxia, to be more precise) had probably been on my list for a decade, but it wasn't until recently that I finally made it there. My problem is that I work too much; sometimes on extreme days, it's a 15-hour workday stuck at the computer 🖥️. That leaves very little time to go out doing timelapse photography. On top of that, the weather comes into play – I need the right conditions and forecasts to align with my available time.

​Shooting this amazing view of Taipei from the mountain top was one of those rare days where everything just clicked. The weather and sunset were absolutely amazing, I got the perfect timelapse, and it was just such a beautiful day overall. Fortunately, this is a lesser-known location, so very few people actually come here, which is nice – especially since space is tight and I need a bit of tripod space for many hours of shooting. This was also the day a street artist who often performs in Ximending suddenly started singing for us up there (watch the reel on my profile for that :-)). It was really such a beautiful day in good company, with great Taiwanese people and the perfect view.

​On days like these, I feel my love for Taiwan and my appreciation for still being able to be here – despite my health and Crohn's Disease – stronger than ever ❣️🇹🇼🇹🇼

27/07/2026

Hong Kong 🇭🇰 - it was (too) short, but really good. Despite Typhoon Noah being around and almost disrupting my schedule, I was actually really lucky 🍀. I managed to get the sunset shot I came for at Kowloon Peak. That was a journey on its own, where I ended up walking all the way down from the mountain (around 3.5 km) late at night with my heavy camera gear. My legs were sore for days after 😂 - but the views on the way down were breathtaking 😍 - and the peaceful moments shooting up there overlooking Hong Kong were all worth it.

​Following my schedule, I was lucky to escape the coming rain and bad weather in Hong Kong and replace it with amazing sunshine in Macau - I got my dream shots there as well, and then HK was hit by the typhoon. For 24 hours, it looked like I might not make it back to HK or be able to catch my flight back to Taiwan 🇹🇼 - but Noah had a pace of 160 km/h, so the next day it was already over the mainland, and I was able to follow my schedule again.

​I have so many fond old good memories in both Hong Kong and Macau, and coming back to both places just felt really good. I'll be back, but for now, I will enjoy my beloved 2nd home of Taiwan for a bit more 🥰🇹🇼

26/07/2026

11 years passe by since my last visit to Macau. Have fund memories of modelshooting and great company here back in 2015 - this time I came back to timelapse! 18 years ago I saw a sight from the backseat of a local taxi I knew I would have to get a photo of one day - the Grand Lisboa rising among all the old local buildings as you pass through that street. That photo later turned into a mission of doping a timelapse there for me - sunrise, night to day - and I am so happy getting that done ✅ Here is the first reel from my little journey by the TurboJET boat from Hong Kong to Macau. Really nice to see and explore Macau again after all these years 🥰📸

24/07/2026

Great mornings in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 starts at my friend's place at Focacceria! Last time I visited them was from their first little "walk up window" shop at D2 in Cheung Sha Wan - and now they opened this beautiful shop, more space, more choices of food, deserts, coffees and even authentic Italian products to buy. Proud of my very old friend Janie, who quit her old corporate office job following her true passion: Baking! Together with her lovely partner in life they have something really good going, and you shouldn't miss out to try, if you are around in Hong Kong. I don't really do food posts like this, but I found people actually like it when I do - so this is a exclusive one to support ❤️ 🍕 ☕

📍 MANGIAPANE FOCACCERIA
100 Kwai Cheong Rd, Kwai Chung,

Recently I had a nice and busy trip exploring and shooting in Japan - and now I am back to my beloved Taiwan for a bit, ...
15/07/2026

Recently I had a nice and busy trip exploring and shooting in Japan - and now I am back to my beloved Taiwan for a bit, working way too many hours to catch up on everything for this extended business trip. As many knows, Taiwan always felt like my home, so I am pretty sure, I must have had a life here before 🔮🇹🇼😁

I still notice the tiny little things here, such as how caring the staff handled the kuggage 🧳 at Songshan Airport when I landed from Japan. My post on Threads went a bit viral because of that, and former president 蔡英文 even left me a sweet comment - very appreciated 🙏 🇹🇼

What was even better was that it let many new people discover my timelapse work I went viral with here back in 2018+2019 - "A Taste of Taiwan" - beautiful timelapse videos I paid out of my own pocket to produce to show the beauty of Taiwan to the world. I wanted people to see the beauty in the little things. Occasionally, I make YouTube VLOG's of my work behind the scenes, showing much more details also of how I do my timelapse work.

Somehow I maybe contributed a bit putting Taiwan on the map back then, because now there are much more foreigners visiting Taiwan and posting content from here, and Taiwan has become a place many wants to visit and explore ❣️

The building on this post is Agora Garden, also known as #陶朱隱園 - it's an iconic marvel of architecture right in the heart of Xinyi/Taipei 101 area of Taipei. It's a 90 degree twisted building which also helps to absorb carbon emissions and improve the urban micro climate.

I found the spot to shoot from years ago, and knew I would have to come back at the right time and day. Finally I got the day to night timelapse shot here. Many people passed by without looking, but as soon as my camera equipment was up and I spend hours shooting there, people stopped, took a photo, and realized "wow, nice view!" - and that is the little things I am talking about. We all should stop and look more around us, to find those beautiful little things in our everyday life - because they are there.. Those little things! ❤️📸

10/07/2026

I really feel I started too late in my life to explore Japan, so now I have some catching up to do, and plenty of small recorded memories in my phone 📸🗺️ Walked between 15-30K steps per day during my rather short visit, got some amazing timelapse footage I look forward to edit later this year - and more great memories, beautiful views and places I would love returning to again too 📸

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