In late 2005 to early 2006, I was fascinated by the world of blogging, at that point in time, I didn’t think too much and far beyond just starting a blog, writing my photography stories and adventures. My internet marketing friends helped me with a blogspot setup and on 10th April 2006, I published my first photoblog post (FYI, my initial blog title was Photojournalist). Fast forward to today, on 10th April 2026, I am celebrating 20 years of TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog, where it all began right here.
Where It All Began
Founded in 2006, the TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog has grown from a humble personal photoblog into a multi-disciplinary visual storytelling, photography, and content creation platform, documenting journeys across photography, travel, heritage, arts, and technology.
Looking back at 20 years of TGH Photography and Travel
When I started to look back at my 20 years of TGH Photography and Travel, to be honest, I don’t where to start. This 20 years is not that long a period in our lifetime, it’s not short either in the blogging/social media world today. Times have changed, culture, social and media landscapes have changed so much over the past 20 years.
While I got ChatGPT to help me out on a summary of key achievements, highlights, accolades, media relationships, partnerships, they did a pretty good job (I reckon they have learned quite a fair bit about me with me feeding my website articles quite regularly into ChatGPT).
Beyond the feel-good factor and the wonderful stories, there’s also the other side of my journey that many of you don’t see, feel or understand (of disappointments, fears, managing stress and expectations, fighting egos, used and at times being looked down by others, not just in the photography field, also in the creative and social media communities).
Let me bring you on a 20-year time travel from my photo blogging days in 2006 to today’s TGH Photography and Travel visual storytelling journeys in 2026.
Key Achievements and Growth
- 20 years of continuous publishing (2006–2026) – demonstrating longevity and resilience through major digital shifts from blogging to social media ecosystems
- Evolved from a Blogspot site into an independent branded digital platform, forming part of the wider TGH Digital Studio ecosystem
- Built a strong body of work across:
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- Photography & photojournalism
- Travel storytelling
- Heritage and cultural documentation
- Events, arts, and community coverage
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- Expansion into videography, digital content creation, and multimedia storytelling in response to industry changes
- Produced photo books, zines, and print works, extending digital storytelling into physical formats
Highlights and Creative Milestones
- Coverage of major events, festivals, exhibitions, and national initiatives, including SG60-related exhibitions and arts programmes
- Participation in national-level photography exhibitions, with works selected and exhibited (e.g. Ngee Ann Photographic Exhibition 2025, National Photography Art Exhibition 2025)
- Development of long-term personal documentary projects in heritage, culture, and wildlife photography
- Continued evolution of visual storytelling style and editorial voice over two decades
- Recognition through consistent invitations, collaborations, and coverage opportunities across industries
Accolades and Recognition
- Photographs selected and exhibited in recognised exhibitions and competitions, contributing to Singapore’s photography scene
- Acknowledged for visual storytelling contributions across photography, travel, and heritage sectors
- Built credibility as a trusted independent content creator and visual storyteller over two decades
Media Relationships and Industry Engagement
- Established working relationships with:
- Camera and imaging brands (e.g. Canon ecosystem collaborations and feature coverage)
- Tourism, arts, and cultural organisations
- Event organisers and lifestyle brands
- Regularly invited for:
- Event coverage
- Product launches and media previews
- Community, heritage, and cultural storytelling projects
- Active participation in photography communities, exhibitions, and industry networks
Partnerships and Collaborations
Over the years, the platform has collaborated with a diverse network of partners and creative collectives, including:
- Hpility SG – photography, videography, and digital marketing collaborations
- Easy Travel Recipes – travel and food content partnership
- 3 Blind Mice/4 Amigos – food media production and creative collaboration
- PR agencies/PR folks that I worked closely with – GLOO PR, Burson (especially those from XPR), IN.FOM, APRW, Brand Cellar, a group PR folks formerly from Ogilvy PR
These collaborations reflect a strong emphasis on cross-disciplinary creativity and community-building.
Ups and Downs, Highs and Lows
Earlier you read about TGH Photography and Travel’s achievements, highlights, accolades, media relationships, partnerships over the past 20 years. Those are the highs, proud and humbling achievements through lots of hard work, perseverance, striving to learn, adapt, adopt and improve.
There were times where I talked about my ups and downs, my highs and lows. Most people, if not everyone, just see the external facade, your end results and success. They can’t see, feel or understand what goes on behind the scenes, how I got there or how many times I fell.
From the highs of an interview feature article (close to a full page) with The Straits Times in 2015, mentioned inside the Acknowledgments section of this book titled, “No Missing Tools: Creativity In An Age Of Abundance” by Fernando Gros, a very talented creative, writer, photographer that I looked up to (especially in writing well thought out articles/topics).
As for my lows, from not being wanted anymore in a photography community without being informed that I had been contributing, building, growing and helping,
The Inner Struggles That Not Many See
Social media platforms, networks and presence are both a boon and bane for us photographers, and creatives. On the one hand, it opened up presence, branding, awareness, growth and a cohesive, friendly social network (in the early days).
On the other extreme end of the social media, it revealed the ugly side of human beings and human nature. What are some of the inner struggles that I faced during my 20-year journey here?
Ego – One of human beings great enemies (both intrinsic and extrinsic), this can blind us especially among photographers and creatives. I am not immune to this, I made this mistake too, letting my ego got the better of me. Some life lessons learned during those ego related incidents over the decades.
Jealousy – We are human beings with heart, mind and soul, filled with emotions and feelings, jealousy is common and prevalent, in life, and not just in photography. In this current social media thirsty world filled with narcissism and showing off, it can make other people jealous. Even when you keep a low profile, stay grounded and humble, people still come for you.
Criticism – In life, not just in photography, criticism is like a daily staple for everyone of us. Some criticise in an ethical, clear, concise and calm manner with a kind heart to help you, some (many of those human beings) disguise and hide behind their criticism to put a person down.
Bitterness – Many a times, things don’t go out our way in life, that would be a sense of bitterness creeping inside us. During this 20-year journey, I had my fair share of disappointments, giving rise to bitterness. Sometimes, it’s not conducive for my mental and emotional health. However, those situations at times have also served as a motivation to improve myself further and to be better.
Anger – Combine a potent mix of ego, jealousy, criticism, and bitterness, and we can get angry easily and often. This would take some time, growing old, getting mature, in knowing how to handle the anger inside me.
Why I am not chasing trends/styles on social media – Initially I did chase some trends/styles, as I gradually developed my visual storytelling and creative side (cross disciplinary learning from artists and writers) over the years, I started to not chase trends/styles on social media as much. Instead I wanted to have my own visual storytelling and creative style.
My Struggles and Lows in a Nutshell
Over the past 20 years,I have had my fair share of criticisms, there are a few people who looked down on the work I did here, even judging and putting me down under the disguise of “giving me friendly advice”. Many life lessons learned, shaping me and helping me to change, adapt and improve myself during the past 2 decades.
Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter
Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter (What does the next decade look like?)
Entering its third decade, the platform continues to focus on:
- Higher-quality visual storytelling and multimedia content
- Deeper heritage and cultural documentation
- Expanded creative collaborations and long-term projects
- Growth within the digital content, photography, and creative industries
Positioning and Legacy
Over 20 years, TGH Photography & Travel has established itself as:
- A Singapore-based independent visual storytelling platform
- A bridge between photography, travel, heritage, and digital culture
- A personal yet professional archive of evolving creative work and industry engagement
To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate my 20 Years Milestone?
So this thought came into my mind, to celebrate or to not celebrate my 20-year milestone? Some ideas and thoughts popped up, and it’s not like I am going to do some big celebration due to limited budget and I also didn’t go around seeking sponsorships.
Some of my 20 years milestone celebration plans are:
- Small group dinners gatherings with friends from social media, bloggers, PR, photographers, spread over the months of April to June 2026.
- Working on a special edition 20 years magazine size photo zine with a curated selection of photography works and visual stories from my past 20 years.
- Printing my own customised embroidery patches (2 designs), I am looking at printing the round patch as a gift for my friends and supporters.
- Considering printing customised photography t-shirt gifts from my 20 years TGH Photography and Travel archives
- Bought a new photography backpack as a reward for myself, also as a celebration gift
- Buying new photography t-shirt and accessories for a new profile photographer shoot to mark 20 years milestone
- Planning to get new content creation toys: either a used compact camera for my leisure and media events use, I am looking at a rangefinder style camera as I always wanted to own a rangefinder style camera for my daily usage, street camera. Another consideration is an entry level drone that I can learn, have fun and for social media content creation
20 Years (Not Out!) – Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
If you have faithfully and diligently read up to the last few paragraphs, thank you for taking the time to read all the way here (a pretty lengthy article I reckon)! I might not have covered everything or spilled everything that happened during my 20-year journey.
This is a very personal article, a recap of the journey of the past 20 years on my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog. Sharing my past 20 years ups and downs, the good and bad, sounds like a broken recorder on repeat ranting mode. Yet, it’s more than just surreal, it might also have triggered some touch points inside your heart, mind and soul, such as the struggles, stress, and pressure we face, not just as a photographer, or as a small business owner.
No words can describe my deep and personal immense gratitude and thanks for all the support and encouragement that you have given me during my past 20 years of visual storytelling, photography, content creation and writing on my humble TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog.
20 Years Not Out! Would you like to continue travelling together with my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog visual storytelling, photography, content creation and writing journey, for the next 10, 20 years and beyond?