As we enter into the final month of Year 2021, I would also like to share some photo stories and happenings that took place over the past few months. 

First and foremost

First and foremost, while there had been immense difficulties emotionally, mentally and financially for this year 2021.

I want to take this opportunity to be thankful and grateful, with utmost gratitude, humility and kindness to all who have helped me and pulled me out from my rut, those who supported, encouraged and believed in me during this very difficult year 2021. Let’s be kind, compassionate and spread love. 

Please do not judge, none of us are having an easy time during this battle against this ongoing global pandemic situation.

Help each other if you are able to

We are entering into a brand new year 2022 soon, this year would not exactly be a smooth sailing year as we are still grappling and battling this ongoing global pandemic situation. Let’s work on getting our life, our business and our work back on track, hoping that we can restart our recovery proper. 

Help each other if you are able to, support fellow local small and medium sized business, they are the ones who are most severely affected by this ongoing pandemic induced economic crisis. 

Gifts from lucky draws

Since I missed my Japan travel so much, I am following Japan Rail Cafe and Hokkaido Government Representative Office FB pages on a regular basis. They had a few travel events held online, it was good to take away some of my travel wanderlust for Japan. There were lucky draws held during the online travel events and I was lucky to win some gifts from their lucky draws! 

Pay-It-Forward and Pass-It-On

I discovered my passion for cooking during my UQ uni days, as part of my subject curriculum and for my daily living/meals. I do not deny that I had been slacking over the decades after finishing my studies. However, I rediscovered this cooking/roasting passion of mine again when the pandemic hit us in 2020. 

Cooking haJs a mix of therapeutic activities for me as well as being practical, having home cooked meals whenever I am able to do so, instead of eating out or having take away all the time. 

I have been doing some roasting in recent weeks, two of my favourite food, roast pork a.k.a. sio bak and char siew pork. They are works-in-progress, learning from my mistakes at each cooking/roasting, making improvements in my next roasting. During the Christmas festive week, I hope to Pay-It-Forward and Pass-It-On, with my roast pork and char siew pork delights, along with some other dishes on the back of my mind too. 

Reward myself once a while

I don’t usually buy many things, once a while I would buy some things for myself, it’s nice to reward myself once a while. I am planning to add a Japanese gyuto knife a.k.a. Chef Knife into my cooking/chef setup.

All I want to do 

Be happy, take care of myself more, be less mentally and emotionally burnt out like this photo of me rocking alone on the playground (it’s a posed photo by the way). 

Spread the message of love, care and compassion, for Earth, our natural environment, for our loved ones, for myself. 

Coming soon in January 2022

Coming soon in January 2022, I would be publishing and launching my second photography zine, this photography zine is a mix of therapy and playbook coming together. I am also working on getting my first NFT photography artwork minted and listed. More details would be shared along the way leading up to January 2022, stay tuned!

Last but not least

Last but not least, it’s an open call every year during the month of December: Anyone would like to buy me a 2-in-1 Christmas (December) + Birthday (January) gift?

The post Bring a very difficult year 2021 to a close on a high appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

This Malay Heritage Centre x Very Small Exhibition support World Mental Health Day, marks the first time that VSE has lit up a National Monument. This will also be VSE longest ever “momentary” installation which typically lasts for a few hours to a few days. Visitor can visit MHC to view and enjoy this beautiful light-up from 10th October 2021 to end November 2021. MHC has extended the opening hours of its compound to 10pm daily. 

The subject on mental health, mental health awareness and mental health matters are areas that made me aware and concern about mental health. I went through a period whereby my mental and emotional health were not in a good shape and condition, especially in the past six months from May 2021. The ongoing global pandemic didn’t just affect my business, it also took a huge toll on me, my mental and emotional health. I wrote more in-depth on my personal experiences dealing and handling with mental health awareness in my article “World Mental Health Day 2021”.

We are in the midst of battling this ongoing global pandemic, we are not out of the woods yet. The situation is still very tough and difficult for many of us. I would like to encourage all of you to please take good care of yourself, your mental and emotional health well-being. Help each other, support each other, please be kind, please don’t judge. 

Let’s all unite together and we can make it through this global pandemic crisis better, stronger and more resilient.

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As I looked back in time on my stories that I wrote, “Start of Circuit Breaker in Singapore – 7th April 2020” and “Begun the Circuit Breaker has in Singapore”, there were so much things happening and taking place during that time when we entered into Circuit Breaker mode. It was a very difficult and stressful time for everyone of us here in Singapore. 

I didn’t take many photographs outside during that period due to the circuit breaker. Most of the photos were shot at home or from my window looking out and around my neighbourhood. I was reviewing the Canon EOS M6 Mark II during that Circuit Breaker period.

What do you remember from your circuit breaker period in Singapore? Here were some of the photographs that I took during the Circuit Breaker in Singapore that started on 7th April 2020. 

We are not out of the woods yet in our fight against COVID-19, not just in Singapore, around the whole world too. While the situation here in Singapore has improved over this one year time frame from 7th April 2020 to 7th April 2021, we cannot let our guard down against our battle against this ongoing global pandemic. 

One last message, we DO NOT WANT another Circuit Breaker! Everyone of us here must play our part and continue our fight against COVID-19. Slowly, we can get back to a more normal lifestyle again soon. 

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Ever since I was inspired by Fernando Gros article on having a yearly theme (his yearly theme for 2021 is Imagination) instead of our usual goals settings and objectives, I wrote and published two articles, Theme and Goals for Year 2020 (Photography and Travel) and  Theme and Goals for Year 2020 (Technology and Personal). I can’t imagine how much it would have changed just two months after that when the global pandemic COVID-19 started to hit the whole world. 

If you are interested to learn and know more about setting a yearly theme, you have to check out “How to Choose a Yearly Theme” by Fernando Gros. 

My approach to the yearly theme is slightly different, I have two themes for Year 2021 and they are Recovery and Rejuvenation. How would these two themes come into my photography and travel segments? 

Photography

Photography Business

On my business side of photography, another challenging year looms ahead. Basically, adapt, adopt and change, rebranding and repositioning. Photography training is on the cards too. 

Personal Photography 

On my personal side of photography, I am planning to produce and publish more zines since the launch of my first zine – TGH Photography Zine Vol 1 – SG55 Special Edition, they could be special themes or projects based zines from my personal projects. 

15th Anniversary photography blog milestone 

April 2021 would be the 15th anniversary of this photography portal/blog! More information and details on this milestone celebration coming soon. 

On both business and personal photography fronts, if there are suitable collaborations and partnerships to build up on top of my existing ones, I am open to discussions. At the current moment, I have build up networks of videographers, video editors, editors for my content writing, digital marketing and social media marketing partners. 

Travel

International Travel 

Based on the current global situation and pandemic status at this juncture in time, international leisure travel is not likely to open soon. An optimistic view would be international travel reopening in the third quarter of 2021, the harsh reality is most likely 2022 instead. 

Meanwhile, I just prepare my travel research and travel networking on destinations that I highly want to visit when international travel and tourism recovers. 

SingapoRediscovers a.k.a. Explore your own backyard

No doubt that Singapore is really a small country by land size, we do have our own nature areas, heritage, culture and outdoors areas. I have started revisiting places in Singapore that I haven’t visit for some time. Now is the time to be a traveler in my home country, to continue my SingapoRediscovers a.k.a. Explore your own backyard. 

Stay tuned for more local travel photography stories (and pocket travel guide) of Singapore!

Why these two themes “Recovery” and “Rejuvenation”?

Recovery

Year 2021 to me would be the year of recovery from the impacts and damages by the global pandemic COVID-19 to the world. This is not going to be straight forward or linear, it’s likely to be turbulent, roller coaster ups and downs. With the vaccines in place, the world has started its recovery mode, this is going to take time, it’s not going to recover immediately with the snap of a finger. 

Rejuvenation

There are many a times whereby I had been emotionally and mentally drained last year 2020 during the global pandemic situation. Going hand-in-hand with recovery is rejuvenation, putting new energy to what I am doing in this year 2021. 

As we start the slow journey in recovery in the year 2021, rejuvenation is also crucial, we need  to inject new energy into our heart, mind and soul as we start our recovery journey.

Please also visit my Theme and Goals for Year 2021 (Technology and Personal) article! 

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How did this name “Proposals for Novel Ways of Being” come about?

Go back a few months back in time, do you remember the initial name of the global pandemic that is now universally known/classified as COVID-19? Proposals for Novel Ways of Being bears reference to the earlier name of the virus “2019 Novel Coronavirus”, a sombre yet hopeful reminder that this COVID-19 is not the world’s first global pandemic or the first crisis the world has encountered, nor will be it be the last. This would be a reminder for the human race, the society, to seek, adapt and adopt new ways of being.

National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum have come together to launch a new local initiative of unprecedented scale and scope, a project that see museums joining forces with 10 other local art institutions and independent art spaces and collectives to present a series of exhibitions and programmes, in both physical and online environments, featuring the works of over 170 local artists and cultural workers. Presenting “Proposals for Novel Ways of Being”, a united response by the visual arts community to the changes brought by the global pandemic COVID-19, a wide range of art experiences exploring new ways of living in a world forced to change by this pandemic and imagining new possibilities for the future.

Elaborating on the compelling reasons behind the development of the Proposals for Novel Ways of Being initiative, Dr Eugene Tan, Director, National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum says, “As we grapple with the “new normal”, we consider how art can respond to the global pandemic and propose new possibilities for our changed world, as well as how it can inspire hope in these times. As national art institutions, we ask ourselves how we can show solidarity with the local network of independent art spaces, institutions and collectives to engage and support members of the art community, and how we can highlight the role that art can play in times of crises such as the current pandemic.”

The Programme Partners of Proposals for Novel Ways of Being include seven institutions: ADM Gallery, NTU School of Art, Design and Media; LASALLE’s Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore; National Gallery Singapore; National Museum of Singapore; NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore); Singapore Art Museum; STPI, and five independent art spaces and collectives: Coda Culture; Grey Projects; INTER-MISSION; soft/WALL/studs; and The Substation.

To support the wider network of art professionals and practitioners, Programme Partners have invited independent guest curators to each propose projects that involve up to 15 artists based in Singapore. The projects presented can include new commissions or existing works, and may take the form of physical or digital exhibitions, and include programmes such as talks, performances and community engagement events.

Audiences can look forward to

• Coda Culture’s exhibition, which brings together artists who produce works using found objects;
• National Gallery Singapore’s range of works by a diverse group of emerging contemporary artists, which embody poetic contemplation;
• National Museum of Singapore’s series of digital works created in collaboration with artists and creatives, which respond to the pandemic;
• NTU CCA Singapore’s showcase of experimental works by artists who engage with sound, bodily movements and performances;
• Singapore Art Museum’s presentation of contemporary artworks that reflect on the passage of time and various acts of care-taking; and
• soft/WALL/studs’ suite of interconnected activities and projects that navigate the themes of (dis)repair, maintenance, and cultivation by artists and curators, presented on digital platforms and at their physical site.

For more information on Proposals for Novel Ways of Being, please visit novelwaysofbring.sg and keep a lookout for the various exhibitions and programmes taking place soon between August 2020 and February 202.

As a fellow creative in the photography circle, I am able to relate the situation that other arts and creative industry folks are going through. Let’s give them the support and encouragement during this difficult time arising from the global pandemic situation.

We are all in this together as a nation. The journey ahead is still going to be more turbulent and choppy. Let’s all be #SGUnited together facing this global crisis and overcome it!

* Information and picture courtesy of National Gallery Singapore and Singapore Art Museum and Ogilvy Singapore *

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