A brief history of my photography publications

First and foremost, let me bring you through a brief history of my photography books/zines publications that I produced and published. 

• Hokkaido B&W Landscapes 
• Square 8 x 8 Little Black Book with Zno (Hokkaido travel) 
• Trial/Pre-launch Photo Zine 
• TGH Photography Zine No.1: SG55 Special Edition 
• TGH Photography Zine No.2: TGH Photography Therapy Zine and Playbook 

Visual storytelling proposal plans/ideas

Continuing on from my TGH Photography Zine No.2 (you can get a physical and/or digital copy here!), I have shortlisted two project themes to work on:

A) Long term: Hokkaido travel visual story/travel guide (1 to 3 years)

My 1st travel adventure to Hokkaido was in November 2014, followed by my 2nd adventure in October 2016 (autumn). When I returned from my 2nd Hokkaido adventure, I set a goal for myself that I want to publish a photo book on 4 seasons of Hokkaido. 

This plan hasn’t change, it just got refined, my long term visual storytelling plan is a Hokkaido travel visual story/travel guide together. 

How am I going to discover my unique voice in my travel visual storytelling and travel guide combination? Firstly, I would need to make a few more trips, covering spring, summer and late winter seasons of Hokkaido first, I am reading more travel writing guides, travel writers works and start writing in small steps and phases.

B) Medium term: Singapore travel guides (6 months to 1 year)

I have a wide range of photographs and stories of Singapore over the past decade (and still counting), documenting old places, nature and green spaces, urban landscapes, history, heritage and culture, arts and creative sectors. 

Which sectors should I start on first? How should I approach it? A series of handy and informative handy Singapore travel guides might be my style and approach.

Photography books/Zines proposal plans/ideas

Here are some of my photography books/zines proposal plans/ideas that I have come up with. 

• Old playgrounds 
• Cats
• Clouds
• Sunsets
• Forest Bathing (Shinrin-Yoku)
• Hokkaido landscapes (2nd edition)
• Singapore landscapes 
• B&W street photography 

For 2023, I am planning my zines to be of a more informal style and approach, while photo books would be produced in a slightly more planned approach. There is no final decision yet, I would go with my feel and see how each project theme turns out that I choose to work on.

Why do I still want to print/publish books/zines?

The debate on publishing/printing books/zines have probably been ongoing for quite a period of time now, in this social media driven era of videos and photographs, accompanied by goldfish memory and a getting shorter attention time span. 

I feel it’s less of physical books/zines making a comeback, there are some of us who wish to return back to the analogue days before the internet and social media boom. Some are also looking at a balance of both analogue and Web3.0 complementing each other.

Publishing and printing photography books and zines bring my ongoing works to life, beyond the digital and social media realms. 

Come follow me on my (new) visual storytelling adventures!

I may have honed and discovered my own visual storytelling style over my years of photography and writing, I am also relearning, reading, improving and maybe finding a new voice in my visual storytelling. 

Come follow me on my (new) visual storytelling adventures through my photography and writing!  

The post Photography Books/Zines Proposal Plans/Ideas for 2023 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Photography by Ryan Cheng

Teacher’s Day celebration brought two subjects into my mind, learning/training and photography. I wasn’t formally trained in photography, I learnt through National Geographic Magazines, photography books, going hands-on and learning from my mistakes. However, I was blessed to meet different photographers in my photography journey over the decades who were willing to share their invaluable photography knowledge, skills and experiences with me. 

To my few photography friends/disciples that came under my tutelage, I hope that I am a good enough photography teacher. Training and sharing my photography knowledge, skills and experience are also another form of learning and gaining more knowledge, skills and experience for myself.

To myself, learning never stops, no matter what education level or life stage I am at right now. Besides continuous learning new skills and knowledge in photography and videography, I learnt to produce and publish my own photography zines, with more zine projects on the pipeline. 

Next up for me is digital arts and NFT, the next field that I am going into. The NFT sector is not entirely new to me, I am learning more about them, to keep up with the developments and what I need to do. 

Another field that I am working on is photography therapy zine/book through my nature, landscapes and outdoors photography. The ongoing global pandemic has taken a huge toll on our mental and emotional health. I wasn’t spared, I knew it deep down personally, how damaging it can be on us. My photography therapy works are meant to help lighten your stress in a small way or another, through my photographs and activities.    

Never stop learning, never stop teaching, in life, in my photography.

The post Happy Teacher’s Day 2021! appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Why SG55 Edition?

The decision to choose the theme “SG55 Edition” came from SingapoRediscovers – Explore your own backyard, a S$45 million tourism campaign getting locals to explore Singapore. This was like a continuation of what I had been regularly doing, photographing, documenting and sharing local Singapore destinations and locations that are off from the tourist trail over the past decade. I sincerely hope that this small bite size zine/guide would be a good handy local travel guide for my friends who would be visiting Singapore when the Covid-19 situation is under control and international leisure travel is allowed again.  

Another step up to my printing experience levels 

Printing photographs, photo books and zines have been a great learning and fun experience for my photography journeys in both personal and professional aspects. From mini photo prints with Canon Mini Photo Printer to A3 photography prints with Canon PIXMA Pro-10 photo printer, publishing my own photo book of my Hokkaido 2014 travel photography adventure. Printing my TGH Photography Zine Vol 1 – SG55 Special Edition is another step up for me in my printing experience levels. 

Writing and Creativity 

Creating, publishing and printing my zine has expanded and extended my writing and blogging from the internet/social media world to the print world. When I first started my photography blog in April 2006, I never expect myself to reach this level of writing, creativity and printing zines and photo books. 

Learning new skills, knowledge and self-improvement never stops, no matter what level of professional expertise or life experience that I am currently at right now. This is what self-learning and self-improvement over the years had brought me to the stage I am in today. From a humble photography blog, to a photography and travel portal/blog, a commercial photography business setup, a writer and publisher. 

Printing using MagCloud Platform

I was introduced to MagCloud a few years ago by fellow photographer Callan Tham, his photography zines were published by them (I was inspired by Callan’s zines!) and I had an idea of the quality and printing capabilities of MagCloud platform. I would like to explore more formats options from MagCloud beyond the Digest format that I am using it for publishing my photography and travel zine. 

For fellow photographers and creatives, please visit and check out MagCloud platform! 

Do support my zine works!

Visit my TGH Photography Zine Vol 1 – SG55 Edition on MagCloud and check it out!  

Year 2020 has been a very difficult year for the whole world, some industries have been hit harder than the rest. Photography industry is one of them, earnings had taken a hit, the journey ahead is still choppy and challenging to navigate. 

TGH Photography Zine Vol 1: SG55 Special Edition

By GengHui Tan in TGH Photography Zine Collection

12 pages

Diversification and adapting new business strategies are on the way, writing, publishing and printing zines is one of the avenues. Do support my zine works! 

Special Thanks

There are a few people that  I would like to thank: 

1) Fernando Gros and Craig Atkinson for inspiring me with their zines publications, their own unique art and creative directions.

2) Isaac Ong for helping me in the proof reading and editing my content write up. 

My TGH Photography Zine Vol 1 – SG55 Edition is the first of my upcoming zine projects that I have been planning for, with a few special themes/projects planned. My zines is also a mini book prototype for the bigger projects that I have embarked on, establishing the foundations for my future book prints.

Printing a zine has been a wonderful and learning journey, giving my photography, documenting and writing a platform to showcase them in a physical print form to hold, read, treasure and share. 

A special TGH Photography Explorer Series Production with Canon EOS 1DX Mark II, EOS RP and EOS R6 cameras.

The post Launch of TGH Photography Zine Vol 1 – SG55 Special Edition appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

How did the Canon PIXMA TS6370 printer came about?

Here’s the story behind it, there was an opportunity to review the Canon PIXMA TS6370 printer recently, I decided to test out the capabilities and functionalities of this printer, publishing my trial/pre-launch photo zine, in 3 different sizes, namely A4, digest and small booklet since the PIXMA TS6370 can do duplex printing! A more comprehensive review of the Canon PIXMA TS6370 printer can be read inside this article.

Why do I want to start my own photo zine?

It probably started with hanging out with fellow photographer friends, regardless of their genre or specialisation, our love for photography away from commercial works, we are into the artistic, creative, personal and tangible aspects of photography through prints, photo books and zines.

Who are the fellow photographers and creatives that influenced in my creative zine journey? Some of them are Fernando Gros, Callan Tham, Craig Atkinson, AikBeng Chia, just to name a few that have influenced and inspired me with their photo zines and photo books.

When the photo zines were published, I was happy yet relived at the same time, I finally shook off those personal expectations on my shoulders (and procrastination too!). I am now working on a regular photo zine series to be published every quarter, do keep a lookout for my updates and announcement on my first official photo zine, coming soon! On the other hand, I might work on special theme photo zines along my photography journey, it can be from my own personal projects or from new ideas and inspirations.

Although my pre-launch/trial photo zine is not perfect, I am glad that the Canon printers such as the PIXMA TS6370 printer can do duplex printing, for those who wish to DIY, publish and print your own zines at home, it’s going to be much easier and more convenient.

There is always room for improvement, a work-in-progress, constantly learning, improving and expanding my holistic photography portfolio, on both personal and commercial basis.

Future/Upcoming plans for my photo zines

My photo zine, is a mix of both personal, artistic, creative, marketing and publicity showcase of my photography works and writing. There is a commercial aspect to my photo zine as well, although this is not the first and foremost priority, it’s more of covering part of my operating and printing costs.

I currently have an online printer and bookshop platform in mind, it’s MagCloud, introduced by Callan. This is a platform whereby I can upload my photo zine, for both printing and for sale for readers to purchase a physical and pdf copy of my photo zine. I am also considering owning a PIXMA printer such as the TS6370 whereby I can print ad-hoc photo zines when the need arises or print my own photo zines and sell it on my own website.

Coming up next would be my first official photo zine publication, stay tuned and I would share more information and stories behind it!

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