While reflecting and looking back across all aspects and segments of my photography, I realised I got quite a bit of photography thinking, reflection and updates, turning into articles for the year 2018. In a way, I must had quite a number of thoughts and feelings for this year 2018!

Sole Proprietorship Photography Business

My sole proprietorship photography business, has its fair share of ups and downs in  year 2018, just like my other aspects of my life too. Comparing it to my first year that I started my photography business in 2017, the year 2018 had seen improvements and growth, although the absolute total revenue is still not consistent and stable to a decent level yet, even though it did improve. That’s still a lot of room to grow and expand.

Personal Photography Projects

Ever since I established and registered it as a business in 2017, my personal photography projects were kind of non-existent because they took a back seat while I was putting a lot of time and effort to make my business stable and running properly.

I sincerely hope that I can revive them again in the year 2019, with a test of my strategic management, planning and time management. There are some personal photography projects in mind, keep a lookout!

Partnerships and collaborations

Chiang Mai, Thailand with The Epiphany Duplet

I had worked with Tiffany and Peps of The Epiphany Duplet for a few collaborations together. When the opportunity arose in January 2018 to visit Chiang Mai, Thailand, I decided to join them for this trip, collaborating on travel photography and content together, we exchanged our talents, my travel photography for their travel videos!

There were also partnership and collaboration that haven’t taken off the ground and delayed, I am not sure if it would take off in the near future. I still hope to establish more partnerships and collaborations in the year 2019 and beyond.

Mini Milestones in 2018

Creative Commons Musical with ikibook

I was part of a legacy, the world’s first creative commons musical with ikibook, a unique and interesting experience to be part of this group of diverse creative talents from all walks of life.

EOS World Community Ambassador

In other news, I was appointed EOS World Community Ambassador for the year 2018. This is a big honour and recognition for me, I hope that I can contribute and give back to this photography community in some small way or another, as well as the EOS World community platform helping me to grow my photography.

Internal and External Battles

There were a number of internal and external battles with people and their words, actions, emotions, hurt, disappointments etc etc … There were times of anger, hurt, agony and burnt out, there were times when I had to fight my own monsters inside me too.

There are many people in the world that are not in the person’s actual shoes, they are not “on the ground fighting the battles” and yet they think they know everything and they will tell you what you should do.

There will be internal scars, no doubt about that. That’s how we can learn and grow from all these various experiences, handling people, handling emotions, fighting the internal bad wolf inside us.

Summarising my year 2018 Photography

There had been improvements and growth in my sole proprietorship photography business, along with its fair share of ups and downs, hits and misses, happiness and disappointments. There is still a lot a lot of room for growth and improvement.

What to expect in the Year 2019 ?

My strategic plans, goals and objectives are still a work in progress behind the scenes, I hope to share a bit more details in January 2019.

Last but not least, Thank You!

Last but not least, I want to say a big Thank You from the bottom of my heart to all those who have helped me, believe in me and supported me throughout my photography journey, through my ups and downs, reading my boring and lengthy rants on social media networks and websites.

The post Reflection – Photography 2018 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

This was an amazing journey that I never knew how it would turn out when I decided to be part of this Creative Commons musical “What If” movement by ikibook, lending my only talents in capturing priceless moments, documenting, writing down the stories and adventures through my eyes, photographs, heart and soul.

Taking photographs at some of the rehearsals, preparations, behind the scenes, to the actual musical performance and post performance celebrations, I am now able to continue my second part of my story telling from my earlier article that I published. A short video on the making of the “What If” musical can be viewed here on the ikibook FB page produced by Wai Hong who was part of this group of amazing talented creatives, on both back end (video) and artistic performance!

Accomplishing a musical performance in less than a month time frame, with a group of people from such diverse backgrounds and experiences is no feat at all. Kudos to Iris, founder of ikibook, the person behind the “What If” musical. To each and every creative talented individual who stepped up and be a part of this “What If” musical, you all have created a history, a legacy in the world today!

On the actual day of the “What If” musical performance, with a few hiccups and delays, the “What If” musical was presented to all those present at Campus Party Singapore, it was beautiful and magical, from nothing at the start to creating a legacy. I hope my photographs do justice to all the amazing performances by all the talented creatives involved in this musical!

Thank you each and every one of you talented and creative individuals, allowing me to capture down priceless moments in history and to be part of this “What If” musical. Check out some of the photographs that I shot during the “What If” musical rehearsals, behind the scenes and actual performance inside this Flickr photo album!

Upon the successful completion of this special and unique Creative Commons “What If” musical, this term What If still lingers inside me, probably everytime, I asked myself …

What If … I did not join in and be a part of this “What If” musical journey?

What If … I took up my studies in creative arts, writing and photography?

What If … I did not make a huge decision to step up and start own my photography business?

What If … I can write and publish my own books in travel adventures, photo books?

What If … this group of us can create a legacy for the world to see?

What If … you can do something to make a difference in the world today?

What If … I can produce a zine on the “What If” musical ?

There are many “What Ifs” in life today for everyone of us … What if you can take the first step and do something that you really wanted in life today?

The post A legacy created – World’s first Creative Commons Musical “What If” appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

What is so special and unique about it? First and foremost, this is the world’s first ever Creative Commons musical, “What If” presented by ikibook. The “What If” musical is a crowd sourced, organic collaboration with heartlanders (our everyday folks), talented and creative musicians, dancers, artists, singers, perfomers. A complete collaboration that unites creative and talented folks from different walks of life, coming together to create a legacy in the creative, music, peformance and artistic world, based on something unheard of in most, if not all industries, a Creative Commons musical.

Who is ikibook? What do they do?

Ikibook is a newly founded social enterprise whose mission is to save meaningful content in the world. It does this by building an ecosystem of creators and to enable collaboration and support via blockchain.

Website: http://www.ikibook.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ikibook.global/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ikibook/

The founder of ikibook, Iris Koh, a music director, songwriter and entrepreneur shares the reasons behind this musical. “It is one of my bucket lists to write a musical one day, but the thought of writing it is very daunting. So instead of writing it myself, I thought, what if I could put songwriters, playwrights, actors, musicians and dancers together and with everyone’s input and creativity we could begin writing this musical and let it take on a life of its own?”

Source: ikibook press release

I found ikibook at Tech In Asia Singapore 2018, I discovered and knew more about them and what they do. Thereafter, I wrote briefly about ikibook in my earlier articles that I published on my photography/travel website/blog and personal/technology website/blog. After Tech in Asia Singapore 2018, I attended ikibook events at their office and slowly got to know more about what they do.

Then came an email out of the blue, on an open call to participate and be a part of the world’s first ever Creative Commons musical. I went and listend to their pitch and decided to join in as a photographer (behind the scenes, rehearsals, musical performance). Personally, working on Creative Commons is something I know about yet I do not implement, since I work on All Rights Reserved due to the commerical and professional aspects of my photography business.

During the past week, I managed to attend two of their rehearsals, capturing photographs behinds the scenes of their rehearsals and preparation. The amount of talent and creativity is beyond my imagination, a gathering of creative and talented individuals,  who may not even know each other in the first place, creating a musical within a month! The singing, the dancing, the musical performance, the play, you have to watch it, to believe that it is entirely possible for the creative industry to produce a Creative Commons musical.

For now, I would only share some behind the scenes, rehearsal photographs. Keep a lookout as I cover Campus Party Singapore and ikibook on my Twitter, Facebook Page and Instagram, leading up to the “What If” musical performance on Sunday 8^thJuly 2018.

If you like to know more about Campus Party Singapore, more information is available below:

Website: http://www.campus-party.org

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/campuspartysingapore/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/campuspartysingapore/

Twitter Campus Party Singapore: https://twitter.com/campuspartySG

The world’s first ever Creative Commons musical, “What If” by ikibook is taking at Campus Party Singapore 2018 on Sunday 8^thJuly 2018. Spread the word, Pass It On, come on down to Campus Party Singapore 2018 and catch the world’s first ever Creative Commons musical “What If”.

For those who are attending Campus Party Singapore, remember to keep a lookout for “What If” musical presented by ikibook. Let’s hope this would be an inspiration to you to create your own story that you want to tell the world, whether you are a creator, entrepreneur, techie, creative, visionary, to be unique and bold, taking a big step forward to be the change and make a change. What if … you can do it?

What If … you can create something to make a difference in the world today?

The post The World’s first ever Creative Commons musical “What If” by ikibook appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Attending Tech in Asia Singapore 2018 was a great experience for me, listening to great panel sessions across different stages over two days, visiting different companies from various industries, listening to them sharing more about their products, services etc.

I wrote and shared about my experiences, thoughts and views (from a technology writer/enthusiast perspective) on attending Tech in Asia Singapore 2018 in another article post on my personal / technology blog/website. For this article,I am sharing startups/technology companies related to photography, travel and hospitality industries that were at Tech in Asia Singapore 2018.

Photography related industries

Markedshot

An interesting marketing and business growth platform. I visited their booth to have a chat with them and learn more about their services. After a good chat, I am able to visualise their marketing platform via their social gallery and business growth via their business intelligence and data gathering.

This might be a good partnership for photographers/photography companies that handle big events for clients and also for organisations/buinesses that would like to have a more social and marketing outreach for their events/services.

Check them out on their website – https://www.markedshot.com

Travel related industries

Ownrides

If you love to travel overseas for holidays and you love Taiwan, this would definitely get your attention! DIY and customise your own Taiwan travel itinerary with private driver without the need for a travel agent or travel agency.

Being an independent traveler, DIY travel is what I like, I do like the Ownrides platform. With my strong interest in travel photography, I had a chat with them on this topic and they do have drivers inside their network that would suit travel photographers, just remember to drop them a message.

Meanwhile, I am also looking at their expansion plans and see where they would be expanding/moving into!

Check them out on their website – https://ownrides.com

TravelSkope

Travel in the modern social media and technology era is getting more digitised, online and social media friendly. This would be more of an interest to those who are thinking of setting up their travel agency. TravelSkope can help you to build, setup and customise your travel agency website.

Now, I know who to look for if I want to setup my online travel agency one day in the future.

Check them out on their website – https://www.travelskope.com

WAmazing

For Japan travel lovers (like me!), this WAmazing app is going to get your attention too. Plan your Japan travel itinerary through this app and I hope to explore more using this app for my future travels to Japan.

Check them out on their website – https://www.wamazing.jp

Travelog

An online social travel marketplace for buying, selling and sharing, with their base in Malaysia. If you are planning a travel holiday to Malaysia, this might be useful.

Check them out on their website – https://travelog.com

TravellerMates

This would interest independent and/or small group travelers, connecting them via social media and allowing them to bulk buy popular activities to achieve a group discount

Check them out on their website – http://www.travellermates.com/en

Hospitality Industry

Coffee Break

Being a coffee fan/addict, something related to coffee caught my attention. There are many cafes in Singapore (we coffee lovers know it) and they can be a little bit pricey due to the high overhead costs in rental and wages for the cafes.

This Coffee Break app partners specially curated cafes and helps you to discover the city’s best brews and eats. You can purchase their coffee beverages package plans via the app.

Check them out on their website – http://www.hellocoffeebreak.com

LoyalGuest.com

A travel membership program network that builds a travel community, directly connecting travelers with hotels and other travel service providers. It’s not your usual accommodation booking platform, current presence in Southeast Asia and looking to expand worldwide.

Check them out on their website – http://loyalguest.com

Creative industry

A special mention to Ikibook–  A blockchain ecosystem for the creative industries, musicians, artists, photographers, creatives, this would interest them. Keep a lookout!

For my photographers, travelers and those interested in hospitality industries, hope this would be useful to you in some way or another, as a consumer or from a B2B angle.

** I would like to thank Lewis PR for the invitation to Tech in Asia Singapore 2018 conference! **

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