My Wildlife Photography (birds/otters/animals) Explorations in Singapore

That’s no doubt that Singapore has a very small land size, yet we have our fair share of nature and green areas, sometimes not too far away from our neighbourhoods. My wildlife photography (birds/otters/animals) explorations in Singapore brings me outdoors, nature and photography therapy, all coming together.

Whenever I visit outdoor areas in Singapore, nature parks, beaches, gardens, nature reserves, while I would usually photograph more birds, I do keep a lookout for other wildlife in Singapore, otters being one of them that I keep a lookout for whenever I am outdoors with my wildlife photography gear. 

Otters Sightings in Singapore

I still recalled ten years or more back, we don’t get to spot many otters in Singapore, it was quite exciting to spot them in our nature areas and waterways. When I first photographed them at Lorong Halus, Marina Barrage/Marina Reservoir, that was really exciting!

Slowly and gradually over time, the otters in Singapore had expanded their numbers and presences at many more locations in Singapore. I managed to spot and photographed them at many more different locations in Singapore over time.

• Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
• West Coast Park, Sungei Ulu Pandan Kechil, Sungei Ulu Pandan, Pandan Reservoir 
• Pasir Ris Park
• Jurong Lake Garden 
• Labrador Park / Berlayer Creek
• Bishan-AMK Park
• East Coast Park
• Singapore River, Kallang River, Marina Bay/Marina Reservoir/Marina Barrage/Marina East Drive (Gardens By The Bay & Gardens By The Bay East)

From solo otter, a pair of them, small family size to big family of otters, I have managed to photograph them. However, I have yet to photograph those very young otters (just born or a few months old), I hope to spot and photograph young otters one day when I am in the outdoors and nature areas of Singapore.

There are a number of different otter family groups in Singapore residing at various locations in Singapore. I have photographed a number of them, maybe a few more otter families and also new otter families that started their new tribe in recent years. 

My Nature/Bird/Wildlife Photography in Singapore

For my nature/bird/wildlife photography in Singapore, I upload them into my Flickr photography collections, doing my part to share photos (with OtterCity) and help spread the message of nature and wildlife conservation and protection, this is also a great form of outdoors and photography therapy for me too. 

• Bird/Wildlife Photography in Singapore – https://www.flickr.com/photos/tangenghui/collections/72157632742488230/ 
• Otter Sightings in Singapore – https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBs6an 

While otters have their fair share of being in the media limelight in Singapore, I sincerely hope that otters can co-exist well (along with other wildlife species) with human beings here in Singapore, a City In Nature.

The post World Otter Day – 28 May 2025 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Water for Peace – Create an effect

Water for peace, everyone of us has a part to play to part in this. Together in unity as a world, we can each create an effect that combines together, our peace and harmony, to make things good for the benefit for Earth where we are living on.

Water must not turn into a resource that human beings have to fight for drinking and using, this is a human right, an integral part of our everyday aspect of life. On World Water Day 2024, the whole world needs to unite around this precious commodity water. Let’s use Water for Peace, and change the world into a more stable and prosperous future.

World Water Day 2024 with my Canon visual storytelling

Through my Canon visual storytelling exploration and documentation over the years into nature, great outdoors, rivers, beaches, mangrove wetlands, parks, coastal areas and the beach, photographing, documenting and observing the diversity of nature, wildlife and travel sceneries of the world that we live in.

From the otters living, hunting for food and moving along our waterways in Singapore, the migration birds visiting our shores, the coastal areas and sea around us that cements Singapore as a global transportation/shipping hub, and also how Singapore built her resilience of water supply over the decades. Not just the wildlife, the land, nature, and us human beings, we all depend on water to survive. 

This mesmerising “In a Rainbow” light artwork display by House of VSE at Alexandra Point Tunnel has also transformed into blue for World Water Day 2024 from 11th to 22nd March. Through House of VSE light artworks, you can make an impact, spread the word and awareness through arts and creativity. 

This is also the time to remind ourselves that water is an invaluable and finite resource, we have to play our part to ensure Water for Peace. Singapore is also marking with its own Singapore World Water Day 2024 by PUB Singapore’s National Water Agency, playing both local and international roles to advocate Water for Peace for World Water Day 2024. 

The post World Water Day 2024 – Water for Peace appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

This is my first time marking #WorldWaterDay on my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog. While I have been photographing, covering and writing on environmental protection, conservation, sustainability, I feel that I have not done enough. In recent years, I have increased concern for our world climate situation. I decided to be more active in this movement, I hope that my visual story telling can play a bigger role in helping to bring world environmental issues and awareness across to different groups of people not just in Singapore, around the world as well. 

World Water Day 2022 theme is Groundwater. It’s invisible yet its impact is visible everywhere around the world. We are over using groundwater in many areas around the world, our natural resource is being depleted and its time the world act on this. You can play a part in World Water Day 2022, please visit UN Water and find out more!

Back home in Singapore, we are having our own Singapore World Water Day too! Time to GoBlue4SG and let’s Make Every Drop Count. Canon Singapore has partnered with PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency on a photography contest – Canon x Singapore Water Day Photo Contest, Theme is “Water is Life” from 17th to 27th March 2022. Go check it out! 

When I am not doing commercial photography work, I love to explore Singapore’s nature and outdoors. From exploring parks, reservoirs, nature reserves, photographing wildlife, nature areas and how we Singaporeans interact and live with nature and outdoors close to our doorstep.

My recent exploration brought me to photographing nature, wildlife and our waterways/reservoirs up close as well as from a bird’s eye view in our heartlands. 

On World Water Day, let’s #GoBlue4SG and #MakeEveryDropCount, spread the awareness on water, not just in Singapore, around the world too

* A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R3 Explorer Series Production *

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In my short hands on experience article that I published in July 2020, I confessed that I wasn’t really into lenses with focal length range of 100-500mm as my setup was geared towards the holy trinity setup and big prime lenses. During the period when I was reviewing the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens, I was enlightened, my perceptions and views of this focal length range changed.  

A favourite lens for wildlife photographers 

I have been reading and looking at Facebook groups/pages posts on wildlife photographs shot in Singapore. There is a trend on these combinations of Canon EOS R5 or EOS R6 with RF100-500mm lens. I had chats with the folks from my local camera shop that I regularly go to, this is quite a popular camera and lens combination that the photographers wanted to get.

When I had the RF100-500mm lens with the Canon EOS R5 for review, I finally understood and realise why this is such a popular combination and setup. From my adventures at Jurong Bird Park, to West Coast Park, Bukit Batok Nature Park, Pasir Ris Park and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. I photographed quite a lot of wildlife photographs.

The 100mm to 500mm range is versatile for wildlife photography, you would not be constrained by shorter focal lengths or a fixed focal length lens. The photographs quality are sharp even when shooting at its maximum aperture. 

This would not be the fastest lens since it’s not a constant aperture lens, nevertheless the AF is pretty impressive and fast when paired with the EOS R5 body (and I believe it would be just as good with the EOS R6 body too).

More than just a lens for wildlife and sports photography 

Although this lens is probably going to be more geared towards wildlife and sports photography, it’s a versatile lens that photographers can use for sports, travel and landscapes too. While I didn’t get the opportunity to photograph sports events with this lens, I was able to photograph people/machines in action from a distance away and landscapes too. 

Photographing landscapes with this 100mm to 500mm focal length range telephoto lens is probably less common, even less common in Singapore when it’s a small country by land size and honestly speaking, it doesn’t have much of a wide and vast landscapes in big countries that I visited. Using the RF100-500mm to shoot landscapes in Singapore, I managed to capture some beautiful moments that I really like and didn’t expect to come out in a way that I would expect from my travel photography trips overseas. 

Personal thoughts and views

This is a lens that change my view on long focal length range telephoto zoom lens. While I am a user and supporter of zoom lenses such as 24-70mm and 70-200mm focal range, a longer range focal length such as 70-300mm or 100-400mm didn’t attract me as much initially in my photography adventures. I was more inclined towards prime telephoto lens such as the 300mm f/2.8L for their speed and optics. During the period when I was reviewing the RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens, it changed my view and approach towards wildlife, sports and action photography. I am now more inclined towards focal length range telephoto zoom lens, keen to get this lens some time down the road.

Key factors and points that convinced and changed me after using RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens

• Lighter in weight
• More versatile than a fixed focal length prime lens 
• Easier to carry and move around with faster reaction time when photographing wildlife/sports versus a fixed prime lens on a tripod 
• The optics quality and AF speed is excellent considering that it’s not a fixed focal length prime lens
• Price is a lot lower as compared to a fixed focal length prime lens 

A versatile, portable and not too heavy telephoto zoom lens with excellent optics quality that is comparable to a prime lens. Since it’s not a constant aperture lens, the auto-focus speed may not be as fast as a prime lens. However, when paired with the Canon EOS R5 or R6, the AF speed is still pretty fast and impressive. 

This remarkable lens is very Ideal for wildlife, sports and travel, sometimes landscapes too. In the wildlife and birding community, a number of photographers have the Canon EOS R5 or Canon EOS R6 and RF100-500mm setup, a powerful, ideal, excellent and popular combination of both AF speed, AF accuracy, optics and output quality (45MP Canon EOS R5 sensor provides lot of details even when cropping in). 

The retail recommended price for the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens is SGD$4,459, compared to a cost of a big aperture prime lens, it’s not that expensive.

The Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens is a versatile, portable and not too heavy telephoto zoom lens, very ideal and suitable for wildlife photographers, sports and travel. This highly capable long range telephoto zoom lens gives photographers options to choose from for their wildlife or sports photography. A value for money top quality Canon L lens that gives photographers, versatility and portability versus the more expensive prime telephoto lens. Whether it is a telephoto zoom lens or telephoto prime lens, photographers have the options available to choose from. 

More photographs shot with the RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens can be viewed here inside this Flickr photo album. Do check out my other photo albums on Flickr, Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS R6, Canon RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and Canon RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM and check out my articles on my recent reviews and testings of the Canon EOS R5, Canon EOS R6, Canon RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and Canon RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM.

* I would like to thank Canon Singapore for the opportunity to review the Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens *

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