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:
  • • Photography & photojournalism
    • Travel storytelling
    • Heritage and cultural documentation
    • Events, arts, and community coverage
• 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? 

The post Celebrating 20 Years of TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

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.

My Christmas (December 2022) and Birthday (January 2023) Wish List

How do I come up with a 2-in-1 wish list? Basically, it’s Christmas (December) and my birthday falls in the month of January, thus a 2-in-1 combo gift wish list! Here is my Christmas (December 2022) and Birthday (January 2023) wish list!

Cameras

I have previously tested and reviewed Canon EOS R3, EOS R6 and EOS R7, I have also recently had a short hands on with the latest Canon EOS R6 Mark II. It would be great to add another of those cameras into my current setup, any one of the 3 Canon cameras listed below would be an awesome addition to my current setup!

• Canon EOS R3
• Canon EOS R6 Mark II
• Canon EOS R6 
• Canon EOS R7

Lenses

• Canon RF100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM 

This is one of the Canon RF lenses that I reviewed previously, and I like it a lot.

Accessories/Peripherals 

• Wotancraft Pilot 10L

Technology Gadgets

• Apple MacBook Pro 14” M1 Pro
• Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
• NAS Solution 2 Bay or 4 Bay
• Sandisk Extreme Portable PRO SSD V2 2TB
• Casio Pro Trekker

I would not go too much into the details of my accessories/peripherals and technology gadgets list above!

My Christmas / Festive Season Gift Guides 2022 

This could be the first time that I compile and share with all of my followers and readers my Christmas / Festive Season Gift Guides 2022 that I received.

Photography

For those planning to get yourself a new camera or buying a camera for your loved ones, check out Canon Christmas Gift Guide 2022, whether you are a professional or serious enthusiast, content creator or just entering into photography!

Books/Zines

Planning to get some books to read? Check out No Missing Tools by Fernando Gros, you can get it from his website! One of the books that opened up my mind in thinking, writing, thought leadership and creativity. 

I recently published a new photography zine, it’s my second zine in the areas of photography therapy and exploration. If you are interested, visit MagCloud platform, you can get a physical or digital copy of TGH Photography Therapy Zine and Playbook, or even both physical and digital copy together!

Lifestyle Technology Gadgets 

I have the following brands Christmas 2022 / Festive Season 2022 Gift Guides to share with you! Do visit them and check out from the various brands offerings during this festive season:

• Jabra
• Acer
• LG
• Samsung
• Dell

Merry Christmas 2022 and Happy New Year 2023!

Wishing all my followers and readers a Merry Christmas 2022 and Happy New Year 2023 in advance! 

Any kind sponsors for any of my Christmas 2022 + Birthday 2023 wish list? 

The post Christmas 2022 and Birthday 2023 Wish List appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

During the journey leading up to this launch, I do have a lot of thoughts, feelings and emotions, behind the scenes in producing and publishing my second photography zine that couldn’t really go inside there, I wanted to share some of them here below. 

What is my second photography zine all about? It’s a lot more than just sweat and tears 

The motivation and story behind my second photography zine came about from some personal crisis in a middle of an ongoing global pandemic situation. There were a series of situations that took place in 2021, I won’t be going into detail anymore. In a nut shell, I spiralled down into a rabbit hole and I have to find my way out and up. 

My second photography zine has a unique and special theme – photography therapy theme, heading to the outdoors, nature, photography walks with friends, all forming part of my route to recovery. 

On a side note, if you are interested to read and know about my lengthy rantings, you can visit and discover my articles on this TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog and TGH Technology and Business portal/blog (where I write and publish personal articles as well)

Why do I write and publish a zine, and not as a book?

I decided not to go in an official book format/style, I would like it to be a bit less formal and a photography zine allows me to explore and test it out further, my photography zines are my building blocks towards a more formal visual story telling style book down the road.

“Nobody is going to buy your book/zine”

A feedback/comment that I heard previously, both a constructive and brutal harsh feedback/comment in a capitalist world that we live in. This is also on me to constantly improve my writing, style and types of visual story telling projects. 

We are living in a goldfish memory world that probably has only a 1-2 minutes attention span, glued to videos and driven by social media flaunting, or only looking at article headline and not reading the full article/story. 

Let’s bring back the world of reading, not just online, also reading from a physical book/magazine/zine again, in a world driven by internet and social media. We are also supporting fellow creatives and writers too! 

Question: Where can I purchase your second photography zine?

For my relatives, friends, supporters and followers from outside Singapore, my second photography zine is available for purchase on the MagCloud. For those living in Singapore, you can also order from MagCloud platform! 

As for my family, relatives, friends and supporters in Singapore, I would need to speak to local publishing/printing company Grenadier Press, and print them for the local Singapore market. I have yet to finalise how and where I am selling them. I might have a chat with my regular photography shops and place my zines for sale at the local Katong Square lifestyle and vintage market held every first weekend of the month.

Acknowledgements 

There are a number of people that I would like to sincerely thank them from the bottom of my heart, from being there for me when I was at the rock bottom. I wrote a pretty lengthy acknowledgements inside my second photography zine.

Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart to the following folks that played a significant role/part in my second photography zine that you might or might not have known: Chef Keith, Ryan Cheng, Isaac Ong, Wendy Kong, Michael Tay, Sue Fang, Tiffany Ngan, Belinda Tan and Fernando Gros.

What’s next in 2023?

Till my next photography project in 2023, which form and type should I embark on? A new photography book from my list of personal projects, a visual story book on my travel or a new set of photography zine? 

Last but not least

Last but not least, thank you from the bottom of my heart, to my family, relatives, friends and supporters who believe, trust and supported me in my photography and personal journeys, writing over the past decades (and still counting).

I have my fair share of criticisms, making (I lost count) mistakes in my personal life, professional career and from running my own small business. There are also people who look down on me (who doesn’t have them in your life?). We have to take it on our chin – learn from mistakes and life lessons, change, adapt, adopt and improve.

It’s not perfect, there’s always room for improvements, my photography business, personal photography, writing, publishing photography books, photography zines and I can only get better.

Thank you once again, for joining and following me my visual storytelling photography adventures over the years!

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Photography Business

Business side of things

Q1 2022 started off alright, with signs of a more stable recovery for economy that could flow down to the other levels of the economy. It didn’t seem to sustain with Q2 2022 seems to be a bit of a slow down after coming out full steam in Q1, things didn’t go as expected and planned, making me worried. Q3 2022 was a bounce back into life again. 

There were disappointments, there were lost opportunities, there were new ones too. While there is not a big boom type of growth, there is a good momentum, hopefully this will carry on forward into Q4 2022.

Just like running any business, the levels of stress and pressure are never ending, never low on the scale, sometimes it also come in wave after wave.

Photography consultancy and coaching/training

My years of photography experiences in both professional and personal capacity has finally opened up an avenue that I wasn’t really expecting, the past 2 quarters have been an interesting expansion, slow and steady. The photography consultancy segment also give me ideas on how I might be able to expand this further and wider.

Through my consultancy, it brought me back to coaching/training my friends my photography skills, knowledge and sharing my experiences. A sector that I am planning to expand further, I am back again, having “students” or “disciples”, with me the photography “Shifu”, coined by my former friends who went out with me on various photography outings and walks. 

Although I don’t have an official number, I should have 2-3 “disciples” under my personalised photography care and coaching/training. 

Photo walks 

I used to conduct this regularly, part of my photography coaching/training programme. This went quiet for a period of time, now I am bringing it back again, for my photography coaching/training. I have some expansion plans in mind for this segment, working out the nitty gritty details in Q4 2022.

Photography Zine/Books and Publishing

Since I printed my first photography book in 2015 after my Hokkaido trip in November 2014, I entered into the world of printing and publishing my photography, creative and visual stories into photography zines. 

2nd photography zine update

My 2nd photography zine is now in the 2nd mock up stage, the final phase of editing and amendments. I am setting aside and scheduling my time to get this final hurdle completed and ready for publishing and sale. Thereafter, I would make the official announcement of my 2nd photography zine, pricing and availability. 

What book or zine projects should I embark on?

I have started a number of different photography projects over the years, in different areas and interests over the decade. I am seeking and looking at new photography/documentation/visual story telling projects. 

Some projects on my mind are 

• MF analogue B&W landscape photography
• Produce and publish new photography zines, photography books and photography guide books. 
• From my earlier photography projects in history, heritage and culture, I might choose, work on it and expand them further, and tap on funding if possible.
• Writing and producing my own short films/videos along with my photography projects and visual story telling.

Personal photography

Beyond my photography business, my personal/leisure photography is just as important and crucial for me. This segment is not so much about money, it’s a lot more about personal fulfillments and commitments to personal photography works from documentary to interests. 

Analogue medium format 

Medium format (MF) photography has been an area that I really wanted to explore some years back. Some MF photographers said to me that I won’t understand MF photography even though I have been shooting 35mm or APS-C format for quite a number of years. Personally, I don’t begrudge them since I never tried MF photography before. 

Over the years that I was keen to explore MF, I started off with a Lubitel 166+ TLR although my interest didn’t sustain long enough and it went into my dry box. Yes, it’s a bit embarrassing to confess to this. I was still enquiring on MF cameras, 645, 6×6 or 6×7, which camera brands to look at, does it make sense to get an analogue MF camera body and lens, pair it with a MF digital back instead of a film back. The answer to this, was not recommended, as shared by some of my photography mentors.

Most recently, I was very blessed to inherit some analogue MF cameras from a fellow photographer friend’s uncle, who used to be a commercial photographer in the analogue film days. Now, I finally have a chance to embark on my MF photography journey. 

As this is still a work in progress, checking and sending for repairs if necessary, it’s going to take a bit of time. Once this is settled down, I would share more updates in another article.

Travel 

When should I travel again?

The travel restrictions are gradually lifted around the world, more countries are reopening up their borders for business and leisure travel over the past 2 quarters . Many people could be seen traveling out of Singapore, on one hand I am envious, on the other hand, the airfares are not exactly cheap, the travel, tourism, aviation and hospitality industries are playing catch up to meet the demands and pent up frustrations. 

Travel Photography Bucket List

On my travel photography bucket list, countries in APAC region would be my priority since they are much nearer to Singapore:

Japan

A lengthy list of prefectures to visit in Japan, with a return to Hokkaido on my plans, continuing on with my 4 seasons of Hokkaido travel photography project. Another key region in Japan that I would like to visit is the Kansai region. 

Malaysia

More than just a neighbour to Singapore, I have relatives in Malaysia, I hope to plan some time and visit them again after 2+ years of global pandemic lockdown. I am also keen to revisit Sabah again for wildlife photography and trekking.

Vietnam/Taiwan/Indonesia/Thailand 

They are a short flight away from Singapore, making them pretty accessible for short getaways. 

Europe and beyond

I have been chatting and discussing on TTOT community chat that I am planning to visit Europe. They are in my travel plans, probably in the next phase after visiting ASEAN and APAC regions first.

Guiding/Leading travel photography trips

In conjunction with my photography consultancy, photography training/coaching and photo walks, would all these lead me to guiding/leading travel photography trips overseas? I shall leave it here as it is for now, if and when the time is ripe, there might be some news.

Goals Setting for Q4 2022 

First and foremost, I have set myself a number of goals setting for Q4 2022. I recalled that there were a few years whereby I didn’t want to reveal them. For this Q4 2022, I am aligning myself to change my approaches and way of doing things, not the old school way though of writing specific and detailed goals, objectives and plans for Q4 2022.

Goals for Q4 2022

• Officially launch and publish my 2nd photography zine
• Make a breakthrough in my travel photography/writing/related segments
• Kickstart my analogue MF photography journey 
• Rebrand and realign my commercial photography services 

Last but not least

This Q3 2022 reflection and plans for Q4 2022 somehow feels pretty lengthy with quite a lot of personal thoughts, feelings, and emotions in the areas of my photography and travel.  

Last but not least, thank you for taking the time to read it till the end of my personal ranting (in some ways).

The post Reflecting Q3 2022 and Plans for Q4 2022 (Photography and Travel) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Just to recap, in April 2022, I shared an update titled, “Second Photography Zine Update – Review, Edit and Amendments”. Finally, I managed to push it through after some delays, procrastination, juggling between business and content creation.

This is an interim update post that is way overdue on my part, this may not have everything that I would to share at this point in time. More information and details, as well as my own heartfelt personal stories in this journey creating, producing, writing and piecing all the segments together, would be shared and published when I make the official announcement on the launch of my 2nd photography zine.  

What’s going to happen next?

This would be my final review, edit and amendments. For my final 2nd draft, the following steps would take place:

1. Final layout adjustments and amendments
2. Whether to go for saddle stitch binding or perfect binding
3. Lastly, a final look through with another peer review, for the last round of edits and amendments 
4. Uploading it for official sales/printing (international market)
5. Visiting Grenadier Press to discuss on local prints

Pricing and Availability (International and local)

I haven’t decide on my selling price for my 2nd photography, once I get the local printing costs, I would be able to determine my selling price.

For my friends and supporters in other countries, it’s quite straightforward. You can purchase it from the MagCloud platform, they would print and deliver the photography zine to your residence. 

For my family, relatives, friends and supporters based in Singapore, I would be making an appointment to visit Grenadier Press and have a chat with them on printing my photography zine. More details on where and how to purchase would be make in due course.

Thoughts, Feelings and Emotions

My 2nd photography zine is one of my visual story telling works that meant something deep and personal inside my heart, mind and soul, during a global pandemic period facing so much uncertainties on both professional and personal fronts, and a mixture of personal matters that spiralled me into a pretty dark hole.

The journey to capture and write my visual stories was helpful, grateful and therapeutic. Beyond that, I faced other challenges such as “Nobody is going to buy your works” and many more.

When my 2nd photography zine is ready for official announcement, I would share more, 2 ends of a spectrum, from hurt, disappointments, sweat and tears and pride, to the joy and happiness in another personal photography, writing and creative accomplishment. 

Last but not least, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, to those who supported  and helped me out during those turbulent times. 

The post 2nd Photography Zine Update – Final 2nd Draft appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

How did this book came about?

As I embarked on my route to recovery, I had an inspiration, an idea to combine my nature/outdoor therapy treks, those nature and outdoors photographs that I shot, into a hybrid format, a zine with my writing and sharing, accompanied by a playbook format, giving my readers the chance to write down their thoughts, feelings and emotions, like a journal, or pasting photos, draw, doodle, there is a wide scope for creativity, exploration and for readers to share their inner most thoughts.

Updates and Tentative Timeline

My written content has been completed, proof-read and edited. I am curating my photographs to be placed inside my book, followed by fine-tuning the layout to my photography zine/playbook.

Tentative timeline is March 2022 whereby I would print some draft copies/mock up via MagCloud platform and get the draft copies delivered to me. I would proceed to do my budgeting and planning before proceeding to make an appointment and have a chat with local printing house, Grenadier Press.

Any final amendments would be made in March 2022 before sending my finalised edition for local printing (if all goes to plan) and upload online to MagCloud platform for purchase in April 2022. 

Where am I printing my photography zine/playbook?

Local Singapore

For my local Singapore market, I am going to have a discussion with Grenadier Press, they are the printing house that printed my Hokkaido 2014 Black and White photography book back in 2015.

International 

As for my friends and followers around the world, I am going to use MagCloud platform whereby you can order a copy of my book online and get it delivered to you. 

The story behind my story

The story behind my story of my second book can be found inside there. When I made the official announcement of my photography zine/playbook, I would share more personal insights, thoughts and feelings on writing, publishing and printing this book. 

More than just another personal achievement, this book means so much more on a personal and emotional basis deep inside me, the belief in myself in such unprecedented crisis, than just listing it as an achievement or number of books/zines published/printed. 

I don’t know where my second photography zine/playbook is going to bring me next, I won’t know how the response to this book would be like. All I know is that I am going to take another leap of faith in pushing and breaking through my writing and creative boundaries, the invisible walls/chains that are holding me back. 

Let’s go, join me on a new photography book and exploration journey with me! 

The post Coming Soon – Second photography zine/playbook appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

The month of January always seem to be hectic since it’s a short turnaround time from Christmas weekend to New Year weekend, followed by 4 more weeks to Chinese New Year festive holiday. It takes a while to get up to speed while there were ongoing adjustments, adapting and settling into new gig/role, on top of getting my business back on track.  

Round Up Jan 2022 (Photography and Travel)

Photography (Business)

I am working on gaining more traction, getting my business back on track after transiting and switching my photography services genres last year. 

Photography (Personal)

The month of January is like a month of arts, culture and heritage for me. I covered local Singapore artists in action, artist Yip Yew Chong and his mural paintings, Wei from Very Small Exhibition/Bring Love Everywhere and LiteWerkz at Light to Night Festival 2022.  

Meanwhile, I am planning to get some new photographer profile shoot for Year 2022, need a new banner cover photo for my social media pages and websites as well. 

In the year 2022, I am planning to do more personalised photography projects with fellow local artists from other creatives, other interest areas include history, heritage and culture documentation and nature/green spaces. 

NFT Photography 

This is an area that I am keen in, still learning and exploring. There are quite a lot of discussions on the NFT field, both pros and cons. I am reading both sides of the NFT equation, I believe in its potential and future prospects. I would be doing more research before embarking on this platform  and share more updates on my NFT photography journey along the way. 

Videography/Vlogging/Filmmaking

I am learning and developing this field, on a personal basis to produce my own videos/short films, this would be crucial and important for my social media marketing gigs as well. 

Travel – Explore My Own Backyard 

While we are waiting for international travel to open up more, in a safer and less restrictive manner, I shall continue to explore my own backyard. I would start doing documentation and photography works again on a few nature/green spaces since the month of January was taken up by arts, culture and heritage.   

Short Break for CNY 2022

I am planning to take a short break for CNY 2022 from my photography and travel media news coverage, content creation and writing. Do check out my Round Up Jan 2022 for my (Technology and Business) segment too!

Even though I am not publishing content and articles, that does’t mean I am having a holiday. I would take this time to start off on some of my photography projects, product shoot, editing photos from a recent assignment and finishing up my photography therapy zine and playbook (editing and finally layout).

Wishing all a Happy Chinese Lunar New Year 2022, good health, happiness, luck and prosperity in the Year of the Tiger! 

May the Year of the  Tiger be the year whereby we can truly and surely lift ourselves up from this global pandemic situation and embark on a route to economic recovery and a more normal way of living. 

The post Round Up Jan 2022 and Short Break for CNY 2022 (Photography and Travel) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

First and foremost, initial setup after unboxing

First and foremost, Canon PIXMA G670 users would need to get the initial setup done properly. Once completed and connected, printing is quite a breeze. I strongly recommend all to read and follow the instructions on the booklet or from the online manual whichever format you prefer. 

You need to setup the printer heads first before going to the ink tanks next. Follow the instructions  and you would be fine.

The PIXMA G670 uses refillable bottles of ink, some users may not be too familiar with them yet. Thus, the setup of the PIXMA G670 printer heads might look a bit daunting for a first timer using bottles of refillable ink. 

Here’s a tip, don’t rush the setup, one ink bottle at a time. Fill up the ink tanks one by one, each ink tank has its own unique nozzle design and ink tank position, align them properly and you won’t make any mistakes. Once the ink tank bottle is in position, the ink would flow down and fill the ink tank compartment up. 

Repeat the process one ink tank bottle at one time, remember there are 6 ink tank bottles for you to fill up. 

Connectivity and Canon printing apps

Once the printer heads and ink tanks are setup, the next step is to connect the PIXMA G670 printer to your local Wi-Fi networks. Follow the instructions in the user manual provided or from the online manual. The setup might be a little bit tedious, however once the printer is connected to your local Wi-Fi networks, printing is a breeze with the Canon printing apps. 

I strongly recommend users to download the Canon printing apps for ease of use and connectivity with the Canon printers. As for myself, I have the following apps, Canon PRINT, Canon Message Print, Canon Mini Print, Canon Easy-PhotoPrinter Editor and Canon Creative Park apps on my Apple iPhone 12 and iPad Air 3. 

The Canon PRINT app would be very helpful for you to use with the PIXMA G670 photo printer. The app is easy to use and navigate, it’s a breeze when using the app to print your photographs or documents. 

Tips on using the PIXMA G670 photo printer

• Remember to choose your correct print media type and size before printing
• Curate and select your photographs that you would like to print into folders first, that would save you time having to search all over the place for the photos that you would like to print

Printing photographs 

During this Canon PIXMA G670 printer review period, I was supplied the following photo paper types and sizes for printing, 4R Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, A4 Photo Paper Plus Glossy II and Magnetic Photo Paper PS-508. I printed a mix of colour photo prints and black & white photo prints across all three types of paper media provided. 

Colour Photo Prints

I printed a number of different photography genres, the colour photos were nice, it’s accurate and vivid. My views are that the red, blue and green colours pops up vividly, printing on Canon Photo Paper Glossy II paper helps to push out the vivid colours too. 

Black & White Photo (B&W) Prints

As for B&W photo prints, it was pretty good overall for a home/leisure/SOHO photo printer. My personal opinion is that Canon professional series printers still has the edge over them for B&W photo prints, based from my feel and viewing, on the quality of B&W photo prints that I did previously.  

Overall, comparing to my personal colour printing as well as B&W photo printing experiences with Canon professional printers since I own a Canon PIXMA Pro-10 photo printer, the colour and B&W photo prints from the PIXMA G670 are getting close. 

Magnetic Photo Paper PS-508

One of the various Canon photo paper media available for printing, the magnetic photo paper is basically a 4R size glossy photo paper with a magnetic back. Such creative photo media makes printing fun and easy to do at home. 

Print / Scan / Copy

The PIXMA G670 is more than just a photo printer for the home, it’s also a home leisure usage printer as well as small office home office (SOHO) printer or a small printer for your business operations. 

Print

For home/leisure/SOHO/small business users, when you need to print documents e.g. school work for your children, office work documents, having a printer like the PIXMA G670 photo printer can do the job for you without having a need to travel to your office or asking others for help to print documents for you. 

Printing a Zine 

For creatives, writers, printing a zine is a creative project that we can do it in the comfort of our home with a home printer such as the PIXMA G670 printer. Although this printer doesn’t support duplex printing, you still can do it manually though, printing one page at a time, flip over and print the second page. 

Scan 

The scanner function is good for document scanning, sometimes we have to scan documents due to the nature of our work/studies. 

However this is not a dedicated photograph scanner, I tested the scanning on a few old photos of mine, the scanned results were decent, not as sharp and accurate. 

Thoughts and Views

The PIXMA G670 printer is a multi-purpose 3-in-1 photography and home printer. This printer is catered for photography and creative enthusiasts who wish to print more photographs or do creative media works in the comfort of their home/SOHO/small office setup. 

This printer is just as ideal for home usage, small office home office, it’s pretty compact and not too big in size. It’s also ideal for small business owners, students and family with children.

For photography enthusiasts, I reckon that you would like the vivid colours from the photo prints, as well as the B&W photo prints too.

You can print photo gifts for your family, loved ones, relatives and friends, from different Canon print paper  media such as magnetic photo paper, to 4R to A4 print paper sizes. Although we are living in a digital media world whereby we are viewing a lot of photos online and on social media platforms, when you print out as a photo print gift, they would like it a lot, holding and viewing a physical photography print artwork.

In the course of my PIXMA G670 printer review, I printed a number of my favourite photography works and priceless memories with different group of family, relatives and friends. When I gave them my photography prints as gifts, I was very happy to see my photography works being appreciated. Their happy and delighted faces of my family, relatives and friends when they received my photography prints never fail to brighten me up too!

Do explore other creative print media options by Canon! They can provide you fun family bonding time over printing photographs, art and craft work such as photo stickers, removable photo stickers, dark fabric iron-on transfers and light fabric iron-on transfers. 

Looking for a multi-purpose home and photography printer that can be fun and creative as well as for studies/SOHO/small office work? Do check out this PIXMA G670 printer!  

I would like to thank Canon Singapore for the opportunity to review the PIXMA G670 printer.

The post Canon PIXMA G670 Review appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

The theme for World Mental Health Day 2021 is “Mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality”. The governments around the world has acknowledged and recognised that more needs to be more on mental health services. Do visit their pages if you would like to know more!

If you have been following and reading some of my articles on my technology and business portal/blog, as well as here on my photography and travel portal/blog. My mental and emotional health were not in a good shape and condition, the impacts on running a small sized photography business in this pandemic period took a huge toll on me. On top of that, there were deep personal matters and issues that spiral me downwards into a rut.  

With the help of a few friends that helped and pulled me out, I started to lift myself out from the bottom. This wasn’t an easy recovery journey, times are still very difficult and challenging with this ongoing global pandemic, many of us are emotionally and mentally fatigued. 

During my recovery phase, I went to the outdoors, immersed myself into nature/greenery, the peace and tranquility. I discovered an inspiration to work on a photography therapy zine project with a playbook element. This inspiration came from my nature therapy walks during Q2 to Q3 2021 when I went trekking into nature and outdoors, with my camera and lenses, photographing landscapes, light rays, bringing me peace and tranquility. This is an ongoing work in progress, part of my plans/projects for Q4 2021. 

Through my photographs and writing, I would like to share some points/things that could be featured inside my photography therapy zine, based on my own personal experiences dealing and handling with mental health awareness that might be useful for you this World Mental Health Day 2021. 

Journal

Keep a journal, write down your thoughts, feelings and emotions. You can even draw, sketch or doodle. Maybe you can paste photos that meant something personal to you inside the journal.

Outdoors / Nature / Trekking / Exercise 

My haven when I felt down and out, trekking in the outdoors into nature and green spaces is my saviour. The peace and tranquility, it’s so therapeutic. 

Talk to someone 

If you really need to, please please find someone that you can talk to. Someone who is willing to lend you a shoulder to lean on, a kind and attentive listening ear, that will not judge.

Read books / Find a new hobby / Rekindle your old hobbies

We are too engrossed and glued to our technology gadgets and social media platforms/channels. How about going back to reading books? Or find a new hobby? Have you always wanted to go back in time and rekindle your old hobbies? 

Of cute dogs and cats 

If you have followed me on my Twitter or Instagram, you would know how much I love dogs and cats. These lovely pets provide great therapy to us humans when we are down. 

Last but not least

Please take good care of yourself, your mental and emotional health well-being. Please don’t judge, please be kind, help one another. 

Let’s make it a reality: Mental health care for all, no matter how big or small the resources, means and efforts. 

The post World Mental Health Day 2021 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.