On Saturday 19th August 2023 World Photography Day, let us photographers celebrate photography through our vision, craft, art and visual story. Landscapes photography is one of my favourite photography genres, from my travel photography to urban landscapes.

For World Photography Day 2023, I have selected a few different landscape photographs that were shot with the Canon EOS R6 Mark II mirrorless camera that recently entered into my photography and visual storytelling setup. 

From capturing new landscape views from the newly built housing district in my local neighbourhood, to downtown Singapore Marina Reservoir, or different parks around Singapore. You never know what that moment might bring you on that day itself, and it’s through our photography that we captured down those priceless moments and memories.  

Wishing all photographers a Happy World Photography Day 2023! Enjoy and have fun with your photography adventures!  

* A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R6 Mark II Explorer Series Production *

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TGH Photography x Canon EOS R6 Mark II Explorer Series Production

The Canon EOS R6 Mark II has recently been added to my photography setup, with my Canon EOS 1D X Mark II making way for my new camera. Although I missed my Canon EOS 1D X Mark II, the iconic 1D series that I started to build my photography and visual storytelling. 

The Canon EOS R6 Mark II is amazing with its fast and accurate AF, high FPS, high ISO level control and quality, excellent sensor and processing engine. While I do miss the battery grip of the 1D series, the overall excellence and quality of the Canon EOS R6 Mark II is not making me miss my 1D series as much as I would thought I would be. 

Exploring and Visiting Arts

Exploring and visiting arts around Singapore with the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, it had been a great form of artistic enjoyment and therapy, away from my writing, social media and photography work. Igniting my spark on a new wave at i Light Singapore 2023, SYSNMH Wan Qing Dragon Boat Festival Open House 2023, following House of VSE Your Neighbour Artist Exhibition around Singapore (and still ongoing), heritage and cultural events Qixi Festival and NHB Racial Harmony Day 2023. 

Exploring my own backyard

The months of June to July 2023 are usually scheduled with NDP 2023 rehearsals taking place on the weekends, allowing us to photograph the NDP 2023 rehearsals action and fireworks taking place around the Marina Bay area. The NDP 2023 rehearsals were an excellent opportunity to put the Canon EOS R6 Mark II to the test.

I was also exploring the new HDB blocks in my neighbourhood, discovering new sky parks and views. Besides that, I was also chasing sunsets and super moon with a super telephoto zoom lens Sigma 150-600mm.  

Of course, getting into outdoors and nature, it had always been a form of therapy and relaxation for me. Sometimes, adding wildlife photography into my outdoors outing and exploration together as well. 

Always on the lookout for value for money 2nd hand camera accessories  

I am always on the lookout for value for money 2nd hand camera accessories and peripherals. Some of them were slowly added over time to build up my setup, while some were replacements for my photography accessories.  

I discovered this brand Wotancraft not too long ago, I admired its quality, as well as how much consideration they placed on the designs and concepts around photographers and travellers. I got myself a Wotancraft Trooper (Medium) as my own birthday gift earlier in Q1 2023.

I had invested in a number of Think Tank products, although I gave away my Shape Shifter version 1, I found a Naked Think Tank Shape Shifter 17 v2.0 at a good price and I quickly grabbed this opportunity. Since I am expanding my Think Tank setup, I have also added more different types of Think Tank pouches along the way. 

Leofoto – A brand that I have also discovered and looking into. They have a great range of quality products for photographers. The first product that I got was the Leofoto MC-50 clamp. Moving forward, I am planning to add a few more products from Leofoto! 

Upcoming visual stories

Here are some of my upcoming visual stories. Do keep a lookout for them, coming soon! 

• Shout Gallery SG x Ceramication Slip-casting workshop: Keen to make your own tea cups, tea pot set? Don’t miss this!
• Canon camera reviews: Working on a few Canon camera review articles, keep a lookout!
• Roastelier by Nescafe – For cafe owners and also those who love coffee, 
• Living Pictures @ National Gallery – Photographers would find this diverse and eye-opener photography exhibition filled with history and iconic visual stories. 

Also coming soon, a special theme/content article on the impacts of AI on photography and creative industries, part of my ongoing TGH Technology Research/Learning Series on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“Forget it and move on”

I took a break from social media for a few days, as I was feeling disappointed in something that only very few people will know what happened. 

“Forget it and move on”, an advice that was shared with me. 

Therefore, I will continue with my ongoing work, craft and visual storytelling, seeking progression and improvements in my journey. 

* A TGH Photography x Canon EOS R6 Mark II Explorer Series Production *

The post TGH Photography Visual Storytelling updates (May to July 2023) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Time to finish up my photography zine  

I started working on my second photography zine some months back around June/July 2021. That was a work-in-progress, there were delays, distractions on my part, facing writer’s block and no creative breakthrough. 

As I was reorganising and replanning my works for my run-in during the final month of the year 2021, I told myself, it’s time to finish up my second photography zine and getting it ready for the zine/book launch in January 2022. My theme for my second zine revolves around nature therapy, great outdoors and photography therapy, thus I am returning to nature and great outdoors.

Return to Nature and Great Outdoors

Most recently, I went on two treks to the Old Jurong Line / Sungei Ulu Pandan Park Connector, I brought 2 different groups of friends there. Time to work on my Old Jurong Park Connector article. Not only have I rekindled my passion for trekking, enjoying and relaxing, I am also chasing sunsets, they can be pretty dramatic and epic at this time of the year.

What I want to do and where I want to explore/trek in December 2021

• Bring like-minded friends on treks, returning back to the days when I used to lead photo walks previously
• Go with like minded trekkers to explore more nature and outdoors 
• Bird photography at Sungei Buloh 
• Old Jurong Line / Clementi Forest / Dover Forest exploration and documentation for my article 
• Jenal Jetty / Rower’s Bay / Yishun Dam / Seletar district 
• Mt Faber and Labrador Park (history documentation)
• Chestnut Nature Park (continue my nature exploration)
• More places to be added at a later time

Some of those destinations would most likely have extended trekking adventures in order for me to have a more extensive photography documentation and exploration. 

How should I go forward with writing and sharing my trekking adventure stories?

Although I have been writing regularly on my trekking adventure stories, I am considering different approaches on how to go about doing it, how much information and photos to share. 

Should I consider the following points below:

• Go on travel/trekking writing approach from point A to Point B with route map added, directions etc? 
• Consolidate and update my previous trekking/exploration adventures e.g. The Green Corridor, Old Jurong KTM Railway Line?
• Input more history behind my trekking adventures whereby there is a bit of history behind those places?
• Should I do a coverage on Singapore’s many Park Connector Networks (PCN) routes?

It’s a food for thought, any new approaches to my trekking adventure stories would probably start in Q1 2022. Stay tuned!

Keep on trekking, keep on exploring

As the Chinese saying goes, “千里之行, 始于足下“, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I want and I have to keep on trekking, keep on exploring, not just in my photography (both business and personal), my travels, my other business developments and also in my personal life too.

Sometimes, I have to walk alone. 

Sometimes, You’ll Never Walk Alone.

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I was blessed with nice blue sky, beautiful clouds and a pretty sunset on 16th May 2021! It was really therapeutic for me, the sea, clouds and sunset made me relaxed inside and soothed away my frustrations.  

I hope that my form of photography therapy with sea, clouds and sunset would provide you with some form of relaxation and solitude during this Phase 2 Heightened Alert period. If you are planning to head out to the outdoors, parks etc, do remember the restrictions, 2 pax only, wear a mask at all times and practice safety social distancing!

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Moe Anan – our beautiful and kawaii tour coordinator, translator

Dennis Seow of Superadrianme.com

Jensen Chua of Jensen Chua Photography

Yip Weng Seng of YipWengSeng Photography

Manami Iwatani, the pretty and bubbly Ran-san of Ninja Girls

Departing on Japan Airlines JL36 to Haneda Airport, Tokyo at 2200hrs Singapore time, we arrived at Haneda Airport at around 0530hrs Japan time. It was a pretty smooth flight to Tokyo and we cleared immigration and customs, proceed to domestic flights section for a bus ride to the domestic terminal at Haneda Airport for Japan Airlines JL1183 to Memambetsu Airport in Hokkaido at 0700hrs Japan time. The domestic flight from Tokyo to Hokkaido was smooth, arriving at around 0830hrs Japan time. During our descent to Memambetsu Airport, we had our first glimpse of the beautiful Hokkaido from the air! Walking out of the plane onto the aerobridge, we can feel the chilly cold autumn transiting into winter weather. The warmth inside Memambetsu Airport was most welcome for us!

At the arrival hall, our local Japanese hosts met us for our Central/Eastern Hokkaido Familiarisation Trip –

Mr. Higasa Kazuma – General Manager, International Travel Division of Nippon Travel Agency Hokkaido Co Ltd.

Mr. Tsuyoshi Kato – Hokkaido Photo Guide, Travel Planner, Photographer, Translator and Driver.

We went to the washroom and change to warm winter attire first before we formally exchanged greetings, formalities and name cards with Mr Higasa Kazuma and Mr Tsuyoshi Kato. After the introduction and briefing, we loaded our luggage into the mini bus for our start to Central/Eastern Hokkaido photography exploration! Our first destination was the Utoro area in the Northeastern part of Hokkaido, the journey from Memambetsu Aiport was around two hours and this was our first taste of long travel between destinations that we were visiting in Hokkaido. During our drive to Utoro, we were introduced to Mt. Shari-dake, with the peak at 1,545m!

Lunch was a quick pit stop at a local 7-11 convenience store in a small town along the route to Utoro. We had to rush over to Utoro since we had a professional Japanese Photographer, Mr Junichi Yamamoto, waiting for us at Utoro to bring us around Shiretoko National Park!

Furepe Waterfall (フレペの滝）/ Mt Rausu-dake (羅臼岳）

Our first stop was Furepe Waterfall; it was a short trek inside to the edge of the cliff/plateau, through the forest. During this short trek, we were able to view the beautiful and grand Mt Rausu-dake, standing at a height of 1,661m, with the peaks and ridgelines covered with snow! The landscape was amazing and very beautiful, snow white peaks, blue sky, amazing cloud formations and the foreground of trees, and grassland in autumn weather conditions.

When we reached to the edge of the cliff, there was a lookout point/hut that visitors can go up to catch a better view of the Furepe Waterfall. Initially, I couldn’t see any river flowing down the cliff forming the waterfall. Where is Furepe Waterfall, I ask myself? Soon, it dawned upon me with words from photographer friend of Yamamoto Sensei, who explained to us that the waterfall was from the underneath the rocks formation! Zooming in close with my telephoto lens (Canon EF 70-200mm f4 L USM), I saw for myself Furepe Waterfall!

Mr Yamamoto Sensei brought us to the next destination, not too far away from Furepe Waterfall. While trekking through the forested area, we managed to spot wildlife, the deer! Being in the wild, the animals were very sensitive to human beings and once they sensed us moving close towards them, they would start to move away to somewhere else. It was a very fun experience to be that close to the deer grazing and my Canon EOS 7D Mark II with 70-200mm f/4 L USM is perfect for photographing wildlife while on the move!

Yunohana Waterfall （湯の華の滝）

We continued with our photography and travel exploration to Yunohana Waterfall, not too far down the road from Furepe Waterfall. Trekking to Yunohana Waterfall was very interesting whereby we spotted more wildlife in the forested area. Yunohana Waterfall is very similar to Furepe Waterfall, the waterfall is from the underneath the rocks formation! Mr Yamamoto Sensei was really very nice and showed us good photography spots to take photographs of the Yunohana Waterfall, besides that, Mr Yamamoto Sensei was sharing with us his local knowledge of the wildlife and vegetation, it was very useful learning and very interesting!

Oshinkoshin Waterfall (オシンコシンの滝）

This is a very beautiful waterfall, along the costal road of Utoro. When we reached there, it was getting close to sunset and the sunrays that shined brightly on the slopes of the waterfall, giving it a golden brown landscape and waterfall. At Oshinkoshin Waterfall, we started to experience the cold winter weather coming in and we can feel the coldness! From the steps leading up to Oshinkoshin Waterfall, we were able to have a nice view of the sea and the upcoming Hokkaido sunset. Oshinkoshin Waterfall is really beautiful and we spent a bit more time there!

Hokkaido Sunset (Route 334 between ‘Oronko Rock’ and ‘Base of the Setting Sun’)

I am a photographer that loves taking photographs of sunsets especially when visiting different countries. When I saw the incoming Hokkaido Sunset at Oshinkoshin Waterfall, we knew we were going to get a beautiful Hokkaido Sunset and we were all looking forward to it! There was a bit of rush to this location along Route 334 between ‘Oronko Rock’ and ‘Base of the Setting Sun’. Once we disembarked, the band of photographers started firing away with their cameras. I was very happy to capture a beautiful Hokkaido Sunset and the Hokkaido Sunset memories still stays inside me today!

Landscape photography tips: I shot the Hokkaido Sunset at Utoro using 2 Canon DSLR bodies setup, namely Canon EOS 5D Mark III with EF 16-35mm f4 L IS USM and Canon EOS 7D Mark II with EF 70-200mm f4 L USM. The Canon EOS 5D Mark III combination caters for a really wide angle landscape view while the Canon EOS 7D Mark II caters for a tighter crop landscape photograph especially when the landscape scene is very big!

We said Sayonara to Mr Yamamoto Sensei for spending precious time with us that evening, each of us got nice Hokkaido photography postcards from Mr Yamamoto Sensei for memories! We took a group photograph with Mr Yamamoto Sensei before going to our hotel Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel.

Before we could setup our group photo shot, a Hokkaido wildlife animal came pretty close to us, watching and observing the whole group of us in action, the fox was curious at us human beings and observed us for a while with cute mesmerizing eyes. With the fox that near to us and we all photographers could not resist concentrating our cameras on the fox!

I wonder what did the Hokkaido Fox say?

Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel （知床第一ホテル）

The Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel is a beautiful hotel, nice and comfortable! Love the view from my hotel room! The Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel was also where I experienced Onsen for the first time in my life and wearing a Yukata to dinner and Onsen! The buffet dinner was delicious and there was a widespread of local and international cuisines! I am grateful to Mr Kato-san for sharing with me how to wear a Yukata properly for the very first time!

My first ever Onsen, at Shiretoko Daiichi Hotel, was simply magical, the experience was unforgettable, therapeutic and relaxing! With the conclusion of my first ever Onsen experience, it also marked the end of Day 1 of our Hokkaido Photographer Invitation Program.

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