Family Health Matters

On a more personal note, the past few months have been especially challenging as I’ve been managing ongoing family health matters concerning my elderly mum. It has been a period of significant stress, and I’ll share more when the time feels right.

This isn’t meant as an excuse, but these circumstances have affected both my professional capacity and personal wellbeing, particularly amid an already difficult economic climate.

TGH Technology and Business portal/blog major updates

My TGH Technology and Business website recently encountered a major technical issue following a WordPress update, which caused the site to go offline. I’m currently working on restoring it and am also exploring the option of migrating to a new hosting provider and rebuilding the site afresh.

This was my first time applying a WordPress update that caused such a major glitch beyond my very limited technical knowledge in IT programming.  

I am searching for solutions to bring my website back online first, I am also searching to migrate away from my current website hosting services company, and starting fresh. Hopefully, I am able to migrate over safely with my data (articles) and kick off on a brand new beginning, something like “A New Hope”.

Meanwhile, I am most likely unable to publish my technology (Consumer and Enterprise) articles/media news coverage and other business articles/media news coverage till I resolve my website crash situation.

To my friends, contacts, and partners across PR agencies, brands, and the technology space (both consumer and enterprise), thank you for your patience and understanding as I work through this situation.

Photography (Business and Personal)

As I first have to prioritise family health matters situation, as well as my TGH Technology and Business website revival and “reconstruction”, I inevitably have to slow down my photography segments (both business and personal) in December 2025, maybe January 2026 as well, while I consolidate, reorganise, strategise and plan for FY2026.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for your kindness and understanding regarding any slower or delayed responses — and if I seemed a little more stressed than usual when we crossed paths in recent months (even if I tried to keep it hidden).

The post Key Updates December 2025 appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Yearly Theme 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage) – Ignite 

Before I start on my reflections and review of Year 2024, let me bring you back in time to January 2024 when I wrote and published my Yearly Theme 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage) – Ignite. 

While I didn’t manage to ignite my travel photography and travel related segments, I did manage to ignite my visual storytelling, writing and content creation.  

Photography

Photography is both work/business as well as personal interest/visual storyteller, what’s YR2024 like for my photography segments?

Photography (Business)

This industry is getting more challenging and difficult, a shrinking market pie, shrinking marketing budgets and there are more photographers in this industry (whether full-time, content creators or freelancers). Add in geo-political situations and slow/poor world economic situations, year 2024 can be a tricky year for many of us creatives, photographers, videographers.

The year 2024 had been a number of ups and downs for my TGH Photography business, the cyclical nature of events (business or leisure), conferences/exhibitions, and various photography genres, do make running a photography business a balancing act at times.

Looking back at 2024, reviewing and reflecting, on top of bringing in more photography business deals, I would also need to look at planning and trying to ensure a more regular and consistent photography shoots, along with content creation assignments/projects throughout the year.

Photography (Personal)

Quite a fruitful and fulfilling YR2024 for my personal photography although I wasn’t creating and publishing visual stories as much as I would love to. Here are some significant happenings that took place in my personal photography journeys in YR2024:

• Getting onboard as a writer for ephemere Tokyo, has given me an international platform to broaden my visual storytelling horizons and perspectives, let’s see where this brings me in 2025
• Following, supporting and documenting In A Rainbow for the year 2024 and Modulation: Amalgamation exhibition by House of VSE
• A fruitful bird photography 2024 during bird migration seasons Jan – Mar 2024 and Oct – Dec 2024

Travel 

I didn’t go for any overseas travel in 2024, it’s time to break this barren travel period and restart my travel in 2025. Only when I return back to my overseas travel photography, would I be able to do more or revive my travel photography projects/plans. 

Although the overseas travel photography assignment didn’t materialise, I just have to continue working on them until the opportunity arises in the near future. Moreover, I can make use of my personal travel photography trips to produce a new set of travel photography portfolios for future travel photography/writing collaborations and projects. 

Creative/Content Creation  

Beside my TGH Photography business, I have been building up my Content Creation / Digital Marketing / Social Media Marketing business over the years. This segment had a slower growth over the years due to ever-changing social media industry, media consumption patterns and trends. 

In 2024, it did “Ignite” for my content creation/social media marketing, through collaborations with other content creators, working on different content creation approaches, and potentially opening up more opportunities to collaborate with organisations, agencies and other content creators in 2025.

Heritage 

Looking back at the many different photographs I took in 2024, there were a few heritage related events that I covered. Overall, I reckon I could have more done more, and also getting my personal heritage projects completed. 

In 2025, I would probably be working on finishing up my personal heritage projects that I started years back, and if there are opportunities to work on suitable heritage related project/topics, I hope to come onboard. Another area that might have more coverage in 2025 could be more on cultural heritage.

Reflecting Year 2024 (Technology | Business | Personal) 

I have also wrote and published an article of my review and reflections of Year 2024 for my Technology, Business and Personal segments. If you are keen to find out more about them, please visit my TGH Technology & Business portal/blog. 

A final note to reflect and wrap up Year 2024

Walking through this rainbow light artwork portal by Very Small Exhibition – Very Momentary Exhibition 1.5, let’s bid goodbye to Year 2024, learn from the life lessons and experiences in 2024, take the good and put behind the bad. 

Let’s all be kind to one another and help one another as much as possible, let’s also not be judgemental. 

Time to welcome Year 2025, starting off on a new slate, a new journey ahead. Thank you very much for your friendship, readership, following and support over the years! 

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Why use a Yearly Theme? How to Choose a Yearly Theme?

I am inspired by Fernando Gros “How to choose a Yearly Theme”, this is my 5th year writing and announcing a Yearly Theme, an approach that I personally feel that it’s more forward looking for a new future, a new era of working, thinking and how we connect as an individual, as a collective, society and the world. It’s not that goal settings or setting resolutions are no longer popular or useful, they still have a purpose and it still works for some people or industries.

Recap of previous Yearly Themes

Before I announce my Yearly Theme 2023 for my photography, travel, creative and heritage, let me bring you back in time, looking at my previous Yearly Themes through a recap below:

• Yearly Theme 2020: Striving to Excel 
• Yearly Theme 2021: Recovery and Rejuvenation 
• Yearly Theme 2022: Onward 
• Yearly Theme 2023: Explore

Yearly Theme 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage) – “Ignite”

Now, announcing my Yearly Theme 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage) – “Ignite”.

From my earlier editions of Yearly Theme for my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog, I have expanded my scope of business and interests from my usual areas of photography and travel, in the areas of creativity/arts and the heritage sectors. 

Why Ignite?

Via Google Bard – “Ignite: A great story can ignite the imagination and inspire the listener to see the world in new ways. This word captures the spark of creativity that storytelling can bring.”

I want to be a better storyteller in the Year 2024 for both my two key areas of business and  key interest areas. For this year, I decided to try something different, I asked Google Bard to recommend a word to summarise “be a better storyteller”, and the chat based AI tool from Google gave me a few to choose from.

Ignite new directions and plans for my photography business and content creation business 

The photography business has been very challenging, the industry is facing its own headwinds, shrinking budgets and pie to share. That’s no doubt that some competitors are doing better than others. Moreover, the media/social media landscape is constantly changing, with current and near future trends moving towards videos consumption on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Which genres of the photography field should I concentrate on? A review and restructuring of photography services is underway, yet remaining fluid and adaptable as the months move on. 

With such changing media consumption patterns/trends, and how social media is changing, the versatility of a content creator would be more crucial and the way to go moving forward in the next few years at least. The days of being a specialist in your field may not be sufficient anymore, not just in the photography industry. In the creative sector, beside video consumption, the next area is content creation. 

Partnering with videographers and filmmakers would be key, working together on assignments and projects. As for working with agencies, whether it is PR, digital or social media, I am working to grow this segment. Even with networking and knowing people, it doesn’t guarantee anything. 

Time to re-ignite my travel photography, writing and content creation

My last overseas travel holidays when I took a flight out from Singapore was in 2018 when I visited Thailand and Vietnam. In 2019, it was a drive up to Malaysia. The years 2020 to 2022 were the global pandemic period whereby international travel and tourism industries were brought to a standstill. Year 2023 was my target year to travel overseas again, the pent-up travel demands, frustrations and high costs of travel pushed back my plans.

It’s been quite a few years since my last travel overseas. It’s finally the time to re-ignite my travel photography, writing and content creation in Year 2024. Keeping my fingers crossed that travel assignments or familiarisation tours opportunities would come true since I had been knocking on some doors over the past few years.   

Ignite my creativity from interactions with artists from other disciplines 

Year 2023 gave me new dimensions, directions and opening to view through the different world, point of view, and artistic creativity of various artists and creatives from other disciplines. They were more than just an eye-opener for me, they were inspiring and encouraging. 

Through those interactions in Year 2023, they have ignited my creativity and imagination that opened me up to new artistic approaches and cross-disciplinary creative ideas and projects that I might be able to work together with other creative artists. In 2024, I hope to bring some of those inspirations, ideas and projects to life, whether on an individual basis or cross-disciplinary with other artists.

Ignite new plans and ideas to do more for the heritage sector

The heritage sector, putting history, heritage, culture, conservation and preservation segments together, they may not give you the revenue compared to the commercial world. However, the intangible cultural heritage and intrinsic fulfilment cannot be underestimated. 

This sector already has a community running and operating in their own respective realms, that would need more like-minded people of various skills, knowledge and expertise in their respective domains to enter. 

I have always been interested in the heritage sector through my visual storytelling and documentation. I would be on the lookout for opportunities to partner with organisations and/or artists, whereby I can contribute and earn a bit of revenue as well. 

Yearly Theme 2023 (Technology | Business | Personal) – “Transcend”

As for my other key area of focus, my TGH Technology and Business portal/blog, I have chosen my Yearly Theme 2024 (Technology | Business | Personal) to be “Transcend”. I would like to invite you to hop over to my other website and have a read!

Join me in my “Ignite” journeys in 2024

To my networks in the photography, travel, creative and heritage sectors, I would like to invite you to join me in my “Ignite” journeys in 2024, let’s work closer together for more in-depth, meaningful and powerful stories, on both visual storytelling and social media. 

Thank you for your support and encouragement! 

To my family, relatives, friends, followers and supporters who supported me through my visual storytelling, photography, technology writing, social media marketing, especially those that make the effort to read, not assuming thinking you know everything about me, or my business model operations, and making the effort to know more and understand, without judgement or putting me down, I sincerely thank you for your support and encouragement! 

The post Yearly Theme 2024 (Photography | Travel | Creative | Heritage) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Photography

Photography business

I am not going to sugar coat, paint a rosy picture, or show off. The business side of photography hasn’t been easy, just like any other business industries, it’s competitive and saturated. Building new partnerships and collaborations take time as well, existing networks are sometimes dependent on economic conditions, demand and need for professional services.

Q4 2023 would be used for re-strategising and planning, while working on finishing existing projects and assignments. What lies ahead in YR2024? What could be my new strategies and directions? 

Any business can be cut-throat and brutal. This a very harsh reality that we live in. Market and economic uncertainties are still looming in YR2024 for the world economy, coupled with shrinking market share and opportunities locally. All these are definitely a lot more to think and strategise ahead in the very near future.  

Personal photography 

Beyond my commercial photography sectors, I still have my personal/leisure photography that I actively go for. From wildlife photography, history and heritage documentation, featuring creative artists works from other creative industries, personal projects, exploring locally etc. 

I don’t share my photographs as fast as some others out there, the fear of missing out (FOMO) is indeed strong, not just in the photography community, in some aspects, quite a lot of human beings can be quite FOMO on social media.

There are critics and commentators on not posting my best photographs. I have make certain decisions and workflow in my photography, on how I want to post my photographs. While my rule might be an outdated rule of thumb in this media crazy digital/social media world, I still decide not to overdo things such as oversharing of photographs, let alone my best photographs. 

My curated best photographs would be on my portfolio website TGH Photography, next set of curated nice photographs would be on Flickr, followed by Instagram. 

Educator/Trainer in photography and return of taking in disciples

In between my ongoing plans to take in photography disciples again, after years since I last took in a very small group of photographers under me, I am going to conduct a short camera / photography training again soon, part of my photography training and consultancy services.

Over my years of photography, I discovered one of the ways to improve my skills and knowledge further is to teach/train others, passing down my photography skills and knowledge.

Taking on an educator/trainer role, even in a field that I am experienced and skilled in, it wasn’t smooth sailing and straight forward. This journey itself is a new set of steep learning curve, striving to improve and become a better educator/trainer. 

A subject matter expert may not necessarily mean they can teach/train well. This also brought me back to the notion, “Train the trainer”. 

Therefore, I have to rethink and replan on the different approaches, style and likely a set of teaching curriculum, for people who are just starting out in their photography, that doesn’t know too much about photography and the basics, versus those who already have some basic knowledge and experience, and those who are on the advanced level, that requires another different approach. 

This new photography educator/trainer role adventure is now in its version 3.0. Time to bring it on!

Moved On 

In the last quarter, there was a matter that got me really disappointed. It’s buried, placed aside and I have moved on. I have nothing much more to say, I am touched by some of my friends support.  

Travel

Travel photography/Travel visual storytelling/Travel content creation 

Along with my travel wanderlust, travel visual storytelling / content creation, I am making a comeback with more travel visual storytelling and travel photography content. It’s been a few years since my last trip overseas, the global pandemic situation doesn’t help. 

I wasn’t successful in my attempts to enter those travel related sectors, I met with a number of obstacles that I would not go into detail. I am working on my travel visual storytelling and travel photography content again, finding my own travel journey, building up networks and opportunities.  

Some discussions and plans are the still on the table, ongoing for some time, it might bear some fruits soon, keeping my fingers crossed. There is the possibility of new opportunity in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors that my travel visual storytelling and content creation segments, could come into play. 

I have also been working on my travel networks, from my co-host role as #TTOT Travel Talk on Twitter community chat, learning and chatting with travellers , writers, travel, tourism and hospitality operators from different parts of the world.

My travel writing style has evolved as well, it’s time for a new era of TGH Travel Visual Storytelling version 2.0.

Travel (International) destination plans 

I previously spoke about travelling out for a holiday in Q2 or Q3, i didn’t get down to take action to plan my short travel holidays. It’s probably time to plan a getaway from Singapore since my last trips to Thailand and Vietnam in 2018, Malaysia in 2019.

Time to finally give myself a break away from Singapore, I am not going to be too ambitious, a short haul destination would be just fine. Shortlisting my travel destinations to Indonesia (Bali), Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand.

Exploring Locally

Even though I haven’t been actively travelling overseas, I am exploring locally over the years, especially re-discovering places that I used to photograph, document and share, that I haven’t been visiting for quite a while.

No doubt Singapore is a small country by land size, there are some developments that I would work further on, heritage trails that I have a strong interest in, and the Singapore’s park connector networks that connects the various parks and nature reserves in Singapore together. 

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

I have been using the Canon EOS R6 Mark II for about six months (from late May 2023 till now), it had been a great camera for me over the past six months. After going through some fine tuning of personal photography settings, and getting used to a new camera, I am ready to write my review article and share more about this amazing, versatile and powerful workhorse Canon mirrorless camera EOS R6 Mark II.

Of both photography and travel

Sometimes, I do think quite a lot and deep into both my photography and travel since both are closely related deep inside my heart and soul, I write down quite a fair bit, although I might not publish all of them out in my article.

I am for long form writing, publishing my thoughts and views into articles on my websites than posting them on my social media platforms. I don’t know exactly who reads my articles as website analytics can only give you quantitative data. With the current digital and social media consumption turning humans with a goldfish memory.

For those who faithfully read till the end of my article, thank you for reading, I truly appreciate your support! 

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

The post Reflecting Q3 2023 and Plans for Q4 2023 (Photography and Travel) appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Although I usually publish technology related news on my TGH Technology and Business portal/blog and I have been regularly covering Dell Technologies news for a period of time on their consumer products and most recently enterprise solutions. For this story, I am writing it here since I cover travel, tourism, environment and sustainability topics here on my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog.

Sustainability has been one of the key areas that I am covering on. My love for travel photography great outdoors since my secondary school days, working with organisations in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries, coupled with my photography (National Geographic inspired) and visual storytelling in my adult years, gave me a voice that we all can, and we all must play a part in the sustainability drive to turn things around for the world, for our future generations, no matter how big or how small my role or your role can be.

Sagarmatha Next Centre

The Sagarmatha Next Centre, a non-profit NGO run by local environmental enthusiasts. Located near Syangboche Namche Bazar, en-route to Everest base camp, the centre educates visitors about this growing environmental issue and seeks to reduce the impact of waste. 

The Sagarmatha Next Centre is located at 3,775m above sea level, this is a must-stop location for visitors along Mount Everest trail. This provides the perfect opportunity to raise awareness of the organisation’s effort for every climber who passes through. 

For this project, Dell Technologies worked with National Geographic Explorer Martin Edstrom to create a short video showing the negative impacts of waste on the region. The next step was to provide the Sagarmatha Next Centre with cutting-edge technology to showcase the video and offer additional opportunities to enhance the experience through virtual reality, interactive screens and video projectors. 

How Sagarmatha Next Centre uses Dell Technologies’ technology? 

How does the Sagarmatha Next Centre uses Dell Technologies’ technology to help raise awareness on the issue of plastic waste on Mount Everest? 

• Digital exhibition. Visitors can explore and digitally experience every inch of the facility before continuing their trek. 
• Map of region and common tracks. Visitors can view the 17 different hiking routes that lead to the Mount Everest base camp and other destinations in the four main valleys of the region. 
• Education on landfills. Visitors can learn about where the more than 80 landfill sites reside in the Mount Everest region and what can be done to lessen the trash issue. 

Powered by Dell Technologies 

Powered by an OptiPlex Micro Form Factor PC, the Dell 55 4K Interactive Touch Monitors being used boast a twenty-point InGlassTM Touch and palm rejection technology, which allows multiple visitors to interact with the screens simultaneously. The monitors come with In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel technology, delivering consistent colours and a wide viewing angle – ideal for group education, even during midday when the bright sun streams in at this high altitude. 

For many visitors who trek to the Everest base camp and may not make the climb to the 8,850- meter-high summit, there is also a VR experience Edstrom created that brings the mountain peak directly to them, powered and created on Dell Precision mobile workstations. 

Sagarmatha Next’s Carry Me Back

Dell Technologies support goes beyond just providing technology, they extends into donation for Sagarmatha Next’s Carry Me Back initiative. 

As visitors leave the centre, they are encouraged to take what they have learned and be a part of the change, the solution for a new future. This Carry Me Back initiative provides visitors the opportunity to remove trash and deposit it in collection bins that are transported to and recycled in Kathmandu.

Through this initiative, the organisation has successfully removed more than 5,000 bags os trash, or 5,000kg of waste, from Mount Everest, with much of it recycled, since the programme started in April 2022.

For more information about Dell Technologies Sustainability and Education 

Passionate about sustainability and education, Dell Technologies’ support of Sagarmatha Next showcases there are no limits to where sustainability, education and technology can take us. 

If you like to learn more about Dell Technologies’ commitment to sustainability, please visit this article.

* Information and pictures courtesy of Dell Technologies and BCW *

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