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.

Excitement and Anxiety

I am excited and anxious at the same time when you hold your work in a physical book format. In a world whereby so much things/work are intangible, digital and online, having a tangible form of your work on hand brings me immense pride and joy. 

I am anxious too, the pressure and stress that I imposed on myself to produce and deliver quality work in my photography and writing. This personal work/zine/book of mine might be a blessing to some, it might also not meet the standards and views of some. Nevertheless, that’s the kind of life we are currently living.

My second photography zine meant something deep, unique and special to me, I would share more when I officially announce and launch this photography zine when it goes into full printing mode.

Review, Edit and Amendments

I made a decision to print out mock up copies of my second photography zine, making it easier for review, editing and making final amendments. This would also make things easier when I bring it to local printing house Grenadier Press for discussion.

This mock up is estimated to be 90-95% ready, just some final editing and amendments and it’s good to go for official printing.  

Estimated Timeline – Local printing and International printing

I am arranging to meet and catch up with a few friends, I would seek their views on how I am able to improve my layout, font selection. I estimate all these would take about 2-4 weeks, meanwhile during this period, I would be having a chat with local printing house Grenadier Press. I have previously engaged their printing services for my first photography book in 2015.

Once my final reviewed, amended and edited photography zine is ready, I would upload it to MagCloud platform for my international supporters/followers/readers to purchase. As for those in Singapore, I would share more in detail once finalised how I would go about doing it.

Thank you to those who believe in me

In my earlier paragraph, I mentioned about excitement and anxiety, on meeting expectations and standards that others might imposed on me. 

To those who choose to believe in me, thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

Stay tuned and keep a lookout for my official announcement and launch of my second photography zine / playbook! 

The post Second Photography Zine Update – Review, Edit and Amendments 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 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.

Photography by Ryan Cheng

Teacher’s Day celebration brought two subjects into my mind, learning/training and photography. I wasn’t formally trained in photography, I learnt through National Geographic Magazines, photography books, going hands-on and learning from my mistakes. However, I was blessed to meet different photographers in my photography journey over the decades who were willing to share their invaluable photography knowledge, skills and experiences with me. 

To my few photography friends/disciples that came under my tutelage, I hope that I am a good enough photography teacher. Training and sharing my photography knowledge, skills and experience are also another form of learning and gaining more knowledge, skills and experience for myself.

To myself, learning never stops, no matter what education level or life stage I am at right now. Besides continuous learning new skills and knowledge in photography and videography, I learnt to produce and publish my own photography zines, with more zine projects on the pipeline. 

Next up for me is digital arts and NFT, the next field that I am going into. The NFT sector is not entirely new to me, I am learning more about them, to keep up with the developments and what I need to do. 

Another field that I am working on is photography therapy zine/book through my nature, landscapes and outdoors photography. The ongoing global pandemic has taken a huge toll on our mental and emotional health. I wasn’t spared, I knew it deep down personally, how damaging it can be on us. My photography therapy works are meant to help lighten your stress in a small way or another, through my photographs and activities.    

Never stop learning, never stop teaching, in life, in my photography.

The post Happy Teacher’s Day 2021! appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Where it all began

It all began in 2006 when I wanted to start a photography blog. During that era, having a blog was not only something that I wanted to do for myself, I wanted to produce and publish visual stories, just like a National Geographic Magazine photographer and journalist (I grew up reading National Geographic Magazine and kind of follow their visual storytelling style). 

At that juncture in time, it was kind of cool to own a blog, social media had not really “exploded” into the scene at that time. I started on blogspot platform before migrating to my own domain name and hosting, setting up my own brand name/domain name, my own frontal space. Huge credits to Jack who helped me to setup my photography blog at that time, as well as Brian who helped me with IT technical support over all those years. 

As the years progressed, it transformed and grown from a small and humble photography blog into my TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog of today, covering my visual stories, travel adventures, documentation works, photography topics, cameras, lenses and accessories review,  sports, wildlife, hospitality and food adventures. 

15 years adventure – Many ups and downs

My 15 years adventure writing and publishing visual stories wasn’t exactly a smooth and stable journey, it was full of ups and downs, from reaching the heights of recognition in 2015, to the lows from setbacks and departure of loved ones/close folks from 2016 to 2017. 

When you are in the creative sector, there will definitely be scrutiny and criticism, my website was deemed messy and not suitable to be a photography portfolio website. I reflected on it, established a separate photography portfolio website, thus allowing this to continue its visual storytelling journeys as a portal/blog and supplementing my photography portfolio website. 

There were others who questioned the value and relevance of my photography and travel portal/blog in today’s social media trends and usage. One even created their own blog after questioning my website, that is probably a compliment to what I have accomplished for my website over the past 15 years.

I learnt and grow old together with my website, visual storytelling, gaining more photography skills and knowledge, producing and publishing photography prints, photo books and zines.  

Revamp and Rebrand

Revamp and rebrand, the time is now to introduce TGH Digital Studio, comprising of my TGH Photography business, my TGH Photography and Travel portal/blog, my TGH Technology and Business portal/blog and working closely with my partnerships and collaborations. 

Photographer | Visual Storyteller | Content Creator | Technology Writer | Digital Artist 

I started TGH Photography as a sole proprietorship business in 2017. It was a very difficult start for me as I learnt the hard truths and brutal realities of running and managing a business, let alone a business in the creative industry. 

The amount of emotional and mental stress took a toll on me as I was also hurting from the loss of my loved one/closed ones during the period 2016 to 2017. Not many knew about it, I don’t talk much about it, the world we live in, sometimes just judge you by dollars and cents.  

During this short period of time from 2017 till date, I also learnt that providing standalone photography services is not going to be sufficient in this fast moving social media and internet driven world that we are living in. I started to learn videography/filmmaking from scratch, having photography knowledge and skills does shorten my learning cycle. This is still an ongoing learning  process, I have so much more to learn, improve and add on new skills and knowledge, adding to my expanded scope of professional services.

Just when I thought things would get a bit more stable, the world was hit by the global pandemic COVID-19 in 2020. In a nutshell, this global pandemic threw everything out of the window. This was almost like back to square one, back to ground zero. This was like a reset switch – Adapting, adopting, changing and re-strategising. During that circuit breaker period, the acceleration to adapt, adopt, change, strategic changes and directional changes was fast. 

Although I started solo in my photography business, I am glad that I now have a small team! I have Isaac helping me in photography/videography/video editing/editor and JingYi for creative design/digital artworks/illustrator/layout artist/.

Partnerships and Collaborations

I have been partnering and collaborating with other friends/content creators/photographers over the years. Some have been ongoing for a while, some are new on board.

Hpility SG

One of my first partnerships and collaborations (we started off in 2017) that I worked with in a few areas, from photography, videography and digital marketing. 

Easy Travel Recipes

Easy Travel Recipes is my travel and food partnership and collaboration. We are still discussing on how to expand and combine our strengths and resources in the travel and food segments moving forward.  

3 Blind Mice

This is a foodie consultancy, photography, videography, food tasting/cooking media production and regular feasting partnership and collaboration, founded and established after our foodie trip to Vietnam in 2018 by Chef Keith Crackling Roast, Chef Jude and myself.   

Meow Mixed Media Production

A mixed media photography and digital artwork collaboration co-founded by Isaac, JingYi and myself, borne from a passion of photography, cute cats and digital artworks combining together. 

More details and information would be shared when I make an announcement and share more information and details on what we are doing.

CryptoIKI

I am entering into the digital arts space with CryptoIKI, exploring the world of NFT and see how I am able to bring my photography works and mixed media artworks into this space. Keep a lookout as I explore and share my digital artist journey here. 

Upcoming projects/works

I have embarked on a number of different personal projects over the years, from documentary photography, publishing photography book and zines, photography prints. For this 15th year milestone year, I have embarked on a few personal projects. 

Books/Zines

Currently, there are three books/zines being planned on my timeline. 

1. Mixed media photography and digital artwork collaboration zine with Meow Mixed Media Production

Coming soon, I would keep it under wraps for now! Stay tuned and keep a lookout for our official announcement! 

2. A zine to celebrate my 15 years milestone (2006 to 2021)

I am still working on my zine, I have yet to decide whether i am going for a photo book magazine style approach showcasing a selection of photographs shot from 2006 to 2021, or short visual stories of key events with photographs from each year.

3. Publishing a book from one of my heritage and cultural personal works/documentations 

I have been documenting and photographing history, heritage and cultural fields/interests over the past 15 years. This would be an ideal time to bring one of my personal heritage projects that I documented to the next level, publish into a book and bring it to life in both physical print and electronic book format.  

A few other artwork projects with Meow Mixed Media Production are in the planning/discussion stages. We are a very new creative start-up collaboration, when the time is right, I would make the announcement with the team members and share with everyone on my website.

15 years milestone, what’s next? 

I will continue to produce more higher standards visual content stories with my photography and videography for my photography and travel portal/blog. When the global pandemic COVID-19 is under control, I hope to resume my international travel adventures coverage.

Life is an adventure, it will never be smooth sailing. Who knows where my visual storytelling with my photographs and videos can bring me to, beyond greater heights or faraway destinations?

Last but not least

I would like to thank my family, relatives, loved ones, old friends, supporters, followers and readers for following, reading and supporting my TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog over the past 15 years. I really appreciate the support and encouragement that you gave me over all these years. 

To all the various brands and agencies that I worked with, thank you very much for believing and trusting in me to work together, helping me to grow and expand over the past 15 years. 

Last but not least, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for reading this lengthy story of how I started my humble photography blog in 2006 over a 15 years (not out and still going strong) time frame in 2021, marking its milestone celebration of my TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog. 

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