While I confessed that my outdoor adventures and travel didn’t reach the numbers and destinations that I would love to, there’s still some nice & exciting outdoor adventures and travels that I embarked since my Scouting days till  today. Travel magazines was once a favourite of mine and I used to buy and read them regularly, always mesmerised and dreaming of the various destinations and adventures that they went/been to.

In an era of social media expansion, via the various social media channels and networks, I got to know more travel folks, bloggers, writers, they have really awesome adventures and travel experiences. Among those I knew personally is Nellie Huang, a fellow Singaporean, who owns this travel website Wild Junket, who has a great following, personality and reputation among the travel community in the world. When Nellie launched her brand new E-Magazine on outdoor adventure and travel, I requested Nellie for a copy of her 1st E-Magazine WildJunket to do a review and I was impressed by WildJunket.

Let me share with you my personal views from my review on WildJunket E-Magazine February/March 2012

- WildJunket is written by passionate travel writers/bloggers of extensive travel experiences

- Great team of contributors on Wild Junket

- Excellent and interesting content, a truly outdoor adventure and travel E-magazine

- It’s world wide focus, unlike some other travel magazines, they sometimes tend to be continent focused.

- Very inspiring travel stories and travel destinations

- Very refreshing and exciting, injecting a fresh new perspective into travel magazines

- It’s not just about outdoor adventure and travels, there are other interesting articles from food to outdoor gears

- WildJunket has a community bonding and sharing, interacting, socializing and sharing with readers, contributors, writers and editors. Which other travel magazines in the world does this ? 

- It’s available in PDF format

- It’s tablet friendly

- It’s on Zinio (my favourite E-Magazine)

- Print edition would be available in the future (pending confirmation)

Pricing and subscription 

- USD $2.95 for single issue

- USD $14.95 for 12 months subscription

In my humble opinion, WildJunket is a excellent outdoor adventure and travel E-Magazine, at this price you are paying for and the awesome content you are reading, it’s definitely worth your money and time to buy and subscribe and read it many times!

For more information on WildJunket subscription, check out their WildJunket Magazine site for more details! After reading WildJunket E-Magazine 1st issue

I was more motivated and energised again, to seek out more outdoor adventure and travel, truly inspiring and heartwarming, I can feel it from reading the adventure stories and their photographs, encouraging me to travel light and travel far – traveling beyond  the conventional tourism trail, to seek out extraordinary experiences while protecting the environment.

Traveling forward ahead, I would like to be and hope to be featured one day inside her WildJunket E-Magazine in any of her editorial departments, maybe as a Travel Guide or Photo Essay ! 

Without a doubt, WildJunket E-Magazine is definitely worth your consideration to pay and subscribe to, and Nellie’s extensive travel website and blog is definitely the best testimonial.

Last but not least, I would like to congratulate Nellie on an awesome job on her WildJunket E-Magazine! Good luck and all the best in your WildJunket travels and outdoor adventure!!

I was invited by Sentosa to a preview of the Sentosa Flowers, on Saturday 21st January 2012, thank you very much to Sentosa for their kind and warm hospitality! Sentosa Flowers 2012 starts from 22nd January 2012 to 29th January 2012 and this beautiful event promises great photography opportunities for flowers and nice for family gathering events too! There are many interesting flora and fauna on display at Sentosa Flowers – Enchanted Spring, let me take you through some of the highlights there, they are my favourite highlights of Sentosa Flowers 2012 !!

- The Pink Floral Zodiac Dragon 

Located at the Merlion Plaza, you can’t miss this beautiful, cute, giant Pink Floral Zodiac Dragon, located in front of the Merlion, this is going to be a huge attraction for visitors, local and international, wanting to get a photograph of it!

- Awakening 

This is definitely going to be another “hot” location at Sentosa Flowers, visitors would be queuing up to take a photograph of this exotic Dragon sculpture! You would be able to hold a big brush and “touch” the eye of the Dragon, when your brush gives it a touch, it would “come alive”.

- Dance of the Dragon 

Located at Imbiah Lookout, you can’t miss this great piece of artwork/sand sculpture, a Dragon sand sculpture, surrounded by beautiful colourful flowers, dancing around them, ushering in the Year of the Dragon, bringing prosperity and good fortune to all!

- Dinoland

My personal favourite at Sentosa Flowers 2012 !!! You must go there and find those cute dinosaurs!!! They are located at Dinoland, on the route up from Merlion Plaza to Imbiah Lookout!!!

There are more highlights too at Sentosa Flowers 2012, do check out the information here! Flowers galore too at Sentosa Flowers and do spot them along your tour of Sentosa Flowers Festival 2012!! There is a fun photography competition – Magic Moments, during Sentosa Flowers too, do check them out here!

For more information, check out Sentosa Flowers website for more details and information! Grab you cameras, visit Sentosa Flowers 2012 and have fun! Check out more photos here from my Flickr collection!

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Looking into a brief history of Chingay, it’s all about celebrating multi-cultural diversity and neighbourhood celebrations, dating back to 1973. Over the years, Chingay has progressed and transformed from a community heartlanders celebration and performances, into an international spectacle attracting both locals and international visitors and performers to Chingay in Singapore. Chingay Parade today is a very grand street and floats parade in Asia, showcasing our rich and vibrant multi-cultural society of Singapore, as well as embracing exciting cultures and colours from all over the world.

Chingay 2012 promises to be a splashing spectacular with the theme of ”Love, Care and Kindness Everywhere”, it will take you through a very colourful and dazzling performances, encompassing love, harmony, friendship, community diversity and spirit. On the night of Friday, 3 Feb 2012 – Parade Day 1 at 8.30pm or Saturday, 4 Feb 2012 – Parade Day 2 at 8.30pm, coming to you live at the F1 Pit Building (Next to Singapore Flyer), Chingay 2012 will light up the 2 nights!

Here’s some of the Chingay 2012 Highlights 

- Dragon Dramatics

- Beautiful Cultures

- Dreams Realised – Love Our Children

- Engaging as One – Love Our Community

- Triumph Over Challenge – The Grand Finale

Chingay 2012 will be a spectacular performance, with lots of water splashing! The ticketing information is available here on their website. Do purchase your tickets and watch the Chingay 2012 performance live, you can’t beat the feeling of being there in the midst of the performances and celebrations!

Here’s some of the photographs of Chingay 2012 Media Preview – Look forward to seeing you at Chingay 2012 !

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Photograph Courtesy of Epson Singapore and XPR.

A great time to catch up with old blogger/social media/photography friends, network with the friendly and hospitable Epson Singapore staff and of course, the friendly folks from XPR. Nice food with drinks in a cosy and comfortable environment, it was a nice location to know more about the projectors!

There were 3 projectors showcased during the evening

 MG 850 HD 

Photograph Courtesy of Epson Singapore and XPR.

EH-TW8000

Photograph Courtesy of Epson Singapore and XPR.

EB-435W

Photograph Courtesy of Epson Singapore and XPR.

After a short presentation, we tried and tested the 3 different projectors and had our dinner, drinks and back to testing the projectors. The projectors showcased were targeted for different purposes and usage, a small technical review is available on my personal blog post!

Photograph Courtesy of Epson Singapore and XPR.

Photograph Courtesy of Epson Singapore and XPR.

Beside the projectors, we had fun being photographed and had our photos printed by our lovely hosts Epson Singapore and XPR, using the Epson portable photo printer, for us to bring back home! The Epson projectors are state of the art, modern and powerful projectors, do check them out and you might find a projector that suits your needs and budget!

A group of photographers and friends, were invited to view and photograph the total lunar eclipse together, at One Fullerton Rooftop, a great time to catch up with old friends from the photography and social media scene, making new friends too, under the stars, watching the Total Lunar Eclipse taking place, sharing tips and experiences! Sing Astro volunteers were there too, with their giant telescope for us to view the solar system, educating and sharing their knowledge with us, on the eclipse and the planet Jupiter with the moons orbiting the planet Jupiter! Oh yes, do take a look at how I positioned and prepared my camera setup to capture the eclipse!

Eclipses are one of the most fascinating natural astronomical events that can happen in the sky, a wonderful natural phenomenal by Mother Nature, something very unique and special, that does not happen often. The Total Lunar Eclipse on 10th December 2011, commenced at 7:33pm local Singapore time and ended on 1:29am (11th December 2011).

Various types of Lunar Eclipses

1)   The Total Lunar Eclipse, which occurs when the moon travels completely into the earth’s umbra (shadow) and turns into bloody red colour at totality (approximately 10:30PM on that day).

2)   The Partial Lunar Eclipse, which occurs when the moon is oriented in a way that only part of it dips into the earth’s umbra.

3)   The Penumbral Lunar Eclipse, which occurs when the moon passes through the faint penumbral portion of the earth’s “weaker” shadow.

Information kindly provided by Sing Astro.

This was my first maiden total lunar eclipse photography, it’s very challenging and fun, bringing me back to this golden rule that I hold on to – “Learning is ongoing & lifelong, a rule that I always hold on to & it applies to my photography, always learning & trying & shooting.”

This wonderful event would not be possible without the organisation, coordination and execution by Juliana Tan of Marina Bay Division, URA, Fullerton Heritage and Sing Astro (non-profit society). Many thanks to all parties for providing us photographers and social media people, a gathering of fun, networking and photography! For updates on events and happenings around Marina Bay Singapore, do Like and follow them on their Facebook Page!

Here’s some of the wonderful Marina Bay Events that I am looking forward to for the month of December !

- Extreme Sailing Series at Marina Bay

Date : 9th – 11th December 2011

The final and ninth Act of the global 2011 Extreme SailingSeries and Marina Bay will be graced by 10 Extreme 40 teams out on the waters of Marina Bay in Singapore and I am looking forward to catch them in action there!

- Marina Bay Singapore Countdown and New Year Eve Fireworks

Date : 31st December 2011

My all time favourite event is to find a spot at the Marina Bay, find a location to soak in the Countdown atmosphere and to shoot the beautiful, amazing and exciting New Year Eve Countdown Fireworks with the gorgeous night landscape of Marina Bay as my background! Check out the various fireworks of Marina Bay over the past few years here on my Flickr and if you like to learn about fireworks photography, check out my Fireworks Photography Tips here!

Do check out Marina Bay Singapore Facebook Page for more information and updates, remember to LIKE the page and stay updated! Here’s the online version of Marina Bay 2011 December events !

In June 2012, Singapore will see an even bigger, better and more beautiful change to her greenery and garden space, Singapore’s paradigm shift is from “Garden City” to “City in a Garden”, a brand new holistic landmark to welcome the new “City in a Garden”, ladies and gentlemen, presenting Gardens By The Bay.

Along with the 20th World Orchid Conference held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, visitors to the World Orchid Conference are able to visit the Gardens By the Bay for a special preview, behind Marina Bay Sands, at the former Marina South Park. Even at this junction in time, Gardens By The Bay is not fully completed, visitors to the Gardens By The Bay – Bay South were not left disappointed and many were mesermised by aura, beauty, greenery and abundance of different trees and flowers from different parts of the world.

Visitors first impression walking over from Marina Bay Sands was the landscape beauty, walking along the DragonFly Bridge, visitors would see the DragonFly Lake before entering into the various Heritage Gardens comprising of

- The Malay Garden

- The Indian Garden

- The Chinese Garden

- The Colonial Garden

SuperTree Grove

Do you notice a few very special structure that stands out, it’s very unique and specially designed ? They are known as the SuperTree Grove, 25m to 50m high, they are your Gardens in the air, vertical gardens, showcasing tropical flowering climbers, epiphytes and ferns. Another awesome beauty is, when the night falls, they will come alive with very beautiful lightings and projected media.

The Conservatory Complex, 2 unique and beautiful architectural icons – Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, the Flower Dome was opened for visitors to enter and they were treated to a magnificent beauty of different Gardens within the Flower Dome Garden. The Flower Dome replicates the cool-dry climate of Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions like South Africa and Europe countries such as Spain and Italy. The Flower Dome is a VERY AMAZING icon, over 3,332 glass panels of different shapes and sizes made this so beautiful, unique and special!! With the following Gardens inside the Flower Dome

- Californian Garden

- Olive Grove

- Flower Field

- The Baobabs

- Succulent Garden

- Mediterranean Garden

- South American Garden

- Australian Garden

-South African Garden

This is just like many different beautiful oasis of plants, trees, flowers and natural beauty within a giant oasis! When the Gardens By The Bay is officially opened in June 2012, it will only get more beautiful and definitely an iconic Garden Landscape in the region and around the world too! Stay tuned of Gardens By The Bay development with updates from the Gardens By The Bay website, National Parks Singapore and Marina Bay Singapore Facebook. Do check out my special preview photos on Flickr !

I am looking forward to June 2012, to warmly and officially welcome the grand opening of Gardens By The Bay !!!

 

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

The 20th World Orchid Show Singapore 2011 reinforces our reputation as a Garden City, and Singapore is the only Asian City that has the rare privilege of hosting the World Orchid Conference for the 2nd time. This also shows us as a cosmopolitan city for conventions and exhibitions too. Entering the 20th World Orchid Conference at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, it’s so special, compared to the Singapore Garden Festivals held in 2006, 2008 and 2010, that I attended before.

It’s not about how big the size this Orchid Conference is being held here in Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the total number of orchids and varieties will blow you away, especially for those who love orchids and photographers who love the awesome opportunities to capture about 5,000 varieties of the beautiful and gorgeous orchids on display! The crowds were huge, from young to old, locals and international tourists, all admiring the orchids on display, smelling the sweet fragrance and aroma of the orchids, taking many photographs.

The theme for 20th WOC 2011 is “Where New and Old World Orchids Meet”, this definitely lives up to its reputation, with the number of orchids and hybrids on display. A photographer who loves to capture flora and fauna, this is a dream come true! I was actively finding and photographing the orchids, trying to get each and every different types of orchids and hybrids on display at the 20th WOC, a very challenging personal photography journey for me at 20th WOC Singapore 2011. Besides the orchids and hybrids on display there is a market place for visitors to buy their orchids and related products, with about 80 vendors from our local Singapore market and 17 countries/regions.

The 20th WOC World Orchid Conference Singapore 2011 is on facebook, do drop by and check them out! My photos taken at the 20th WOC Orchid Conference Singapore 2011 is uploaded here on Flickr! As you enter and leave the 20th WOC Conference, there is a giant signboard that said “Have You Found Your Little Piece of Paradise?” Have you found it ?

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Source : Marina Bay Singapore

- Elephant Parade

From 11th Nov 2011 to 12th Jan 2012, world’s largest open air art exhibition of decorated elephant statues that seeks to attract public awareness and support for Asian elephant conservation, some of them are located in the Marina Bay region, go out and spot them !

- Balloon Wonderland

Date : 26th November 2011

Time : 7:30pm to 9:30pm

A balloon sculpting event, many big balloon sculptures would appear there, check out their facebook for more information !

- Christmas ChariTrees @ Marina Bay

20 lovingly and uniquely designed Christmas Trees lighting up the Marina Bay, raising funds for 300,000 beneficiaries of Community Chest. Check them out while you are strolling along the Marina Bay, take photos, share it and spread the love!

Do check out Marina Bay Singapore Facebook Page for more information and updates, remember to LIKE the page and stay updated! For more information on the Marina Bay Events for the month of November 2011, check out the link here! Enjoy and have lots of fun at the Marina Bay Singapore!

Researching more into Candle Night 2011 origins, Candle Night  is an environmental event that helps in finding one’s inner sense of time, organised by Lighting Detectives Singapore. The Lighting Detectives is founded by Kaoru Mende, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the study of lighting culture through practical methods, and surveying of urban light environments, do check out Candle Night at Marina Bay on Facebook (Source : Shomei Tanteidan website). They are very inspiring with their lightings, artwork, environmental awareness and it just makes me people pause in time to admire the lights and think about Mother Nature.

I walked up and down from Merlion Park along One Fullerton, amazed and mesmerised by the the various lighting designs and artwork. They were all like shining lights, beacons and lanterns, attracting us towards them, reminding us of being environmentally conscious. Slowly walking and enjoying myself, immersing with the lightings, this was a very beautiful lighting and meaningful environmental event.

Candle Night at Marina Bay lights it up in a very special manner and aura, striking a balance of modern cosmopolitan bay view skyline with a social cause to be more environmentally friendly and conscious. Mesmerised and inspired, as a photographer, a photojournalist, it’s all about lighting, Candle Night inspires me to be more curious and passionate about lighting! Maybe I should be a Lighting Detective too ? Let’s see ….. Do check out the beautiful photographs from Candle Night 2011 at Marina Bay !!

 

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.