The Asian Golden Weaver (Ploceus hypoxanthus) is a species of bird in the Ploceidae family. It is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, and arable land. It is threatened by habitat loss. – Wikipedia

Over in Singapore, Asian Golden Weaver was found to be thriving in our nature parks and we believed it should be an escapee. It had attracted scores of photographers to the park as we have never seen these birds in the wild before. I hope it could survive and multiply down the road.
All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Asian Golden Weaver

Asian Golden Weaver

Vesak Day is a public holiday in Singapore and many Buddhist temple celebrates the occasion across the island in a big way. The main celebration took place at the Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery,

Vesak Day commemorates the birth and enlightenment of Buddha and his entry into Nirvana. The day starts with chanting of the sutras by saffronclad monks, while devotees visit the temples to pray and meditate and to make offerings. At about 5pm the day before Vesak Day, Kong Meng San, Phor Kark See Temple leads the devotees into taking 3 steps and bow around the temple. The ceremony lasted throughout the night and into the early morning hours.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Monks giving blessing

Devotees at Kong Meng San, Phor Kark See Temple.

Devotees taking the 3 steps and bow

Kong Meng San, Phor Kark See Temple.

Devotees receiving blessing

Devotees at Kong Meng San, Phor Kark See Temple.

The Lights

I love the challenge to shoot action photography and thus it drove me to engage in sports photography where actions images are in abundance. Photographers should be prepared to have long telephotos lenses with focal length of between 200mm to 600mm. Different focal length would be required in different location of shoot. An example of a need of 300mm to 600mm range of telephoto lenses is needed in shooting the game of Rugby. The games is very fast moving and if the team is playing a loop sided game, one would find the players might be at the other side of the field. Thus, without a telephoto lens, one would not be able to achieved decent shot.

In Singapore, Rugby is one of the game that is opened to the public to watch or photograph. So, it makes accessibility easy for those who wanted to practice their skills in sports photography. Photographers should look out for the intense moments during the play and try to capture close up images or moments that brings life to the images. In the slideshow are moments captured at a recent rugby match that involved the rugby team called the Wanderers. It is the Wanderers vs HMS Richmond and the results was Wanderers won a tough end of season encounter with HMS Richmond.The freezing of the intense game as well as motion to reflect the speed of the game.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use  and/or duplication of this material without express and written  permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Sports Photography - Rugby

Rugby challenge

In motion - rugby challenge

Rugby moments

Panti Forest in Malaysia is situated near Kota Tinggi which is a one hour drive from Singapore Causeway. It is within the state of Johor and is a favorite among Nature Photographers and Birders . This areas at certain time of the year have lots of birds presence and is also a place for macro photography as well. The forest offers abundance of flora and fauna and one could find many different species of forest birds especially when there is a bird wave. I make several trips there and was also drawn to the morning mist that surround the forest where stray of lights flooded the forest by penetrating the thick canopy. This is the first part of the series on Panti and the slides show shows the morning scene that greet the visitors at Panti forest.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Panti Forest Reserve in Malaysia

Panti Forest Reserve in Malaysia

Red Tent Spider or also known as  Cyrtophora unicolor are found in forested areas and the picture show in the slideshow were shot at Singapore Admiralty Park in Woodlands

This spider builds a large three-dimensional web in vegetation. The web usually has one or two curled up dried leaves in the centre, giving the appearance that the spider is a poor housekeeper. The spider has carefully chosen and placed the leaf there and ingeniously hides inside. If you find a web that is built above eye level, you can easily spot this beautiful large spider by looking up into the underside of the curled up leaf. (On low webs, you’ll have to stoop down and look up). If you see a lot of leaves in the web, however, it usually means that the spider is no longer in the web to keep it tidy. – This write up by Ria Tan

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Red Tent Spider

Red Tent Spider at Admiralty Park

I was selected to be one of the featured photographer for the FOCUS Project Photo Competition. Click on this LINK to view the featured photographers works.

Focus Project Featured Photographer

Large-tailed Nightjar are also known as Caprimulgus macrurus for their scientific name. They could be found in Singapore among the forested areas and one can hear their distinct call in the night with a sound ..Tok..Tok. I am sure some people could have hear them in our housing estate areas but never knew it is a Large-tailed Nightjar in their mist.

Large-tailed Nightjars feed on moths and other night-flying insects as they are most active in the night. During the day, one could see them resting on the ground and not even realizing they are next to you. The slideshow photos were taken a few weeks back when I discovered a Large-tailed Nightjar while going for my round of macro shooting. I did not realized the Nightjar was next to me until it flew off when I went too near. Upon taking a closer look, I discovered there were two eggs on the floor. I immediately backed away and left the place so that the Nightjar will not feel threaten. Nightjars don’t make a nest and simply lay 1-2 mottled buffy/pinkish eggs on the ground. This presented a problem. The eggs are very vulnerable to be eaten up by predator or someone not realizing it might step onto the eggs. The eggs were well camouflaged and both parents take turns brooding the eggs which hatch in 16-18 days.

In this observation, one of the eggs did not make it as I suspected it might have been eaten by a predator. Luckily, the other egg survived and the chick was out. Unfortunately, I could not take a shot of the chick as I was too late to arrived at the site after a delay of a few days. I hoped the chick did fledged and become an adult Nightjar.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Large Tailed Nightjar incubating eggs

Large Tailed Nightjar incubating eggs

Large Tailed Nightjar eggs

The last posting on my blog was the topic on Ethics in Nature Photography. Now I would like to share the frustrating experience in bird photography related to ethics in nature shooting. This incidence have been on going for many weeks now and I witnesses the selfish act of some photographers early today.Take a look at the slides. There is a pair of rare Blue Eared KingFisher in the process of building a nest in the nature reserve of Singapore and was spotted by photographers over the weeks and being photographs on their daily activities round the clock.

The problem arises when some photographer went over the designated walking platform and into the vegetation to get closer shot. In doing so, they damaged the vegetation that acts as a protective layer for the birds against predators. At the same time, they intruded into the comfort zone of the birds especially during nesting time. This is highly inconsiderate and selfish act in the attempt to get their “Dream Shot” I urge all who cares for the well being of the subject to call Nature Park Board of Singapore at 18004177300 to report such intrusion.

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Unethical photographers climbed over the railings for better shot

Patches of vwgetation being cleared to get a better view at the bird

The intrusion into the reserve out of bound areas

Following up my previous post on the Life of Little Terns, the approaches to capture these images must take careful considerations not to intrude into the comfort zone of the birds or subject. Intruding into the comfort zone of the nesting sites could cause the mother bird to abandon the nest and chicks for good. It will result in the chicks having to suffer hunger and eventually die.

Such incidence happened to over zealous “nature photographers” whose objective is to get the “Dream Shot” at the expense of the interest and well being of the subject. Unfortunately, these incidences happened and as more took up nature photography as a hobby, it is even more critical to bring this issue to light so that more awareness could be created. Nature photographers whose interest lies in birds and mammals photography must have long telephoto lenses or no less the 300mm focal length under general cirmcumstances.

The ideal is to own a 600mm lens so that one could keep a comfortable distance from the subject. If situation calls for the photographer to camouflage himself to blend with the surrounding, one should do so. Photographers could easily purchase such camo cloth to wrap over his entire body and stay at the position that is a comfort zone from the subject. The Little Terns was shot from a distance using a 600mm telephoto lens and with a 1.7 X tele converter to give a better reach. We used the camouflage cloth to cover ourselves even under the hot sun and we arrived there early to take up the position well before the bird starts their feeding routine.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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The 600mm telephoto lens with camo cloth

Using car as a hide

The Nikon 600mm F4 Telephoto Lens

My intention of this article is to reflect how wildlife and nature photography could capture and project to the world the beauty of nature in our mist. Singapore is well known to be a concrete jungle where finding pockets of nature is pretty tough due to intense urban redevelopment for the past 50 years. Yet, it was last year that myself and a small group of nature photographers took time and efforts to documents a series of breeding process of a bird called Little Terns or also known as Scientific name: Sterna albifrons. It was documented at a waste land but not too far from urban living in Singapore.

Little Tern breeds in North America, Europe, Western Africa and Australia. They are mainly found in coastal areas along beaches, lagoons, river mouths and deltas. However, in this documentation, we found the Little Tern at a waste land near the coastal part of Singapore and a pair of them was seen in their breeding cycles where they successfully laid eggs and brought up a young Little Terns.

The Little Tern hunts for small fish and insects. It prefers to feed over shallower coastal waters and can hover briefly before plunging into the water to catch prey. The Little Tern breeds in small colonies, with each mating pair producing a single chick. The slideshow here shows how they feed and care for their young which successfully fledged after a week since it was hatched . The nest is a shallow scrape in sand. The next posting will show how we photographers approached the subject with care and how we camouflage yourself with our photographic gear to ensure the birds are at ease with our presence and not intruding into their privacy by keeping a safe distance. This is the top priority that every nature photographer should observe while photographing wildlife. Nothing is more important then the welfare of the bird or subject.

Some of my works on Little Terns can be viewed at FOCUS PROJECT

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Little Terns arrived to feed the chick

Adult Little Terns taking off after feeding the chick

Juvenile Little Terns with fish that was brought in by the parent

Juvenile Little Terns learning how to fly

The Biodiversity Photo Competition was held in June 2010 in conjunction with the Year Of Biodiversity. It was held outside Orchard Gallery for a period of one month. I won the first prize in this photo competition. The winning shot was taken at Singapore Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. I was at the reserve focusing on Avian photography but chanced upon a Smooth Otter fanatically hunting for food in the morning. A pack of Otter used to appear in this nature reserve for the past few years forging for food.

However, on this occasion, this Otter was alone and looks restless. It caught my attention as I suspected the Otter was not his normal self. It was at the moment when I saw him rushing across the water patch which I shot him jumping up. An unusual behaviour as Otter normally will dive for food instead of jumping for it. On closer look at my shot, I realized his prey was a flower crab which flew up when the Otter tried to bounce on him but failed to get the prey. It was a moment that shows the Biodiversity of this nature park is still very much alive. I was glad to have caught this moment that is hard to come by or will never happen again.

The prize presentation was graced by our Singapore Minister Mr Mah Bow Tan.

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Biodiversity Photo Competition exhibition 2010

Steven Tor winning shot for Biodiversity competition

Biodiversity Photo Exhibtion

Macro photography is the approach in taking close-up pictures that reveal a different perspective from what a naked eye sees. As a nature photographer, I spend great amount of time in the field to capture these images ranging from insects to flowers, plants, water dew and even artificial objects. This series of learning Macro Photography will guide beginners into the techniques to achieve the skills needed.

In Wikiepedia, Macro photography is defined as close-up photography of usually very small subjects. The classical definition is that the image projected on the “film plane” (i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject. The first factor to consider is what equipments must one have to achieve macro capability? Can a normal lens do that job? What degree of magnification is needed to get close? Is there a need for tripod when many so called “macro photographers” are shooting with hand held camera and lenses? What aperture setting, shuttle speed and ISO should one use for macro? All these will be shared in macro photography tips posting in the coming weeks. So look out for it.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

This Lynx spider was shot using reflector and artificial light source which give the background rim of lights. The shot on the Jumper Spider was shot with natural ambient lights with a reflector.

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Macro photography - Lynx Spider

Macro photography - Jumper Spider

Atlas Moth Caterpillar

Morning Dew

Many people started photography without knowing what is the use of white balance function on the digital camera and went ahead to set it without giving much thought how it well affect the outcome of the shot. I have encountered photographers who have been on this hobby for many years and yet still could not managed the white balance function

The following two pictures were shot only a few minutes apart using different white balance setting from my Nikon camera body. One could see that different outcome using cloudy and Auto White Balance. So which is correct? It all depends. If it is ” What you see is what you get” that the photographer would like to achieve, than he or she should access the situation and set the White Balance to achieve it. One may even want to use custom White Balance to manage the color temperature. So take a look and decide for yourself.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Sunset White Balance set as Cloudy

Sunset White Balance set as Auto

Most Singaporean would have the mindset that our country offer very little opportunity to take great sunset or sunrise photographs. However, if one were to be hardworking and persistent in seeking areas to shot dramatic scene, it is still there for us. These two shots reflects the shot taken at Sunrise at Kranji which is an outskirt area of Singapore and another was taken at Sunset right in the heart of the City. These two photos shows that some dramatic shots could still be achieve on this island. Both shots were taken with long time exposure and thus the clouds movement were captured and the seafront looks calm.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Singapore Marina Bay

Kranji Sunrise

Photographer who are keen on Food Photography and do not have budget to purchase studio equipments can approach it by using natural lights. The following pictures were shot using only natural lights source. By approaching the subject with a good understanding how lights source works, one can capture good quality food shots. Basically one would need a lens of focal length between 50mm to 100mm doe such shot. I will share more when a membership scheme is set up for anyone keen to sign up and able to access to some of the photographic topics that I will be sharing on the private site.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Italian Crusine - Beef Steak

Italian Crusine - Desserts

Italian Crusine

Italian Crusine

A second series on the National Cheerleading Championships 2011 at Jurong East Sports Hall. I was pretty amazed at the dare devil spirit of the various participating team in performing their stunts. There were causalities but nothing life threatening I guess. It was indeed an eye opener that Cheerleading is not a “Soft” sports afterall. Indeed the girls are the heroes of the show with their dare devil stunt.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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National Cheerleading Championships

National Cheerleading Championships

National Cheerleading Championships

The inaugural National Cheerleading Championships was launched in 2010, as part of the Singapore Sports Council’s (SSC) “Let’s Play” movement. The aim of this movement is to cultivate and encourage a cheering culture among Singaporeans. The National Cheerleading Championships brings  two thrilling days of action and excitement as cheerleading teams vie for glory and prizes worth over $5,000! These are some of the moments captured at the Cheerleading  competition at Singapore Jurong East Sports Hall over the last weekend.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

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Start of Cheerleading Championship

Cheerleading supporting team

Cheerleading Thialand Demo Team

Cheerleading Thialand Demo team

Cheering on

PATRON OF HERITAGE AWARDS 2008

The Patron of Heritage Awards celebrates a record year in heritage philanthropy. Now in its third year, the prestigious national accolade by the National Heritage Board (NHB) recognises S$110 million of donations and loans contributed to heritage causes islandwide in 2008 – the highest sum received within a year.  Established in 2006, the Patron of Heritage Awards is an annual event that aims to boost heritage philanthropy in Singapore by honouring individuals and organisations who have made significant contributions towards enriching our national heritage.

Rear Admiral (NS) Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, graced the awards ceremony as Guest of Honour on 17 April 2009 at the National Museum of Singapore.

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CEO of NHB with his opening welcome speech

The recipients

My recent visit to Jurong BirdPark gave me an impression it was not doing well. The main restaurant was closed and even the Weaver Birds at the Waterfall Aviary was caged instead of free ranging within the waterfall areas. Not a very goodsight. Birds are born to be free….not caged.

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Free ranging Egret with fish

Raptor landing

On the day of the festival, devotees will shave their heads undertake a pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion, notably carrying various types of kavadi (burdens). At its simplest this may entail carrying a pot of milk, but mortification of the flesh by piercing the skin, tongue or cheeks with vel skewers is also common.

All images © Copyright Steven Tor and Storphotography. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.

Women shaving off their hairs

pilgrimage along a set route while engaging in various acts of devotion