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15/2011 - Segar Trail (3 July 2011)

The outing started at 7:40am. Right at the beginning of the trail, Endy had found some very interesting pattern on the trunk of several big trees, and started shooting busily with his F5 film Camera... The rest are also started their work with some macro subjects just right at the small path led to the open area. Yi Lin, a  new comer of our group, found herself very busy as many of the senior shooters were sharing their finding with her... She was very happy with the trip, and told that she will participate more of our coming outing. Priscillia joined outing the 2nd time, also quite satisfied with her shots today, and started to post in NPSS forum, asking for comments and feedback.. Flor, joined us not so long ago, got few nice shots of the ladybirds...The rest, those seniors, happily enjoying their time in the field. The outing ended at about 11:30am, and we all moved to the nearby foodcourt next to Zheng Hua CC for our lunch.

Some snap shots taken during this morning outing. 

(A huge piece of greenery near Segar Road)

(Yixiong, Allan, Sharon, Priscilla)

(Kyaw Htay, Sharon, Hazel)

(Endy in action)

(There are some durian trees along the trial)

 Praying Mantis by Priscillia

Butterfly by Priscillia

Damselfly by Yi Lin

Allan,s  posts in the NPSS forum, documented the life of Antlion, is very informative and interesting to read. It could be accessed throught the following links: http://npss.org.sg/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8449


Participants (12) - Cai Yixiong (Trip Leader), Endy Tan, Sharon S. Lim, Anthony Quek, Tony Png, Allan Lee, Hazel Han, Ko Kyaw Htay, Sonia Zou, Flor J., Yi Ling, Priscillia 

14/2011 - Tampines Woods (18 June 2011)

The Outing was Cancelled

It was one of the busiest morning I’ve ever had! There were so many SMSes and calls came in, asking about the outing. Stewart, who lives near the new site, reported three times telling me that it was raining cats and dogs. And so . . . sadly, I had no choice but to send the cancellation messages to everyone at 6:50am  : (  

Enthusiastic CT Lim

About 45 minutes later . . . CT asked whether I would join him to have a look at the site,  because there was less rain at his place. Destine, also invited me to join Kelvin and her for a breakfast at Katong. So, I asked CT and Allan along. Since there was not much rainfall after our meal, all of us decided to visit the site.

Walking there

The Little Marsh Land

We reached the site at about 11am, the sky was still dark and a little bit of drizzle could still be seen. Our first stop was the little marsh land.  For just 1.5 hour of being there, we saw :

• aquatic flora: asiatic pipewort, blooming common Bladder Worts, an uncommon submerged water plant which looks like Najas Indica (more observation to be done for confirmation).
• Odonata: trumpet tail, black-tipped percher, common parasol, blue percher, variable wisp, ornate coraltail, but the scarlet pygmy and a few more dragonflies seemed to be hiding due to the rain (they were seen in my first visit).
  

Blue Percher (top left) by Destine & other record shots by Endy

• freshwater life : pond skaters, water boatmen, water stick insect, diving beetles, pond wolf spiders, field frogs, tadpoles (at least 2 species), lymnaea rubiginosa (snail), malayan live-bearing snails.

So, What do You Think of the Marsh Land?

Destine & Kelvin : " Wow! in just a short while, we saw so many creatures! dragonflies, damselflies, pond skaters. Then, Allan pointed to us - look! at the bottom, there are so many dragonfly's nymphs (big & small) and there... water stick insect, diving beetles, waterboatmen, and look at the tadpoles! They are floating in mid water, the body is almost transparent! We saw some frogs too. Endy said they looked like field frogs, there was a big one jumping. Brought my little underwater casing but did not want the shoes to get wet, next time we will wear boots. Let's buy some boots after lunch! " .

Exploring marsh land

Best Way to Explore this Marsh Land

CT Lim : " No doubt, the best way / the most comfortable way is to use the fishmonger's boots! You can get it for just $15! Your feet will be dry! " .
Allan : " Hm . . . just with a pair of non-slip outdoor slippers, I stepped into the water. It was easy and really cooling  ; )  Ha..Ha.. .  Never mind the mud! How often can you get so close to mother earth? No worry! there was no leech, no bite at all! " .

CT's way or Allan's way?

Quick Tour to the Rest of the Woods

Endy : " After exploring the marsh land, we had a quick tour to other parts of the Woods. It is quite a big area, greeneries... everywhere. Have a look at the photos! For taking photos, for your own safety, do not go alone and venture too far off the paths. And please do not station yourself or your equipments on the path itself, because we saw one or two mountain motorbikes passing the path once in a while. So, you should stand at the sides of the path instead and be alert " . 

   

The Woods at a glance
(Yellow pupa of ladybug was taken by Destine)

The Trip ended at 1:30pm
We had a lunch together at the food court of Tampines Avenue 9. Destine & Kelvin bought their boots on the way back home.  


At Last but not Least, 
Let me show you our best Macroshooter of that day, in action.

Pond skaters, Dragonfly, and Tadpoles by Allan Lee 

Such a nice place! We will definitely go there again!  : )

Recce team (5) - Endy (Leader), Allan Lee, Lim Cheow Tin, Destine, and Kelvin.

13/2011 - Durian Trail (11 Jun 2011)

Some snapshots taken during today's outing:

(Setting up at the carpark)

Blogging in progress!  Please come back for more updates ...

Participants (14) - Tony Png (Trip Leader), Anthony Quek, Cai Yixiong, Allan Lee, Lim Cheow Tin, Ko Kyaw Htay, Mohammad K. David Lee, Edmund, Wang Poon Liang, Ong Ngee Ming, Foong KT, Peter Low and Joe Tan.

12/2011 - East Woods (4 Jun 2011)

It has been a year since we last visited East Woods. On my way to the East, the morning sun was super bright and round. It is a pity Singapore has so many tall buildings otherwise Ming would have stopped and taken a shot of the golden sun against the baby blue sky with a tinge of pink.  Am I right, Ming?

The early birds had their breakfast at Bedok Food Court. Most of us arrived at the car park next to Bedok Food Court by 0745hrs.  We took a short 10-min walk to the "playground".  The vegetation has grown much bushier and taller.  Those who could not make it on time made their own way to meet us there.

I decided to be a bug spotter for this outing and some were surprised that I did not bring my equipment today.  Within a 100m, I spotted a Crab Spider and I called out to Destine but she was busy setting up her equipment.  Cheow Tin came along and I introduced the elusive Crab Spider to him.  I hope he managed to capture it and share with us.  Hmmmmm ....  I bet Sonia (picture above) caught a beauty through her 3rd eye!

 

It was a hot and humid morning.  Many of us were dripping with sweat.  Some of us ventured into the forest to get some shade.  As you can see, the vegetation is knee high.  There is no path or trail so when we walked through the thick jungle, we had to lift up our legs so our feet does not get entangled with the thick growth of creepy plants.  It can be a challenge as it inevitably disturbs the timid bugs.  However, some others like butterfly and caterpillars are just oblivious.





Destine finally caught up with us and shot this beautiful spider.  While we wait for its ID, let's take a peek because it's peeking at you too.  It's eyes are so small compared to its body.  If you know the identity of this spider, please assist us by indicating in Post a Comment with thanks.

by Destine Ang

East Woods is very huge in terms of area.  I would think it covers the size of a football field.  Some of us decided to explore another part of it led by Endy who had apparently combed the jungle.  It was a long walk along the bicycle track and we ended up near the ECP towards Changi Airport.  It looked wild and it offered us a few interesting subjects.  A black cobra was spotted as it slithered away towards the enormous bird's-nest fern.  It is definitely a place to revisit some day.

Nah ... these people are not queueing for Hello Kitty but waiting to shoot an Ornamental Tree Trunk spider (Female) spotted by Poon Liang.  Well, I wanted to have a record shot too.  Without my proper equipment, I just have to live with my other hand-held gadget.  The Ornamental Tree Trunk spider must have been the most popular female "model" of the day!

by Wang Poon Liang

We hasten our footsteps as dark clouds loomed above us like a heavy curtain.   The musky smell of impending rain hung in the atmosphere.  Ming and I had to take a little detour to find her Nikon camera body front mount cap and she was delirious with joy to see it on the turf near our "base camp".  The rain held everyone hostage at Bedok Food Court.   It was time for lunch anyway so we sat in small groups to have our meals and chatted away.  There was definitely great camaraderie among all who participated in this outing.

Participants (22) - Sharon S. Lim ((Trip Leader), Endy Tan, Anthony Quek, Cai Yixiong, Lim Cheow Tin, Ko Kyaw Htay, Mohammad K. Catherine Wong, Sadiran, Destine Ang, Kelvin Ong, Edmund, Danny Tan, Wang Poon Liang, Pinky Lee, Yvonne Tan, Ong Ngee Ming, Sonia Zhou, Hazel Han, Flor J. Chan Choon Phiow and Joe Tan.   Absent with apologies - Soh Pui Hoon and Foong K T.

11/2011 - Thanggam Forest (30 Apr 2011)

"Showers with thunder in most parts of Singapore" was the weather forcast.  Yes, it rained cats and dogs at about 7+ am in the west but Allan chose a right macro site for today's shoot.  A bright golden sunrise was smiling at us as we drove towards the north-east.

When we reached the meeting point at Lorong Thanggam at 7.30 am punctually, majority of the participants were already there busying setting up their gears.

(Setting up our gears at the meeting point)

Without much delay, some of us headed to the nearby vegetation.  Immediately, subjects were spotted at the entrance of the nature trail.

(Entrance of the nature trail) 

(Many subjects kept the photographers busy)

Some of us explored further into the trail.

Here are some shots showing our photographers in action:

(Allan & Teck Leong testing out a new camera)

(Mohammad in action!)

(Tony in action!)

(Sharon & CT discussing how to best compose a beautiful caterpillar)

(Eugene in action!)

At about 10.30 am, the rain came and it cut short our stay at the Thaggam area.  We quickly packed up and went to the nearby restuarant to eat the best Roti Prata in Singapore!

Participants (26) - Allan Lee ((Trip Leader), Endy Tan, Sharon S. Lim, Anthony Quek, CT Lim, Kyaw Htay, Mohammad KaramiNejadRanjbar, CP Syn, Soh Pui Hoon, Foong KT, Ong Lim Sim, Perilla, SC Fang, Sadiran, Catherine Wong, Vivien Wee, Destine Ang & Kelvin, Steward Ong, Peter Low, Wu Lan xi, Phoebe, Eugene, Leonard Tan & Edmund, Goh Teck Leong.

10/2011 - Jurong Woods II (16 Apr 2011)

It was a refreshing change to see a record of nine ladies joining this outing! As many of them are first timers and are new in macro photography, I asked some IMOG leaders to help me out.  They came in full strength to support me and even though Tony had a morning's appointment, he agreed to come down all the way from Potong Pasir when I said I needed him as I had some transportation problem! These are my trusted photography buddies whom I can depend on and over the years, we treat each other as good friends!

Anyway, I was a little worried the night before when the weather man said it would be cloudy until 9 am this morning and shower with thunder in the later morning. Fortunately, it was much better than expected and we were blessed with another lovely morning.  I reached the meeting point half an hour early at 7 am but CT Lim, as usual, was already there! I was glad that all of us made an effort to be there by 7.30 am especially those who stays as far as Pasir Ris.  Pinky who stays in the east was there before 7 am too! She told me that she was excited about it that she could not sleep well last night.  She set 3 alarm clocks to make sure that she can make it for the outing.  I was impressed by her enthusiasm.    

This was the 2nd time that we visited Jurong Wood II.  We explored the central nature trail when we first came here on 21 Aug last year.  This time round, I wanted to concentrate more on the left & right sides of the green vegetations there.    Here are some photos showing the site conditions and our photographers in actions!

(Start of the shoot)

(Left side of green vegetation)

(Yixiong in action)

(Allan in action)

(Kevin in action)

(Saranjit in action)

(Central path)

(Why was Allan so happy?)

Please click the following links for more images taken during this outing:

"Death & alive" by Kyaw Htay
"Bird dung spider" by Lim Cheow Tin
"Crabby" by Sharon S. Lim
"Flower pistil & sudden visitor" By Sonia Zou
"Spiders" by Mohammad KaramiNejadRanjbar
"Blacklit wild orchid" by Darren Chng
"Few images to share" by Allan Lee

Participants (22) - Anthony Quek (Trip Leader), Endy Tan, Sharon S. Lim, Cai Yixiong, Allan Lee, Darren Chng, CT Lim, Kyaw Htay, Sonia Zou, Mohammad KaramiNejadRanjbar, CP Syn, Flor J, Bonnie, Pricillia, Soh Pui Hoon, Teng Che San, Pinky Lee, David Lee, Foong KT, Tan Peck Kheng & Kevin, Saranjit Bains

9/2011 - Lower Seletar Reservoir (9 Apr 2011)

Another good site was found! This time, IMOG was exploring the North of Singapore, Lower Seletar Reservoir.

I reached the point of gathering at 6:50am, then a few minutes later came CT Lim. He shouted from his car's window opening "Hey Endy, Why are you earlier than me?" I said "Ha..Ha.. I am the trip leader today!" : ) . As always, he was full of energy and ever ready for our regular outing.

But we were not the earliest, there were already 2 uncles there, started harvesting the fresh water plant for aquarium trade. Wah! not an easy job! They woke up so early and stayed very long in the water.

The outing started at about 7:50am. There were 3 routes in sight, but the route-2 was not recommended, as it was quite dangerous to cross the narrow water pipe. Michael went to route-2 and told us that it was indeed quite risky. So we concentrated more at route-1, searching for subjects. Spiders, ladybird beetles, grass hoppers, damselflies, dragonflies, and some small red beetles were among the litte creatures found for our photography.

Later, CP Chan found an average sized stink bug. It was not very colourful, but it had some fine pattern. After a while, when everybody was almost done taking photos of it,  Sharon asked " Why is the size of the upper part of body is getting bigger? why is the colour changing to yellow and red." We soon realized that it was molting! Wow!! We were so lucky!!! All of us got very excited for witnessing its amazing molting process.

At around 10:00am, we went on to route-3 joining Mr. Kyaw and the others who had been  exploring the green area accessible below the flyover / high way. On the way there, I saw a tiny hopper with a very interesting pattern on its wings. Sharon was telling me that we need a specific set-up to photograph it, but I said " No..No..No..! What we really need is Allan!". This is so true, as Allan is so good in taking very small subjects, Ha..! Too bad he was in Paris, we miss you Allan! Hope you are coming back soon!  : )

Route-3 has a flatter ground, safer for senior citizens and all of us to explore. Most of us focus at the area surrounding a temporary temple. Some other little animals found during the trip were : blue glassy tigers, grass yellows, dragonflies, changeable lizards, moths, weevil, plant hoppers, mating millipedes, spiders, and a lot of little blue insects. CT Lim, Mr. Ong LS, CP Chan, and me explored until the end of route but the area at the edge of the reservoir was grown with a dense stretch of elephant grasses which was not easy to maneuver around.

Nearing the end of the trip, I received an SMS from our friend Mohammad, he was late after rushing a report and could not find his way! So...  Me, Cathy, and Vivien went out to the entry of track 24 to get him in. He came just in time for lunch. We ended the outing around 12pm and had a lunch together at the Hawker Centre of Ang Mo Kio Ave 6.

Participants (22) - Endy Tan (Trip Leader), Sharon S. Lim, Anthony Quek, CT Lim, Chan CP, Kyaw Htay, Sonia Zou, Ong Ngee Ming, Joe Tan, Sadiran Samikon, SC Fang, Michael Ee, Joshua Fong, Yeo Tang Lim, Cathy Wong, Ong Lim Sim, Stephen Lim, Leonard Tan, Vivien, Steward Ong, Shirley and Mohammad KaramiNejad Ranjbar