8/10 - Kranji Nature Trail (27 Mar 10)

(Helmet Head Caterpillar by Sharon S. Lim)


(Pill Bug by Tan Chuan Yean)

Other interesting images taken during the outing can be found here:

Dewy Wings by Sharon S. Lim
Kranji Shoot by Stephen Lim
Kranji Shoot 1 by Tan Chuan Yean
Kranji Shoot 2 by Tan Chuan Yean
Kranji Shoot 3 by Tan Chuan Yean

Participants (13) - Cai Yixiong (Team Leader) , Catherine Sum, Joe Tan, Hazel Han, Sharon S. Lim, Eugene Hu, Ong Lim Sim, Foong K T, Michael Ooi, Michael Ee, Stephen Lim, Allan Lee & Tan Chuan Yean

7/10 - Venus Drive (20 Mar 10)

It started to rain immediately after we set up our gears but that did not stop some of our passionate photographers from shooting. More images here.

(Drone fly by Tan Chuan Yean)

6/10 - Rifle Range Link (20 Feb 10)

Participants (9) - Cai Yixiong (Team Leader), Allan Lee, Sharon S. Lim, Ong Lim Sim, Hazel Han, Peter Low, Kenneth Ng, Syn Chue Pui & Anthony Quek

5/10 - Singapore Botanic Gardens - Plant House (6 Feb 10)

Surprisingly, the Plant House at SBG remains a very good site especially for an educational trip on Macro Photography. Six students from Anderson Junior College enjoyed themselves with the fun of nature as well as gaining photographic skills from their respective instructors. It was encouraging to see one of the students, Arnold, posted his images taken on that day in our NPSS website.

(See here for more candid shots of the outing)

It was also a fruitful trip for our IMOG shooters. For example, Wee Shien's lotus is a very refreshing shot:



Allan's "Creature from the Deep" is a unique and rare sighting:



And many more interesting shots here:
- Allan's Mayfly
- Richard's Waterlily
- Sharon's Waterlily
- Hazel's rare tree snail
- Yixiong's rare tree snail

Participants (12) : Yeo Wee Han (Team Leader), Ong Lim Sim, Richard Erh, Peter Low, Sharon S. Lim, Allan Lee, Pegi Lee, Ng Hwei Min, Eric Tan, Hazel Han, Ong Wee Shien & Cai Yixiong)

4/10 - Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West (30 Jan 10)

We woke up to a cool beautiful Saturday and at 7.30 am, we gathered near the entrance of Ang Mo Kio Town Garden West. To our pleasant surprise, we were greeted with a lotus-filled pond, all in different sizes and shades of pink.

The atmosphere was conducive to macro photography; in particular, the sunlight was soft with gentle and refreshing wind. Without further ado, we set up our equipment and explored every nook and cranny. We were delighted to see a few more enthusiasts who came by to join in the expedition around mid-morning.

Albeit the pond was lightly smeared with a layer of grease, it did not deter the insects from visiting the pond. We saw many varieties of insects like Wolf Spider, Pond Skater, Damselfly and Dragonfly right at the edge of the pond.


(Pond Skater by Sharon S. Lim)

Anthony spent a lot of time with an American bull frog. At one time, it jumped onto a velvety lotus leaf but its weight pulled it down. Perhaps the bull frog did not fancy the condition of the water so it jumped right back on the grass for Anthony again who managed to take a few frontal view.

(American Bull Frog, male by Anthony Quek)

Not too far away from the lotus pond, a young centipede was spotted scurrying away, a Cicada was sun-bathing on a brick wall and assorted butterflies were seen fluttering around freely.

(Cicada by Sharon S. Lim)

Amidst the diversity of insects and animals, hawk-eyed Allan spotted a young unrolled lotus leaf, which resembles a heart, befitting the forthcoming special occasion, Valentine's Day. Eventually, it became the highlight of the day.

Later in the morning, the sun became a little jarring so we packed up and headed for a palatable lunch at AMK Ave 3. We reconnected once again with laughter and humor.

Participants (10) : Sharon S. Lim (Team Leader), Pegi Lee, Ong Lim Sim, Anthony Quek, Allan Lee, Hazel Han, Simon, Chan CP, Rosemary, Endy Tan & Thomas

3/10 - Jurong Woods (16 Jan 10)

It was more than a year since we last visited Jurong Woods. Nothing really changed. It is still a quiet but interesting place for photographers to focus on shooting without much human distraction. This is because there is a "Protected Area" sign just outside the entrance of Jurong Woods. Occasionally we saw a few elderly men riding motorbikes and bicycles. Not too sure what they were doing in this deserted place here.

(Participants busy setting up, finding subjects and shooting)

The weather was fine when we started setting up at about 8.00 am. Jurong Woods is a huge place and it would be impossible to cover the whole area within a day. So, we concentrated more at the beginning stretch of bushes (see above image) and on the right hand side when we reached a "Y" junction. Many common subjects were spotted such as many species of spiders, dragonflies, damselflies, caterpillars, etc.


(Outdoor studio setup demonstrated by Allan Lee with the help of 4 ladies)

The catch of the day had to be the lynx spider having a damselfly as breakfast! As it was perching lowly at the slope near a canal, it would be impossible to get a good shot. We moved it up and an "outdoor studio" was immediately set up by Allan with the great help from our 4 nice ladies (see above). We then took turn to have some shots of them. We called it a day at about 11.30 am and went to the nearby Boon Lay Hawker Centre for lunch.


(Lynx spider with damselfly as prey by Allan Lee)

Participants (11) : Anthony Quek (Team Leader), Kyaw Htay, Stephen Lim, Cai Yixiong, Shereen Ng, Allan Lee, Ong Lim Sim, Pegi Lee, Sharon S. Lim, Tan Peck Kheng & Tony Png

2/10 - Upper Seletar Reservoir (9 Jan 10)

Close up of Tiger Beetle (Cosmodela aurulenta juxtata) by Allan Lee

The weather was fine that morning. Tony came (without registration), buying us breakfasts to our surprise. After finishing them, all of us set up at one entry near a portion of forest and started the outing. Going through the forested area, some butterflies were observed : Common faun, Common five ring, Archduke, Peacock Pansy, Branded Imperial, and some skippers. Then finally at the end of the route we found our star of the day, the Tiger Beetle.

(Group in action)

A sandy playground was full of tiger beetles, estimation was at least twenty of them. Many of us tried to get as near and as low as possible on the ground to get some close ups. we had to wait and move slowly to approach these little bugs.

(Stephen demonstrating how to shoot a Tiger Beetle)

Stephen was in the best position. He was flat on the floor and Ha...Ha... the ground was very cooling I must say! After that, we tried to explore the edge of the Nee Soon Swamp Forest and found many fungus, some damselflies and a giant millipede (about 25cm long). We ended the trip at about 12 pm and had our lunch together at Ampang Yong Toufu.

Participants (17) : Endy Tan (Team Leader), Stephen Lim, Pegi Lee, Ong Lim Sim, Kenneth Ng, Anthony Quek, Sharon S. Lim, Yeo TL, Allan Lee, Joshua Fong, Shereen Ng, Hazel Han, Chan CP, Rosemary, Goh Teck Leong, Tony Png, & Peter Low