Mitchell Soh - Art & Photography

Every year, I long to watch the annual Ngee Ann City National Lion Dance Championships which celebrates it's 30th year anniversary. I went to Telok Blangah Community Club to watch the Freestyle Zonal championships. Of the teams that participated, the lion by 新加坡腾义体育会 was my favorite because of not only the high score but also the colors of red and white of the Flag of Singapore.

During my most recent visit to Sungei Buloh, I spotted a few egrets which is where Sungei Buloh is home to. I noticed this egret as mom and I were completing our walk around the Tidal Ponds just as we thought the bird activity died down quickly. I later identified it as a Great Egret and was pleased to add this as a lifer to my Singapore Bird list. Happy because it's the first time I photographed a great egret.

The last time I visited Sungei Buloh for birding was in 2019 before the emergence of the Wuhan virus which developed into the COVID-19 pandemic. For a while, the nature reserves and parks were temporarily closed in 2020 to stop the spread of the virus and eventually fully reopened in 2023. 7 years after my last visit to Sungei Buloh, I went there now fully fledged with my Sigma 150-600mm telephoto lens and able to get better quality images of birds as well as using the right settings for wildlife. I spotted a few lifers including this Great-billed heron at the Buloh Tidal ponds which is home to many migratory waterbirds from storks, egrets and herons. We then spotted a crocodile on the way back to the carpark near the visitor centre. All in all, it was a good session considering that I'm now more full-fledged in bird photography.

When I was little, I always enjoyed watching elephants at the zoo and on TV through various animal documentaries. As I grew older, I grew my interest further through more animals, including primates especially apes. This little baby chimpanzee was the highlight of the Singapore Zoo for me because of it's high energy and seeing it getting a piggyback ride from it's mother. Chimpanzees, whether in the wild or captivity are still quite vocal, yapping to one another which is their form of communication. Gorillas will always be #1 with me, but seeing Chimpanzees at the Singapore Zoo is good enough for me.

One of the most interesting things about Payday 2 is that you can customize your team with many masks that look wild and in this case, Kawaii (cute). I made my Payday 2 crew wear Kawaii masks to make them look like anime girls and all the characters are female which is hilarious and interesting at the same time, thus the name The Waifu Squad.

Every once in a while, it's nice to visit the Singapore Zoo to observe White Rhinoceroses and their behavior to understand them better. Occasionally, the Rhinoceroses will snort angrily towards each other and sometimes chase and fight each other, and understandably, they need to protect their territories. If you can, always ask the keepers if you observe the animals fighting and making noises at one another.

The last time I visited the Singapore Zoo to see the animals was in 2024. Two years later, I bought my first ticket to the Zoo for the first time in two years, this time online now armed with a credit card. I mainly went to the zoo this time with a more laid back mindset, only taking out my Cameras when I reached an exhibit with animals to photograph. I aimed mainly for the White Rhinoceros, Malayan Tiger and Orangutans, particularly the Alpha Male Labu, a Bornean Orangutan. The best time to see these apes is during feeding times, so that while the keepers feed the animals with snacks, you get a good picture of the animals facing your lens.

I added two sunbirds to my painting of me as a bird photographer. I’m likely to finish these pieces by next week or so since I’m ahead of schedule.

Just check out the plumes. They will get longer and intensify as it completes transition into breeding plumage.

This is the male plumage and like all the other sunbirds, the male plumages are the more colourful and handsome ones compared to their plain-looking female counterparts. Truth be told, I'm happy to get a perfect image of this uncommon resident having gotten close enough to it for a crisp sharp image. Woohoo!

Took leave for two weekends to look after my lonely dog Paddington as he needed some company when my parents were out of town. I then went to the Singapore Botanic Gardens Heliconia Walk for a day of bird spotting, particularly Sunbirds.

My art teacher suggested adding 2 more birds to my bird photographer painting. And she had a point because the right side feels abit empty with only 2 birds. I will be adding more birds to my painting of a bird photographer next week.