I have been fortunate enough to visit Cambodia on many occasions in recent years -- three times in the past three months alone -- and I have accumulated a large collection of stock photography while shooting these various assignments.

So, when the photo editor of Condé Nast Traveller (Russia) recently contacted me while searching for imagery to illustrate an upcoming article on the "Kingdom of Wonder", I had a large reserve of photography to share with her.

'АнГкор, еще анГкор!' -- which, literally translated, means 'Angkor, More Angkor!', but I have been told is a play on words in Russian, since it rhymes with the title of a popular film -- is published in the February 2012 issue of CNT (Russia).  Interestingly (and excitingly), this feature contains my landscape and travel photography that I captured on five separate visits to Cambodia.

To see more of my recent CNT work, browse 'Singapore Grows Up', an assignment I photographed for the August/September 2011 issue of Condé Nast Traveller (India).

See more of my lifestyle and travel photography on my website.

In September and November of last year, Mike Rogers, Meghan Shea and I spent nearly two weeks at Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School in Siem Reap creating documentary photography and film about the positive work the organization is doing for Cambodia's disadvantaged youth.

As outlined in one of my previous posts, for nearly ten years now Sala Bai has been offering tuition-free hospitality training to 100 impoverished young people annually.  Sala Bai's mission is to provide their students with the capabilities and experience necessary -- in one of four disciplines: restaurant service, cooking, front office and housekeeping -- to secure gainful employment in one of Siem Reap's numerous luxury hotels, guesthouses or restaurants.  These skills, and the resulting economic independence, not only improves the students' quality of life, but those of their families as well.

Like many NGO's, Sala Bai relies heavily on the generosity and support of private donations and corporate benefactors to fund it's operating expenses and help meet it's financial obligations.  In the spirit of this, the Southeast Asian edition of Travel + Leisure magazine has donated six full-page advertisements to Sala Bai over the course of 2012. The first advertisement -- featuring a portrait I made of Sala Bai student Srey Mao -- appears in the January 2012 issue of Travel+Leisure.  The ad reads as follows:

Village to Vocation.

A Victory Against Human Trafficking.

Meet Srey Mao from Kra Yatbong.  Her family lives on less that $25 per month.  In July, she will graduate earning more than three times that amount.

A good reason  to smile.

In 9 years, the non-profit Sala Bai Hotel & Restaurant School in Siem Reap, Cambodia has graduated 803 young men and women from our yearlong vocational training program.  Without fail, each has been employed within three months of graduation.  To learn more about how you can help, please email us at info@salabai.com or visit us at www.salabai.com or www.facebook.com/SalaBaiSchool.

If you would like to make a donation to Sala Bai, please click here.

For years, I've talked of visiting Sri Lanka.  Although I'd heard only wonderful things from friends who had visited, it was just one of those places that I hadn't made it to. That is, until a few weeks ago, when I spent 10 magnificent days on the island often referred to as the "teardrop of India".

I was immediately smitten with Sri Lanka: it's friendly people, brilliant beaches, beautiful scenery and gorgeous climate.  I wondered why it took me so long to come here.

After spending a few glorious days at Apa Villa Illuketia, a remarkable 200-year-old plantation estate a short distance outside Galle, I headed to Apa Villa Thalpe, their sister property consisting of three villas on the beach overlooking the Indian Ocean, for another week of rest and relaxation.

I managed to pull myself away from the seaside a couple of times during the week, when I headed into the historic town of Galle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, "one of the best examples of a fortified city built by Europeans in south and southeast Asia...and the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers".

I relished wandering the narrow streets and lanes inside the Galle Fort, admiring the interesting blend of colonial Dutch, English, Portuguese and local Sinhalese architecture.

Having enjoyed so much shooting only with my iPhone in Goa, India just a few weeks prior, I set out to create a small body of street iPhoneography from my Galle meanderings.  The result is this small series of street photographs captured and processed using only my iPhone 4S and some of my favourite apps such as Phototreats, PicTools, Luminance and Pixlr-o-matic; I added the white borders using Lightroom 3.

I posted this series of images to Instagram and, about one of the photographs, one of my followers asked me (only half kidding) whether I ever used my DSLR's to shoot anymore.  The truth is, the iPhone is so convenient, unimposing and powerful that I find myself more and more opting to take it on holiday, or out on personal photographic walks with me rather than carry my big, heavy Nikons.

Clearly, my DSLR's will never be replaced by my mobile phone for my editorial reportage and fashion or commercial and advertising work, but for someone who is passionate about making photographs, the ease of having a camera in your pocket and with you always is second to none.

See more of my iPhoneography elsewhere on this blog or on Flickr.

Earlier this month I spent nearly a week on Candolim Beach in Goa for a wedding celebration.  It was a fantastic few days on India's southwest coast, spending time with old friends and making new ones.

I arrived in India, packed to the gills with my Nikon DSLR cameras and lenses, with the goal of making a landscape or reportage photograph of Goa as a gift for the bride and groom.  I also had my brand new iPhone 4S in my pocket. No prizes for guessing which one went with me everywhere that week...

The result was not one photograph of Goa for the bride and groom, but rather a collage of 18 pictures that I made on my iPhone over the course of the week.

I presented this framed collage, created with the help of Adobe Lightroom 3, to the newlyweds last week.

My Nikons never actually left my villa, proving (once again) that the best camera really IS the one that's with you.

See more of my iPhoneography elsewhere on this blog or on Flickr.

Last week Issue #7 of my SCOTT eNewsletter rolled off the virtual press and into thousands of inboxes around the world.

This issue is one of my favourites of this year.  It features a beautiful fantasy fashion project I photographed with the assistance of an incredible team of creative partners, including a behind-the-scenes/making-of video, a collection of photo reportage I made backstage at a Chinese opera and two luxury lifestyle and travel features I shot for The Telegraph's Ultratravel (UK) and American Express' Selects (Germany) magazines.

If you (or someone you know) would like to receive future issues of my quarterly SCOTT eNewsletter directly to your inbox, then please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list.

The previous six issues of my SCOTT eNewsletter -- showcasing a variety of my travel, portrait, fashion and lifestyle photography over the past 18 months -- remain online and you can peruse them here.

Over three days this past September, I photographed a series of six fantasy-styled character portraits for Ian Hinden's "Orphan", a mystery web drama that is about to commence pre-production in Las Vegas early next year.

The photo shoot was an exciting collaboration of more than a dozen extremely creative and talented people, including Ian and his partner Chris Chiu, my producer Annette Fausboll from Ugly Duckling Projects, my assistant Zam and his team from the Stills Network and hair and make-up stylist Andrea Claire and her team.

My close friends Mike Rogers and Meghan Shea of Persistent Productions were on-location with us in Singapore to document the photo shoot; their short film goes behind-the-scenes on our set and shows how we created the "Orphan" portrait series.

Visit the newly launched official "Orphan" website to learn more about this exciting project.

And see more of my fashion and portrait photography portfolio on my website.

Last year I received an email from Ian Hinden, an artist, poet, writer, musician, fashion designer and self-professed "author of culture".  He told me that he was creating a mystery web drama called "Orphan" where the puzzle would be in the hands of the Internet audience to solve.

Ian went on to explain that Internet culture and the way the Internet consumes content would be a large part of the show's design, with the primary goal of "Orphan" to reward viewers who pay close attention to the show; by doing a bit of detective work, the viewer could discover hidden communications from the show's universe and characters.

Ian had completed the script for "Orphan" and his next step in getting his web drama produced was to create fantasy-inspired character portraits of all the main "Orphan" characters.  With my curiousity piqued, I agreed to see him.

Ian arrived at our meeting and launched excitedly into the "Orphan" storyline, which tells the tale of Jason Diego, whose father dies and leaves him a mysterious document which could change the course of the world.  To solve the mystery behind the document, Jason must travel deep into Brazil, where he discovers a territory claimed by no country -- an orphan territory.  A people with a strange and tragic history populate the land and, ultimately, Jason must face a villain -- the monster of the modern age with power stretching all over the world.

Ian took the time to introduce each of his "Orphan" characters to me: Geisha, Nurse Coli, Bible Jacket, Hiroshi, Tattoo Girl and Watch Man. He explained that his inspiration for these people was born from the simple idea of human imperfection; he was fascinated by the idea of taking some form of psychological disorder and chasing it to the extreme within the universe he'd created.

Geisha is symbolic of the meeting of Eastern and Western philosophies, with the traditional Japanese kimono finished in a Brazilian carnival style.  Geisha's white face is also reminiscent of Anonymous, an online persona that many people take on when they don’t want to be identified.  To Ian, identities are fluid, borders are fluid and alignments are fluid to the degree that you can’t tell who’s good and who's evil.  "Good vs. Evil is a boring story," declared Ian.  "The only story worth telling is Good vs. Good".

Nurse Coli was inspired by 4chan, where the users say, “We are the cancer that is killing.”  She is what would be spit out if a hospital managed to get cancer.   There’s a medical aspect involved in "Orphan": many of the characters have strange quirks or disorders, and part of the experience is diagnosing the characters.  Ian explained that Nurse Coli is his favourite character because she’s a monster who doesn’t know it.

The man wearing the Bible Jacket is the personification of addiction.  He wears a jacket made of Bibles to symbolize that ideas are often the things we are addicted to most. According to Ian,  "Some ideas, even though they feel good, can be the most destructive parts of ourselves."

Hiroshi is representative of conformity.  For a group like Anonymous to function, the members must completely conform.  "Although in the West strength is often exhibited through individuality, people purposefully shed these characteristics online so that no one in particular may be culpable," remarked Ian.

Tattoo Girl is a worker in a geisha-type hotel where the girls must have certain expertise.  Her tattoo is a barcode that details her skills.  Ian explained, "In 'Orphan' tattoos aren't viewed as a source of individuality, but rather as something your owner 'puts' on you.  However, Tattoo Girl is a non-conformist looking to break the system from inside."

Watch Man comes from a scene Ian envisioned where the sound of clocks ticking out of sync permeated the room.  "The universe of Orphan spans a long time, so there is a deep history that the characters are aware of.  The creature I envision would emerge from a century-long slumber," Ian exclaimed.

Ian showed me a tattered notebook full of character sketches and costume designs to further articulate his vision for "Orphan", emphasizing that, although the broad story concept was his, there was already a small team behind him: his partner, Chris Chiu, who works as the costume designer for the Venetian and Sands in Macau, would lead the wardrobe design, assisted by Steven V. Turner, a prop builder for Cirque du Soleil in Macau and local tailor, Zhou Quan.

I was hooked and, over the coming months, invited my producer Annette Fausboll into the fold to assist with talent casting, securing locations and aiding with other shoot logistics.  We brought in Andrea Claire to lend her expertise with hair and make-up styling; Procolor, Singapore's preeminent digital imaging house, to lead the photography retouching; and my frequent creative collaborators Mike Rogers and Meghan Shea of Persistent Productions to help with documenting behind-the-scenes of the shoot.

Over three days in early September -- more than 15 months after my first meeting with Ian -- we shot the fantasy-styled "Orphan" character portraits at six different locations in Singapore.  It was an exciting collaboration of more than a dozen people, and the resulting photographs are a testament to the hard work and creativity of the entire team.

Ian has now left Singapore to return to the Las Vegas where "Orphan" is being produced in partnership with Phyllis Carreon-Taie of Dream Vision Studios and Shawn Lane of the Las Vegas chapter of the charitable organization Women in Film.  Ian will act as executive producer along with his co-writer, Garek Bottesch, and business partner, Levi Larkin.  "Orphan" will be scored by Ian and James Von Boldt.

Visit the newly launched official "Orphan" website to learn more about this exciting project.

And see more of my fashion and portrait photography portfolio on my website.

Chinese opera is deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture, with roots back as far as the Third Century.  The large waves of Chinese immigrants who settled in Singapore over the past 150 years have transported this traditional form of musical dramatic theatre with them, performing it on makeshift bamboo and wooden stages in car parks and open fields across Singapore's heartlands, most notably during Chinese New Year and Hungry Ghost festival celebrations.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, "[most] story plots in traditional Chinese opera performances are based on famous Chinese classics and myths.  Reflecting Chinese culture and philosophy, almost all opera performances highlight virtues such as loyalty, love and patriotism.  Other than a form of entertainment, Chinese opera also plays an active role in dispensing important messages, especially those concerning patriotic values."

I have always been drawn to the vibrant costumes and colourful face painting of the Chinese opera performers, and have often wished for an opportunity to photograph this fading traditional art.  However, the opportunity had never presented itself, until recently when I was speaking

with a fellow photographer and he invited me to join him for a performance by the Xin Xin Rong He Teochew street opera troupe (新新荣和潮剧) in the neighbourhood of Ghim Moh, not far from my home.

I arrived early and approached the small, rickety stage with my camera, uncertain how I would be received by the performers.  But almost immediately, I was invited up the short wooden ladder and backstage as the performers hurriedly dressed in their costumes and applied their make-up for the upcoming performance.

Backstage buzzed with energy as performers and crew raced back and forth through the cramped dressing room -- lit only by glowing, naked lightbulbs dangling from wires -- as drums pounded and cymbals crashed on the small stage just beyond the thin, transparent sheet that separated fantasy from reality.  It was an amazing evening, and I am grateful for the warmth and openness of the performers for welcoming me backstage with my camera.

These photographs are a small collection of the work I created when I spent that evening with the Xin Xin Rong He troupe; more of this series can be found on my website.

I first visited Singapore in 1996, and have called the small island city my home for 14 of the past 15 years.  During this time I've witnessed the city-state grow and mature into a thriving hub of international flare and renown.  In particular, the past five years have seen dramatic changes in Singapore: giant integrated resorts and casinos, international sporting events, a burgeoning arts scene and an exploding financial services and housing market.

Sometimes I find Singapore barely recognizable from the place I first visited a decade and a half ago; apparently I am not the only one.  Recently Singapore has received a remarkable amount of press celebrating it's meteoric rise to become one of "Asia's dazzling metropolises".  This article, "Schlaflos in Singapur" (Sleepless in Singapore), published in the latest issue of American Express Selects magazine in Germany, is no exception.

Much like the other recent Singapore features I've photographed for international magazines -- "Singapore Swings" for The Telegraphs's Ultratravel and "Singapore Grows Up" for Conde Nast Traveller (India) -- this article focused on Singapore's latest and greatest shopping, dining and leisure destinations.  I photographed more than 20 locations for this feature, and enjoyed every moment of exploring and experiencing all the "new Singapore" has to offer visitors and residents alike.

The Winter 2011/12 edition of The Telegraph's Ultratravel magazine was published in the UK this past week end, including "Singapore Swings", an article exposing the new-and-improved city-state and featuring a selection of my photography made at various landmarks around my adopted home of Singapore.

Writer Michael Simkins expounds in detail on all that Singapore has to offer the overseas visitor, from "architectural show-stoppers" Marina Bay Sands Hotel & Casino, the National Library and the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, to the "larger-than-life" Singapore Flyer, to the predominance of luxury branded retail and Michelin star dining experiences, to the annual Formula 1 Grand Prix night race that speeds through our fair city streets every September.

If you can't experience "sultry, swanky Singapore" in person, then click here, turn to Page 46, and let Ultratravel transport you here.

And if this isn't enough Singapore for you, then click here to see "Singapore Grows Up", a feature I photographed for Conde Nast Traveller (India) a few months ago.

I spent five blissful days last week at the exclusive and luxurious Amankila resort in Bali, Indonesia.  I was staying at Amankila (meaning "peaceful hill") with my wife for a short holiday -- but with such beautiful architecture and breathtaking tropical scenery surrounding us, I couldn't resist making some photographs of the property.

We stayed in a gorgeous private pool suite tucked into the side of the lush jungle hillside, and our days were spent lounging between our villa, the three-tiered main pool high above the ocean, the sea-level Beach Club pool and the privacy of a thatched balé (gazebo) hidden away in a grove of coconut palms at the top of the private black sand beach.  It was paradise.

The only thing more spectacular than the resort property was the guest service offered.  In the 15+ years I have spent living and traveling across Asia, rarely have I experienced the level of attentiveness and personal service that we were afforded at Amankila in Bali.

One evening, my wife felt like eating something that wasn't offered on the dinner menu.  We asked the restaurant manager if it would be possible to make a special meal just for her.  His reply: "At Aman, anything is possible."  Five sweeter words have never been spoken.

My wife, Stacey, is a high school English teacher at Singapore American School (SAS).  In September, Stacey's SAS colleague, Barbara Harvey -- who teaches Advanced Placement (AP) Art -- reached out to her network in search of original images that her high school students could use as a source of reference and inspiration as they began building and developing their AP Art portfolios.

Barbara explained that each student's AP Art portfolio is broken down into two sections: Breadth and Concentration. The Breadth module consists of work demonstrating a knowledge of various techniques and media and covering the Elements and Principles of Art, while the Concentration portion is an individually selected theme that the student is free to explore and experiment with more personally and in-depth.

"One of the greatest challenges for art students is finding original images," explains Barbara.  "They can conceivably use images from Creative Commons, however we have found that the same images often get used over and over again and water down the effect they have."

Thus, Barbara's request was simple: would I be willing to allow her AP Art students to use my photography as influence and reference for the personal Concentration portion of their AP Art portfolio?

SAS has been great to both Stacey and me over the years, and I am always happy to give back to the students and faculty whenever I can.  I contacted Barbara and offered my online portfolio to her students.  I had just two caveats if a student wished to use one of my photographs for their Concentration: 1) I asked that they send me a personal email seeking permission and 2) that they share with me a photograph of their finished artwork.

The response from Barbara's students has been fantastic.  I have received nearly a dozen very polite individual student requests, and already a handful of students have sent me photographs of their completed artwork.

I am extremely impressed with the student's personal artistic styles and creative interpretations of my photography, and I am very proud to feature here four of their submissions alongside my original images.

Clockwise from top left is Shane Soetaniman's "Smoke" (white charcoal on matteboard), Claudia Vesga's "Fabric in Motion" (watercolour on paper), Angeline Elopre's "Wheels" (pencil on paper) and Laken Sylvander's "Things That Come in Pairs" (pastel on matteboard).

I look forward to receiving, and sharing, more of Barbara's students' creative artwork soon.

I spent most of last week in Cambodia with my filmmaker friends and frequent creative partners, Mike Rogers and Meghan Shea of Persistent Productions.

The three of us were there to visit Sala Bai, a hospitality school for underprivileged youth in Siem Reap, as part of location scouting and pre-production meetings for an upcoming film and photographic collaboration.

In November, we will return to Siem Reap for 10 days to create photographic reportage and a short documentary film about Sala Bai and the positive work they are doing for Cambodia's disadvantaged youth.

For nearly a decade, Sala Bai has been training, free-of-charge, approximately 100 young people annually in the hospitality industry.  The school's goal is to provide the students with the skills and experience necessary to secure gainful employment in one of Siem Reap's numerous hotels, guesthouses or restaurants, helping them achieve economic independence and improving their quality of life, and those of their families.

Sala Bai offers students four specific training programs: restaurant service, cooking, front office and housekeeping. The 11-month curriculum includes theory classes,

practical training and internships at partner hotels in Siem Reap.  The students are supported by social workers who mentor them throughout their tenure at Sala Bai, as well as assist them in finding a full-time job after graduation. Remarkably, 100% of Sala Bai's students secure gainful employment in the Cambodian hospitality industry within three months of their graduation.

When we return to Cambodia for our shoot in November, we intend to focus on Khatna, a young woman who recently graduated from Sala Bai and now works on the front desk at the boutique Heritage Suites Hotel in Siem Reap.  We intend to tell the story of Khatna and her journey, in less than one year, from Mechrey Village -- a rural floating community located on Tonle Sap Lake, where she lived with her pig farming parents and four sisters -- to working the front desk of a luxury hotel in the city.

As part of our pre-shoot interviews and location scouting, we traveled with Khatna, by tuk-tuk and small motorboat, to Mechrey Village to meet her family and see their humble home.

I opted to leave my Nikon DSLR's at the hotel, instead brining only my iPhone to document this informal family visit.  This series of Hipstamatic images (which I tweaked a

little in post-production using Noir) are of Sovern Sorn, Khatna's father, who welcomed us warmly into his small wooden home, and then sat silently by the window throughout our hour-long visit, smoking cigarettes and gazing out at the passing boats.

At first Sovern was reluctant to let me photograph him, but after showing him a few of the processed images as they popped-up on the screen of my iPhone, he opened-up and permitted me to quietly snap away.

Our visit to Mechrey Village with Khatna was a highlight of our time in Cambodia, and Mike, Meghan and I are very excited to return to Siem Reap in November to get to know Khatna and her family better, as well as begin our creative project alongside the students and administrators at Sala Bai.

See more of my iPhoneography elsewhere on this blog or on Flickr.

Opening this Saturday 17 September at the Singapore National Library Building is SIN: A Singapore Instagram Exhibition.

With 'Singapore' as it's overarching theme, SIN will feature hundred of images of life in the Lion City as seen through the lens of 107 photographers using the hugely popular iPhone application, Instagram.

In partnership with Instagram Singapore founder Ivan Quek, curators Goh Eck Kheng, Tan Ngiap Heng and Chia Aik Beng sifted through more than 8,000 Instagram pictures before choosing the 298 photographs that will be on display.  I am extremely proud that three of my Instagram photographs, 'Henna Hands', 'Painters' and 'Patriotism' will be exhibited as part of SIN.

SIN: A Singapore Instagram Exhibition will be open to the public from 10:00am-9:00pm daily through Sunday 30 October at Level 8, Promenade in National Library Building.  For more information, visit the National Library Board.

Are you on Instagram?  Follow me at @scottawoodward, as well as SIN curators (and extremely talented and popular iPhoneographers) Tan Ngiap Heng at @froggyappleton, Chia Aik Beng at @aikbengchia and Instagram Singapore founder Ivan Kuek at @phoneomenon.

Last week, Issue #6 of my SCOTT eNewsletter -- featuring my latest travel reportage for Conde Nast Traveller magazine (India), a beautiful designer home I photographed for Rue magazine (USA) and a regional advertising campaign I shot with JWT ad agency for the Singapore Economic Development Board (Germany) -- rolled off the virtual press and into thousands of inboxes around the world.

If you (or someone you know) would like to receive future issues of my quarterly SCOTT eNewsletter directly to your inbox, then please take a moment to subscribe to my mailing list.

Back issues of my SCOTT eNewsletter, showcasing a variety of my travel, portrait, fashion and lifestyle photography from around the world, remain online and can be viewed here.