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.

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 recently returned home to Singapore after a wonderful three-week holiday with my family in Ontario and Alberta, Canada.  As anyone who has taken a flight literally half-way around the world will attest, Singapore to Toronto is a long way to go.  However, it is the special times I get to share in Canada with my family -- and in particular, with my three young nieces, Carissa (4), Brooke (5) and Paige (7) -- that makes the mind-numbing drudgery of the >24-hour flight worth it.

Every summer holiday I endeavour to strike a balance between spending quality time with the girls and simply enjoying our (fleeting) moments together, with wanting to indulge in my photography passion and document and preserve those special times forever (for me, as well as for their parents and grandparents).  It is often difficult for me to find this equilibrium, as throughout our time together I am constantly witnessing wonderful scenes and catching glimpses of beautiful light and longing to capture these moments with my camera.

However, this summer was a little different for me.

As always, I lugged my Nikon D3x and an assortment of lenses all the way back to Canada.  Only this time, not once did I take my DSLR out of it's bag.  Instead, I used my

iPhone, which was always in my pocket, to document at least one thing that we did together every day.

This collection of images is the result of my iPhoneography experiment with the girls: our time together playing on the swings, blowing bubbles in the backyard, sliding into the blow-up pool, going on twilight walks, visiting with Grandma & Grandpa, exploring the museum, wandering alongside the train tracks...

Like all little girls, Carissa, Brooke and Paige share similar interests: all things princesses, tirelessly singing and dancing and devouring story book after story book.  But, like all people, they have so many differences.  And it is their intense individuality that I think I love the most about them.

These little girls literally steal my heart for those few days I am in Canada every year.  And then it breaks a little whenever it's time for me to leave.

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

In 2006, I met portrait photographer Tan Ngiap Heng at a week end photo workshop being conducted in Singapore. Ngiap Heng and I stayed in touch afterwards, and shortly following the workshop he asked whether I would sit for a portrait session at his studio one day.

When I agreed, Ngiap Heng asked me to bring a few JPEG's of my own photography to the shoot -- some of my favourite personal work -- and although I wasn't exactly sure why, I obliged.

I soon learned that Ngiap Heng was experimenting with using a digital projector to cast images against a backdrop, and then having his subjects pose within the projected image while he photographed his portrait.  I had never seen this before, and was intrigued when he projected one of my own photographs on me and then made my portrait.

It is five years later, and I still remember my portrait session with Ngiap Heng.  So, when model Paula asked me if I'd be interested in doing a personal test shoot with her, I was inspired to borrow from my projection experience with Ngiap Heng, but take it a little further...

I came up with the idea of shooting Paula once, and then projecting those images of her back onto her own skin while photographing her again; I wanted to use Paula as a canvas for herself.

I met with an artist friend and frequent collaborator of mine, fellow Canadian Billy Ma, and together we wrestled with exactly how to execute this idea, and what style and tone the photography should take.  We wanted the series of images to show sensuality, yet vulnerability; we wanted the photographs to be raw and honest, like only someone very close to the subject (a lover?) could have made them.

With Billy art directing, and wonderful hair and make-up artist Dewi Mahoney assisting us, I lit and photographed Paula in a variety of poses in my Chinatown studio.  Billy took these images away, printed them on plastic transparencies, and then we came back together again with Paula a week later for the second part of the project.

Billy owns a decades-old analog overhead projector, complete with dirt and scratches, that was perfect for the job.  Together with the help of another hair and make-up artist Winnie Chow, Billy projected images of Paula back

onto her body while I photographed this series; these are the results.

This was an exciting and rewarding project to undertake with my creative friends, and we are all proud of the results.  However, like many collaborations, this shoot was not without its frustrations -- we encountered technical and creative challenges along the way -- but we persevered, and in the end we got where we wanted to be, together.

I don't believe the creative process is supposed to be easy: for me , it's about push and pull, give and take, partnership and compromise.  I am glad that I have a group of friends and colleagues who believe this too.

See more of my fashion and portrait photography on my website.

As part of both my ongoing Diana Experiment and From the Vault series, here is a photograph (actually, two photographs, merged together) that I stumbled upon yesterday while combing through one of my studio hard drives in search of something else entirely.

I made these images on my trip to Sydney, Australia last August.  It was my last night in town, and I had a few hours to kill before meeting some friends for dinner, so I walked from my hotel down to Circular Quay with my hi-fi/lo-fi set up in tow (a Nikon D3x fitted with a Diana+ 55mm Wide Angle lens).

I wanted to make some long-exposure night photographs of the Sydney Harbour, but I didn't have a tripod with me. However, after some searching, I was able to find some ledges and railings to rest my camera on while shooting. These images are the result of my efforts that evening: two 5-second exposures of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House fused together in Photoshop.

See more of my Diana Experiment imagery on Flickr.

From dusk 'till dawn, I've spent the past week traipsing around Singapore shooting dozens of locations and personalities for two separate editorial feature commissions.  My photographic briefs are pretty standard for luxury lifestyle and travel publications: shoot a collection of stylish and sophisticated hotels, eateries and bars as well as the people who run them.

It is always a pleasure for me to work on these types of assignments, but especially when they're in my own backyard.  I enjoy exploring and experiencing places in Singapore that I've never been before, and I love meeting the people behind them: chefs, sommeliers, managers, artists, designers and architects.

As always, my iPhone is in my pocket throughout all these shoots.  And I love to pull it out and shoot with it alongside my "real" 35mm DSLR cameras whenever I see anything interesting or inspiring.

My latest iPhoneographic obsession is Instagram, the popular iPhone app that allows users to add interesting retro-inspired filters to photographs and then share the pictures on Instagram's own social network, as well as on other social websites like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

I like the way the square format of Instagram forces me to compose images differently than when using my Nikons and their standard 3:2 aspect ratios.  I love the variety of filters and how they can transform the mood of my photographs.  And I really enjoy the simplicity and ease of the Instagram photo feed and how I can see the images my friends around the world are making on their iPhones.

These 20 photographs were all made in Singapore this past week using Instagram.  See more of my iPhoneography elsewhere on my blog or on Flickr.

The past few weeks have been filled with commissioned editorial assignments and commercial advertising shoots, which is great for business, but has left me little time for personal creative photography.

Earlier this week, while on-set at the studio, there were a few moments of downtime as the crew and I waited for the stylist to finish prepping the model.  I was mindlessly fiddling with my iPhone and took a few shots of my illuminated laptop keyboard.

This gave me an (admittedly peculiar) idea, as well as posed a small challenge for me: could I construct the URL to my website www.scottawoodward.com entirely from iPhone photographs of random letters that I encountered in the course of my day?  Silly, I know.  But it was fun.

Well, it took me longer than one day; it took me three, actually (there are a lot of "W's" in there).  I didn't know what to do with it when I finished, so here is the fruit of my labour: my "iPhoneographic URL Ransom Letter".

For anyone who's interested, I tried to shoot each letter using a different iPhone app (although I lost track and don't think I actually succeeded).  Counted among the shots above are Hipstamatic, OldPhotoPRO, ClassicTOY, MoreLomo, Phototreats, BlendCam, Gorillacam, Polarize, Format126, LENSES, Vint B&W, Retro Camera, ShakeItPhoto and HDR Fusion.

I spent a week over New Year's in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a city of 160,000 residents about 700km north of the nation's capital, Bangkok.  Chiang Mai is a laid back city full of colourful temples, quaint cafés, fantastic restaurants, used bookshops and roadside markets.  It was my third visit to Chiang Mai in the past seven or eight years, and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Having visited Chiang Mai before, I didn't feel compelled to lug my heavy 35mm DSLR camera and lenses everywhere I went, opting just to carry my iPhone in my pocket instead. One of the highlights of the visit was meeting a family from The Hague, Netherlands who were staying at our hotel.  Their two sons, Maarten and Sebastian, accompanied us to the Thapae Boxing Stadium for an evening of Thailand's very own Singha beer and Muay Thai.

I spent a good part of the evening wandering the stadium and shooting the action with the Hipstamatic app for my iPhone; this is a collection of some of my favourite photography from the night. Perhaps I should call this my "ChiangMaiPhoneography" series.

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

"I have a camera.  Sometimes, I use it to make phone calls." - Marty Yawnick, Life in LoFi: iPhoneography

There's something about shooting with my iPhone that has really captivated me of late.  Maybe it's the constantly growing collection of exciting and powerful photography apps available for download on iTunes.  Or perhaps it's the ever-increasing popularity of #iPhoneography that I see everyday on Twitter that keeps inspiring me to be more creative.  Either way, for someone who spends most of his time peering out from behind the lens of clunky DSLR or medium format cameras, the freedom and flexibility of making photographs my iPhone is a welcome change of pace for me.

From lights gleaming off the hood of an Audi prototype electric car to the rooftop of Marina Bay Sands casino, from a clients' statue of Mao Zedong to a portrait of a friends' sleeping infant, from a snapshot of Vampire Weekend performing live on stage to the view of the wall across the road from my favourite little coffee shop, this is how Singapore has looked through the 3 megapixel lens of my iPhone the past few weeks.

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

Motivated by the very generous compliment my friend Faz gave me last week over at her blog "The Drama Diaries", I decided to download my iPhone's photos folder to my Mac and see what was hiding in there...

Here's what I found: a small collection of iPhoneographs I made on my recent travels to Bali, Shanghai, Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and -- right here in my own backyard -- Singapore.

Some of these images have been processed directly on my iPhone using photography apps like MoreLomo and Format126, while others have been post-processed in Adobe's Lightroom 3, which even features a built-in lens distortion correction tool for the iPhone.  I put (very minor) finishing touches on all these images in Photoshop.

I am thoroughly enjoying having a camera in my pocket all the time, and I am continually inspired to better use it by what I learn from blogs like iPhoneography and Life in LoFi, as well as the creative work I see other photographers making.

See more of my iPhoneography on Flickr.

I recently spent two weeks' holiday with my family in Canada.  It is a long way to travel, literally half-way around the world, from Singapore to Toronto.

But there are two little girls there that make the 24-hour airplane journey worth every minute: my nieces, Brooke (4 years-old) and Paige (6 years-old).

I made this series of photographs -- in their front hallway with presents I bought them, playing fairy princess dress-up and swinging high, higher, highest on their backyard swing set -- while visiting with them at their home this past July, as well as on my trip to Canada last December.

Brooke and Paige are wonderful subjects to photograph. Like all little girls, they love the attention.  And like all young children, they aren't (yet) self-conscious.

I love Brooke and Paige for more reasons than I can count: their vivid imaginations, their boundless curiousity, their fervid individuality.

But I think I love them most because they love me back.

See more of my Diana Experiment imagery on Flickr.

Last week a friend and I took a short holiday to Australia. We spent a few days in Sydney, a few days in Melbourne and one (amazing) day driving along the Great Ocean Road.  It was a fantastic break, and a trip that I won't soon forget.

I have been fortunate enough to visit Australia many times over the years, and each time I go I seem to enjoy it more and more; this time was no exception.  Melbourne was fantastic and the Great Ocean Road was breathtakingly beautiful.  But there's just something I find so special about Sydney every time I visit.  It has a remarkable beauty and an energy that I find both palpable and infectious.

I spent a couple of hours on the afternoon I arrived wandering around Circular Quay, gazing at Sydney's iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House, and being a typical tourist.  I only had my iPhone in my pocket, but it was all I needed to capture what I saw and felt as the sun set on this amazing city.

See more of my iPhoneography on Flickr.

A few months ago I spent a week in Cambodia photographing a commission for SilkAir's inflight magazine, Silkwinds.  With my assigned shooting completed -- and an afternoon free before my flight back to Singapore -- I decided to visit the majestic, millennium-old Angkor Wat temple complex on the outskirts of the Siem Reap, a small provincial cluster of old villages nestled between rice paddies and stretching along the Siem Reap River.

Angkor is a sanctuary of immense artistic and archaeological significance and doubtlessly one of the most breathtaking architectural masterpieces left standing in the world today.

Having been privileged enough to tour and photograph Angkor twice before, I wanted to try and capture the ancient city differently on this visit.  So, with my Nikon D3x and Diana+ 55mm and 110mm plastic lenses, I spent four glorious hours wandering and making photographs inside the walled city that served as the capital of the Khmer Empire at the start of the 12th century.

See more of my Diana Experiment imagery on Flickr.

Earlier this year I purchased a Diana F+ DSLR adaptor for my Nikon D3x, along with the Diana+ 55mm Wide Angle and Diana+ 110mm Telephoto lenses.  To some, it might seem like blasphemy to attach a $25 piece of plastic to the front of a $7,000 digital body.  However, to me it provides a whole new way to make creative photography.

I thoroughly enjoy experimenting with this marriage of hi-fi and lo-fi, and I love the soft, dream-like feel that the Diana lenses give to my digital imagery.

I have also found that this is a fantastic little combination to bring along with me on holiday.  So many times I have lugged my huge camera bag on a vacation overseas, filled with two (or more) digital bodies and multiple glass lenses, only to lug the bag all the way back home unopened.  However, the D3x and Diana+ 55mm combo is both lightweight and fun to play with, so I have found myself packing less gear, and bringing out my camera to play more often when I am on holiday.  And that's just good for the soul.

See more of my Diana Experiment imagery on Flickr.