My recent assignment to Vietnam afforded me the wonderful opportunity to spend a week walking the streets and observing and capturing daily life in the nation's two major cities, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi.

Defined by Wikipedia as "a type of documentary photography that features subjects in candid situations within public places... [and] often concentrates on a single human moment, caught at a decisive or poignant moment... giving the audience a more visceral experience of walks of life they might only be passingly familiar with", street photography is one of my favourite genres of picture making.

From left, I made this collection of six images at (1) Chua Thien Hau Temple, HCMC, (2) Tao Dan Park, HCMC, (3) Old Quarter, Hanoi, (4) Old Quarter, Hanoi, (5) Cho Thu Thiem, HCMC and (6) Old Quarter, Hanoi.

Like the Choose Your Own Adventure books I used to read in my childhood, I love the unknown element of street photography.  Literally and creatively, I can go one direction and discover a remarkable photographic opportunity; or I can go another direction and find something entirely different.  Either way, I never know what I missed.  It is this adventure that is the beauty of street photography (and, truly, all photography) for me.

I was recently interviewed by a journalist from Asian Photography Magazine for the "Pro-Profile" section of their October 2010 edition.  The magazine is on newsstands now, so I thought I'd share a bit of the article here.

The journalist had some very good questions for me, and it was enjoyable to speak with her about photography.  We covered many topics during the hour we chatted at my studio in September, such as...

How I got my start in photography: "Scott learnt photography from his father when he was very young.  He grew up in a house full of photography.  His dad taught him how to compose [an image] and how to interpret light."

How I began taking photography more seriously in the mid-to-late 1990s: "'[W]hen I came to Asia, I had a film camera with me and this whole new world opened up to me'.  He fell in love with the colours, the foods, the rituals, the religion and everything that was a part of Asia... He started capturing everything on film."

And the catalyst that pushed me from the corporate marketing world to establishing my own creative photography business in 2004/05: "[His] plunge into

photography started in 2004.  'On my [30th] birthday, I was having a kind of mid-life crisis… and I felt like my 20s had just slipped by, I didn’t know where they had gone.  I went to this dinner and there were all these people who I didn’t know and... somebody asked a question... if you had enough money that you never had to get out of bed to go to work, what would you do then?  And my answer was [that I would] travel around the world and take pictures.  And I had never said that out loud.  I had thought of it, but I had never verbalised it.  That was my answer to what I should be doing with my life.'"

The writer goes on to explain more about my transition from working for a multinational company to working for myself: "Scott has no regrets of working in the corporate world for eight years before his photography career hit-off.  He treasures [that] experience... and the relationships that he made.  It gave him an opportunity [to learn] how to build a brand."

She explains how I first started commercializing my photography, and eventually was able to monetize my hobby: "His philosophy when he started off was, no job is too small... and you never know if you'll like doing a certain kind of photography until you try it."  This approach actually ended-up landing me my early

commercial assignments.  As the author explains, when I first started my small business, I used to take a lot of family portraits, to practice photographing people and earn some money. "Shooting families and kids actually got him one of his first advertising jobs, which was for Johnson & Johnson.  He mentions that, 'I had a certain style that they liked; it was a sensitive, intimate approach to that type of work"'.

The author touches briefly on how my style and approach to my work differs depending on my various assignments, from editorial reportage: "Choose your own adventure... just me and my camera".

...to fashion: "Cinematic... what I want to do is tell stories... separately, [they are] beautiful pictures, but if you look at them together, you will find a bit of narrative, a bit of a story".

...to advertising: "Extremely collaborative... [but] the creative process is not meant to be easy.  It is filled with conflict.  It is push 'n' pull.  I like someone pushing me to get better at this".

Finally, the writer wraps-up with some of my advice to aspiring photographers: “Keep practicing, because there

is nothing that is perfect. ‘This keeps me going: the desire to make the perfect photograph.  But you never can.  There is always something when you look back at it, you feel, I wish that was different’.  So he [recommends] practice and to find a genre of photography that you like and create a style [for yourself].  Have a signature.  Try not to get discouraged.  It’s a competitive market.  Look at the works of people you admire and try to emulate [them], and then develop your own personal style.  At the end of the day, you have to be passionate about what you do, because if you don’t have passion for your work, nobody else will.’”

In a word, I guess that's what photography is all about: passion.

It's why I left my comfortable corporate life to chase my dream.

It's why I struggle with the uncertainty and challenges (big and small) of running my own business.

It's why I push myself to be more creative, to try and make better and more compelling imagery.

And it's why I love every minute of it.

I first visited Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in 1996.

I traveled there again in 1997, before moving to live in the city in 1998 and 1999.

Cyclos still appear in HCMC's outlying districts -- such as Cholon, the city's Chinatown, where I made this series of photographs -- but there is now a total ban on registering new cyclos in HCMC, save for a few hundred brand new, shiny "tourist" ones that city officials will permit to ply their trade in the downtown areas of Saigon.

One of my fondest memories of living in HCMC was a warm Sunday afternoon, spent with three friends touring the city's outer reaches in the front of cyclos, exploring bustling local markets and tiny side streets with expert Vietnamese drivers at our healm.

It is a shame that the iconic cyclos are disappearing from the frenetic streets of Saigon, along with the colourful captains who pilot them.

I have spent the past three days in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) shooting an assignment for the European edition of American Express' Centurion Magazine.

I used to live in HCMC in 1998 and 1999, so it is always a pleasure to return to Vietnam's economic capital in the south to see old friends, and how much my former home is changing.  HCMC is rapidly growing and developing: luxury hotels line the streets of District 1, modern skyscrapers rise up behind them, and less-and-less ubiquitous are the bicycles and cyclos of a dozen years ago, replaced instead by seas of swarming scooters, cars and trucks.  However, HCMC remains charming, and one doesn't need to go too far off the beaten path to catch a glimpse of yesteryear.

Each night I was in HCMC, I made one panorama photograph at dusk in the city centre: the first from a coffee shop overlooking Nguyen Hue Street and Le Loi Boulevard and The Rex Hotel, the second from the rooftop terrace of Shri restaurant and lounge, and the third from Saigon Saigon, the rooftop bar at The Caravelle Hotel.

I arrived in Hanoi this afternoon, and have four more days of shooting here for this assignment.  It was sad to say good-bye to HCMC and my friends there, but I am looking forward to exploring the nation's capital city.

Jasmine Wong, one of the founding members of The Chain Reaction Project (TCRP), wrote this article for September 2010 issue of Singapore's Shape Magazine about her experience running the Dili Marathon and TCRP's support of HIAM-Health in Timor-Leste.

A handful of the photographs that I made during TCRP's race, as well as at HIAM-Health, illustrate Jasmine's editorial.

It is fantastic to see the TCRP initiative -- as well as its founders and supporters -- getting this deserving recognition.

And, on a personal note, it is very rewarding to see my photography supporting TCRP's efforts.  My work with The Chain Reaction Project is a wonderful by-product of running my own photography business: meeting and working with inspiring people, having the ability and means to travel and explore the corners of the world, meet new and interesting people and being given the creative freedom to make photographs that tell a story.

See more photography from the ruggedly beautiful nation of Timor-Leste captured on my documentary shoots with TCRP in 2009 and 2010.

Yesterday, WideWorld Magazine, a British online adventure magazine, published a short Q&A with me where we talked briefly about travel, music, sports, books and, of course, photography.

It was an enjoyable interview, and I had fun answering WideWorld's questions, almost all of which were framed within the context of 'adventure':

Who’s my adventure hero? Photojournalist James Natchwey

What's my favourite book by an adventure athlete, explorer or traveller? Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between

And what’s the best piece of travel advice I have been given? “You never know if you never go.”

Click here to read the entire interview.

It is, indeed, a wide world out there.

Last night was the official screening of the documentary film and photographic work that Mike Rogers and I created for The Chain Reaction Project (TCRP) in Timor-Leste two months ago.

More than 100 people attended the outdoor screening and fundraiser at Singapore's Mount Emily.  I always get a little anxious sharing my photography with a large group of people, but I am proud to say the work that both Mike and I produced for TCRP was warmly received.

As background, TCRP is a non-profit philanthropic organization born in 2009 when four extremely inspirational women in Singapore -- Ting, Alex, Jas and Anina -- committed to help change lives in some of the world's least-developed nations.

United by a love of adventure and a passion for philanthropy, TCRP seeks physical challenges and local organizations that can benefit from their efforts.

TCRP's journey began in August 2009 with the Tour de Timor, a 5-day, 450-kilometre mountain bike race across Timor-Leste.  Using the race as a platform and harnessing the power of social networking and media, TCRP successfully raised awareness for Timor and more than SGD$50,000 for HIAM-Health, a Dili-based malnutrition

rehabilitation and education centre for parents and children.

This past June, TCRP returned to Timor-Leste.  But this time a group of 22 "Catalysts for Change" joined them in running the Dili "City of Peace" Marathon to raise awareness for the poverty-stricken nation and its people, as well as to continue their support of HIAM-Health.

Together they delivered a SGD$28,000 Playpoint playground and more than SGD$10,000 for the children of HIAM-Health.

This is my personal donation to TCRP: a documentary slideshow of their journey and efforts that can be used as a marketing tool and a way to garner additional sponsorship and donations for their future endeavors.

See more photography from the ruggedly beautiful nation of Timor-Leste captured on my documentary shoots with TCRP in 2009 and 2010.

To view this video in HD, click here.

**If you are having trouble viewing the video, please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player here.**

Like the slideshow I produced for The Chain Reaction Project (TCRP) after last year's Tour de Timor, I am in the process of creating a new presentation that documents the work TCRP did on their most recent philanthropic adventure to Timor-Leste this past June.

It is a tedious task -- culling through the thousands of photographs I made in Timor, and choosing just the right images to tell TCRP's story -- but I do love it.  I was up last last night, editing and re-editing my selections and retouching the best pictures for inclusion in my slideshow, which will be completed and presented at TCRP's fund-raising event next Saturday night in Singapore.

As I worked away on my images last evening, I came across this trio of photographs I made at the river bed on the outskirts of Dili.  During Timor's dry season, the river bed is quarried for stone and gravel for the many construction projects in and around the capital city.  It is quite a sight to behold: dozens and dozens of men shoveling and throwing and sifting dirt and rock from sunrise to sunset.

From the bridge high above the river bed, the scene reminded me of armies of ants toiling away on their ant hills...

A few months ago, I spent a week in Cambodia shooting a small reportage piece for an inflight magazine.  Late one afternoon -- as the sun began sliding behind the rooftops -- I finished my assignment and snuck out onto the frenetic streets of Phnom Penh during the golden hour.

As I roamed the buzzing boulevards of the Khmer capital, I came upon a schoolyard.  The property was abandoned, save for a volleyball game being contested by half-a-dozen young men over in the corner of the field, and a young girl playing by herself on a statue of a small horse near the playground.  I watched her from afar, then slowly approached with my camera.

She smiled; I smiled.  She continued playing; I started shooting.  This is the series that I captured in those few seconds.

As I look back at this quadtych, as well as review a lot of my recent commissioned and personal work from the past year or so, I am seeing a pattern emerging in my lighting/compositional technique: I often shoot straight into the sun.  I really like the softness of the subject created by the sun's flare; it's this ethereal, nostalgic effect that moves me to keep practicing and working with this photographic style.

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.

In August 2009 I visited the ruggedly beautiful country of Timor-Leste to document The Chain Reaction Project (TCRP) as they competed in the inaugural Tour de Timor adventure mountain bike race.

TCRP is a non-profit philanthopic organization comprised of four women from Singapore who search for unique sports- and adventure-themed opportunities to help change lives.  Their mantra is to be catalysts for social change through sport, and inspire others to take up a physical or mental challenge for a good cause.

The Tour de Timor was a personal initiative by Timor's President, Jose Ramos-Horta, to help raise awareness of the plight of this fledgling state on the 10th anniversary of it's independence from Indonesia.  More than 300 cyclists from across the globe raced for a grueling 5 days/450km across nine of Timor’s 13 districts.

The women of TCRP raised USD$35K in private donations and corporate sponsorship which, at the end of the race, was donated to HIAM-Health, a Dili-based malnutrition rehabilitation and education centre for parents and children.

My personal contribution to TCRP was to accompany them on this cycling adventure and document their journey; the result is the slideshow of my photography presented here.

In a few days, TCRP will once again be returning to Timor-Leste to participate in the inaugural Dili City of Peace Marathon, running 42 kilometers up mountains, through native villages and along pristine coastlines of this country that not long ago was ravaged by civil war.  Like last year, the four women of TCRP -- this time accompanied by a group of 50 "catalyst" runners -- will be competing to raise awareness for the poverty-stricken country of Timor-Leste and its people, as well as to once again help raise funds for HIAM-Health.

I will also be returning to Timor-Leste to photograph TCRP's adventure.  However, this time I will be accompanied by my close friend and documentary filmmaker, Mike Rogers, who will join me to film the journey, as well as HIAM-Health and the impact that TCRP's monetary donation is having on the facility.

More of my photographs of Timor-Leste and her people can be found here.

To view this video in HD, click here.

**If you are having trouble viewing the video, please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player here.**

My Assistant, Zam, and I spent last week in Shanghai shooting an advertising campaign for a yoga club.  The shoot called for making a mix of indoor and outdoor photography, which was an enjoyable brief to work on, as we were able to share our time working in a studio and out exploring the amazing city of Shanghai.

I visited Shanghai once more than five years ago, but that was a whirlwind week end that didn't really give me a chance to properly experience the city.  This time, however, we spent the better part of three whole days walking, exploring and shooting on the streets of Shanghai, and I soaked up every minute of it: the remarkable fusion of historical and modern/post-modern architecture, the hornet's nest of frenetic energy and (seemingly controlled) chaos on the roads, and the sheer excitement that comes from spending a few exhilarating days amongst 20 million people in one of the fastest growing cities on the planet.

I am not sure I can say that I fell in love with Shanghai. But I can say that I developed a bit of a crush on her.