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 Daily 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.

One of my proudest professional achievements is the partnership I have been fortunate enough to cultivate with Nikon Singapore over the past seven years.

In 2004, I made the leap from film to digital photography when I purchased a Nikon D70, my first-ever DSLR camera. Around this time, I met with a marketing executive from Nikon Singapore and learned about Focus magazine, a publication produced by Nikon for owners of their photographic equipment.  Shortly thereafter, I was profiled -- along with a selection of my photography -- in an issue of Focus; this marked the beginning of my relationship with Nikon.

Since then, my photography business has grown significantly, due in large part to Nikon Singapore's ongoing support.  A few years ago, Nikon Asia-Pacific honoured me as “One of Asia’s Finest Photographers” and, shortly thereafter, Nikon Singapore named me -- along with five other Singapore-based photographers: Stefen Chow, C.S. Ling, Alex Soh, Alan Lim and Imrah Ahmad -- as a Nikon Professional Photographer and ambassador for the Nikon brand in Singapore.

Nikon provides me with both photographic equipment and technical support; they have sponsored many of my photography exhibitions and a documentary

film I collaborated on with my friend and creative partner, Mike Rogers.  In return, it is my pleasure to support Nikon whenever possible.  I have spoken at seminars and workshops on behalf of the brand, provided photographs for Nikon camera advertisements and appeared as a guest judge on the past two seasons of the Nikon-sponsored reality television series, The Big Shot.

Our latest collaboration is a wall mural that appears in the lobby of the Nikon office in Singapore.  Featuring a single photograph from each of the Nikon Professional Photographers, the mural showcases both the talent and the breadth of the ambassadors' photographic styles. I am proud that my image, "Closing Time" -- which I made in Dili, Timor-Leste last year -- shares space on the wall of the Nikon office in Singapore.

In May, I was commissioned by J. Walter Thompson (JWT) advertising agency to photograph a series of print ads for their client, the Economic Development Board (EDB) of Singapore.

The EDB is the Singapore governmental agency tasked with planning and executing "economic strategies that enhance Singapore's position as a global hub for business, investment and talent".

The ads I was hired to shoot are part of the EDB's ongoing Future Ready marketing campaign, which is aimed at promoting the city-state, both regionally and internationally, in an effort to attract talent, investors and businesses here to Singapore.

In this specific case, the advertisements I photographed are part of a targeted campaign aimed at German executives through business-to-business (B2B) print media in Germany.  The work was a creative collaboration between the JWT Singapore and JWT Hamburg offices.  It involved me photographing three prominent German CEOs who have relocated themselves and their families to Singapore to lead the Asia-Pacific offices of their respective German organizations.

The goal of the campaign is to show that "nothing much has changed" for the CEOs since moving from Germany to Singapore.

Marc Lohoff of Conergy still has his business lunches, only here they are slightly more colourful; Dr. Jens Hardenacke of DMG still enjoys sailing his yacht, only here he can do it throughout the year; and Dr. Markus Waechter of TUM can still enjoy nature, only here it's located just minutes from the city centre.

Additionally, director Tai Heng of Moviola also created a series of online videos of Mr. Lohoff, Dr. Hardenacke and Dr. Waechter as part of this same EDB advertising campaign.  Although I did not collaborate with Tai Heng on these shorts, they were filmed in the same locations and at the same time as my still photography.  They are well produced and showcase JWT's EDB communications campaign in its entirety.

See more of my advertising photography portfolio here.

I was tidying up my Lightroom catalogue a couple of weeks ago and stumbled across these forgotten photographs of model Julianne from our recent Ei8ht magazine fashion shoot at the dusitD2 Baraquda property in Pattaya.

No photographs from this series were published in the Eight magazine fashion spread, as the art director didn't feel that the dress fit with the rest of the shoot's "colour blocking" wardrobe styling.  However, the stylist loved the dress and asked me to shoot a few quick frames just for fun.

I agreed and we walked outside to find an interesting corner to make some fast photographs.  This small shrine sat off in the corner of the hotel parking lot, and we agreed that the combined colours of the dress, the model's hair and the shrine complimented one another well.  Although we didn't have any lighting set-up (or even a reflector at hand), the stylist and I gave Julianne a bit of direction, and I started banging off some frames.

I made just over 20 photographs in those few moments; these are three of them.  I love finding hidden gems like these.

See more imagery from this shoot, including a few more unpublished photos and iPhone outtakes.  And see more of my fashion photography portfolio on my website.

I was just 22 years old when I moved to Singapore in 1997. I came here for a job opportunity, and I intended to stay just a year (maybe two).  I was a young, fresh university graduate, and I had my whole life in front of me.  Singapore was to be only a brief stop on the road to adulthood, a short excursion in Southeast Asia.  I had no idea that 14 years later I would still be here, nor that I would affectionately call Singapore my home.

I am not sure when or how it happened, but somewhere along the way Singapore became special to me. Perhaps it was the melting pot of Asian cultures or the beautiful tropical climate or the close proximity to so many exotic destinations that made me fall in love with Singapore.  I can't really put my finger on one thing.  It's all of these things, and more.  But Singapore is not perfect.  Nowhere is.  As we know, love is not without its frustrations.  But we love despite the imperfections.

Inevitably, Singapore has changed and grown, and as the years have slipped by, the city has expanded and the landscape has been altered so dramatically that sometimes I barely recognize it.  But no matter how many casinos or luxury condominiums or shopping malls or office skyscrapers pop up (literally overnight), wonderful little communities and tiny cultural enclaves seem to endure.

I've made it my mission recently to seek out and explore something new in Singapore every week.  So far I've discovered a charming coffee shop in Tiong Bahru, an amazing vintage furniture shop in Bukit Batok, and a new restaurant at Dempsey Hill.  This week, perhaps I'll visit a photo exhibition at a local gallery or explore the small neighbourhood of Siglap.

I feel like I've grown and changed alongside Singapore, and -- although I sometimes long for "the good old days" -- ultimately I feel that we are both better for it.

Happy 46th Birthday, Singapore.  I hope to celebrate many more with you.

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

Back in January, I was commissioned by Condé Nast Traveller (India) to photograph a feature about "sexy, stylish, sophisticated Singapore" for an upcoming issue. Having never had the privilege of working with Condé Nast Traveller before, I was very excited for this opportunity. Being able to shoot this in my own backyard was a bonus.

The feature's writer, Puja Disha Bharwani, and I spoke on the phone a few times to coordinate everything and then set-out together on a seven-day adventure that took us to 27 different locations across the island.

From the tiny independent boutiques of Haji Lane to the larger-than-life Marina Bay Sands resort and casino, this assignment was an fantastic chance for Puja and me to experience many of Singapore's newest and chicest bars, restaurants and hotels, as well as meet and photograph some of the city's more interesting finance, society, hospitality and culinary personalities.

The fruits of our labour, "Singapore Grows Up", appears across 12 pages in the August/September 2011 issue of Condé Nast Traveller (India), on newsstands now.  As Puja writes in the feature, "Singapore is now becoming a sexy, sophisticated destination."  I couldn't agree more.

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

In June, while on holiday in Canada, I received an email from Crystal Gentilello introducing herself as Editor-in-Chief of Rue Magazine, a San Francisco-based online luxury lifestyle and home interiors magazine.  Crystal was in the midst of producing Issue #6 of Rue, which was to be the title's first all-international issue, featuring homes from around the world.  There was a home that Crystal wanted to feature from Singapore, and her search for a Singapore-based photographer to shoot it had led her to me via a referral by a mutual friend.

Admittedly, I was not familiar with Rue, but I perused their back issues and was extremely impressed with the magazine's photography and design, not to mention it's unique value proposition of being only available online (and being free).

Interestingly, Rue -- like many other online "shelter" publications, I have since learned -- appears virtually identical to a traditional print magazine in it's format. As The Globe and Mail explains in a recent article about Rue and the thriving online "glossy" magazine business in general, "[it’s] important to note: [these] aren’t just cool websites or fancy blogs, but a convincing replication of the magazine experience.  You get a highly stylized cover, a table of contents, professional photos of striking interiors, and yes, you get to ‘turn’ the page."

Crystal had me at "hello".  I agreed to work with her, and the shoot was set for when I returned to Singapore in July.

The home I photographed is in the luxury private condominium of Draycott 8 in downtown Singapore.  It belongs to Agnes Verrier and her partner Christopher, and their story is as unique as the home they share.

As the Rue feature details, Agnes' life "took several unexpected turns once she had settled in Singapore [14 years ago].  Following her divorce, she began work with a British client [Christopher] who wanted her to decorate the flat he had just bought.  'Draycott 8 is actually a love story. I did the flat, fell in love with the owner, and ended up moving in after completion!'  And the rest, as they say, is history."

I worked together with stylist Marie Maglaque on the shoot, which was both inspiring and enjoyable; Marie did a fantastic job bringing the space to life and highlighting all the beautiful touches inside the home.

Browse more stunning homes from around the world, including Iceland, Sweden and Brazil in Issue #6 of Rue online now.  See more of my (unpublished) images from Draycott 8 are on Marie's blog.  And view more of my luxury lifestyle photography 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.