My alarm buzz at 5.55am! It's been a long while since i woke up so early, probably the last time was to catch my flight! In view of the long journey to Changi Ferry Terminal to mit the rest of the digital photography Meetup group at 7.45am... i gotta be punctual! I never tot that on a sunday morning, the bus & train were more packed than i expected! I reached Tanah Merah MRT at 7.25am & smoothly boarded a taxi... I turned out to be the 1st to arrive!
This is my First visit to Pulau Ubin (yes, i know i'm suaku s'porean...) Wif rapid urbanisation on our sunny island, Pulau Ubin is probably one of the last rustic places around! I met Gary ~ the organiser & Andrew ~ our guide for this trip. For the first time, the females outnumbered the males photographers! 16 of us boarded 2 ferries & the journey from mainland to Pulau Ubin was 8 mins. Andrew explained that we gotta depart early as it's a good time for us to spot the sea creatures during low tide.
2 vans were hired to take us to the Chek Jawa Wetlands... today's weather is extremely hot & humid. Before setting off, we were reminded to apply insect repellent & drink more water... As we strolled along the boardwalk at Chek Jawa, Andrew pointed out to the calls of the cuckoo birds... Along the way, he set up his binoculars on a tripod & thru' the binoculars, I saw fascinating sights of migratory birds perched on the branches in the middle of the waters! They are real beauties which I had never seen before! Despite the scorching heat, it din drouse our group's photography passion...
Lovely 'feather-clouds' ~ with a plane flying past
I find that the pretty clouds sighted was really rewarding... as it had been a long long time since i saw such nice clouds! As we peered down into the waters beneath us, we spotted 2 species of stingrays swimming... one of them is the Blue Stingray. However, it's a challenge to shoot them as the water was murky. Next, Andrew pointed out a school of mudskippers on the opposite shore! When i used my zoom lens to shoot them, i realised they were quite cute afterall! Luckily, i brought all my 3 lenses today ... worth to lug a 2kg bag! Without the zoom, i wouldn't be able to observe these creatures so clearly! As we soldier on, we saw tiny crabs on the shorebed... some digging holes in the sand!
We had a short break & proceeded on to the mangrove boardwalk ... here we also sighted a pretty red bird on the tree. We saw the Nipah fruits, whose young seeds are the 'attap chee' we eat wif our ice kachang! Next, we reached the Jejawi Tower, only a portion of us climbed up the long flight of stairs! It's a look-out tower & enjoyed a bird-eye's view of the surrounding! We continued to the Brown's House, an english cottage built in the 1930s & refurbished to become the Visitor's Centre now.
Our 'Fisheye' View at the fenced up area!
"Cat Whiskers''
By now was late morning & we got onto our van...we were brought to this area, to my dismay... it was fenced up & i could only do blind shots overhead. Andrew mentioned that previously this was an open area. At noon, we were ferried back to the starting point & break for lunch. After lunch & some rest, we were left without a guide & headed to the Sensory Trail, a garden filled wif spices & plants.... along the way, we could smell the scented pandan leaves. We spent the afternoon shooting here... ruby & i got abit bored as we dun seems to see any interesting stuff.
The Stick Insect is the 'Best Model' as it DUN MOVE!
Then, as we walked to this particular plant, wif small white fruits, we spotted pretty bugs! In fact, there were 3 species of insects on this plant! I tried using my 50mm to shoot them, it's my 1st attempt at macro shots... the conditions were tricky as wind was blowing & the leaves moved! So does the beetles! After numerous shots, we got abit tired & soon, the rest of the group came flocking over too! Those who were not keen on macro left early. As i chat wif Rebecca, who was using a Canon 100mm lens, she lent it to me to try out! It's a sweet surprise! Wif the macro lens, i discovered a different view... as I got to see the fine details of the bug's shell! Amazing!
At 3pm+, we ended our session wif coffee break & boarded the ferry back to mainland at 4pm. Ruby & I decided to head to Changi Airport to chill out... It's been a year since I went there... we even got a surprise by spotting taiwanese actress 林依晨 filming there! We ended up at Pasta De Waraku for dinner.... shared a Scallops & Prawns Pizza + a Dory Fish Pasta! We were really dead-beat after such a long day!
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