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Some of the images taken at some of the parks in Singapore.
Testing the Nikon D90 with AF-S 500mm lens and AF 800-400mm VR lens.
Some are of these images are published in the Nikon D90 Ad in TODAY papers on 2 September 2009.
500mm is a heavy-weight at 3.5kg, certainly the heaviest lens i have ever handled. But it’s also one of the sharpest. Even without VR and on monopod ( I find it easier to move around, set up and lighter with a monopod than a tripod. ), i was able to get pin sharp images at 1/200s in low light. Needless to say, it attract quite a lot of attention in the public. I often get the ” Can you see the moon with this thing? ” kinda comments from passer-bys:)
Click on continue reading… to see some of the behind the scene photos. 
Nikon D90, AF 80-400mm VR lens - 1/320s, F6.3, 0EV, ISO 800. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 200mm
It’s a heart-warming moment to see two young Long-tailed Macaques clinging onto their mother. Also known as the Crab-eating Macaque, their diet is however not limited to crabs. These are highly opportunistic animals that feeds on anything from bird chicks, eggs, and even have even mastered the art of grabbing bags of food from people. This is the consequences of people feeding monkeys. When they grow reliant on humans for food, they turn aggressive and when situations like this arise, the animals always lose. ( They eventually loose their natural ability to forage for food and aggressive monkeys may be trapped and put to sleep ).
Nikon D90, AF 80-400mm VR lens - 1/320s, F.6, +1EV, ISO 800. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 270mm
A young Long-tailed Macaque foraging for food on a tree.
Nikon D90, AF-S 500mm lens - 1/320s, F8, -2/3EV, ISO 1600. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 500mm
Today, the Oriental Magpie Robin can be seen in Singapore parks and gardens. It’s hard to imagine that it was once almost virtually extinct in Singapore in the 1970s due to rapid urbanization, the introduction of Mynahs onto our sunny island and illegal trapping of for the cage-bird trade. The Oriental Magpie Robin was reintroduced onto the island in 1980s and now we can enjoy hearing it sings a delightful melodic song every morning.
Nikon D90, AF-S 500mm lens - 1/1600s, F9, +1EV, ISO 1000. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 500mm
The Changeable Lizard as it’s name suggest, can change color but not as fast as that of a chameleons. It was first introduced into Singapore in the 1980s and has since populated the whole island, much to the disadvantage of our beautiful native Green-Crested Lizard, which has declined drastically and threatened into extinction. This is a classic example of how an introduced species can wreck havoc to the ecosystem.
Nikon D90, AF-S 500mm lens - 1/500s, F8, +1EV, ISO 800. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 500mm
As it’s name suggest, the tail of the Greater Racket Tailed Drongo has two outer feathers that extends way beyond and ending in a spoon-shaped racket. This one in particular is missing one of it’s long tail, which could be due to fights with other larger birds. Nesting drongos are very protective of their young and will attack much larger species if their nest or young are threatened. Many smaller birds like to nest in the vicinity of a breeding pair of drongo as they are protected from many predators by the fierce defense tactic of the drongo.
Nikon D90, AF-S 500mm lens - 1/320s, F9, -1/3EV, ISO 1600. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 500mm
Two female Long-tailed Parakets are quarreling to secure their territory of tasty oil palm fruits. They are the most common native parrots of Singapore and can be found roosting on tall trees in forests, parks and even along the roads! The female is not as colorful as the male which has a brilliant red colored mask across it’s head.
Nikon D90, AF-S 500mm lens - 1/200s, F4, +1EV, ISO 800. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 500mm
This is a male Pink-Necked Green Pigeon as only the male will have a pinkish neck plumage. Their plumage allows to to camouflage perfectly into the foliage of fruiting trees. The females wear a mostly uniform green plumage.
Nikon D90, AF-S 500mm lens - 1/200s, F11, +1EV, ISO 1600. Exposure Mode : Manual. Focal Length : 500mm
The is the most common kind of squirrel in Singapore. It wears a brown coat with a chestnut belly and is seen here enjoying an oil palm fruit. The genus name Callosciurus means Beautiful Squirrels.
Here are some of the behind-the-scene of me and the Nikon AF-S 500mm lens.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
Congratulations and thanks for your invitation. I’m honoured to be able to work with you.
September 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 am
Superb images. I’ve always been interested in the wildlife in Singapore but they are elusive and even if spotted, too far away but your close-up photos have given me a very much clearer view. The one of the baby monkeys clinging to their mother is really touching.
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Awesome photos esp. the Changeable Lizard - great DOF. I’m keen to take wildlife photography but don’t have the patient to wait for the subject. You have strong muscles…to handheld the 500mm f4 lens. I struggled to handheld my 300mm f2.8 with my D700. I noticed noise in some of the photo esp. the squirrel. I guess the available light is limited so you have to push up the ISO to maintain higher shuttle speed. Have the photos gone tru post-processing. Cheers.
September 2nd, 2009 at 10:35 pm
@Samson : thank you for taking such nice portrait of me!
@Roger : indeed… certain wildlife are pretty skittish, even if they are in a group. Some others will be minding their own business and didn’t even care you are there. That’s what makes each animal unique and endearing in their own ways. I love watching common animals that you find in the neighborhood, esp the Eurasian Tree Sparrows. Just makes me smile in the morning when i see them hopping about picking worms and chirping so happily.
Jason : Yup, i did try to push the limit for this camera and photograph esp in low light condition just to see how it fair. I’m pretty impressed so far. I always shoot in AdobeRGB RAW format, and do most of the post-processing like cropping & enlarging, level( i find that i can crop and enlarge better when i do it in specialized software like Nikon Capture NX. ). I love the colors i take with Nikon cameras. I seldom have to do any saturation adjustment, in fact sometimes i even desaturate instead! I use the D-Lighting function in the camera to brighten up certain low-lit images and the result usually turns out pretty good so i don’t have to do much leveling.
Before i put the photos on the web, i have to convert the AdobeRGB to sRGB profile so that web browsers can interpret the colors correctly.
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 am
I saw your photos in the TODAY paper and they were superb !!
Nice to see the photos behind the scenes of you in various shooting positions (I don’t get the chance to be captured in action!
)
Looking forward to see more of your photos & adventures !
JH
http://www.photojournalist-tgh.tv
September 3rd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Ling, I have just one word for your pictures, AMAZING. You have caught the essence of each image so beautifully. I would love to be a photographer like you one day.
See I have a Nikon D90 but I am not doing justice to the camera, can you tell me where i can learn more about this camera and about photography your site has just reignited the passion so hope you can guide me.
Anyways even if you can’t help that is fine keep the beautiful pics comming.
Cheers
Herman
September 4th, 2009 at 12:21 am
Breathtaking photos. I wish I can shoot like you. Would like to know how u become a master in photography and learn a few things from you.
Nico
September 4th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
Excellent photos you have in here! Have always been interested in wildlife photography and i thought my limitations were at the Zoo or Bird park.
But after looking at the photos in “Today” papers, i realised that there are more interesting places that i have yet to explore in Singapore.
Anyway, if i remembered correctly this would be a 9 part series by Nikon, so are we expecting more photos from you published in the papers?
Cheers,
Fred
September 4th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
You are right about the Magpie Robin. They seem to be making a comeback. I’ve spotted a few in a wooded spot near my place. But they are plentiful in Cameron Highlands and Fraser’s Hill. Does this suggest they prefer a temperate sort of climate (I love birdwatching but just as an amateur).
September 6th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
@Herman : Thank you for your kind words
I’m not sure what type of photograph you take, as different subjects will need different techniques. But http://www.luminous-landscape.com is a good place to get many kinds of resources and feedbacks from forum. Or for local wildlife, you can head to http://www.naturepixels.org or http://npss.org.sg/forum
@Nico : thank you! Feel free to join me on one of my upcoming overseas trip. Email me if interested. Or you can also join photo outings from local photography forums. (links stated above )
@Roger : I guess maybe they do like cool weather
I hope they continue to thrive well in sunny Singapore! 
September 6th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
@Fred : i don’t go to Zoo or Bird Park usually, coz it depressing, seeing animals and birds in cages. There are many places in Singapore to take local wildlife, both remote and public areas. You can start with neighborhood parks, or Pulau Ubin. The wildlife are there, just that some are really good at hiding.
All the images i’ve taken for the Nikon ad and those you see in this blog entry were all taken during one weekend in different locations such as SBG, Bishan Park, Admiralty Park.
It’s a 6 part series by Nikon. Different type of camera and photography will be featured in the next issues by different photographers. So keep a look out!
September 8th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Nice series of photos you have here taken with the 500mm. Like the feel of the female macaques shot with her 2 young ones. This is my dream lens that I wish I could own one in the near future. If I am correct, I think I’ve seen you in Admiralty Park some months back & you were walking around with a 80-400 lens. AP is my regular macro hunting ground.
SY
September 22nd, 2009 at 8:19 am
Hi Say Yiam,
thanks!
I think i saw you too, are you with your friends?
October 1st, 2009 at 12:44 am
Yes, I think i am with a few AP regulars at that time when i saw you walking past. I know who you are now & will definitely say hi if there is a chance to see you again in AP
January 12th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
hi..ling i have just sawn ur pictures that you have taken…and one word i could say to you,, its great!!!…i wanna be a photographer likes you…i think i must learn more about photograpy from you..hehehe,,,,when i need some help about photograpy..may i contact you by email?? at the moment,,im still searching some sugesst on the internet,,hopefull you will give me some suggest about photograpy!!!
Best regards…
August 18th, 2010 at 11:45 am
wao nice… i love ur pic