S'porean photographer captures beautiful shots of trees in bloom over 6 years

'Sakura' season again.

Ashley Tan | March 16, 2022, 10:14 PM

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You might have noticed the vivid blooms blossoming on trees around Singapore during March and September every year.

The springtime vibes are due to Trumpet trees and Pink Mempat, whose pink flowers resemble cherry blossoms.

Awed by the sight, one photographer in Singapore has made it his mission to snap some shots of the scenery during the flowering season every year.

Romantic setting

Tan Yong Lin has been documenting these sights for the past six years.

The 32-year-old, who is a full-time photographer, told Mothership that he started this personal project to "capture a side of our country that is not commonly seen".

Every year since 2016, Tan will venture out and dedicate entire days to taking photos to cover as many areas as possible.

This is especially so as the flowering season does not last long and is affected by changes in the weather.

Some areas with clusters of flowering trees are Ulu Pandan canal, Bishan Park, Pasir Ris Park and Robertson Quay.

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Tan's vibrant shots, captured from various angles, are imbued with a certain romantic quality.

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Capturing everyday people

Tan is fond of including people in his photos.

He waits for the subject to move into the frame before snapping a shot of ordinary people going about their everyday lives, framed by bunches of flowers.

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Tan shares that when it comes to editing his photos, he tries not to oversaturate them, even though it is "tempting" to choose that style of editing.

"The pastel colours are more natural, closer to what you see in real life. But then again, editing style is subjective," he opines.

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Does not plan on stopping this project any time soon

Partaking in nature photography is a hobby of Tan's, and some of his subjects are the wildlife in the area.

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin

Every year, Tan snaps thousands of photos, and will select 10 to 15 "good" ones.

He posts these to a Facebook photo album.

Although he has been doing this for six years, Tan said he does not intend to stop any time soon, as he finds joy in the project.

He adds:

"I just hope that people enjoy the photos, they are definitely free to interpret them as they wish. But on a side note, I feel that we have to give credit to NParks for our curated garden city, the gardeners and workers who spend so much time taking care of our parks and trees."

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Top photo courtesy of Tan Yong Lin