Up At Dawn, Swatting Mosquitoes - All For A Shot Of An Eagle

It’s 5:45am on a Sunday, and I am deeply regretting all my life choices.

Specifically, the one where I said “sure” to following wildlife photographer Wayne Chng into the swamps of Sungei Buloh at an ungodly hour to photograph eagles.

At this moment, I am groggily yanking on my white shirt and tucking my pants into my socks (Wayne’s anti-mosquito tip). Outside, the sky is still a bruised navy. Inside, I’m running on a Red Bull and blind trust.

By 7am, I was on the northwesternmost tip of Singapore (close enough to see JB on the other side) bleary-eyed, slapping away mosquitoes as I trekked through Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve.

As you can tell, I’m not a morning person by any stretch — but today, I’m shadowing Wayne Chng, one of Singapore’s most respected wildlife photographers. And when a guy like Wayne asks if you want to shoot eagles with him, you ride at dawn. So there I was with zero caffeine in my system, finding my way to Eagle Point for a morning wildlife photography masterclass.

Wayne spotted a saltwater crocodile lurking nearby as we scouted for eagles | IMAGE: WAYNE CHNG

Wayne Chng (@waynephotojournal), 28, isn’t just any camera-slinging nature enthusiast. He’s a Leica Academy instructor, published photographer, and full-time visual storyteller whose mission is simple: to help Singaporeans rediscover the wild that exists right under our noses.

Here’s a man who can identify raptors by their silhouettes and birdcalls and has no qualms planting himself in the middle of a forest alone in the dead of the night for a single shot of an owl.

His latest photo exhibition, Untamed Nature (on now till 11 Sep 2025 at Leica MBS), is a visual love letter to Singapore’s hidden biodiversity. But before you see his majestic images of snakes, otters, and Buffy Fish Owls in crisp Leica detail, you should know the man behind the lens.

Because behind every perfectly timed shot of a raptor mid-flight or a macaque mid-mischief, is a photographer who’s done more than just wake up early. He’s waited, studied and connected.

Eagles at 6am, with no coffee

“Look up,” Wayne whispers, as we tread softly through the mangroves. “That’s a White-bellied Sea Eagle. It’s hunting.”

To the untrained eye, it’s a random bird in flight. To Wayne, it’s a character in an unfolding story.

“There’s a difference between an image and a photograph,” he tells me. “A photograph tells a story. An image just captures a moment.”

That difference is what makes Wayne’s work feel almost cinematic. In a country where development often feels like the main character, he invites us to consider the co-stars we overlook — creatures hiding in plain sight, adapting in silence as their world shrinks.

So here I am — sweaty, mosquito-bitten, and very much not camera-ready — shadowing Wayne as he aimed his expensive-looking lens into the canopy like a sniper. I squint. I see…leaves.

“There,” he nudges again, and finally I catch it — a regal figure perched high above, surveying its domain. Wayne clicks his shutter softly, almost reverently.

A smooth-coated otter greeted us as the sun rose. | IMAGE: WAYNE CHNG

From Animal Planet to actual animals

Like many ‘90s kids, Wayne grew up glued to Animal Planet and National Geographic. He didn’t just daydream about safaris — he turned that childhood wonder into a career.

While the rest of us grew up, got desk jobs, and resigned ourselves to spotting nature only on supermarket packaging, Wayne followed his childhood curiosity into the forests, mangroves, and forgotten corners of the city.

“I was curious. Not just creatively, but behaviourally. I wanted to know how animals function, why they do what they do,” he says.

That curiosity led him from DSLRs to Leica’s high-precision SL-System cameras, and eventually, into teaching others. “A good camera doesn’t make a good photograph,” he says. “Understanding animal behaviour—that’s the real skill.”

The owl whisperer of Seletar

The sky turns from indigo to gold as we continue walking. It’s getting hotter. I’ve run out of water, my arms are starting to itch, and still, Wayne seems completely at peace.

When I ask if he has a favourite animal to photograph, Wayne doesn’t hesitate. “Buffy Fish Owl,” he says, almost affectionately.

“They’re not technically common, but I see them all the time,” he smiles. “Because I know how to look. I’ve followed one family for years in Seletar — I’ve seen five babies grow up and leave the nest.”

There’s a tenderness to the way Wayne talks about animals. A quiet respect. “When you spend enough time in nature, you start forming bonds. Not just with animals, but with silence. With waiting.”

I guess that’s the strange intimacy of wildlife photography in an urban space. You’re not a tourist. You’re a witness. Perhaps it’s the humidity talking, but I definitely have a newfound respect for how Wayne can see such beauty through the wilderness.

Nature’s still here - you just have to look for it

Most of us see Singapore as a high-rise haven. Wayne sees it differently.

“The biodiversity in Singapore is insane. Pasir Ris park has mangroves, beaches, and urban sprawl all in one area. That’s three ecosystems colliding,” he explains. “It’s never boring. You just have to slow down and pay attention.”

From otters gliding through Marina Bay to herons backlit by BTO blocks in the distance, Wayne’s work captures what few of us notice. His current Leica MBS exhibition, Untamed Nature, is a stunning example of this. Shot entirely in Singapore, it showcases our urban jungle’s most elusive residents, often framed alongside evidence of encroaching development.

“A lot of my shots were really to show coexistence in Singapore, he shares, “so we're trying to show how we coexist with animals all around Singapore and try to show the urban landscape that's mixed with nature there.

Spotted while eagle-watching: a Milky Stork making its way across the mangrove forest | IMAGE: WAYNE CHNG

The art of doing absolutely nothing (until the eagle takes flight)

By the time we wrap up, it’s nearly 10am. The eagle is long gone, and I have a dozen mosquito bites and one damp sock. But also: a new understanding of what it means to slow down. To see.

My biggest takeaway from the experience is that Wayne’s approach to capturing wildlife is beyond technical. It’s meditative. It urges you to look again at your surroundings. To notice the creatures moving quietly in the background of our fast-paced lives. Okay, that’s definitely the humidity talking.

But seriously though, spending a morning with Wayne changed something in me. I came expecting National Geographic drama — wings spread, talons extended, the perfect money shot. What I got instead was an appreciation for the quiet moments. A rustle in the bush. A flicker of movement in the trees. The silence between shutter clicks.

Wayne isn’t just teaching people how to take better wildlife photos. He’s teaching Singaporeans to see again. To reframe what beauty means in a hyper-urban city. To understand that even in a country obsessed with progress, there is wildness still worth protecting.

And if you’re ready to see it for yourself? Head down to Untamed Nature at the Leica Store, Marina Bay Sands, before 11 September. Just be warned — you might start noticing animals where you once saw concrete.

Wayne Untamed: Untamed Nature Exhibition

11 July – 11 September 2025

Leica Store, Marina Bay Sands

Featuring: Urban wildlife photography shot across Singapore with the Leica SL-System

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