I did a graduation shoot for my girlfriend in the Singapore Botanic Gardens last year. She had rented the gown for her graduation ceremony. Since she had the gown with her for another day, we decided to make full use of it and get some shots for remembrance.

It was early in the morning and there were few people in the park. However, there was a mother and daughter taking a stroll. They were tourists and were drawn to us by the concept of a graduation shoot. The girl wanted to have a photo with the fresh graduate and we gladly obliged. They explained that there were no such thing as graduation shoots back in their country, hence they were fascinated by our shoot.

This series reminds me of how quick time passes. As cliché as it sounds, it felt like it was just recently that my girlfriend started her one year course. Those twelve months came and pass. Since this photo shoot was conducted, another year has gone by.

But focusing only on the waypoints is a big mistake. It is the journey itself that matters and what is important is to enjoy how we got to the key moments.

You must have goals but your happiness cannot be tied to the goals. Your happiness must come from the journey, not the destination.—Vishen Lakhiani

There have been times where I have been so focused on the destination and expected to be happy because we reached a particular point, only to discover that brings satisfaction but not true happiness.

Anyway, I digress from what was supposed to be a photography post. I blame the combination of the surprise at the amount of time that sped by, and the residual effect of a recent re-watching of one of my favourite talks by Vishen. I highly recommend his video on happiness. It is one I find myself going back to regularly.

After the morning session in the Botanic Gardens, we adjourned for lunch in our favourite hang out spot in the park, Food For Thought. No pictures of that since we were ravenously stuffing our faces. When the sun was more forgiving, we continued taking photos in the Esplanade and Marina Bay Sands. Check back for the next instalment of this graduation shoot!

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This series was shot on the Nikon D700 with the AF 35 mm f/2D and the AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8 VR II lenses.