Chickens proudly strut their stuff and guppies seem to smile in incredible animal portraits by photographer Ernest Goh. The Singaporean photographer has produced a number of animal photo series that so perfectly capture the personalities of various creatures, it seems like each one is showing off for the camera.
Hens throw their heads back, roosters spread their wings, fish swirl around in the water showing off the delicate beauty of their fins. Goh, who started out as a newspaper photographer, released his first series of animal portraits with ‘The Fish Book‘ in 2011, capturing the stunning tropical fish of his home country.
His second book, the award-winning ‘Cocks,’ was released two years later. The book captures the growing trend of animal beauty pageants in Malaysia, especially ornamental breeds of chickens. Owners come together to compete on the appearance and movements of their animals in front of a panel of judges. “Like show dogs, these show chickens know the have to ‘perform’ when placed on a stage,” says Goh.
Of his choice to photograph fish, the photographer explains, ”I found each of them to be different, and not just in terms of shape, size and species. Some were livelier than others, some were more camera-shy, but all had facial expressions of some form – elated, grumpy, excited or confused… The experience made me realise how our perception of animals could be changed simply by getting to know them as individuals.”

