Photography; I shoot what I like, and sometimes people like what I shoot. All photos are copyright to Michael C. Lam unless explicitly stated otherwise.
Having a full time job that isn’t photography related makes for a hard time finding things to photograph, or more precisely, things that interest me…
I’ve actually been doing some walking with Nikhil recently and as such I’ve been accumulating some “street” photographs. While it’s not exactly what I like to shoot, every once in a while I find one that I think is worth sharing
With Georgetown being the centre of activity in Guyana, the streets do tend to get congested 🙂
Every time I see a skeleton or decomposing body of an animal, I think of Avinash Richard who, although known for his Street Photography locally, was also known for his photos of such things, and how he countenances death not with morbidity, but with fascination; fascination not in the death of the creature but in thoughts of the life it lived and what caused it to knock on Hades’ Gates.
Of course, this is how it comes across to me, he would be better equipped to answer for himself 🙂
As with most photos that I render in monochrome, I knew the instant that I composed and pressed the shutter button that this image would be rendered in BW, but this one made me think a little, I even compared the coloured version and the processed monochrome for a few days before asking Nikhil’s opinion. Thankfully, he reinforced my original thought process.
Most of my new images usually become my current favourite, but I believe that this one is truly one of my favourites of recent images.
I really think it can be seen better on the site, so click on the image above to see it in the Gallery, along with the previous images from this year’s Deck Project.
I recently saw (again) a panorama of Kaieteur that James Broscombe had done, and I remember the one I had done with a Canon PowerShot S5 IS, point and shoot, so I went to look for it and upload it to my page. It’s the one seen here:
Seeing James’ panorama also reminded me that I was meaning to write this post and share with whoever might stumble across it.
I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Sarah and James Broscombe a few years ago, Sarah was working in remote areas of our country with some of the Amerindian communities and James seemed to tag along camera in hand 🙂
These two talented people made quite an impression on me, and on most (if not all) people who they’ve met and interacted with.
Whatever their initial intent on coming to Guyana, the mark they’ve left on me was most likely not in the original plans… and I daresay there are others who may feel the way I do.
I was introduced to Sarah through her blog, one that she kept as a record of her “adventures” here, what struck me about her writing was the clarity of expression, and the vividness with which I could visualise everything she described. Her grasp of the English language and her ability to use it to reach across miles of terrain and to describe the nuances of a culture that engulfed her made her writing a compelling read for me.
But this post is more about the work of her husband, James. James dealt not with the expression of the written word, but with the capturing of scenes from their stay in photographs. From the streets of the capital to the trails of the Rupununi, he captured an amazing array of cityscapes, landscapes, portraits and other scenes. His amazing panoramas are breath-taking in the book, so I can only image what they’d look like printed large. His, now iconic, photograph of lighting over Kaieteur is featured alongside many photographs that showcase the life of the Amerindian communities they spent time in.
The book is titled “Guyana: Land of many waters”, and although t can’t cover everything, it covers more than any other book of its kind. As a book of photographic work it is packed, no, it is crammed full of beautiful imagery. The only thing that could have made this book better would have been short stories written by Sarah. Although I’ve seen most or all of the images online in his blog, it was so much more satisfying to turn leaf by leaf through the book!
If you are Guyanese, or love Guyana, or even just love photography, this is a boo to own, and at that price, it is a steal considering the sheer magnitude of its content. The book is available here, and below I’m putting some samples I think may peak your interest even more.
The cover alone, should make you want to delve into it 🙂
Pages 24 and 25
Pages 58 and 59
Pages 124 and 125
and the Back Cover, the amazing image of Lightening over Kaieteur
At the list price, James isn’t making any kind of profit, so I suggest you get one before he changes his mind about that price 🙂 Get your copy of “Guyana – Land of Many Waters”, you won’t regret it.
Also visit James’ website over at http://jmbphotography.co.uk/
I remember when… (I think this line is only used by people who have seen things that may not be current and have to use this line to explain that situation to those younger than themselves… or by a youngster who wants to impress others with their amazing memory – even if some of it is invented)
Where was I? … oh, yes… I remember when I rode a bicycle to school, then to lessons, and to visit friends, or to go to church, or just for a joy-ride. I remember lugging around a heavy chain with a large Union lock to secure the bicycle to a post.
I remember the bicycle I rode to lessons, an old “Big Ben”, or “Steel Donkey”, it was a lady’s frame, so we’d put a wooden bar across to tow others, or just to make it seem more masculine. (Something remarkably similar to the one Nikhil captured here) I remember taking turns with Johnny at towing home Trecia from lessons, even though it was not on my way home.
I remember while courting Maureen (now my wife), I had a “down handle” on a ten-speed bicycle, and we’d ride everywhere… even places I knew I shouldn’t… I remember being beaten with a 2×4 (piece of wood) by a thief try to get that bicycle from me…
I remember riding from home down to South Ruimveldt to visit my friends Andrew, Ian, and then to Durban Backlands to visit Dayal… sometimes just for the ride; and years later I rode to and from UG daily, and I remember leaving UG at 8pm after History lecture and riding down in pitch blackness with Scheme alongside on his bicycle (trying to remember where the potholes were) !
I remember riding to the seawall to work off the buzz of a beer that I drank while (legally) too young, I remember riding from Turkeyen to Bel Air hoping to wear off the buzz of too many beers from a Raymond’s birthday celebration, this was when I was a student at UG, only to stop at Nikhil’s home to ask for coffee before continuing home 🙂
I seldom ride a bicycle now, but I think every child should learn to ride one… it gives a sense of independence, of freedom… of adventure.
The photo that sparked a deluge of memories…
Click on the image to see it on the site, along with the other images from this year’s Deck Project.
Lucky number 13? I don’t know, but the thirteenth week of this year was filled with activity… it was Holy Week in the Christian Calendar, and in the Hindu calendar it also held the festival of Phagwah (or Holi).
I got many photos, mostly from the Church activities for my own satisfaction, but I’ll definitely share some.
On Phagwah day I usually don’t get many photos of people playing / celebrating Phagwah, as I tend to keep my camera safely away from the waters and powders that abound. Nearing the end of the day, I was sitting with my family on the seawall, and along came these young ladies fresh from playing, and I couldn’t resist snapping a shot, one even posed 🙂
Click on the image above to see it better in the Gallery!
On the way back from Orinduik, the journey usually takes a slightly different path, we bypass some places, particularly Monkey Mountain, and this cuts short the return trip significantly.
As we awoke at Kurukubaru, we noticed that since the previous evening we could feel a soft drizzle and this had not changed, it was then that we were told that it wasn’t really a drizzle, we were simply in a cloud 🙂
The view from so high up is so breath-taking, that it is hard to render that on camera, one direction looks very much like the other, but you can’t help but snap a few anyway 🙂
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Be caught up with the main convoy at Kato and continued our journey onward, here are some more photos from the trail…
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We stayed at Yarong Paru where I got in some more photos to show 🙂
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I even got one at a village further on, I think it was Tiperu, when Frank and a few others took a break and sat aside the trail 🙂
At Karasabai the Safari was pretty much over, at this point the option was given to members to either head back to town or proceed to Lethem for the Annual Rodeo. We opted for town and overnighted at The Oasis at Annai
As we were crossing the Essequibo River at Kurupukari I noticed Jason washing down his tires from all the mud… presumably making room for more mud as we hit the trail on the other side 🙂
On the other side of the crossing we stopped for Lunch and I took a few moments to get in a couple of shots at the shop 🙂
If I ever make the trip again, I hope I get to spend more time at some of these villages. Click on the images to see them larger in the Gallery along with all the other select images from the Safari!
Frankincense: That’s the incense used at most Catholic churches when they are celebrating major feasts, it’s a smell that’s been familiar to me since early childhood, and one I always associate with the presence of the Bishop at a mass.
Last Palm Sunday (Passion Sunday), As I was avoiding the rain, and ducking under tents, I happened to stand right next to the altar server who was tending the Thurible with the coals and the incense, as the rain kept me cornered for the moment I took a few quick snaps 🙂
Click on the image to see it better in the Gallery 🙂
As we were behind schedule, I thought we would have left Paramakatoi extra early, but we started out close to 8am and headed for Kato.
At Kato we had a brief stop, some vehicles were attended to, and some thirst needs were also attended to 🙂
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Our next stop would be at Kurukubaru, although I did not take many photos on the way into the village or even at the village, this one of a family at their home I liked.
From Kurukubaru, our next stop would be the destination of the entire Safari, Orinduik Falls, the route there proved to be unusually treacherous for the vehicles, it was on the way there and back to Kurukubaru that evening that the vehicle suffered the most damage 🙂 Unfortunately, no photos, not a lot of stopping on that leg of the journey 🙂
Just to prove that the Destination was worth it, I’ve selected quite a few photos to show you of Orinduik.
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Although we wanted to make it back to Kato that evening, we lost the main convoy in the rains up at Kurukubaru, and were advised by the villagers not to descend the mountain in the rain, so we spent the night at Kurukubaru, the highest village in Guyana.
There may be one more post in this series, but it will be sometime next week, the Easter Weekend is upon us 🙂
Please click on the photos to see them larger in the Gallery.
Monkey Mountain: We started the day as per normal, early 🙂
I even managed to get in a few snaps before departing, which is a lot more than I managed in 2009.
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Our next stop would be in Tuseneng, below you can see some of the terrain that we traversed on the way there 🙂
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At Tuseneng, I was fascinated by the “tools of the trade” that could be seen outside the huts / buildings around the village centre.
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After Tuseneng we’d be headed towards Paramakatoi passing through Bamboo Creek on the way, this segment of the drive proved more challenging than originally expected as you can see from the photos below:
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By the time we arrived at Paramakatoi it was nigh on twilight, and Frank sought permission for us to stay there for the nigh, even though our original destination for the day would have been Kato.
Click on the images to see them larger in the Gallery, especially the trail ones 🙂
We awoke on the third day of the Safari at Rukumotu, and after clearing up our campsite, we joined the convoy to start our day’s drive. Shortly after leaving the village we saw the reason that Frank declined to descend the mountain at night… a very rocky and difficult drive, with loose rocks that needed some steady nerves for Nikhil.
Once on the valley floor we made better time, but for some reason we lost sight of the convoy, some gentlemen on a tractor indicated a route we should follow, the trail seemed fine until we came to a fork, made deliberately because the older trail was badly damaged. Although the bypass included a steep ascent, Nikhil mastered it like a veteran.
Further along the trail, we cam to a widening in the trail that was mud from treeline to treeline and probably more than twenty-five feet across, at this point we were still alone having not caught site of the lead vehicles of the main convoy as yet. We were now two hours out from Rukumotu, not finding any path across that looked any better than another, we drove straight in…. and got stuck…
Although we tried extricating ourselves from the mud with the winch, we didn’t get very far, and decided to wait on more experienced travellers to assist us, surely the tail of the convoy would catch up. After what seemed like an eternity, but was more likely a half of an hour, we saw the entire convoy coming up behind us… somehow we had gotten ahead of the lead vehicles.
We can take some comfort in the fact that most of the other vehicles also got stuck coming through that patch… but we do hold the dubious distinction of being the first to get stuck… for the entire Safari.
Of course, Nikhil is also quite proud of being instrumental in hauling many of the others through, once we ourselves were on solid ground
From there to our next main stop at Yarong Paru (or Young Peru) it was uneventful (relatively); at Yarong Paru, we took a breather, and gave over some packages the convoy had brought along for the village, as well as made arrangements for re-fuelling… and I took some photographs too… lovely spot on the mountain to be…
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I even did a Panorama.
After leaving Yarong Paru, we crossed the Ichilibar bridge, and as we drove along the river bank, we noticed the scene towards the river, we paused (very briefly) to get a few photos. Here’s one:
Our next stop would be at the village on Monkey Mountain, a hard drive, but I did manage to get in a few photos as we drove.
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We arrived at Monkey Mountain with time to spare (compared to 2009 anyway), it was still daylight, as we prepared camp, and Naseem worked at our dinner, I managed to catch a nice shot of some children playing football not far from our benab.
Click on the photos to see them larger in the Gallery
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