Mashramani 2012 – Children’s Parade

On February 25, 2012February 27, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography3 Comments

I have to begin by apologising for the amount of photographs in the album on the site… I normally go just for fairly close shots, but I thought that this year I’d try to get some of the whole shots with the costumes, I’m not too good at it, but I’ve been asked many times about why I don’t have the nice big costumes. Also, the Children’s parade this year was very engaging and the costumes very nice, and I think there were more of them too 🙂

Every year I think that the Children’s Parade is better to attend than the Adult’s Parade, it is shorter, even though the amount of entrants might be on par, even though they don’t speed down the road, they seem to be more organised and better managed, and this results in a very good flow of groups and floats down the street.

The sides of the street is also less crowded so as a spectator, I can enjoy it more and as a Photographer, I can get the photographs easier 🙂 without being elbowed and shoved, and possibly trampled.

I know it may be a lot of photographs, but I think you may find at least a few that appeal to you 🙂 Click on the image below to see the entire collection in the Gallery. Or just click this TOP 25 link for a select 25 images.

Help or Hinder

On December 17, 2011December 17, 2011 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography3 Comments

Guyana’s Traffic Police

Yesterday there was a traffic-jam at the Regent and Avenue of the Republic intersection (mainly because the minibuses were clogging it up), there was a traffic cop standing on the corner just staring, I mean literally just staring at the glob of non-moving, horn-blowing vehicles at the junction.

It was amazing to me that I came down the road heading south and pulled up at the traffic light (I was now at the head of the queue at the light), there were two vehicles remaining in the line to cross over heading west, as well as several in the lane to my right attempting to turn west. The light being Red I sat and waited assuming that the two vehicles would move along by the time the light showed green.

No such luck! As it turned green, I inched forward (OK, I drove for about three feet) to see what the position was, the car directly in the intersection had about six to eight feet of space in front of him, and the pick-up truck behind him was about five feet behind, I blew my horn to attract his attention (the car driver, that is) and indicated that he should drive forward a bit so that the traffic in my lane could move along between him and the pick-up truck.

Seems sensible, right?

The police officer decided to finally move from his comfortable spot on the side of the road, indicated to me that I should wait, and when the car had driven up, he waved the pick-up truck forward….

…thereby adding to an already clogged intersection. The intelligence of our policemen and their spontaneous decisions never ceases to amaze me.

The Disappearing Cinema

On June 21, 2011June 21, 2011 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography15 Comments

Demolition of the Globe — Partial remains of the Globe Cinema, demolished this year, 2011

It recently dawned on me that there may be only one functional cinema left in Georgetown, possibly only one left in Guyana. While the television and computers, handheld media players and the internet have certainly impacted on how we watch our movies, the cinema has always had a big draw for people, however the cinemas in Guyana have steadily gone into disrepair and certainly some have disappeared. While we can place a lot of blame of the modernisation of media viewing, the owners and promoters of our cinemas have to take some of the blame, even when I was much younger, and the cinemas were full of moviegoers, I remember the sordid states of the seats, the persevering smell of urine, and the sound of the rodents running around the aisles.

Starlite Cinema, Pouderoyn, West Bank Demerara. Closed and abandoned

They never did the little things that made you WANT to go to the cinema, why suffer through all that when you could wait a few months and see it in the comfort of your home? It was the experience, it was the “event” of going to the cinema with family or friends to watch a new (or old) movie in the company of others there to enjoy the experience, the camaraderie, the joy of the big silver screen, unfortunately the experience was not always a good one. And the cinemas are disappearing, one by one, by one…

The Astor Cinema, still functional as of this year, but attendance makes it hard for the proprietor to keep it up.

I was re-reading an article written by Godfrey Chin on the Rise and Fall of Guyana’s Cinemas, I believe this was part of his “Nostalgias”, and while I am not old enough to know of some of the cinemas or even the movies he mentions, it hits home. He, of course, goes back to even before we gained our Independence, back to the days of British Guiana, and he brings us into the modern era, where instead of Cinemas modernising to keep up, they just kept going, stagnated in time, except for the titles of the movie releases 🙂

What prompted this blog-post was the sudden nostalgia I got (I am probably getting like Godfrey) when I was processing a photo I took of the partly demolished “Globe Cinema” and an image of the abandoned Starlite Cinema. Both of those images are included in this post. As the Astor is the last remaining cinema, I think that I should make an effort to get permission to do some photography in that establishment before it too disappears.

Formerly the Strand Cinema, now the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God

There are at least two other Cinemas that I know of which have been converted into places of worship, it seems to be the thing to do 🙂

Click on each image to see them larger in their respective galleries.

Award

On April 4, 2011April 6, 2011 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography26 Comments

Last week, Bob Zeller, was kind enough to pass along an award that he received, and although it is very reminiscent of a chain letter (which I dislike very much) I thought it different enough that I would “pass it along” myself, It is a recognition of our peers, of the people who we enjoy reading, who influence us, or simply blog about something that interests us enough to keep going back.

I’ve linked to Bob’s site at least once that I can remember, but if you’ve never checked his stuff out, you should. He mostly has bird photographs and writings about them, but who doesn’t like birds, and Bird Photography is hard!!! He has some amazing captures and sometimes even more interesting stories about the birds. Bob is an amazing fellow, a musician, a photographer, a bird watcher who lives with a very serious illness, but his blogs make me feel like just going out there, and enjoy life, as free as a bird. Thanks Bob.

Although the award says “Versatile Blogger”, I don’t read enough blogs with that much versatility, in the content, my blog is about my photography (mainly) and I read blogs mainly about photography, or photography related… well, mostly. So don’t expect a lot of Versatile bloggers being mentioned, but know that every one that I do mention will be ones I read and appreciate for various reasons, and they will be in no particular order.

Apparently there are rules, so here they are:

1) Thank the person who honored you and give a link to their blog.

2) Tell 7 random facts about yourself.

3) Pass the award to 15 new-found bloggers.

4) Contact each blogger onto whom you pass the award and let them know.

5) Let the giver of the award know you accept it or not.

Random Facts:

(1) Because of my spectacles I got the nickname “Professor” as an altarboy, although I hated it at the time, I eventually adopted it into my online moniker ProfessorMC,

(2) Last year marked ten years of marriage for me, our courtship before marriage also lasted ten years.

(3) I love to play the musical keyboard, I’m terrible at it, but I still like to do it, and I have absolutely no musical training or knowledge

(4) I think I sing better than I play, I do a mean version of “La Bamba” at Karaoke

(5) I like Rum, I think it has a great flavour, so of course, I prefer the best, El Dorado! But that doesn’t mean I snob the rest, after all, how else can I do a comparison?

(6) I work in Computer Graphics at a Sign Company, for which I have no academic qualifications whatsoever

(7) What are my qualifications? I have a degree in Biology, seriously!

Now for those I want to pass this along to (many of whom may simply ignore it as they have better things to do, like actually taking photographs) 🙂 And if you have received one of these before, just consider it a double award.

(1) Nikhil Ramkarran – Yes, I mention him all the time in my blog, he’s my photo-buddy and a great friend, but the reason he’s here is that he IS a versatile blogger, if it matters to him, he’ll blog about it, and he’s even blogged some of his published articles from Apsara magazine. The one problem with his blog… he doesn’t blog enough. He has over a hundred images in the Petax Gallery which is Pentax’s showcase (and I don’t think it’s that easy to get images in there)

(2) Steve Thomas – from photographyfree4all, a gifted photographer whom I’ve followed for the last seven months, and see his photography go from good to great, and from simple photography to artistic expression and even Photoshop Art from his photography. Keep an eye on this one!

(3) Journey Photographic – JP has almost covered the globe it seems, has been to places I could only dream about, and has an astounding collection of Travel photographs (and recently Travel Photography Tips!) It’s sad that I only know them as JP.

(4) Sasi Suruli – his blog My 3rd Eye has some truly amazing photos, he excels at food photography, makes me hungry every single time, it’s a wonder he isn’t working for some magazine or even the Food network.

(5) Tracy Zhang – has a blog called Just In Time, not only is she travelling and sharing some amazing photos, but she has a unique perspective on the places she visits and her photographic style is unusual bit immensely captivating

(6) Simon – aka Dark Halide, although I am not a Street Photographer, there is something about his photos that has kept me intrigued, I just keep going back to see what he has next.

(7) Michael Bonocore – an amazing diversity in his photography, but what I really liked was what he said: “If my clothes, camera and tripod aren’t dirty, then I’m not trying hard enough”, I’m obviously not trying hard enough, but this guy is inspirational.

(8) Roberto Vega Peralta – a combination of photos and thoughts that really works on my very imaginative brain

(9) Sheila Creighton – A persistence in photography that is admirable, Sheila sees things that I would miss, and makes art out of it 🙂

(10) David Sobik – Hands down, some of the best wedding photography I’ve seen, innovative and unusual, don’t even begin to cover it, but even forgetting the wedding stuff, his perspective on photography begs you to look twice.

(11) Brian Stevenson – Funky Slug, a photographer with a great sense of humour, but his images are awesome, sometimes inspiring, sometimes daunting, but always captivating!

(12) David Williams – Quite an impressive array of images, everything from studio type images to outdoor HDRs (which I really like, I have a weakness there), and now even his daughter is into it with her own blog, aptly titled Cait’s POV

(13) Mike – Tau Zero. If I ever wanted proof that I need to get out more, this was it, other than the amazing scenery, he has a habit of getting birds to do exactly what he wants.

(14) Laura Tinker – Tinkerbelle. Light-hearted and usually nothing to do with photography, but all about putting a smile on your face. I only recently started following, but enjoying all of it so far.

(15) Sarah and James Broscombe – I’m sorry to group them but I only have 15 slots, Sarah currently writes the “Six Word Story” telling a story in 6 words, difficult, but Sarah has a way with words, although I must admit I preferred when she wrote 600 (almost) in her blog “Sarah in South America”. James is an amazing photographer who makes it look so very easy, he currently writes (if he gets a chance) in “Making Pictures Pay”, but I was introduced to him through hi older blog (when he and Sarah were in South America) A picture each day 2009 – 2010, an amazing look at Guyana and it’s remote areas.

(16) Cindy – Like Bob, I can’t just stick to the 15, I had to add one more and then some… Cindy is last but certainly not least… her photos and writings have to be experienced, I can’t even begin to describe them please check her out.

Although I only had 15 spots, I hope that others won’t feel left out, I have found that each blog I follow and comment on has something to show me, something to teach me, and something that makes me think to myself “that’s interesting, now I wonder…” There are those who I am new to, those who don’t blog as often, and those who didn’t make the list simply because I’d need to go for another 15 people 🙂 I think that if you check some of these out you’ll see others popping up as commentors, who should have been mentioned, like Nigel, Cheryl, Martina, Christos, Kim, Jolene, Sandra, Jonathon and many others. I’d have loved to include Tricia in that list of 15, since her blog inspired me to start my own, but she is one who is very guilty of not posting 🙂

Now since this is my blog and since it’s about my photography I can’t conclude without including a photograph 🙂 Enjoy, and I hope you continue to appreciate the other bloggers and readers who make all of this fun!

This one was taken with the Sigma 10-20 Ultra-wide lens, processed to monochrome using Nik HDR Efex to retain that trunk detail, it’s a single image, so not what I truly consider an HDR, just tone-mapped slightly.

The Deck – Week 39

On September 30, 2010 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2010 Deck, Commentary, Photography35 Comments

I took photos on three days of the last week (from last Friday to this Thursday) but most of it is not worth even processing. The day that I took this photograph was eventful, so I will mention some of that after I put the photograph up. I was going to just put the photo up and leave the rest of the story out, but many people are expecting the story, so I will put some of it up.

The photograph is one of those Sunsets where the area around the sun is now warming up (so to speak) and the remainder of the sky is a cooler blue.

Kingston seashore, Georgetown Guyana. 5:37pm, September 28, 2010

Nikhil and I were out on the Kingston seashore photographing driftwood, waves, and whatever else caught our eye, including the setting sun and the resulting effects in the sky. Approximately 10 minutes after I took this photograph, we were back on the Promenade area around the area by the “Roundhouse”, there are usually some homeless men living in the Roundhouse. We were looking in that area for other things to photograph when we noticed that the sunset had changed to a much more orange and red cast and decided that we would return to the end of the promenade to photograph it. Just about this time two young men on bicycled passed us and stopped their cycles on at the end of the Roundhouse and disappeared behind the wall there. As we approached the end to photographed the sunset, we noticed that they were urinating and we naturally averted our gaze and concentrated on the sunset.

We were focused on the scene before us when they finished their business and walked behind us towards their bicycles, the next thing I knew I was falling to the ground and being attacked about my body by one of the men who now had a piece of wood in his hand. We were being robbed. My spectacles had fallen off and I could barely make out the man now shouting at me and hitting me, I told him to stop hitting and just take whatever it was he wanted, we were not going to fight them. It seemed he didn’t believe me and shouted to his companion to throw the gun. I repeated myself and seemed to get through to him, he searched my pants pockets and took all my cash and my cellular phone. He threw my wallet and licence on the ground and demanded that I not get up and try to follow them.

Nikhil helped me to my feet and also to find my spectacles, I really am useless without them. Some of the homeless men were returning to the Roundhouse after their evening bath in the sea and were shocked that in the short space of time that they had gone, we were attacked and robbed. Of course, we then called for help using the cellular phone that I had in my shirt pocket which they missed, we went to the Police and now one of them men has been captured. I learnt from NIkhil that although he was not assaulted with a piece of wood, the man who robbed him had a pistol. Amazingly, I still had my camera, but Nikhil’s camera was gone.

Fortuitously, one of the photographs I had taken earlier had captured the two men when they had passed us, that photograph assisted the police to identify the men and thus far apprehend one of them.

We are both fortunate to be alive. I have always been told by people wiser than myself that in a robbery, do not be a hero! Give them what they want and live. Some of that advice must have sunk in since that is what I did after the initial resistance. Of course, a few blows to the back of the head and neck puts one in a more submissive mood.

The photograph may not be great, but it certainly is not the last Sunset that I have seen.

End of an Era

On September 13, 2010September 13, 2010 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography15 Comments

I doubt if I have all the facts, but I think I have the general gist of the thing. For as many years as I can remember, and probably for as many years as I have existed, there have been three “Gas Stations” on Vlissengen Road, right next to one another; from north to south it was Texaco, then Esso and then Shell. I think most Guyanese grew up calling these places Gas Stations, instead of the more internationally acceptable “Petrol Station” or “Service Station”. At Mashramani time, these stations were always popular meeting places, and even “drinking places”.

A few years ago, the Shell service stations were purchased by Sol, and are operated under the Shell brand/franchise, shortly after that Sol also bought out the Esso service stations, these now operate either unbranded or as Sol service stations. So at this point Sol had two service station competing with each other, right next door to each other, on Vlissengen Road. I figure that it was only a matter of time before one had to close down.

The Esso service Station was known by many as the KC Correia Service Station, and it has been under that management for more years than I care to count. I was told that it is now closing its doors. That is sad, but changes are inevitable and we must either change with it or be left behind. It seems that the old Esso Station was chosen to close its doors over the more modern Shell Station.

I took this photo last Friday, not knowing when I would get the chance again.

Knowing Your Rights

On September 3, 2010September 3, 2010 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography2 Comments

Haven’t gotten around to my Deck Photo as yet.
Nikhil has posted what I think is a very important blog-post, give it a read if you have the time.
Know Your Rights!

It is important that every photographer, whether you are a Professional, intend to become a professional, are a Hobbyist like myself, or now learning the art, to know at least the basic rights that you have regarding your photographs. Do yourself a favour and Read Nikhil’s article, also read up as much as you can on The Photographer’s Rights, whether in the USA, UK or around the world, you have certain rights as a photographer, and you certainly have rights over the images you produce.

Aunt Yvette

On July 14, 2010July 14, 2010 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography6 Comments

Everyone leaves a mark in this world, everyone, without exception. They may be remembered by one or my many, for good or for bad, but they are remembered. At least, that is what I like to believe, in time we will be eventually forgotten, but just for a moment, we leave a mark upon the lives of others, these are the moments that matter.

Aunt Yvette always referred to me as Comrade Hinds, no doubt referring to someone else she remembered working in this building. Many may have called her a beggar, but she always asked very nicely if we could “support local”. And there were many a time when after giving her what we had, she would return at a later time with gifts for us; a comb, perfume, hand-sanitizer, a myriad of things. While I may not be able to cherish any of her gifts, I cherish the memories.

She sat on the pavements or on our door-stoop, when she walked it was in an almost completely doubled-over posture, apparently a combination of age and health issues, although I had heard rumour of an accident that left her so. She is reputed to have been a school teacher in her younger days, she certainly had an artistic flair, evidenced in her drawing, she sewed her own clothes and even did some crochet. She was an avid reader, many times collecting old magazines from us, and she loved to do Word-Find puzzles. She also carried on lengthy and complicated conversations with person (or persons) whom only she could see, always an entertaining event.

This was the only photograph I remember taking of her, I am sorry I never took more.

She was apparently in the compound of the Sol Service Station on Regent Street yesterday when she was struck by a vehicle and died, another victim of reckless driving. Maybe the driver did not see her in her bent over position, but then it could have been a child he hit if that is his excuse. I don’t know how many people’s lives she has touched through the years, but she touched mine and she will be remembered.

Rest in Peace Yvette.

The Bar-B-Que

On July 6, 2010July 6, 2010 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary6 Comments

In Guyana, a Bar-b-que (or barbeque) is about smoked and grilled chicken over hot coals, Chicken, not pork or beef, Chicken! If there are slices of beef or some pork-chops on the grill, they are incidental to us, we are all about the Chicken. And now that we’ve come out of the dark ages, we can also have those store-bought sausages added for the extra novelty.

The Bar-b-que is also about that smoky flavour and the burnt edges, it’s about the rich basting sauce that is unsparingly applied, and it’s about the conversation around the pit/grill, conversation that could be about anything or nothing.

I am not a Bar-b-que man, I am probably more of a Burn-B-Que chap, but then I am usually in agreement with the old Guyanese adage that “when it bun, it done”. Whenever I can learn a little bit more about the whole Bar-B-Que process (without putting myself to too much trouble, that is) I like to be able to say that I picked up a little bit from a master. This weekend I was a a Bar-b-que at Nikhil‘s house, where we were “christening” his new Bar-b-que pit. Before Nik actually built the pit we had lengthy discussions about the “ideal” Bar-b-que pit, and there were lots of ideas floating around, from an oven/pit combination to what he has now, which is very similar to the one in my yard, except he used some nice clay bricks, from a distance it may look like a wishing well, you can toss coins in if you like, just not when we’re barbecuing. We were quite surprised when we saw it, but according to him, it’s not his fault, he gave very clear instructions to the builders, all of which they ignored, so, the grill and the pit itself needs some work 🙂

Learning from the master. The head honcho and chief cook was Naseem, he knows more about food than I’ll ever know, both about eating it and preparing it, and likely about its History too. Something I learnt about Bar-b-queing this weekend was Naseem method of firing the coals. I have never seen it done his way and although I found it unorthodox, I thought it quite intriguing.

Firstly – the wood. The quantities I put here are for cooking roughly forty pieces of chicken (leg & thigh, and wing & breast pieces). What you need is this (you can probably substitute, but I’ll go with the Master) four to six pieces of greenheart wood, roughly eighteen inches by four inches by half an inch. I would be remiss to mention the proper nomenclature here or my old Biology teacher would be offended, greenheart is called Chlorocardium rodeii, and is one of the premium woods found in the Guianas. The other wood used is what we typically call “roundwood”, no one can as yet inform me of its specie name, but I’ve been reliably informed that the roundwood crosses species, it’s a wild wood that grows fairly straight and is about two to three inches in diameter. It is used in local construction for making T-shores (and I’ve also been told it’s used in cremations), we use three to four pieces of this, roughly five feet long.

The greenheart, you chop into long slivers; the roundwood, you cut into half the length then split each piece down the middle, and you put these into a teepee style arrangement, just like a campfire I suppose. Next, a good dose of gasoline, and some matches. Once lit, you can make sure the outer edges catch by using some wadded up newspaper. Once this is burning nicely you put the grill back on top. This is the interesting part, we didn’t put the coals on top the wood as I normally see done, we put the coals on the grill! That’s right, on the grill, as if we’re cooking them. Thank goodness Nik had two grills.

At this point, the Naseem method calls for Naseem to get away to the house, and instruct people who have no idea what his plan is to “get the coals hot and dig a hole in the middle and spread them around. So we basically we just ignore all those instructions, we fire the coals on top the grill and when they’re nice and hot, all red underneath, we empty the grill onto the fire below and spread them around til it looks nice and even.

Very nice method, and then after adding a few more coals to it, we put the new grill on and prepare the grill for the chicken and everything proceeds as normal from there. It’s at this point in the Naseem method that he reappears and has new instruction for some able-bodied men to go get the chicken and the sauce.

Firing the coals on the grill, that one is new to me, but most effective 🙂 Now let’s see, I think I have to learn the preparation of the chicken… or I’ll just have Nas do that every time.

E-magine

On July 2, 2010 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography3 Comments

For anyone who lives in Guyana and uses the internet regularly, GT&T teased us for a few weeks with what was to come, a brand new internet experience! They promised that from the 1st of July 2010, we would have four times the current (advertised) bandwidth on our DSL connections, most of us use a 256kbps connection so that meant a whopping 1Mbps.

Most of us, never having experienced anything like this, since we are all local born, bred and grown, with little or no exposure to the internet beyond our shores, were ecstatic with just the thought of it, some of us probably went to bed on June 30th drooling with anticipation.

I have heard people compare our DSL connection to being slower than what they get as dial-up in the cities of North America, I can’t vouch for that, but yes, it was slow. I once thought that internet error messages were designed with a Guyanese connection in mind, but surely we’re not the only ones suffering such a fate. During my growing years, I was always told that somewhere in the world there are people worse off than I am, and that is true. I have a home (mortgaged), a job that I like, a family that I love, I earn enough to feed and cloth myself and enjoy a few of the things offered in life, and I have access to the World Wide Web. So I have to thank the telephone company for at least that.

Anyway, I digress! GT&T and the Internet! On July 1, 2010 I eagerly went into work, and like most Guyanese, the first thing I did at the computer was to check the all new awesome speed! and it seems that GT&T hit the proverbial brick wall (not the one on the left).

Not only was the browsing definitely not faster, it was actually slower, across Facebook (in the Guyanese community anyway) there was joke after joke about the service (or lack of), it even escalated to attacks on the source of the new Emagine Logo and mascot. I admit, I was part and parcel of all this, because we were all justifiably angry. I don’t think I ever saw so much plays on the word “imagine”

The lesson to be learnt, is never ever ever promise something you can’t deliver. You can’t say that on July 1st there’s be a newer and faster internet experience and then not deliver. And when you don’t deliver, you have people (PR) make various excuses and hastily contrived explanations and justifications. One individual claimed that they were “phasing it in”. Nonsense! you want to deliver on the promise of a faster internet that you will “phase in” the it should have been phasing in from a few days before so that you don’t make the entire company look like they’re incompetent.

The good news is, they’re ironing out the kinks, getting rid of the bugs and giving us a better service, so that I can actually upload more than one photo a day to my site 🙂

The three photos in this blog were all uploaded today, quite a milestone for me, since it was so much a hassle before, with failed uploads and just tying up the bandwidth 🙂 Now I have to go back through the older items in my catalog and finally do some processing and uploading, the new available bandwidth is giving me more work 🙂