2013 Deck – Week 17

Sometimes the photo that a photographer chooses is not always the one that a “normal” viewer would choose, that’s just how it is….  I’ve heard many Wedding Photographers lament over the same problems, they would show the couple an array of photos from the big day and then they would choose what the Photographer thought were those that were not the cream of the crop… for him (or her).

This is because we are each looking at the photographs from a different perspective, each photo speaks to us differently, and appeals to each individual differently; so it would be no surprise to me if this week’s photo draws dome curious stares  🙂  I like it, but I don’t expect everyone to like it.


Taken around Vreed-en-hoop at an area referred to as Best Village.


Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 16

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 🙂

2013 Deck – Week 15

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.


2013 Deck – Week 14

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.


2013 Deck – Week 13

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!


2013 Deck – Week 12

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  🙂


2013 Deck – Week 11

I’m not a Street Photographer, but on a recent PhotoWalk with other members of the Guyana Photographers’ Facebook Group down Regent Street, that type of photography was the primary aim of the walk.

I got a few images that I like, but this one, while not tack sharp was my favourite, there was a loud exchange of words between a few women across the street, then I noticed one of them running down the pavement, quickly snapped a shot  🙂


Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with the rest of the Deck Photos for this year  🙂

Yellow

I had started processing this photo about two weeks ago, then left it off.  I had cropped, rotated, and dropped the saturation a bit, but wasn’t satisfied.  I pulled it up this morning, tweaked the highlights a bit and decided that it was done… that simple!  Sometimes, all it needs is a little time 🙂

I noticed these at the side of the trench when I parked my vehicle, they were lower than the road, and the side of the trench was slippery, so I couldn’t get a foothold to get down to the level I wanted, so I adjust my settings on the camera and held it down to try to get the composition I wanted… never got the perfect one, and quite  few were unusable, but this one I liked (after rotating to correct my badly angled dangling camera  🙂


Click on the Image to see it in the Flora Gallery in the Collection

Aye, Eye, I

I was passing along the seawall when I saw this piece of driftwood sticking up over the wall, and for some reason all I could see was some sort of animal, a giraffe, or a donkey with it’s neck stretched upwards, or a dragon.  I know that anthropomorphism is the attribution of human-like features to other animals or objects, but what is attributing other animal-like qualities to other objects?  I haven’t a clue!

Here’s the driftwood!


Click on the image to see in in the Odds and Ends Gallery, you may see other odds and ends that you may like 🙂

2013 Deck – Week 10

My priorities in life must most definitely be askew, since I seem to have less time for photography than ever before…  But even if I have to take a photo of the same thing every week, I will finish this project  🙂

As I was driving along the seawall, I noticed the white-capped waves as they rushed to shore and thought to just stop and catch a few.  It was a bright afternoon, but lacking any fancy filters or gadgetry I thought that I’d just bring out the focus of my intent in post-processing.

I used an orange filter in Post-processing to deepen the hue of the sky and emphasize the white caps of the waves.


Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.