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.
36 Days Old.
So I don’t really do portraits, but my wife and sister-in-law were all gung-ho to do a few photos of our daughter Malina that were “staged” .
So I obliged.
It’s not ground-breaking (been done a million times), but it’s what they wanted 😀
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.
Always Stop!
When you see something that you think might be remotely worth photographing, don’t doubt yourself, just stop to take the photo. Of course, I’ve had many instances where stopping just wasn’t possible, practical or prudent (read that last one as lawful), so some photos remain as electrical impulses in the synapses of our brains. When it’s possible to stop, just stop and take out the camera and go shoot a few exposures, if not, you’ll be kicking yourself for some time after.
This was one of those times that I stopped. I’ve driven past this building many times, and always thought that there’s a good photo there somewhere… this particular day I saw the sheep in the corralled area, the sky beyond the building, and as I turned the corner, mentioned to my wife “that’s a nice photo”, she said stop, so I stopped in the corner, got out my camera and trekked back to the junction.
Canon EOS 60D | Sigma 10-20mm | 10mm, 1/160s, f/9.0, ISO100
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.
The evolution of each photographer never really stops, and by this I mean their knowledge of the craft, their view on what makes a good composition, their approach to colour, their use of tools… it is a process that each of us goes through, and it really doesn’t stop.
We may settle into a favoured style, and we may be known for things such as capturing facial expressions, or the use of colour in portraits, or known as a black and white street photographer, but often these are not things a photographer does to the exclusion of all else, but merely a focal point (pardon the pun) at a given period in his/her evolution as a photographer.
While I have read about this before, the realization was brought home to me when I was preparing images for my recent presentation at Moray House, and I went in a somewhat unexpected direction (for myself, anyway), I presented all black and white images of areas along Guyana’s coast, and I liked what I chose… I really did (although the worry was still there that no one else would like it).
So, after all that rambling, today I veer in the opposite direction, to an image that I think helps define how I think colour should be used in a photograph, not just to be there as part of the whole, but to make a point.
Canon EOS 60D | Canon EF40mm | 1/100s, f/3.5, ISO100
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images from this year’s Deck Project.
I usually have a fair amount to say about an image, but for this week’s photo, I’ll let you form your own thoughts.
Canon EOS 60D | Canon EF 55-200mm | 100mm, 1/500s f/10 ISO100
Click on the image to see it in the gallery
I am scheduled to do a presentation of some of my select works on October 9th at Moray House (part of the Moray House Trust’s foray into encouraging local photographer to express their vision of their art), and I am very nervous about the whole thing, I am not sure what to say.
I often don’t mind sharing my work, but to talk about it makes me feel queasy; I’m usually afraid I’ll either come off as not knowing what it is I’m talking about, or as being pretentious, trying to pass off what I do as “art”…
But, I’ve committed to it and I’ll either make a complete mess of the whole thing or come out the other end, not much worse for wear 🙂
The title I chose for my Seascape collection is “Oniabo”, an Arawak word meaning water, I’ve decided to use an extended version of this title for this presentation at Moray House, which will include most or all of the 6 photos in the Oniabo series as well as other images at the seawall.
That being said, the photo I offer for this week was one under consideration to be part of that presentation, but was subsequently side-lined. Although it in no way resembles Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work, it reminded me that Sugimoto’s Seascapes collection is the reason I had decided to begin a Seascape project in the first place,
Sugimoto begins his description of his series like this:
Water and air. So very commonplace are these substances, they hardly attract attention―and yet they vouchsafe our very existence.
My seascapes invariably often include some “land” or earth (a third element?), but this one I titled “Born of Air and Water” as a reminder to myself of Sugimoto’s words.
Canon EOS 60D | Sigma 10-20mm | 10mm, f/4.0, ISO100
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images from this year’s Deck Project
For this week I actually had quite a few photos to choose from, mostly along the seawalls. Fidal Bassier had invited me along to shoot with him, he was doing part of a photo-shoot for Miss Earth Guyana, Ms Stacy Ramcharran, and even though I was late getting there, I decided to stop anyway and see what was going on.
The talented team from Bravo Arts under the direction of Steve Bravo had already done an amazing job of the body paint etc., and Stacy’s entourage were well in attendance and assisting her with all the necessaries.
Fidal was setting up on a mound on the southern side of the National Park, the winds had picked up a bit and he asked me to help hold one soft-box in position while I was there… but I’m a photographer, and I just couldn’t resist the urge to click the shutter button.
Whilst holding the soft-box in one hand (the wind was trying very hard to tug it out of position and out of my hands), I slung my backpack to the side and extracted the camera with one hand, the lens on the camera would have to work… it was the Sigma 10-20mm, so I suspected that cropping after was most likely.
I took only two photos, mainly because Fidal decided at that moment to switch locations, and by the time we had set up at the next spot, it was time for me to say adieu. One photo I had cropped and sent to Stacy, she ended up using it as the Cover image for the official Facebook Page for Miss Earth Guyana 2014:
The second one, I did not crop, it was the one I preferred, and I had decided since then that I would likely use it for the Deck project, so here it is:
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images from this year’s Deck Project
All-in-all, it was educational to watch these folks at work, and that I clicked the shutter twice, and got two photos that were usable, I feel good 🙂
The fascination with all things coastal continues! Of course, it’s more like searching for images that I like and since most of my time seems spent on the coast, that’s what you’ll get 🙂
The fishing boats at Lusignan, always seem to compel me to take a few photos, even if I never use them, but this one worked well for me, I think my processing went a tad overboard (no pun intended) but at the end of it all I still liked the final image.
I was considering a Dutch title for the image since the word Moored comes from the Dutch word Meren (according to some dictionary I was reading), but then the name Lusignan was from France, so I went with a French title instead (not that anyone really cares) 😀
Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm | 1/250s, f/10, ISO 100
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with the other images for this year’s Deck Project
This week was the week of our Republic Celebrations in Guyana, which I’ve shared photos from already, as is my custom, I look through those to choose one for the Deck Project.
This year there was no one image that stood out to me as much as this one did. I had processed it in Black and White and had decided not to include it in the original upload, I was still not sure anyone else would like it.
I like it, it seemed to me to be a moment frozen in time… something more sensual than what was occurring all around… maybe that is why I converted it to monochrome, to remove the distractions.
I hope you see something other than a Mash Photo 🙂
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery 🙂
Many readers assume that my photo for the Deck Project for each week is the “best” photo from that week, while sometimes this might be true, it is not always so. The photo I choose is usually one that can, by itself, make a contribution to the 52 photos that comprise the Deck Project, and it can often have meaning or relevance as a photo to myself more than to readers / viewers.
This photo that I chose for this week may very well fall into that category of not necessarily being the best, but to me it stood out among others from the Children’s Mashramani Parade, this young lady had lots of energy and I liked how her darker skin contrasted with the white costume, and how the touches of coloured glitter accented ever so slightly the celebratory nature of the event.
She was part of the Smalta sponsored band from Chateau Margot Primary School, their main costume was depicting their theme “Princess of Peace and Purity” which they entered in the Ages 8-10 Fantasy Category. This young lady was not the “Princess” or the main costume, she was one of the banner or standard bearers at the front of the “band”.
I hope you like it 🙂
Canon EOS 60D | Canon EF55-200mm Lens | 1/500s @ f/7.1, ISO100, 200mm
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery with other images from this year’s Deck Project
For a Small selection of the Images from the Children’s Mash Parade, check the Children’s Mash 2014 Select album.
The day this photo was taken did not turn out to be a happy day, so you’ll excuse me if the post seems depressing… even morbid.
That being said, I do believe that the photo was chosen not based on that but on it’s own merits. I rather liked how this one came out. I was using my Sigma 17-50mm, mostly to take photos of the scenery (not much of it that day) and some snapshots of my daughter. I was pleased that this came out as good as it did, considering that most times I would have tried this with my ultra-wide Sigma 10-20mm.
The reason the day was a bad one is that shortly after taking these photos, I returned to my vehicle to realise that someone had gotten into it and stolen my bags, which included my laptop computer, and all my camera gear barring the camera and lens in my hand, the Sigma 10-20mm which a friend had borrowed, and the tripod which they left on the floor of the car.
Sadly, the police have neither found nor recovered any of the items (and have no idea who might have done it)
Now onto the photo… and you can ignore the poem that follows 🙂
Canon EOS 60D | Sigma 17-50mm | 1/320s at f/6.3, ISO 100, 50mm
Click on the Image to see it in the Gallery
Caught in the nets,
prisoners from the deep
dragged into the air,
I’d cry, but fish don’t weep…
Tossed into a boat,
tormented by the sun
gasping for breath
the boat; shorewards run…
Sorted by calloused hands,
most onto the ice,
I upon the ground;
apparently I’m not nice…
Upon the hard ground,
I flounder, I try…
On land, beneath the sun
I dry, I die.
For those curious people who will ask 🙂 Here’s a shortlist of some of the Camera related gear that was stolen:
1 LowePro Backpack Camera Bag
1 Canon Speedlite 580EX II Flash
Serial Number: 611144
1 Canon EOS Rebel T1i Camera
Serial number: 0370111906
1 Tamron Di II 18-270mm Lens
Serial Number: 096584
1 Tamron AF 18-270mm Lens
Serial Number: 061042
1 Canon EF50mm f/1.8 II Lens
Lens No: 2514A003[BA]
1 Canon EF40mm f/2.8 STM Lens
Lens No: 6310B002[AA]
1 Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
1 Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens
The list is very long, but most of the rest is camera related accessories and paraphernalia, oh, and my Kindle Fire which I really really miss… I hadn’t realized how much I read until it was gone.
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