Wide

On February 15, 2023 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

At an early stage in my photographic journey I was fascinated by Macrophotography, the ultra-close photographs of everyday things, it seemed a completely different world seeing things that close. This would have been mostly before I started using an SLR Camera, I had a Canon SuperZoom, and I used clip-on lenses for the macro photography, quite fun at the time.

Most of my favourite photography using DSLRs have been on the opposite end of the spectrum, wider shots. I was quite attached to the combination of the Canon 60D camera body (and the 50D prior to that) and the Sigma 10-20mm wide angle Lens. Its probably no surprise that I wanted a wide lens to accompany the Canon R7, I decided to go for the (Venus Optics) Laowa 10mm, although its fully manual, it seemed the step I should take at this point.

Here’s my first photo taken using it, not meant to be anything spectacular, just tried to get a decent first shot, but I like how it turned out, a bit unsettling and intriguing to me.

Untitled – 23-0018 | Kingston Seawall, Georgetown, Guyana | Canon R7, Laowa 10mm

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other Black and White images in the collection.

Keep Shooting folks!

0001

On January 30, 2023 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

For photographers, or I should say digital photographers, that 0001 number usually means you’ve cycled through the 9,999 actuations on your camera and you’re starting over, or some photographers actually do a reset to 0001 when they start a new year, or whatever period they decide to set for themselves. More commonly, it usually means a new camera, fresh out of the box.

Late last year, someone (or maybe a few someones) broke into the office where I work (photography is not my day-job, or night-job for that matter) and they stole my camera bag with all the gear in it, to date we have not recovered anything from that. So, after several years, I’ve had to acquire a new camera, at least one for now, I can’t quite replace what’s gone, but I’ve started somewhere. Thanks to a little saving and a lot of help from friends I don’t deserve, I got what’s essentially a mid-range mirrorless camera.

So here’s the first image from the new Camera:

23-0001 | Seascape – Thomaslands Seawall, Georgetown, Guyana – 2023

For those interested in the gear, don’t wait to be impressed…. its a Canon EOS R7, the lens I used for this image is the Canon RF 16mm F2.8 STM.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other Seawall images. Keep Shooting!

Sons of Stribog

On January 20, 2023 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

For most people who have followed my photography for any time, they know that I have a penchant for seascapes, and especially for high contrast black and white images of those scenes. This one falls right in to those. As a matter of fact this one is the latest addition to the ongoing Oniabo series of such images.

This was taken with the Canon 60D using a Sigma 10-20 ultra-wide angle lens, this combination was my favourite; I had gotten quite attached to it, quite familiar with the ultra-wide aberrations that I could use to advantage, and I even became quite fond of some of the softness I got from multi-layered scenes.

My processing is by no means unique, and I have no secrets about it; this one was cropped ever so slightly to adjust for the horizon, it was processed in Lightroom for brightness, contrast, texture, etc., then I took it into DXO’s Nik Silver Efex for the final black and white treatment, using a High Structure harsh approach with some localised adjustments in the sky and near the koker (sluice), with a red-filter applied for the darkening of the sky. Nothing was added or removed (aka Edited), just processed for the final look.

Sons of Stribog – 20-7135 | Abandoned Koker, Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, Guyana. 2020

…the winds, the sons of Stribog, blew as keen daggers.
The earth groaned, the waters thickened, a pall of mud
lay over the fields and the very folds of
Igor’s standards shook in agony.
The Tale of Igor’s Campaign

Those kokers that just sit there off the shoreline always fascinate me, they remind me that our shoreline was once further out, and that mother nature (or the Gods, whichever ones you care to blame for it) has reclaimed it. The quote above is from a Slavic poem, the mention of the winds, the Sons of Stribog were synchronous with the look of this image, with the seemingly forceful dispersal of clouds by the winds. Weird associations and thoughts often happen with me 🙂

Click on the image to see it in the Black and White Gallery, along with many other images there. Keep Shooting!

Declaration

On January 18, 2023 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughtsLeave a comment

This one has been sitting unprocessed since 2020. Its one of those image that I took, likely seeing some potential, than when reviewing initially, decided to leave it alone for the time.

For me its one of those obvious images, it is what it is, some graffiti on the seawall, nothing more, nothing less.

But, in retrospect, and maybe because of how I feel now, I can see it differently, or maybe I’m just seeing now more clearly, what it was that drew my attention in the first place.

Its a very public declaration of the love of two people, maybe expressed by only one of them, or by both, who knows? It represents a moment in time, maybe a time of deep affection, a time of a firm conviction, a time of life and love.

Not everyone feels confident expressing their feelings publicly, and each of us have our own ways of expressing ourselves, whether its our feelings or our artistry.

Annandale, East Coast Demerara, Guyana. 2020

Today marks three years since my father died. I don’t really like to mark the day, this was just somewhat of a coincidence, I was processing this image yesterday with intent to post today, and my phone reminded me this morning of the event. I prefer to celebrate the other days that mean more to me, his birthday, father’s day, and the many other days through the year. He was not a man to express in too many words how he felt, but through his actions, there was never a doubt.

Don’t be afraid to express yourself; whether through words, through actions, or through your art.

Keep shooting. Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other Seawall images.

After one time, is another!

On January 16, 2023 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

After one time, is another! I grew up hearing this phrase, usually from my mother or grand-mother. I figure it must be a Guyanese saying, I can’t seem to find it online in any other writings. I think the basic meaning is “What applied yesterday may not apply today (or tomorrow)”

I had taken this photo in May 2020, which was a relatively short time after the COVID-19 Pandemic had struck in Guyana, the mask mandate was in force but many were still skeptical about the whole thing, in the countryside you could find many who didn’t believe it existed.

In terms of Street photography, it takes me several decision making moments to actually take photos like this, up close, and with very identifiable people (um, relatively speaking), once decided its a no-brainer, most times the shot is worth it. Afterwards, in processing, that decision still weighs heavily on me, I am never very confident in sharing many street photos, there’s something vulnerable about them that causes the hesitancy. Many a time, I’d look at the image and decide not to share, then after revisiting some time later (often years later), decide to go ahead; I figure there’s a right time for some things, and now feels right to share this one.

Half Chicken Chow-Mein! 20-0682 | Shot with DXO ONE Camera

If he had shown up at the restaurant looking like this only a few months back, the reaction of the owners/staff as well as patrons would have been quite different, but this was now the new normal. A tied handkerchief or bandana instead of the then-costly recommended N95 masks, and top it off with sunshades and a cap, in 2019 that would have screamed “Bandit”, in 2020, just someone trying to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines and get served his order of a half-chicken chow-mein.

After one time, is another!

Keep shooting, and click on the image to see it in the gallery with other Street photos.

Checkout

On January 7, 2022 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Sometimes even images I select in a seemingly random way often tend to have a theme of sorts running through them. I was processing these and uploading, when I noticed a theme of sorts, or maybe I was just stretching it 🙂

I took these in 2020, for us that would have been considered first wave COVID-19 I suppose.

Vendor – 20-0836 – Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown, Guyana.
Shot with DXO ONE

Purple Power Defence – 20-0838, Water Street, Georgetown.
Shot with DXO ONE

Brazo’s – 20-0840 – Water Street, Georgetown
Shot with DXO ONE

Checkout – 20-0832 – Wonderful Shopping Mall, Good Hope, ECD.
Shot with DXO ONE

Time to checkout, click on the images to see them in the Gallery along with other Street Photography

Lamaha Canal Koker

On January 6, 2022 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

Maybe because of the narrowness of Water street at this point, or for some other reason, this Koker stands out, alone across the canal, I’ve known it for most of my life, passed it many times, even photographed it from a distance a few times (from High Street), it was only when I was actually walking here (its a lonely area, so its not something I’ve done before) that I walked past it and noticed that to the south of it there’s actually a smaller Koker alongside a pump station.

Koker and Pump – 20-7287 – at Water Street, Lamaha Canal section

According to the koker / pump attendant, there are actually multiple waterways, not just the large Canal we usually see, and the kokers were used together to control the flow. This older one does not operate anymore, its been broken and not repaired. The pump was in working condition, the attendant was happy to talk to us and explain things.

The jobs the koker / pump attendants do are quite important to a city like Georgetown, which lies about 6 feet below sea-level, often we see flooding and blame them (the attendants), but its not always just their fault (sometimes it is), our city’s drains are usually clogged with trash from our very own citizens, or overgrown with weeds, and I’ve recently seen the works by our very own government who filled in a large drainage canal (which had gotten quite clogged over the years) to make walkways, or more like a promenade.

Our drainage system was developed way back in colonial times under the Dutch and British, and the capacity was calculated to accommodate certain types of rainfalls, today we have a lot more rain, and it seems a lot less drainage, but sometimes, aesthetics are more important to those in power than the practicalities of daily life. (just my opinion)

Tree on the Canal

On June 5, 2020June 5, 2020 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

As “modern” photographers, many of us share our work online, hoping that we will get recognised, maybe even sought out, it seldom works that way. One casualty of this online type of photography is the lack of actual physical prints of our work. There are comparatively few of my images out there, all things considered, but sometimes a few will get out.

One print that remains in my memory is from my very first exhibition, Coastal Wanderings, with Nikhil Ramkarran. from that exhibition I only “sold” one print, but sales were never my goal, I just wanted to see if people would take my work seriously. That print was sought after by Mr Colin Edwards of Rockview Lodge in Annai, North Rupununi.

Colin has long been a supporter of the arts in Guyana, he has also been an admirer of the works of local photographers including myself. In the image above, the photo to the right shows a portion of Rockview Lodge, the Kaieteur Falls image under the stairwell is by Nikhil Ramkarran, the black and white to the left as you go up the stairs is mine. Colin is also part of the team behind the Rupununi Music Festival.

I was reminded of this image recently and thought to offer a special print sale on Metallic Photopaper prints. For the month of June 2020, I’ll be using the print services available to the site and offering the image at four sizes at a 25% discount. The high contrast black and white image will be enhanced by the Metallic PhotoPaper print, giving it a finish that you will love.

The image was part of the 2010 Deck Project I did, you can see the image on the site by clicking on the link below:

Tree on the Canal

Before going to the cart, make sure to choose your currency of preference, the coupons are available in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars and British Pounds Sterling. Depending on your choice of currency, labs in the US, Canada and UK will be automatically chosen to produce the prints. At checkout use the appropriate coupon code:

In the United States use TREE25US

In the Canada use TREE25CAN

In the United Kingdom use TREE25UK

Thank you everyone, especially those who have supported my journey with their words of encouragement and criticism, both are equally welcome and important to my work.

Supermarket

On March 31, 2020 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Supermarkets are usually very busy places, especially during the hours I can shop in them. During this time when people are trying to practice social distancing, its probably not surprising that I can actually get shots that are not too “busy” 🙂

Cleaning (and hopefully sanitizing) the shopping environment.

What caught my attention here was the slight distortion that the cold frosted door caused to the image of the man there as opposed to the clarity of the man beyond the door.

Tilted images are not my thing, but sometimes they are necessary and sometimes they work.

Some people can’t leave their children at home, so it becomes necessary to take them into potentially dangerous areas. Who would have thought that we would ever describe a supermarket as a potentially dangerous area…

Inside supermarkets are not easy to shoot, at least not for me, the lighting is not optimal, being relatively low light, especially in narrow aisles, the diversity of images may not be as ideal as out on the streets, and the space tends to be cramped, luckily, these allowed for some space due to a sparsity of people. 🙂

As you might notice, there is no prevalence of masks, not because Guyanese are conscious of the actual dangers of that, or the possible benefits, but because its not part of our preventative measure, just like staying at home isn’t….

The WHO recently reiterated its position on who should wear masks and when, as always, its about educating ourselves on these things.

Click on the images to see them in the Gallery along with other photographs “In the Streets”.

Around the Block

On March 25, 2020 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Yesterday I decided to literally take a walk around the block, just to see how the COVID-19 and its repercussions might be affecting the neighbourhood (my work neighbourhood, that is). So as not to waste the opportunity, I walked with my DXO camera as well.

As street photography goes, nothing great, but a few decent ones 🙂

You probably can’t see it, but in that vendor’s section is some Nenwah Husk, used my many a Guyanese as a body scrub.

Being the lone Chinese walking around I kinda attract unnecessary attention, this lady kept a close eye as I walked by; good thing I didn’t sneeze or cough.

This rastafarian on crutches carefully made his way along the pavement, but was very observant of all the stalls he passed, might have been looking for Nenwa. 🙂