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.
Recently (December 14, 2022), Fidal shared a post on the Guyana Photographers’ Facebook Group, about a crowd funded Book project by well-known street photographer Nils Jorgensen, and it surprised me to see that the Kickstarted campaign had failed to raise enough pledges to complete the project in the time allotted.
“Street photography is the purest form of photography, stripped to its barest minimum; you, a camera and what you see. A mundane scene, an everyday event in an ordinary setting, can be transformed into an image which may be humorous, sad, surreal or simply graphic.”
Nils Jorgensen – nothinglikesomething.com
Now, while I don’t personally go for the many images Nils has of just leg portions, his take on street photography is distinct and worth looking at, and sharing. Many of them can individually generate trains of thought that blossom into stories, conjured from a simple single image.
If Nils, with his thousands of social media followers, his skillfully taken photos, his ability to tell a story in monochrome or colour, can fail to garner the funds for a book project, what chances have we?
This brings me to our own local scene, I have often played with the idea, and discarded many a plan simply because I don’t think my work is good enough, and more often than not because of the capital required for such projects, without crowd-funding. Recently I was thrilled to see a book published by local photographer Keno George, as he explained it, it was funded by a grant from the Government of Guyana. The book is a magnificent piece of work that tells the story of the 2018 No Confidence Motion in Guyana’s Parliament. The photography is top notch, as I’ve come to expect from Keno, and the production is definitely above par for local artistes. I’ve always thought of Keno as an exceptional PhotoJouralist, although his work covers more than just that, but his eye for images on the streets or during a tumultuous event is uncanny. I encourage you to check the book out, buy it online or through him directly. One regret for me is the lack of captions (even a reference at the back of the book) to indicate names of people in the photos, for the less politically educated and for historical reference.
I hope to see more photographers dip their toes into the realm of published works, other than the works of Robert J. Fernandes (Bobby), and that of Rex Lucas, there are few is any others that avidly represent our genre adequately. Bobby’s work was instrumental in showing many of us parts of Guyana that we thought we’d never see, and through the eye of a skilled photographer, Rex’s work pull’s at the strings that releases nostalgia among the diaspora more than locals. There are, of course, other books , such as that by world-renowned photographer Pete Oxford, as well as one that I’ve mentioned before by James Broscombe (still a favourite of mine)
As in the years leading up to 2020, we now approach 2023, we are at a crossing, what path we take determines not only our own involvement with the art of photography, but also the impact we can have on the art itself, its local development, and upon other photographers, those already established and known as well as those upcoming and striving to make their own mark.
I’ve always been more known for my landscapes and seascapes, but in the course of my photographic journey, I have developed a love for street photography as well, though my images pale in comparison to other local street photographer, they are no less demonstrative of life in Guyana, I share one with you that I took in 2020, perhaps only days before mask mandates went into effect for the COVID-19 pandemic.
To my fellow photographers, visual artists, whatever you wish to refer to yourselves as, keep shooting, keep sharing!
Click on the image above to see it in the Gallery along with other Street photographs. Feel free to comment, every response is a chance for me to learn as well.
If I remember correctly, this is probably my very first blog post that does not feature a photograph of mine.
This post is about a photograph, a photographer, a poet, a son of Guyana’s soil – but since it’s my blog, there has to be something of mine here…
Guyana has not had many famous photographers, and when I say famous, I mean one whose name is practically a household name locally. On the international scene, we struggle, because we struggle locally to be recognized.
One local name that has always been associated with beautiful photography of Guyana’s natural beauty is Robert J. Fernandes (or as he is better known, Bobby Fernandes), his works have appeared in numerous publications, including his own books, and he has had more than a few exhibitions of his photography at the National Art Gallery at Castellani House..
I was doing some prepress work for him for his most recent book, and the photograph he used for the cover took me back to my childhood. It was a photo that I had seen in print at various stages of my life; I cannot remember the first time, but it was likely on a calendar when I was probably in primary school. I attended Saint Stanislaus’ College as my secondary school (Bobby Fernandes’ Alma Mater), and at the school’s office there hung a large print of it.
After leaving that institution I don’t recall seeing it for many years, until I attended an event at Moray House and saw a small print on the wall, I instantly recognized it, and pointed it out to Nikhil.
His most recent book is a book of poetry titled “The Voice and Vision of Robert J. Fernandes”, the first section uses many of his photographs that have also inspired poems, among these is the image I refer to with a poem titled “Riverside”.
Below is an image of the cover:
The book is available at Austin’s Book Store, it is a collection of poems that are truly Guyanese, beautifully written by one of our very own.
This is my poem that was inspired by his photo and the book:
REFLECTIONS ON RIVERSIDE
The day wanes on the river,
the waters gurgle,
and the crickets signal
the end of another day.
Kissed by the sun,
the sky glows in the west
giving shape
to the distant mountains.
The trees cast shadowed reflections
on the rippled waters
as the boat glides,
softly paddled.
In the cooling waters
the cayman prowl
and the arapaima roll
each seeking night’s shade.
An obstruction appears
some distance ahead,
remnants of a tree
from the waters,
From the photographer’s seat
a click you hear,
the trace of a smile
beneath the hat’s brim.
in later years,
iconic,
that single click;
that light on film…
And then one day
as Sunset comes
it would be the face
of his Voice and Vision.
While I dabble in some poetry, I never think that my pieces are worthy of anything but a casual read, before presenting this piece, I asked the opinion and assistance of the famous singer-songwriter Dave Martins (of the Tradewinds), and he willingly gave me advice, I am very thankful for men like Bobby Fernandes and Dave Martins, who, icons and artists in their own fields, would listen to and willingly give advice to myself and others who ask…
I recently was expressive of my gratitude to my former English teacher Ms Hazel Moses, for her hard work, allowing me to be expressive without too many mistakes in my writing 🙂
She also just released a book of Poetry, for young children, which I encourage you to buy for your children, or young relatives and friends. It is titled “Playing with Words”; it is available at Austin’s Book Store as well as on Amazon.com
Today is International Literacy Day; read a book, give a book, and support our local authors.
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