Men at work

On April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Psychologists and psychiatrists make big deals out of “association”…

I saw this scene and thought to myself that the reflective safety vests reminded me of the song YMCA by the Village People, then that led me to thinking about Men at Work, the band that sang “Land Down Under”… do you think the pipes being put “under the ground” is an inference as well?

Don’t know what psychologists or psychiatrists would make of me, but for now I’ll avoid seeing any. and I should probably avoid the Canje area for a little while too 😀

This isn’t a great photo, but ever since I took it I’ve been thinking that I still like it for some reason… so I finished the processing and uploaded.

Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-50mm | Uncomposed moving shot.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

My Jhandi addiction

On February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

I was going through a few photos from last year, and I can across a set that I had not processed, and I thought “no one wants to see another Jhandi flag photo”… but I couldn’t resist it, I just had to choose one of the set and process it.

There’s just something about a flag fluttering in the wind that draws the attention… who am I fooling? Even when it’s hung limp with the wind abated I’d probably still take a photo.

This one appealed to me because of the contrast that the rich red flag had against the sky, the line of the seawall and it’s curve towards the koker made it a better composition than just a plain flag 🙂

OK, yes… I did seriously think about doing it in BW (still pondering it) but I rather like this version 🙂

2014 | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm | Ogle, East Coast Demerara, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images from when I’m “Out and About”

How we do it

On February 19, 2015February 19, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

A street photograph – as much as I can get one 🙂

It really needs very few words, but what caught my attention was the way the police officer and her companion deliberately walked diagonally off the pedestrian crossing…

In Guyana… is just suh!

2014 | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-50mm

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with some other attempts at Street Photography 🙂

Love on the Rocks

On February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

OK, the title is corny, but I couldn’t resist it…

I wanted to get the rocks in the foreground and the couple on the wall… this was one of those shooting from the hip instances, I didn’t want to disturb them by stooping down and pointing a big DSLR directly at them.

Anyway, I got most of what I wanted and also got one of the large telecommunications dish from the GT&T compound. and it works… somehow…

I figured that Valentine’s day is almost here, why not put up a photo with a “couple”, and although I meant for it to be a “loving” sort of photo, the title stuck because of the rocks in the foreground… sorry, couldn’t help it 😀 I guess I could have tried for “Sending my Love” or something like that… nah!

2015 | Seawall, Thomaslands, Georgetown.

Click on the image to see it along with others in the Sepia Gallery of the Collection.

In the Garden

On February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

In Georgetown, once called the Garden City, there were once many tree-lined avenues, it was once adorned by colonial and Victorian styled buildings throughout the length and breadth of the city, and the canals were bridged, and those bridges adorned by concrete railings or balustrades that were pleasing to the eye.

With the current rate of demolition of those railings by errant (more accurately worded would be “criminal”) drivers of minibuses and taxis, there will soon be no more of them around, and the powers that be do not seem to want to extricate from these culprits the requisite price to replace the damage with suitable aesthetically pleasing railings, when they do replace them, it is with crudely welded utilitarian structures, more suitable to a prison cell.

There… I’ve vented enough 🙂

I photographed this one on the portion of road that bridges upper High Street with Main Street, this would have once seen the trains that serviced the coast of Demerara, would have been covered in soot from the engine stack, not it is occasionally white-washed, and more often left to have mildew and vines grow upon it. 🙂

Why did I photograph it? it was there… it seemed like a good idea at the time 🙂

2015 | Canon 60D, Canon 40mm | Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the “Odds and Ends” Gallery in the Collection

Out There

On February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

I shoot some odd scenes (more often than I’d like to admit) and when looking back I sometimes wonder what had gotten into my head to shoot them, then in a few cases, after a bit of consideration, I decide to process one anyway…

This is one of those “odd” scenes; it was almost twilight I guess, the sun had set (officially), yet there was light in the sky… and the crescent moon was still in the sky… clouds were covering parts of the sky, not necessarily in a pretty way, yet I had the inclination to snap a few shots.

At this time of the year, the crescent moon is more like a smile than during mid-year when it’s more sideways… I’ve heard it referred to as the Smiling Moon, or the Cheshire Moon (a reference to the smile of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland); in Hawaiian mythology and folklore it’s also called the Wet Moon, because of the “bowl” shape it resembles at this time, with “wet” referring to the moon holding the waters of the rains that were soon to come…

I digress….

It’s an odd scene for me, so I took some time to process it since it was not an easy one (processing-wise, that is)… I used Nik Silver Efex, and did some exposure reduction in the upper portion to further emphasize the moon and the star (nothing has been added or removed).

2011 | Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 18-270mm

Depending on our cultural, religious or scientific knowledge and beliefs, we will each look up into the sky and wonder different things; about what is “out there”, the myths and legends of ancient civilisations colour our imaginations, the teachings of our theologies ask us to believe in our maker(s) and for some an after-life, astronomers and movie-makers give further impetus to our imaginations of worlds and galaxies more spectacular than the pin-point stars we see with the naked eye… poets and song-writers pull at our heart-strings with words and melodies, with stories of love and lust under the darkened dome,

Most of us will never leave this rock we call Earth, but that should not stop our imaginations, our desires, our dreams, for there is undoubtedly more out there than we know.

Click on the image to see it in the Odds and Ends Gallery 🙂

Message

On February 9, 2015February 9, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughts1 Comment

In the larger picture, the broader landscape, what is the message?

Is there a message in the bottle, or is the bottle the message?

Do we read the message, do we even notice the bottle?

2015 | Canon 6D, Canon 24-105mm

Click on the image to see it in the Seawall Gallery in the Collection

2015 Deck – Week 05

On February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography2 Comments

A new Koker takes shape at Buxton.

In the context of current instability mostly due to imminent elections in Guyana, this can lend some social commentary, if one chose to look at it from certain vantage points.

You may have to look twice, but there is dog running away from it all in the scene.

I leave the storytelling to your own imaginations 🙂

Buxton, East Coast Demerara | 2015 | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm

Click on the image to see it in the 2015 Deck Gallery.

Stand

On February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

So, words almost failed me when it came to describing this photo for you (not that I need to describe it… you have eyes), maybe the few I could muster will suffice:

Stand to stretch your legs,
Stand to rise above,
Stand to show respect,
Stand to see beyond,
Stand and face the future,
Stand and feel the breeze,
Stand and show defiance,
Stand for who you are.

2015 | Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the Black and White Gallery in the Collection

Welcome

On January 31, 2015January 31, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

The driveway to the Cara Lodge hotel definitely says “welcome” to me.

I find this place to be warm and welcoming, and while many visitors to Guyana always mention the warmth of the people, I’ve found that the staff I’ve encountered here is that way with everyone, locals and visitors, and that’s refreshing.