Tag: horizon

2013 Deck – Week 36

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography2 Comments

I had taken a number of photos this week at the Lusignan seawall area, but this one stood out for me from the moment I chimped and saw the image on the camera’s display screen.

I frequently see Jhandi flags along the seashore, but was never witness to the actual planting of one or seen the ritual taking place at such an event.  Needless to say, I still haven’t; but on my way back to the vehicle that day I did see some people bringing their flags to the wall, they had brought them in the back of a vehicle, and were passing them along to each other to put by the sea.

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Click on the image to see it in the Collection, along with other entries for this year’s Deck Project.

2013 Deck – Week 20

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography2 Comments

I was processing this image as a part of another long-term project that I’ve been doing; Seascapes, but I decided that I would also include it into the Deck Project as it turned out so nicely 🙂

The water was lapping around the larger rock seen here, the tide was on it’s way out, and the sand/mud could be seen at the rock’s base when the wave had receded.  The waves seemed fairly predictable, coming in, swirling past the rock and then receding, so I set my self and waited for it, when it came in, it came a little harder and faster, and I involuntarily jerked backwards a bit and the shot actually came out at a bit of an angle, so I had to crop back to straighten the horizon.  I did have others that I could have used, but this one came out nicely, in terms of composition and the way the water was.

The skies were just how I like them recently, fairly dramatic, nice variations and with a fair amount of detail that I knew I could eke out of the RAW file.

Canon EOS 60D  |  Sigma 10-20mm  |  1/500s, f/14, 10mm  |  Rotational crop

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

Pro – defining and refining

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography, thoughts10 Comments

Twice in recent times, I’ve been accused of being a “Pro”, as in a Professional Photographer, and both times I’ve been taken aback by it.  Me? a Pro?  Surely they don’t think so!

The first time was on a public discussion on the Guyana Tourism Authority’s Facebook page where we were discussing their Photography Competition, the unfairness of one of the “rules” and the general direction of the competition, the individual calling me a Pro thought that because I was a known name in Photography in Guyana I should not be questioning the rules of the competition (open only to amateur photographers), and stay out of it.  I humbly submit that I am not a known name… stop ten people on the street and ask them if they know Michael Lam, and they’ll all probably ask “Who?”  In the small, but growing, Photography world locally, yes, my name is known alongside those of Nikhil Ramkarran, Dwayne Hackett, Fidal Bassier, Ryan Dos Santos, Amanda Richards, Roshanna Mahadeo, Compton Sarabo, Vishnu Persaud, Philip Williams, Avinash Richard and countless others (sorry if I missed anyone).

The second time was in a newspaper article that covered the recently concluded Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition, in which I gained the Bronze Medal in the Photography category, the reporter referred to me as “Pro photographer Michael Lam”, again I felt that it was a distinction I could not accept or live up to.

Who is a Professional?  Generally you need to meet certain criteria to be a Professional:

“Expert and specialized knowledge in field which one is practicing professionally” I don’t possess that knowledge, certainly not to a degree to be teaching it or express an “expert” opinion on it, so that one is out.

“Excellent manual/practical and literary skills in relation to profession”, same as the first, not me!

“High quality work in Photography”, OK, if it’s good enough for the National Art Gallery at Castellani House to exhibit, then I suppose I have to acquiesce to this one

“A professional is an expert who is a master in a specific field”, definitely not me, oh no!

Let’s get specific to a Professional Photographer:  A professional photographer uses photography to earn money; amateur photographers take photographs for pleasure and to record an event, emotion, place, or person.  I have a day job, I’ve always described myself as a Photo-hobbyist, and I still see myself that way.  Photography isn’t my primary income, if it were I’d be starving.  Have I made money off of photography?  No, I spent more than I made.   I’ve been fortunate to have some of my images licensed for use in a few calendars, I’ve also had a few images sold for display, does this make me a Professional?  Simply because I’ve had some income from my hobby?

I have to admit, that this view was the one I had originally taken of Professional Photographers, those who have sold their services or products, so now I fall into that category, but I still can’t see myself as a Professional.

I look at Robert (Bobby) Fernandes, whose years of experience and his natural Photographer’s Eye, can capture a scene with a certain “Je ne sais quoi” that tells you its a great photo, and I think that’s a Professional!

I look at Delano Williams, who has been doing portrait and wedding photography in Guyana for many years, and I think that’s a Professional!

I remember Mark Yhap, who took portrait photos on Camp Street, he used SLR film cameras and light meters, and had everyone wanting their photos looking ethereal because of a “soft lens” that he used, and I think that’s a Professional!

I look at Dwayne Hackett, one of the only trained photographers that I know of, who does spectacular work for everyone from Corporations down to studio portraits, and I think that’s a Professional!  He knows more about lighting, depth of field, and most everything else, than I ever will.

I look at Fidal Bassier, who has taken wedding photography and portrait photography to a level Guyana has not seen before, and I think that’s a Professional!

I look at John Greene, who in a short space of time has carved out for himself a space in the Portrait photography world and is steadily expanding his repertoire, and I think that’s a Professional!  I certainly don’t have that business sense or attitude.

I look at my friend Nikhil Ramkarran, Gold Medal winner in the Photography Category of the Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition, whom I always thought “never had an artistic bone in his body”, but who read and looked at every single thing he could find about Photography and Photographers, and tutored himself (and me along the way) in the art of photography, and I think to myself that’s a Professional!  You could ask him almost anything on the subject, and you’ll not only get expert knowledge, but an expert opinion.

Do I rank with these people, or with so many others in the field now?  I am not sure, I’m happy to call them my peers, my fellow Photographers, and I am proud to be among the talented people of The Guyana Photographers.  Can you book my time for a portrait shoot? No.  Can you book my time for a wedding shoot? No. Will I ever do that?  I don’t know, it’s just not my thing right now, and I have a day job  🙂

Why do people think I am a professional?  I don’t know and it really does not matter in the long run.  I know a few things about photography, and I’m willing to share what I know, and learn from others in the process, but in the end, I merely shoot what I see, and sometimes people like what I shoot.

To the Photographs in this post…. both photos were taken during the first week of the year, and both were shortlisted along with two others for the first photo for the Deck Project, but I chose another, just because I felt like it.  The ;little icon of the Newspaper is the article which I mentioned, clicking on it will give you the full PDF version from the Newspaper’s website (Sunday Times Magazine).

Both of the photos are technically composites, that is they are High Dynamic Range (HDR) images each using three exposures.  Of the two, the seascape that I titles “The Lonely Sea” is my favourite.  HDRs are one of my favourite photographic techniques, but as with all techniques it can be misused.  Click on the images for a better view in the Gallery, along with other HDR images in my Scenic Experiments Gallery on my site.

Definitions highlighted in bold taken from Wikipedia.org

2012 Deck – Week 35

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography10 Comments

In June of this year Imran Khan had done an article on the new insurgence of young (and not so young) Photographers in Guyana in the form of the Facebook Group Guyana Photographers, this was recently re-blogged on the GuyanaPhotographers.com site.  In it he mentioned that the Seawalls seem to be a favourite or default location for their “treks”, this is very true.

With most of the population of Guyana living on the Atlantic coast, this is inevitable; with the majority of (accessible) roads meandering along the coast, this is inevitable; with the majority of the coastland given over to farming (and now housing) leaving the only scenic areas being the seawalls stretching from east to west along the coast, this is inevitable.

I’m not saying that there aren’t more places that would make nice photographs, there are, they are just not as “easy” to get to.  You can read “easy” as being “not too expensive to get to”, “not too arduous to get to”, “not needing to plan a trip weeks in advance” and  ‘not requiring a four wheel drive vehicle with a winch and hi-lift” to get there.  🙂

So, for someone who has a full-time job but would still like to get a nice photograph, as Imran so accurately pointed out, the Seawall becomes the “default” location  🙂

With that said… here’s a pair of Jhandi Flags… on the sea shore, just in front of the Seawall

Click on the image to see it better in the Gallery, along with all the other entries for this year’s Deck Project.

2012 Deck – Week 34

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography2 Comments

This was one of those weeks where I had not taken a photo at all until I was forced to take something on the last day or abandon the Deck Project.  To be on the safe side, I stopped on the seawall to take a few photos for another “Seascape”, this would have been around the Bel Air / Sophia area.

As things turned out, I took the family out to the seawall near Lusignan, as it was nearing sunset, I took some photos in general, then settled down amidst some rocks and waited for the sun to drop to just the right height.  This was one of the few times that I had “planned” a shot (or rather the general concept of what I was looking for).  I took several at different times in different orientations, but this one was the one that appealed to me the most.

As always, click on the image for a better view in the Gallery.

Rent

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, Poetry4 Comments

Under clouds of gloom, tread lightly in fear,

unknown dangers may lurk quite near

Yet onward walk, for we must see

what lies upon yonder sea

It is our goal, our sole intent

today to capture the coming rent

in clouds that cover, yet soon shall show

upon the sea a hopeful glow

for but a moment shall it be

a fleeting time, then it too shall flee

as the sun continues its descent

we try to capture the fleeting rent.

2012 Deck – Week 32

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography6 Comments

I was driving up the East Coast Demerara Public Road and noticed the lovely blue skies, as I was alongside the seawall, I decided to stop and just take a look over the wall to see if there was anything that might catch my eye, that would make a good photo.  Although I thought that I already had a good photo for the week, I still wanted to see, and I think I was lucky, I was down on the other side looking at a very clear ocean, with just a few poles sticking out of the mud and thought that I had better jump back in the car, when I noticed the coconut,

I switched lenses to the ultra-wide Sigma 10-20, and tried out a few shots, and this one appealed to me.  I hope it pleases some of you too  🙂

For a better view, click on the image to see it in the Gallery, along with many other photos, this one is in the Seawall Gallery  🙂

Exposures on the Beach

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography6 Comments

Most times when I experiment with HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography, it is usually a static scene, with very little chance of movement between exposures, in as little of the scene as possible, like my recent Bamboo Grove image, this is to reduce ghosting and blurring in the final image, however, I do sometimes go for some scenes where there is movement, but these don’t always work out.

Last year I tried one and liked the results enough to use it for my Deck Project for the 19th Week, and whilst in Barbados I tried one down at the beach.  At the beach there was more movement that I’d have liked, with “everyone” in the water moving about.  As usual, I don’t try to be too ambitious, so I stuck with my usual three exposures for an HDR, each at about 2ev difference.

Using Nik HDR Efex Pro, I manipulated the ghost reduction feature until I had as little ghosting from the bobbing heads in the water that was possible  🙂  There’s really only one reason I chose this scene to try an HDR, the clouds!  🙂

Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery.

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https://www.facebook.com/TheMichaelLamCollection