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.
When I got my hands on the first DSLR that I could say was “mine to use”, you know; not borrowed for a short time, I decided that I wanted the first exposure (or the first frame) to count, to mean something, or at the very least, to be a special photo 🙂
I had just gotten my hands on the Canon Digital Rebel T1i (500D), and I had not too recently been viewing some photos by Dwayne Hackett, and there was one that had inspired me, it was of St. George’s Cathedral, and I decided that I wanted that to be my first shot. As it turned out, even though I tried to time it right, a vehicle sped into the frame just as I clicked, so the second actuation was my photo instead.
I have now gotten my hands on an upgrade, so I thought I’d do the same thing, try for a special photograph. Week after week I pass the St Philips’ Green and think about how I would photograph the Church there (under renovation), but I am usually afraid to stop because of the type of desolate area it is. They had just finished clearing the area close to the road and the Church was quite visible from the road across the cleared land, and the branches from the trees helped to frame it nicely, so that was to be my first actuation on the Canon 60D.
There are some weeks when you have a number of photographs, many that are technically better than others, yet you keep going back to one in particular which, although not the best composed, or the best exposed, nor the best focused image, it seems to demand from you that extra bit of attention.
This image is one such image for me, I had a few that were better, nicer, prettier, more appealing generally, but this one I liked more. The focus was not on the “obvious” subject, and for that reason I almost decided not to use it, but it appeals to me, it is an image that says something more than the others that I took this week.
If it speaks to you, then I am happy, if it doesn’t, then I fully understand 🙂
Often enough, I happen to see a beautiful sunset when I’m in the middle of a housing area or similar, with lots of utility posts and wires mangling the view, or a very plain area with nothing of interest other than the sky itself.
Last week, it happened again, and as I was driving out I decided to stop at the closest thing approximating to a “nice” scene, and get a shot including part of the sunset that day. 🙂
This week’s photo is not a great one or even a good one in my opinion, but as I began writing this post, some news was delivered to me and the photo somehow seemed… appropriate.
Revealed in shadow
Recently my friend (if she permits me to call her that) Reshi, wrote a post titled “Colour me Pretty”, and it had me thinking about many things, one was the effect of darker colours on a photo, the effect of shadows and light in photographs as Nikhil so masterly does them, and about the duality of emotions, and the different faces that we show people.
This post is dedicated to Godfrey Chin, many or most Guyanese will know him as the prolific writer of his “Nostalgias”, he numbered them. I came to know Godfrey only in recent years, and he has made an impact on me. He did so much in his life that I think someone will have to write a Nostalgia about him. I don’t know enough to do that to any degree of adequacy.
I know of his costumes and “floats” for the Mashramani Celebrations during his more youthful days, and I saw a bit of his style when he did some decorating for a party, and as I explained to someone, it was all about the look, it was a façade just to give the impression of the intent and not to be something that lasts forever, just for that party for those moments, yet his “Nostalgias” were vastly different, trying to scour the depths of his memories of his times in Guyana and write them down for others to share and reminisce, trying to capture those, maybe not for eternity, but at least that they live on for some time more.
Godfrey Chin was found this morning at his home in Guyana, he died sometime this weekend. Stabroek News called him a “Social History Icon” and a “Culture Enthusiast”, both descriptions are possibly very accurate, but I can attest to the second one better.
Why did I think that this photo was somehow appropriate for him? like the pointer-broom in the photo, Godfrey would sweep up and tidy up his memories and give us the sparkling finished product as a “Nostalgia”, like the light and shadows, he would help to reveal aspects of the past hidden to one or the other; if it is too bright you can’t see clearly, nor if it is too dark can you see at all.
Godfrey had asked me to give him some photos for an exhibition he was to do this Mashramani, they are on my desk, but now he will never see them, he was a fan of my work, maybe because we both thought of ourselves as family, I am thankful for his encouragement.
Godfrey came into our office during the Christmas Season and made his rounds, had a few “gaffs” and before he left, dived into his bag, took out some gold tinsel and proceeded to further decorate our Christmas Tree.
For Godfrey Chin, may his soul rest in peace, and if Heaven has a Parade we know what he’ll be doing. In Godfrey’s words “Ya think it easy?”
Monuments. That is basically what a tombstone or tomb-marker is, whether it’s a simple slab with a name on it or an obelisk, it’s a monument to the person interred, a reminder to the living of a person now dead.
These markers fade with time, and people forget, generations pass and the dead are lost to the living. Some are forgotten entirely, some are just names on a family tree. Do we all want to fade from memory like dawn fades to day, once there, once unique, never to be seen again, never to be remembered and referred to?
Most of us will do just that, but the few who are exceptional will live on as legends and icons of History. Whether we are remembered as tyrants or dictators, philanthropists or inventors, pioneers or adventurers, famous artists or infamous criminals depends on the decisions we make daily.
At times like this, when my thoughts stray to these realms, I remember two phrases from my early High School days. I attended St. Stanislaus College, it was a Catholic School before the government took everything over under early PNC rule in Guyana. Some things had remained as part of the teaching and tradition of the school.
The two phrases I remember were from different sources.
One was given to us as four letters to be written at the top of every page, I believe it was handed down from the Jesuits who taught at the school when it was a Catholic School; the letters were AMDG, a shortened form for Ad maiorem Dei gloriam, which meant “For the Greater Glory of God”, it was meant to encourage you to try to make everything you do, everything you say be geared towards that goal.
The second phrase was the school’s motto, Aeterna non Caduca, literally translated to “eternal non perishable”, but we were told that the motto translated to “Not for this Life, but for Eternity”. Whatever we do should not be just to have an effect now, in our lifetime, but for eternity.
Taken together they can be a driving force for a truly spectacular life, a life of meaning, unfortunately, not many would adhere to such a strict code.
Many people who happen to drop in to read my blog-posts are fellow aspiring photographers (in one way or another), we may never be an Ansel Adams or a Nick Brandt, a Frank Horvat or Mario Testino, an Irving Penn or a Steve McCurry, a Joe Rosenthal or a Don McCullin, an Henri Cartier Bresson or a Vivian Maier, but what we can do is aspire to show to anyone who will look, how we see the world through our eyes, our view-finders, our lenses, make them feel what we feel through visual stimulation (and if necessary a few words) 🙂
Can I do that? Can we do that? I don’t know, but I am sure going to give it a try!
Monument
This was taken during a photo-walk arranged by the Guyana Photographers Facebook group, lots of people thought it strange to arrange a walk in a cemetery 🙂
Click on the photo to see it larger in the Gallery.
I didn’t have time to go running for the kit lens and my Raynox macro clip-on, so I shot this with the lens that was on the camera, the Tamron 18-270.
I must say, I don’t think it came out too bad… I was looking for something to shoot, when I noticed some movement in the grass, I think this is the one we generally call a stink-bug… maybe.
Many times on a walk in the city I would take a photo of The Lodge, I don’t think I’ve ever used any of the photographs before, and since this week had very slim pickings, I chose one that I took in passing. Actually I had a choice from eight subjects, this one just seemed better than the rest. 🙂
This is one of those photos that when writing about it I feel very silly. I don’t know anything about this place and I’ve seen it all my life. Its one of those places that everyone just refers to as The Lodge, and they give you a knowing look, so I never asked, and was never told. I’m sure those conspiratorial glances were more ignorance rather than knowledge.
So it seems to me that maybe I should ask someone… what is that place and what really goes on in there? Do you think I’ll get answers on the blog? 🙂
The month of October is earmarked in many countries as Breast Cancer Awareness month, and although I have quite a number of photos for the week, but I happen to think that this one has a more meaningful effect for me and for others.
While I do not normally go for these selective desaturated images, or the “accent colour” black and whites than some others do, but I thought that it was something that worked for this particular image.
The Beauty and Home Systems Inc. Guyana (the local Avon people) annually make a big deal of this and the wrap the trees lining the avenue down Camp Street with Pink cloth (possibly as a representation of the Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon), for a few years I have been meaning to stop and take a photograph, but never did until this year.
Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery.
Last year Nikhil and I were unfortunate enough to be robbed, I did a post on it back then, although we were quite traumatised and our families admonished us to stop walking “all about the place” taking photographs, we haven’t stopped, and in that year we’ve made many more friends in the photographic circle in Guyana. Thanks to Fidal and his idea of a Group on Facebook, we have been fortunate to meet other local photographers of varying expertise and different visions, just seeing what they’ve been doing has emboldened us to see a brighter future for photography in Guyana.
As a symbolic gesture we returned to the scene of the crime, this time, with more caution, and I was armed with a monopod! 🙂
The afternoon was not ideal for me, but I decided to try an HDR looking towards the spot where we were attacked and robbed.
Return to the Scene
Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery.
It’s the little things. Whether its an unexpected hug, or a smile to brighten your day, it’s the little things that make a big difference sometimes.
I was at my mother’s place and my daughter said she was going to see the flowers and she wanted me to take photos of them, I know many of my fellow enthusiasts are not “flower people” and many of the female Photogs I know are very into taking photos of flowers. I went with my daughter to see the flowers, and while I wasn’t enthusiastic, I found myself being caught up in her joy and simple pleasure of seeing the flowers.
Sometimes, it’s the Little things that matter.
Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery.
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