Tag: mountains

Big Sky

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

I wonder… when the old poets and song-writers wrote of the wide-open spaces in the Wild West if they resembled the savannahs and mountainous areas of our own Guyana in any way…

It’s probably hard to imagine, but I used a wide-angled lens on this, cropped slightly on the left for composition purposes.  I figure unless you’re standing there you wouldn’t feel it…

Those are two small trees on the hillside (mountaintop) and all around them are rocks of varying sizes and the tough mountain grass that grow between the rocks in the hard top-soil.  And just a large expansive sky above.  The scene was bathed in the after-noon sunlight.

Big Sky 16-1679  |  Canon EOS 60D. Sigma 10-20mm  |  2016

Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, looking more West, it was a bit more cloudy, but with the sun still glaring through the clouds, and the valleys and mountains rolling into the distance.  Same Camera, same lens.  🙂

Big Country 16-1677  |  Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm  |  2016

Click on the images to see them in their respective Galleries.

Yakarinta

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography3 Comments

I generally don’t do many Panoramas, this is probably the first in a very long while, but there was this vista before me, and I wanted to remember it.

This is a combination of 17 individual portrait oriented images, they were taken from left to right, from the hill overlooking Charlie’s Place at Yakarinta.

Yakarinta 16-1875-1891  |  Composite Panoramic Image of 17 individual images

Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105 L  |  2016

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

Reflection

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughts7 Comments

Often, we are so focused on what’s ahead of us, that we forget to look back.

The things we have done and seen as we travel this road through life have shaped us, whether those things were good or bad; the people we’ve met, the places we’ve been, the experiences we’ve had, they all add up and influence our decisions one way or another.

When we look back it is probably more important to see the beauty that was and is there, rather than dwell on the bad memories; not to say we should ignore them, but nothing good usually comes of dwelling on negative things, and reflecting on brighter moments will likely put us in a better mood than we had been in before.

There are times we can look back and see a moment in quite a different light, see that there was definitely something there worth having happened, having seen, having done, and know then that because of it, we are changed.

As we continue the journey, just take a moment every few miles to look back, the reflection might be more pleasing that it appeared while passing through.

Pakaraima Reflection  |  2016  |  Canon EOS 6D,  Canon 24-105L

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

Sunset at KB

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

Following up on yesterday’s image, It was a sunset, but the scene called to me to process in black and white for that composition, the next evening, I decided to take multiple exposures for an attempt at an HDR Sunset; same area, different composition and view 🙂

Three exposures, combined in Nik HDR Efex Pro II, minor adjustments in Lightroom

Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105L  |  Karasabai, Pakaraima Mountains, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery, a set I call Scenic Experiments, all HDR images  🙂

Karasabai Skies

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography6 Comments

I had just finished up some work, and simultaneously finished up my processing on a photo I took in the Pakaraima’s earlier this year, and I was heading into my vehicle to head home when I was approached by a man of Amerindian descent (our indigenous people).

He called me by my last name, and inquired if I was indeed Mr. Lam, the one who took photographs, once I replied in the affirmative, he proceeded to ask if I had a brother named Patrick, again, I said yes, he apparently went to school with my brother at some point.  He then told me how much he enjoyed my photos, I was somewhat stunned to be thus approached on the road, but I was also thrilled.  It seems he is now embarking on his own photographic journey.

I would probably never have had the courage to do what he did, but I realise now that I have left many things unsaid to many people simply because I was unsure of how they would take my approaching them gushing about how much I like their work.  Judging from my own reaction, I regret not saying to those people whose work I admire, that I love their work, and that they inspire me.

On to the photography – I don’t think I’ve ever treated one of my “safari”or photos taken in the Rupununi or the Pakaraimas in a similar manner to that which I do my seascapes and coastal photos, but something about this one steered me in that direction (yes, the clouds, I know)  🙂

Karasabai, Pakaraima Mountains, Upper Takutu – Upper Essequibo Region, Guyana

Click on the photo to see it in the Gallery.

Since I started using WordPress for this blog, other than using the online interface to write, I’ve been using Windows Live Writer as my main off-line way of drafting and preparing my blog-posts, I had heard sometime back that MS was not developing it further (although its pretty great as it is), this one I tried using Open Live Writer, which is so identical to MS Live-Writer that I forgot I was using a different software.  So far, I like it!

House of God

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography5 Comments

The physical structure that believers gather within to offer thanks and praise to a higher being, their God, is often referred to as a church, temple, masjid, mandir, among many other names; but to me this is simply a shelter over the heads of those gathering; growing up as a Roman Catholic we are taught that the church is the people, yet we all refer to the building as the church 🙂

At 58 Mile, Mabura, along the Lethem trail there’s a church building that I almost always photograph in passing, I’ve meant to walk over on more than one occasion, but never did.  I don’t know which Christian denomination it belongs to, but seeing a quaint little church against the backdrop of the forest usually makes me think if we  were seeking a “place” to gather and worship, maybe out in the open among God’s creation is where it can be every once in a while, to remind us of the wonders of this home we call earth and the God who we believe created it and us.

Church at 58 Mile, Mabura.  |  Canon EOS 6D, Canon EF 24-105mm L

Another church that has caught my eye a few times as we travel through the Pakaraima mountains is the RC Church of St Francis of Assisi at Rukumuta village in the Pakaraima Mountains.  I have photographed it a few times but never caught the essence of it, I think this time I may have done it justice, although I excluded the building entirely (it’s to the right of the end of the frame of the photograph) I think that the idea of a church sitting here, feels right.

St Francis of Assisi RC Church, Rukumuta, Pakaraims Mountains, Guyana.

Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm

I’ve often heard people complain about how the missionaries to the third world forced people to convert to Christianity, and while the idea certainly doesn’t sit well with me, the Amerindian people whom I have met, who are Christian never said anything about it, they don’t seem to dwell upon it like some westerners seem to, but I am sure that if the old beliefs are still there in some villages, I do hope that someone is keeping them up and recording them.

This reminded me of something I read last Sunday, about Saint Casilda.  According to legend, around the end of the first millennium, she was the daughter of a Muslim King, despite the conflict between Christians and Muslims she showed great kindness to the Christian prisoners.  She reportedly was cured of an illness while still a young woman by the healing waters from the shrine of San Vicente, and converted to Christianity soon after.

As I see it, she simply changed her method of worship, not her way of living nor the God she worshiped.  Is it possible for us to be open-minded about the existence of God, and the possibility that no matter what we call him/her, no matter what methods we use to praise God, that we can all be one people, that anyone showing kindness to another can be acknowledged for it and accepted as a fellow human being?

Click on the images to see them in the Collection along with other images in the Sepia Gallery.

Cinchona View

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

One of the stops on the mini Jamaican Safari that Cecil Beharry took my cousin Alex and myself on was the Cinchona Gardens.  As captivating as the old Gardens itself was, the first thing, and the last thing, that we looked out upon was the view from the mountainside, down into the St Andrew parish.

Although I can try with every possible photographic tool at my disposal to convey to others the emotion that I felt standing there, I don’t think I can ever truly do it justice.

As we stepped out of the vehicle, we were greeted with a clean, cool mountain air that revived the senses and the spirit, after that long arduous drive, I’m sure that Cecil was the most grateful of us for that.

The view was breath-taking, the clouds and mists had claimed the tops of the mountains leaving just the valley for the viewer.  From the flowers dotting the edge of the road where the steep descent began, the valley spread out and rose and fell to the distant mountain peaks, from our vantage point, the mountain-sides that envelope and nestle the Cinchona Gardens framed the scene beautifully.

This is a view of an Island Paradise… from 5,200 feet up.

This is a Panoramic Photograph from thirteen images (each taken in portrait orientation) stitched together.  Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

Big Bamboo

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography7 Comments

While traipsing around Cinchona Gardens (Jamaica) snapping photographs like a giddy schoolboy, we came a cross what looked to me like a Bamboo Grove, and although there seemed to be many pathways to explore, we were hoping to get to many more places that day, so we stuck to the main areas.  In the Bamboo Grove I decided to take a few exposures to use as bracketed shots later.  Standing under the boughs, it was more like standing in a rainforest, than on a mountain 5000 feet up.  🙂

As I stood there in the gloom created by the thick stands of Bamboo all around me I couldn’t help but remember an old Calypso (much older than myself) called the Big Bamboo.  Although I know that it was covered by many Jamaican singers and bands, my recollection is usually of either the Mighty Sparrow or the Merrymen.  It is a song that was typical of the Calypso songs of its time, with its marked double-entendre, giving the song a light but naughty air.

Ironically, the song could be traced back to a calypsonian who called himself The Duke of Iron  🙂

If you’ve never heard the song, Google it, I doubt you’ll want to be staring at this photo while listening, but here’s the photo anyway  🙂

Tourist in Jamaica

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography6 Comments

The last week here in Jamaica was very uneventful, except for the many drives down the hill and back up the hill, the amazing meals we had each and every day, and the comfort and kindness of our Jamaican family!  The last full day saw us heading downtown for some shopping (obviously I wasn’t shopping), and we were the tourists, seeing the place, and taking photos  🙂

Jamaica is famous for its Reggae music and for the legendary Bob Marley, so we stopped to see the statue erected in his honour.

And its a good thing that the only erection involved in the Emancipation monument / statues was the act of putting up the statues:

Downtown I saw an old abandoned building with a painted sign that reminded me so much of home  🙂

Another building had two coconuts lying on the steps

On the way back up to Gordon Town, we stopped for a photo at what was once a Lookout Point but is now a Lookout Community 🙂

And finally, a self-portrait; thinking about the people I’ve met, the places I’ve seen and the things I’ve done; and wondering about the next brief stop on my trip 🙂