Changing Roles

On December 22, 2012December 22, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography7 Comments

There are lessons to be learnt from our children, if only we could be as open and as innocent as they are, this world may be a better place.

Recently, the Sunday School program planned (although I use that word loosely in their case) a pageant for the Christmas Season, to perform the Nativity after the Sunday morning mass. We showed up on Saturday for what we thought was the first rehearsal, with my daughter thinking she would be a shepherdess, only to realize that it was to be the ONLY rehearsal, and that since the girl who was slated to be Mary was absent, they asked Miriam if she would substitute. Needless to say I was livid, but my daughter was overjoyed to be part of the pageant, and looked forward to playing the part of Mary.

So, her shepherd staff went to Joseph, and we had to ask my mum for an outfit for her (my mother runs St Jude’s Playgroup, and they carry on the Nativity Pageant every year, so the basics for the costume were there) 🙂

The adults who were supposed to be organising the pageant should be chastised (the ladies who actually conducted the rehearsal and executed the pageant were not the original organisers, and they pitched in and did all they could for the children), and ashamed of themselves, but the children who pulled off a last minute pageant that went almost flawlessly, should be more than proud of themselves, and their parents should be equally proud of their children, I know that I am proud of them, especially my daughter (I am very biased) 🙂

2012 Deck – Week 50

On December 21, 2012December 21, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography2 Comments

In one of those whirlwind type moves, the local chain of Texaco Service Stations was taken over, and before most people realised it, they were being rebranded to the new name of “Rubis”

Fortunately, I managed to take a long exposure of this one at Liliendaal, Georgetown, just days (or day) before they began the rebranding.

2012 Deck – Week 48

On December 18, 2012December 18, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography4 Comments

Santa Claus, a mythical figure whose fame has spanned centuries, but is he only a myth or is he real?

The story of Santa Claus can be found in Legends, Myths, History and Folklore, and the names vary through the years and across land boundaries, but one thing remains the same, the IDEA that there is a person, an entity who gives gifts unselfishly to children, usually on the eve of Christmas so that on Christmas Day they awaken to presents.

For me, this Idea, IS Santa Claus, this is what we want to believe in and keep the tradition going. Was there ever a man with a long white beard who went house to house giving gifts to children? I’d say that it was likely. Did he dress in a red suit and have eight (or nine) reindeer pulling his sleigh through the skies? Probably not 🙂

As Christmas approaches, I wish you all the best for the Season of Christmas.

2012 Deck – Week 46

On December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography2 Comments

From the top of the Bank of Guyana, looking onto the intersection of Avenue of the Republic and North Road.

I haven’t done a lot of Night Photography in recent times, and I’m afraid it shows 🙂

2012 Deck – Week 45

On December 10, 2012December 10, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography4 Comments

I was checking out some photos taken by a young lady recently who aspires to become a professional some day, and there were a few images that had a distinct style that I think she can build upon. One of the images were of some wind chimes, and because she approached the subject from a different perspective than we normally look at wind chimes, it was interesting. Changing your perspective and shooting an object/subject from a lower or higher perspective, or a closer or wider perspective can alter the impression significantly and lend to the story you are telling.

Changing your perspective need not be only from a physical standpoint, as in where you place the camera in relation to a subject, but also a mental shift in perspective. I see some things everyday, others less frequently, but they quickly become part of the fabric of life as I know it, yet sometimes its important to look at things with fresh eyes, or to remind ourselves that what we take for granted, others may be intrigued by.

This was taken on a walk through Bourda Market…

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery!

2012 Deck – Week 44

On December 5, 2012December 5, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography8 Comments

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and taking some photographs of the best female golfer in Guyana, Christine Sukhram. Most of you know that I am not a Portrait Photographer, I am not comfortable with directing ad posing models, and it was also evident to me that Christine was much more comfortable out on the Golf Course than posing in front of the camera, but both times I was able to walk away with a few photos that even I was comfortable with, and with the feeling that I had stood in the presence of someone who was not only comfortable with what they did, but was great at it.

She won her first Guyana Open Golf Tournament title in 2006, and this year marked her sixth Championship title in that tournament, for someone who has had to juggle a day job and still remain at the top of her game is impressive, I can only imagine what she could achieve if she were to go Professional, but in Guyana, we all need our day jobs 🙂

For Week 44 of the Deck Project I chose one of the images I took of her, which was also used in a promotional billboard, I chose it not because it’s a great photo (I am personally never that happy with my portrait photos) but because she is a great person, a great golfer, and as Guyanese we should be proud of her. Maybe one day she’ll be ranked internationally like her compatriot Nicolette Fernandes who has made us proud locally and internationally in Squash.

Click on the image above to see it in the Gallery.

2012 Deck – Week 39

On October 12, 2012October 12, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography10 Comments

Finding inner peace is not an easy task, and often times the path to it is fraught with despair. With the myriad of daily struggles that we all endure, and the unexpected arrival of ones that we have no control over, it is no wonder that finding inner peace is difficult, and some may even say impossible.

Take a few minutes and get away from it all, go sit on the seawall in the shade of a tree, or the lee of a rock, and stare at the seemingly boundless ocean, towards the distant horizon, let your mind wander, free from the stress that has a vice grip on your soul… just relax, find a touch of inner peace in a moment of outward calm.

Click on the image to see it larger in the Gallery.

Dump

On September 18, 2012September 18, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography8 Comments

I can’t remember where we were going this day, but I do remember wanting to get the photograph, although we were quite a distance away, so I used the long telephoto to quickly snap this.

This is where the City’s garbage dump meets the Body Dump, or more respectfully called the Le Repentir Cemetery.

The smoke was drifting across from the burning garbage (it apparently spontaneously combusts periodically), the excavator was clearing some paths and moving some garbage, and the birds were just hanging around for the “disturbed” earth and garbage. 🙂

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

2012 Deck – Week 36

On September 15, 2012September 15, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography4 Comments

Time never stands still.

It only seems like a few moons ago that my daughter was born, yet she’s now nine years old.

For a little while, on the Sunday before school re-opened, I let all else be lost, all worldly matters be forgotten, as I sat among the rocks on the seawall, with family, a snack or two, some drinks and the cool breeze brought by the incoming tide. I just sat, camera in hand and as my daughter and her cousin played in the water, enjoyed the little slice of time that stood still…

I don’t often do photos of “people”, but I think this year I’ve uploaded more “portrait type shots for the Deck Project than before 🙂

Worth Saving

On August 25, 2012August 25, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography, thoughts6 Comments

Some things are worth saving.

A friendship of many years is certainly worth saving, after a while you get to the point where an argument is just an argument, not a reason for “falling out”.

A job is worth saving, especially when there are fewer to find and when you have more to think about than just yourself,

Memories, as in letters and photos, video-clips and newspaper clippings, are worth saving, it is a record of the things we’ve done, things we’ve seen, and it becomes a story to tell our children and grand-children.

In this century (and the end of the last) there’s a great movement to save our forests, certainly worth saving if we intend to continue to breathe.

Endangered species are worth saving, why let a species go extinct because of the actions (or inaction) of another species, especially when we (humans) may be the main cause of their dwindling numbers.

Recently, there’s been a movement (championed by Annette Arjoon-Martins) to save the mangroves that form part of our sea-defence, I certainly don’t want my house washed away because people burn garbage in the mangrove areas, destroying our first line of sea-defence, so that is certainly worth saving.

I think most people may agree with much of what I’ve mentioned, many more will have other things to add to this list, but is a building worth saving? Is a building that is older than any of us, that has seen more mayors than we have fingers, that is one of the few remaining structures of its kind, that is a reminder of our colonial history worth saving?

Should we let the markers of our heritage, the work of the hands of our ancestors, the beauty of a golden age, fall into disrepair,slowly disappear and be forgotten?