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.
Making Time. If anyone has ever figured out how to get more hours out of the day, please let me know 🙂 Once in a while you just have to stop, and slow down. Back in August (yes I’m writing this blog several months late) I was visiting with my in-laws and we decided to take a drive/walk out to the seawall at Lusignan. I took some photos (many left to be processed) but I processed two sequences that I had intended for HDRs, and was somewhat satisfied with this one.
I think that I was still standing in the village of Lusignan, but I was looking towards Annandale, I was told that somewhere ahead of me was an area known as Courbaine Park and (probably more to the left) is an area called Sand Reef. As usual, when taking outdoor HDR images I tend to go for the clouds, there was a very nice layering and depth (or height) to the clouds.
I used Nik HDR Efex to merge and tone map the image.
Skies Over Annandale
I’m hoping to sneak in a blog post or two to catch up before the end of the year 🙂
Although I had quite a variety of shots in this week, I couldn’t help but do a Sunset, a variant of one I had uploaded to the Guyana Photographers FB Group for a Photo Walk 🙂
This was an evening when I was heading into Good Hope on the East Coast of Demerara, as I crossed the bridge into “Good Hope South” I noticed the sunset down the canal, so I decided I’d stop and try a few photos. I had often noticed sunsets or similar scenes in the evening, but because its one of the only ways into the village it is always busy and I never stopped. This time, I determinedly stopped the car, grabbed the camera and walked to the bridge. The bridge is wide enough to hold a car and a pedestrian to either side 🙂 As I stood on the bridge, vehicles passed by and I was hand-holding a low-light shot, it took some patience, but I think I came away with one or two good shots 🙂
I had mentioned to someone that it has been a while since I tried a Panorama, or a panoramic image, so when I was with a few other photographers on a visit to the Stabroek Clock Tower, I decided to try one (or two).
Before I go farther, I thought I’d share a bit of information that I have. I was once told (someone can help verify this) a few facts about the Stabroek Market building; the name comes from the area in which it is located, Stabroek, which is a Dutch name in origin, it was commissioned and erected by the British when they ruled Guyana (then British Guiana), and was bought or sourced from an American company out of the United States.
OK, back to the point of this post, the photo. I took a sequence of photos starting from the North (my left) and panning right, this Panorama is comprised of seventeen (17) images, each taken in portrait orientation.
I forgot to do any correction for lens distortion prior to combining the images, so there is some chromatic aberration when viewed actual size. I used Photoshop to combine the images, and minor processing in Lightroom.
Another symmetry inspired image, or a Nikhil inspired image 🙂 I’ve seen Nikhil shoot this particular spot a few times already, but I never tried it, mainly because I wasn’t “seeing” anything that captured me, this week was a slow week, I only got out one day to take anything, and this day I forced myself to shoot something, if not I’d have had to post an image from a recent wedding I attended, and I didn’t want to have to rely on that 🙂
This is the side of the Ocean View Hotel facing the seawall, the salt air can be seen taking it’s toll on the iron-work, and the rust staining the face of the wall. This particular afternoon I was going for something simple, I tried a boat, some silhouettes, just the plain old sea and sky, but I kept going back to this image for a second look. Although I was tempted to go for a monochromatic image I liked the red iron structure and the rust-stains, so I kept it in colour. also the discolouration on the walls added to the warm afternoon sunlight 🙂
As usual, click on the image for a better view in the Gallery.
I struggled with this selection, partially because I was busy, and also because I took quite a few photos that week (mainly a wedding), did some sight-seeing where the taxi-driver afforded me some “drive-by shooting” of some scenes 🙂
I could have stopped him to get better shots, but time is important and I didn’t want to waste his, but it did form a base of where I’d like to see when I go back!
The shot I chose is more Nikhil’s type of subject, but it was one even I couldn’t resist. In the village of Suddie, this tank sits near the Police building and the Hospital, you just don’t see these tanks much these days.
I didn’t do much processing on this one, a crop to remove some distracting portions and to center it, and some added black, contrast and clarity. Oops, that sounds like a lot to some people.
This tank is in remarkably good condition for its age, of course, I drew some strange stares from the people in the area, especially the security guards at the hospital 🙂
Thank goodness it’s not World Bloggers’ Day, Id feel miserable! Even though I have been taking photographs I have not been blogging enough, but this gives me an excuse to do a quick blog 🙂
Since it is apparently World Photography Day (which I had not heard of until today), I thought I would get out of the office for at least a few minutes to catch a quick photo-walk and post a photo 🙂
So here it is. Let photography be a gateway to greater things, to brighter ideas, to more interesting paths!
It is not every week that I can come up with something that pleases everyone, so this week don’t expect something that pleases you 🙂 but if it does, hooray!
I went to the Essequibo Coast a few weekends back for a wedding (photos from which I don’t have permission to share as yet), I took photos other than wedding ones, so here is one from the first day there, which happened to be the last day of the 30th Week of 2011.
It seems that from the North-West region to the Corentyne Coast there is a common theme on the shores of our land, Jhandi Flags! You can’t seem to walk the beaches, sea-walls or the coastline in general without seeing them.
Several weeks ago my Deck photo was an exterior photograph of the Saint Barnabas Anglican Church. That church is now in the process of being demolished, but luckily, I got to take some photographs of the interior just before that. I happened to be on the outside of the church doing some more exterior shots with the wide-angle lens when I was approached by another local photographer, Amanda Richards, recent winner of the local chapter of the PAHO Safe Motherhood Photography Contest, she was awaiting the priest to open the church for the Deconsecration Ceremony. So fate stepped in, and I got to go inside the church to photograph parts of it before all the items were removed.
This photograph was pure luck! I was facing the altar taking a photograph, when I saw the area lighten around me, on turning around, a man was opening the doors at the back and just at that moment Ms Marjorie Kirkpatrick walked across the aisle. And there it was, one of my favourite photos of the set.
I called the photograph “Final Entrance Opening”, referring to the doors themselves and to the final service to be held there.
I will do a later blog-post on the rest of photos from that set. 🙂 I promise.
For years I have had the job description of a “Computer Graphic Artist”, I can honestly say I don’t think I deserve that title, I am not an artist, I can’t draw to save my life! I know some computer software programs that help in “artistic” layouts, so that’s what I do 🙂 And apparently, successfully, at least for a number of years now!
If someone were to say that my “vision” of the product I am trying to create using those software was artistic, I’ll take it as a compliment, and if someone were to say that I have used that artistic vision and adapted it to my photography, I would also take that as a compliment 🙂 My first “artistic” job under that title was under Bernard Ramsay, and I learnt more about layouts and type-style usage from him than at any other time in my life, I helped to bring the Computer into his business (which was mostly hand-done even then), but he helped shape the “artistry” in me.
Even before then when I did small posters or flyers for the church, or Posters for the National Cultural Center for the late, great Lloyd Grannum, it was the encouragement of those that I did those things for that helped shape me.
As a side-note, Lloyd Grannum was probably one of the greatest men to ever walk this earth (in my humble opinion), his outlook on life, love and his laughter always made me feel that this simple man, with a simple job and a simple family life, had more greatness in a smile than I would ever achieve in my lifetime, and that feeling has never changed.
Back to the topic of artists! During the recent Squash tournament that took so much of my time away from my work and my “casual” photography, there was an Opening Ceremony for the event, and just before that ceremony, one of the female squash players of the Guyanese team did some “face-painting” for the members for the team. She is an Artist (yes, with a capital “A”). A talented young lady, who comes from a very talented family, I think every member of their family expresses “art” in one way or another, simply amazing!!!
She is Gigi! watch out for her, she is destined for greatness in art. My Deck photo this week is of her in action, while painting faces may not be very glamorous, this was not only about the art! It was about Squash, about Team, about Compadres and Friends, about Expression, and Patriotism!
In the last post I mentioned that I was thinking about the past and the future, and this post was to be the photo about the “future” I was thinking about.
I recently spent a very packed week doing some “sports” photography, something that I don’t do. I was volunteered to assist with the photography of the Junior CASA (Caribbean Area Squash Association) Squash Tournament. Squash is an indoor game, played on a “closed” court, and in Guyana, there is very little area available for viewing, much less photographing the game. The lighting on the courts is not exactly geared towards photography either, the courts are lit by flourescent lights (some more than others), three of them have glass backs, but the reflection in the glass are an obstacle by themselves!
I took photos in each of the five courts, two of them I had to shoot through the glass, no choice, two others have no glass wall, and I had to shoot from the spectator area above the back of the court, and the last court I shot through the glass, from the spectator area at the back of the court, and from windows high on the side of the court.
For simplicity I used the smallest lens I had, the 18-55mm, and since none pf my lens are particularly fast, it didn’t matter too much, I had to play a lot with ISO and shutter speeds 🙂
The photo I chose to use from that week is of one of the first round games of the tournament, as photos go, it’s not spectacular, but it shows the angle from which I was taking photos (up at the window), some athleticism demonstrated by the players, a small piece of the glass back-wall to the far left; it was taken at ISO800, with an aperture of f/5.0 and a shutter speed of 1/320. During the afternoon I actually got up to those speeds, but as the time passed 5pm the light changed and getting any shutter speeds in the 1/200 vicinity was lucky 🙂
It was a learning experience, hours on hours shooting, hours and hours sorting the photos looking for acceptable ones, playing with camera settings just to get the shutter speed up! The full gallery of photos from the tournament is at their home page, there are contributions from at least three photographers (all amateur) including myself.
I guess what made me think of the future for this photo, was that it was a Junior Tournament, so maybe some future great squash players, and for some of them (the players in the Under 19 category, like these two) it is their last year as Juniors, their future in Squash is with the Seniors.
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