2015 Deck – Week 07

On February 17, 2015February 17, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography1 Comment

Each year I normally do a post on the Children’s Parade, then follow up with one that I’d choose for the Deck, this year, call it laziness, or expediency, or simply a desire to show the one that I was excited about, I will do it all in one post.

This year’s parade was marred by some rain, and when I say marred, I mean for me and my equipment, most of the children seemed to quite enjoy themselves in the changing weather 🙂

I got a few good photos, more than a few “eh” photos and maybe one or two better than average ones…

The one I chose for the Deck may not have the same impact on the viewer as it had on me as I am still fresh with the emotion and excitement of the moment… the rain was still falling, my sister Mary was trying to hover near me with an umbrella (she knows how expensive camera gear is) and the young man who was pulling the main float of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs had seen me and was dancing and heading straight for me performing all the way.

I don’t normally chimp, but soon after he had passed and there was a short lull in the parade I scrolled back to see if I got anything that was usable, and even on the on-camera screen I could tell, it was about 85% good. 🙂

Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, 2015

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

The other images I have from the Children’s Parade are in the Mashramani 2015 – Children’s Parade Gallery, click on the image below to see them all in the Gallery

Love on the Rocks

On February 13, 2015February 13, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

OK, the title is corny, but I couldn’t resist it…

I wanted to get the rocks in the foreground and the couple on the wall… this was one of those shooting from the hip instances, I didn’t want to disturb them by stooping down and pointing a big DSLR directly at them.

Anyway, I got most of what I wanted and also got one of the large telecommunications dish from the GT&T compound. and it works… somehow…

I figured that Valentine’s day is almost here, why not put up a photo with a “couple”, and although I meant for it to be a “loving” sort of photo, the title stuck because of the rocks in the foreground… sorry, couldn’t help it 😀 I guess I could have tried for “Sending my Love” or something like that… nah!

2015 | Seawall, Thomaslands, Georgetown.

Click on the image to see it along with others in the Sepia Gallery of the Collection.

2015 Deck – Week 06

On February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography1 Comment

I almost regret using the photo “Removing the Lines” for the Four Days, Four Photos challenge that James Broscombe had set for Nikhil and I… It is a photo that had something to say… and would have allowed me to have something to say too 🙂

That left me going through the rest of my week’s haul looking for something that stood out 🙂

Although I go out with hopes of getting nice landscapes or seascapes, I am usually also looking for anything else that might be useful to my own vision of my photography, and recently, I’ve been shooting some unusual scenes (for me, anyway)

This is one I think that is more Nikhil’s subject type, but not necessarily his style, There was something about the way the shadow fell that caught my attention, and then the way the shadow changed as the surface upon which it fell changed made me look again.

In this light (no pun intended) I was drawing a comparison to the way our actions and our attitudes to others often elicit different reactions and responses from each person, while we cannot control or even predict how others react to what we say or do, we should be observant of that reaction, so that we may learn from it, and be aware of it for future reference.

All shadows are not equal, and each shadow changes with the surface upon which it is cast, sometimes the shadow is sharp, and defined, at other times it can be diffused or even murky.

Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm | 1/320s, f/10, ISO200

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with the other images so far from this year’s Deck Project.

In the Garden

On February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

In Georgetown, once called the Garden City, there were once many tree-lined avenues, it was once adorned by colonial and Victorian styled buildings throughout the length and breadth of the city, and the canals were bridged, and those bridges adorned by concrete railings or balustrades that were pleasing to the eye.

With the current rate of demolition of those railings by errant (more accurately worded would be “criminal”) drivers of minibuses and taxis, there will soon be no more of them around, and the powers that be do not seem to want to extricate from these culprits the requisite price to replace the damage with suitable aesthetically pleasing railings, when they do replace them, it is with crudely welded utilitarian structures, more suitable to a prison cell.

There… I’ve vented enough 🙂

I photographed this one on the portion of road that bridges upper High Street with Main Street, this would have once seen the trains that serviced the coast of Demerara, would have been covered in soot from the engine stack, not it is occasionally white-washed, and more often left to have mildew and vines grow upon it. 🙂

Why did I photograph it? it was there… it seemed like a good idea at the time 🙂

2015 | Canon 60D, Canon 40mm | Kingston, Georgetown, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the “Odds and Ends” Gallery in the Collection

Out There

On February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

I shoot some odd scenes (more often than I’d like to admit) and when looking back I sometimes wonder what had gotten into my head to shoot them, then in a few cases, after a bit of consideration, I decide to process one anyway…

This is one of those “odd” scenes; it was almost twilight I guess, the sun had set (officially), yet there was light in the sky… and the crescent moon was still in the sky… clouds were covering parts of the sky, not necessarily in a pretty way, yet I had the inclination to snap a few shots.

At this time of the year, the crescent moon is more like a smile than during mid-year when it’s more sideways… I’ve heard it referred to as the Smiling Moon, or the Cheshire Moon (a reference to the smile of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland); in Hawaiian mythology and folklore it’s also called the Wet Moon, because of the “bowl” shape it resembles at this time, with “wet” referring to the moon holding the waters of the rains that were soon to come…

I digress….

It’s an odd scene for me, so I took some time to process it since it was not an easy one (processing-wise, that is)… I used Nik Silver Efex, and did some exposure reduction in the upper portion to further emphasize the moon and the star (nothing has been added or removed).

2011 | Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 18-270mm

Depending on our cultural, religious or scientific knowledge and beliefs, we will each look up into the sky and wonder different things; about what is “out there”, the myths and legends of ancient civilisations colour our imaginations, the teachings of our theologies ask us to believe in our maker(s) and for some an after-life, astronomers and movie-makers give further impetus to our imaginations of worlds and galaxies more spectacular than the pin-point stars we see with the naked eye… poets and song-writers pull at our heart-strings with words and melodies, with stories of love and lust under the darkened dome,

Most of us will never leave this rock we call Earth, but that should not stop our imaginations, our desires, our dreams, for there is undoubtedly more out there than we know.

Click on the image to see it in the Odds and Ends Gallery 🙂

Message

On February 9, 2015February 9, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughts1 Comment

In the larger picture, the broader landscape, what is the message?

Is there a message in the bottle, or is the bottle the message?

Do we read the message, do we even notice the bottle?

2015 | Canon 6D, Canon 24-105mm

Click on the image to see it in the Seawall Gallery in the Collection

2015 Deck – Week 05

On February 6, 2015February 6, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography2 Comments

A new Koker takes shape at Buxton.

In the context of current instability mostly due to imminent elections in Guyana, this can lend some social commentary, if one chose to look at it from certain vantage points.

You may have to look twice, but there is dog running away from it all in the scene.

I leave the storytelling to your own imaginations 🙂

Buxton, East Coast Demerara | 2015 | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm

Click on the image to see it in the 2015 Deck Gallery.

The Carpenter’s Tools

On February 5, 2015February 5, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

Every so often, I take photos, then never get around to looking at them until long after… I think I still owe someone some wedding photos… oops! Good thing I don’t do this as a paying job.

Anyway, I took about ten shots of this during the third week of 2012, a few before Vishal put the level next to the tape and a few after. I felt that there was something there, but don’t think I got what it was… yet, I went back to this today and processed this one… three years later, I’m regretting not trying a few other angles and perspectives that occur to me now… I’ve learnt a bit since then, hopefully I get to put what I’ve learnt into practice 🙂 Going back to these images, reminds me of what I did, what I didn’t do, what I could do, and keeps me thinking about the next time I come across a similar scene and what I might do 🙂

Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 18-270

Click on the image to see it in the “Odds and Ends” Gallery in the Collection

Stand

On February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

So, words almost failed me when it came to describing this photo for you (not that I need to describe it… you have eyes), maybe the few I could muster will suffice:

Stand to stretch your legs,
Stand to rise above,
Stand to show respect,
Stand to see beyond,
Stand and face the future,
Stand and feel the breeze,
Stand and show defiance,
Stand for who you are.

2015 | Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the Black and White Gallery in the Collection

Welcome

On January 31, 2015January 31, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

The driveway to the Cara Lodge hotel definitely says “welcome” to me.

I find this place to be warm and welcoming, and while many visitors to Guyana always mention the warmth of the people, I’ve found that the staff I’ve encountered here is that way with everyone, locals and visitors, and that’s refreshing.