Tag: reflection

2015 Deck – Week 48

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography1 Comment

The photo did not come out as I had hoped, despite several efforts with the phone, and even though my DSLR was sitting right there, I had my mind so set on an Instagram photo for this one that I never even took a photo of it with the DSLR.

This was probably a case of a smartphone without a smart user, I just could not get the focus right, no matter how hard I tried, and I tried, many times….   but I still like the concept of the shot.

Blue  |  Instagram  |  Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini Duos

I was sitting at the table, and barely noticed this little battery sitting on the glass table-top, I tried very hard with the phone to get the battery in focus while keeping the wall and its reflection on the table-top as a background…  but nothing I did would keep the battery in focus long enough for me to click  🙂

2015 Deck – Week 43

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography1 Comment

This was one of those photos when you’re very glad you noticed the subject/scene and that you had a phone handy that had a decent camera built-in.

I suppose the “not-so-fast” fast food service helped by giving me the opportunity to sit and wait, and in waiting notice the shot 🙂

Menu  |  Instagram  |  Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini Duos

There I was, sitting at a table in the fast-food delivery section of the New Thriving Chinese Restaurant on Main Street, when I noticed the reflection of the backlit Menu on the glass table top, pretty much could not resist taking the photo.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

2015 Deck – Week 30

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography2 Comments

One bad thing about Georgetown is that it floods…. as a photographer, I can also say that one good thing about Georgetown is that… it floods!  That sometimes makes for an interesting photo.

I only had my phone on my at this point, so it was a quick snap to get what I was seeing… and even so I had to crop for an interesting photo, which makes it a bit on the low resolution side.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Mini Duos  |  Instagram

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2015 Deck – Week 28

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography5 Comments

I’m about to mention some things of which I am quite ignorant about, so anyone wishing to clarify, extrapolate, correct or otherwise educate me on it are welcome to do so.

I usually like to say something about the photo I am presenting, so here goes:

On the coast of Guyana, we see large shipping vessels (trawlers) heading out to sea for fishing, some smaller boats do so closer to shore (but often out of sight us of land), we see men (and women) cast-net fishing, we see some fishermen using rods and lines, and there are likely more methods than I know of, but one type was explained briefly to me because of a photo I took in which I was trying to identify the craft/vessel/device being used by the fisherman, this was the pin seine method.

Pin Seines are usually about 6 feet high and vary in width, the seine or fishing net usually carries a mesh size of three and a half inches or less; the seines are usually pinned to vertical stakes/poles, they are set up at high tide in the intertidal zone (between the tide lines/marks).  When the tide ebbs, fish are trapped in the nets and retrieved by fishermen.

One method of retrieval is by using what is locally called a catamarang, not to be confused with the more stylish catamaran.  The catamaran is a double hulled boat, while the only resemblance to the “double” part that I’ve seen on catamarangs has been the two long boards lashed/secured together forming the base of the vessel.  The catamarang basically consists of the wooden base which is about  14 to 18 inches wide by about 7 to 9 feet long (I haven’t measured one as yet), with a central wooden box the width of the base by about 2 feet long and about 12 to 18 inches deep (high).  It is operated by the fisherman kneeling or standing with one leg upon the base and pushing across the mud with the other leg, the central box is used to store the catch.

Seeing them skim across the top of the water/mud is usually impressive to me, probably because I’d be afraid to try it myself.

All that just to show you a photo of a fisherman returning to shore with his catamarang (and a few fish that are unseen) under a dappled sky.

Canon EOS 60D | Sigma 10-20mm  |  1/160s, f/9, ISO100

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2015 Deck – Week 19

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography2 Comments

My fascination with Jhandi flags continues…  either that or there’s a severe lack of things to shoot along the seawalls 🙂

We each want to be unique, to stand out from the crowd… the same crowd that we spend so many days trying to fit in with, to identify with, to be a part of.  After years of shooting everything and anything, learning bits and pieces about photography (and still learning), a portion of my photography had developed a style that had become recognizable, and the subject matter in tandem with that style of capturing and processing lead to a project called Oniabo.

During 2014 other local photogs used similar styles on similar subject matter, at first I was flattered that others were also pursuing and experimenting this way and proud of the achievements of these photogs, then I began to wonder if in this manner, I would become just another of the photogs who “also” did things this way, composed this way, processed this way…

For a while this year, I stopped seeking out the scenes which made me so happy to shoot and process, instead looking for other things to try, other avenues of expression.  One of those experiments has borne fruit, but it is not one filled with passion.  I still seek out different ways to express myself photographically, but I also cannot turn off the zeal I have for this particular type of image, so I’ve taken off the blinders that I adopted, chosen to express myself the way I want, they way I should, and I look forward to the rest of the journey with all these talented photogs, who inspire me even as they tell me that I inspire them.

Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20  |  1/200s, f/10, 10mm  –  2:39pm

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

Serenity of the Shore

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

Whether it is the soft roar of the waves as they rush to shore, the melodic crash as they break upon the rocks along the seawall or the almost deafening calm that engulfs you when the tide is at its lowest, there is a serenity that reaches deep within and soothes like a herbal balm, and sets your mind, your soul, your very being at ease.

I remember the afternoon I took this, there was a girl walking a dog along the seawall, a few boats were moored at the usual spot near the Lusignan/Anandale outflow canal, my daughter and her cousin were playing among the rocks, then later they played on a swing (old tyre on a rope), the tide was so far out that it would take quite some time to walk to the tideline, I was out there hoping for a nice sunset or interesting clouds to make a good scene…  I took quite a few photos, this one being among the earliest, not because it jumped out and screamed “take me”, but just because I was there, the scene was there and I felt like shooting something… it happens sometimes.

Revisiting the image after two years, I saw the potential that my subconscious saw… or I only now have a different detached perspective on it, whichever excuse works for you, I think I finally got what the scene was saying to me.  🙂

Canon EOS 60D, Tamron 18-270  |  84mm, 1/160s, f/5.0, ISO 160

Click on the image to see it in the Black and White Gallery, that gallery now holds quite a number of my monochromatic images that I am very fond of..