2013 Deck – Week 33

The coastal seawalls of Guyana are definitely one of my favourite places to be,  I’ve seen life anew, life renewed and life’s farewell there…  I’ve seen families relaxing, fishermen working and many other activities of our coastal culture…. I’ve seen the sun rise and the sun set and I’ve seen scenes that I’ve failed to capture in photographs.

This blog is a bit of a ramble… just warning you 🙂

I’ve been visiting the seawalls, from Kingston to parts along the coast; Buxton, Lusignan, Plaisance, Montrose… just to name a few places…  even Mariah’s Lodge and other parts along the Essequibo coast… and at each spot there is something new to see, but the feeling is usually the same to me.  Whether I’m alone, or with friends or family, I could feel an almost instant sense of relaxation as I step towards the shore and feel the wind upon my face…

I’d hate for others to be offended, but whether I’m with others or not, I feel alone… not in a lonely sense but in a sense of self… I feel unencumbered and free…

I can walk along the beach with my best friend, engrossed in conversation… and still feel it…  I can sit upon the wall with all my extended family… and still feel it, I could sit alone upon a rock and the feeling would be no less nor no more…  Can I photograph that feeling? No.  I think you either know what I mean, or you don’t.

This photo reminds me of that feeling… A man alone with his horse, walking the shore.



Click on the link to see it in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 31

I’d hate for a week to go by and not take a photo, not only would it halt the Deck Project, but I’d personally feel empty, but some weeks, the ones I do manage to take still leave me feeling that I should have tried to find more time to go further afield looking for something “extra”

That being said, there’s always something in the few that were taken, if I look at them with “fresh eyes” or just forget about what isn’t there and concentrate on what is…  This was one of those photos that at first glance I discarded, yet when scrolling through I thought I saw something that wasn’t there before.. not sure what it is, but I felt it differently… and processed it right away with that feeling…

I hope you like it.



Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery

From the Bandstand

Sheltering from a light rainfall, I took the opportunity to snap a few photos of this gentleman walking on the wall… the rain didn’t bother him, and here he’s even taking a drink out of that bottle 🙂


Canon Rebel T1i  |  Sigma 17-50mm  |  1/640s, 17mm, f/11 ISO 400

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with many other images from my journey in Sepia images 🙂

2013 Deck – Week 28

I had stopped near the Shell Service Station at Ogle on the off-chance that there’d be something over the seawall to shoot, this was one of those times when I was not disappointed….  I took quite a number of photos trying to capture the mood, and I think this one comes close…  I have others that I may use at a later date, but this one reflects a lot of what I saw… and hopefully conveys the mood to you as well.

It’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon (remember we live in the tropics here in Guyana), but instead of a harsh overhead sun, we had very overcast skies, very fluffy clouds, not that dead-pan grey sky that depresses me, and the light filtering through the clouds was just enough to really lend something special to the scene.

As soon as I started walking along the wall I had company… a dog, apparently resident to the general area, but that’s a photo for another day  🙂  I photographed from on top the wall, from an eastern viewpoint, a western viewpoint, then went over the wall for another series of shots… all the while thinking about what’s the best angle…. what’s the best composition.

There are other photos, with other elements, but this one simplifies it for me and gets the idea across better 🙂


Canon EOS 60D, Canon 18-135mm Kit Lens  |  1/400s, f/13, ISO320, 18mm


Click on the image to view it in the Gallery, while there check out the other images for this year’s Deck Project, and other albums as well.

On the Beach

When taken from a low perspective with an utra-wide-angle lens, scenes take on a different look 🙂

The bright whites at the top of the wood are harsh reflections from the one o’clock sun.

Canon EOS 60D  |  Sigma 10-20mm  |  1/125s, 10mm, f/8, ISO 100


Click on the image to see it in the Black and White Gallery, along with many others in my Black and White Collection.

2013 Deck – Week 27

Getting the subtle colours out of a sky opposite the now setting sun isn’t easy…. but I think I caught this one at the right time…

In the distance is a Koker and boat offsetting the foreground rock, the rock shows some of the warm light of the setting sun coming through the clouds to the back of me.

I often think to myself that if I keep revisiting the same spots then I’ll not find new photos to add to my collection, but although I do come away with many similar photos that often never see the light of day, I do get one or two that are different and worth sharing 🙂

Canon 60D  |  Sigma 10-20mm  |  10mm, 1/60s, f/5.6  |  Lusignan, E.C.D, Guyana


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

2013 Deck – Week 25

This week, I’m adding a new image not only to the Deck Project but to my slowly growing (as yet untitled) Seascape project.

It may be more a combination of landscape and seascape, you can see the road and the seawall, but I still consider it part of the Seascape set 🙂


Canon EOS 60D  |  Sigma 10-20mm  |  10mm, ISO100 | Red filter in Post-process


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


The Driftwood.

Have you seen the driftwood that climbs the rocks,
and basks in the midday sun?
The one that crossed two oceans and a sea,
Yes, that’s the one.

It was cast adrift by a little boy
who threw it from the shore
To see if it would then return
back to him once more

He watched it bob among the waves
until it was lost from sight,
Then away he ran to play among
the children of the night

Upon many beaches it took a rest,
then washed to sea again
until it touched upon our shore
and bathed in sun and rain

I doubt that you will find it now
for I passed a hobo this morning
And I thought I smelled some fish broth
and the scent of driftwood burning.


2013 Deck – Week 24

There are some scenes you come across that just beg to be recorded, and having a camera (or a device with camera capabilities) on hand makes it so much easier.  My number one rule in photography is to always have a camera with me (not always practical).

It’s occasions like these that make it so worthwhile to actually have a camera… and the more I think about it the less words I can find to express/explain anything about this image 🙂


Canon Rebel T1i  |  Sigma 17-50mm  |  1/1000s, f/11, 50mm, ISO400


You really should click on the image to check it out in the Gallery

A bit of the background on the image:  It was midday, and we were not allowed onto the seawall as some ranks of the Guyana Police Force (and maybe a few civilians) were shooting live rounds out to sea), so we had stopped and were about to turn back, when this one officer approached the one sitting on the bench, could not help but try to capture it  🙂

P.S.  You may be able to read the sign on the larger version in the Gallery (it says DANGER – LIVE FIRING IN PROGRESS)


Elemental



The clouds, they roll toward distant shores,
O’er seas and lakes, past engines and oars,
horizons mean nought, but a curve of land
that changes but slight, by nature or man

The sun shines on, through fog or haze,
O’er stormy skies, or clear summer days
It beats upon the land beneath
or upon the clouds, spread like a sheet

The sands, they move with the ocean’s might,
on ebb tide or flood tide, all day and night
valleys are made, with wondrous ease
and disappear as quickly as a deity’s sneeze.


Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with others in my Black and White album

Photograph and Poem copyright to Michael C. Lam, all rights reserved.