2012 Deck – Week 15

On May 18, 2012May 18, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography5 Comments

Easter Week. I suppose that the easiest thing to try to get photographs of for Easter Week is of children flying their kites (at least in Guyana, anyway). On Easter Monday we went to the seashore near Annandale (someone referred to the spot as “Friendship”), on the Easy Coast of Demerara.

I was taking a photo of a spot where an old Koker (sluice) once stood, and my daughter and her cousin came over to play/annoy/get in the way and so I made good use of them as they were already in the scene 🙂

For a better view of the photo, please click on the image above to see it in the Gallery.

Palm Sunday 2012

On April 20, 2012April 20, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography6 Comments

This year I was away from town for Holy Week. I was on the tenth Pakaraima Mountain Safari, and although I have not yet sorted all my photos from the trip, nor written any sort of account, I did choose this image for Palm Sunday to share.

It was taken at “58 Mile”, an area known for being 58 miles out of Linden, and for the “pit stop” establishment there know as “Peter and Ruth”, anyone heading to Lethem, or Kurupukari, or Mahdia usually stops here.

The photo is not of Peter & Ruth’s establishment, but of a little church opposite 🙂

Co-incidentally I was back in this spot on Good Friday at 3pm (most Catholics will know the significance of that) 🙂

So, although I got a lot of flak for not covering the Palm Sunday Mass (it seems there are some who look forward to my photos from that), I did manage a fairly nice shot that day anyway 🙂

Please click on the image to see it larger in the Gallery.

Pakaraima Mountain Safari – The Great Wall

On April 4, 2012March 29, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

Someone apparently likened this section of the trail to the Great Wall of China, and the name Great Wall has been used to identify it since then.

It is probably similar in its winding fashion and the fact that at least one side is a very large drop to the bottom.

This photos does not convey that sense of the steep drop, but trust me, when you’re in that vehicle and you look over the side, vertigo and fear step in 🙂

Pakaraima Mountain Safari – Day three Refuel

On April 2, 2012March 29, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography6 Comments

There were various refueling spots on the trail, and one of them was set on a lonely spot just off of Monkey Mountain.

As we were refueling, I took a moment to take a few photos of the scene.

I liked the loneliness of the scene, the discarded fuel drum, the hut and the distant mountains.

Pakaraima Mountain Safari – First Glimpse

On March 30, 2012March 29, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

I was on the “Safari” in 2009, and I will present a series of images from that trip in the next few blog-posts.

This is an HDR Image of a view from the Oasis at Annai, this is a famous stop along the Lethem Trail, and in the distance you can see the foothills of the Pakaraima Mountains, and the trail that leads through them on the way to Lethem.

200

On March 19, 2012March 19, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

Just over a year I took this photo, I wasn’t very satisfied with it then, but then there was another image that had pulled most of my attention away from that same day. There’s just something about fishing boats that pulls your attention though, for this image I had wanted to incorporate the rocks, the boats, the heavily clouded sky, try as I might I could not get all the lines parallel, so I went for an image of divergent lines.

This post will mark the 200th post for this blog (I think that counts the “Hello World” post as well. I suppose if I did a daily photo project and blogged each one I’d be way ahead in count 🙂 For me, its not enough to just post a photo, I want something else to go along with it, some of my thoughts, or insights (or lack of)

There were some little things that I liked about this image; the water pulling away from the area just in front of the rocks, the waves breaking on the lower wall, the two boats at rest and, of course, the clouds 🙂

Be sure to lick on the image above for a much better view in the Gallery.

City Watch

On March 16, 2012March 16, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

For anyone who has read the books by Terry Pratchett, specifically the ones dealing with the twin-city of Ankh-Morpork, you know about the City Watch, for those of you who have not read those books, I encourage you to try them, Terry Pratchett is a master story-teller and a comic genius.

But this is a photography blog, not a book review blog, and the title of this post has nothing to do with Samuel Vimes or the City Watch of Ankh-Morpork, although now that I think of it, maybe I should have titled the photograph “Vimes” 🙂

Most of us get very few opportunities to rise above the humdrum of everyday life, to stand above it all and, with a calm that belies the hustle and bustle below, just take in the view of a city, our own city, noise-filled, garbage-filled, accident-prone, with a mix of colonial buildings and modern square concrete structures.

Imagine this; from one vantage point, you can see the hub of public transportation, the minibuses and taxis, a landmark eatery, hotel and beer-garden, the seat of government, hotels, churches (including one of the tallest wooden buildings in the world), the high court, one of the largest markets in the country, city hall, the busiest business district in the country, the Atlantic Ocean and so much more.

That is the view from the clock tower at Stabroek Market, and you haven’t even turned around to see the wharves and the mighty Demerara River with its speed-boat traffic, the ferry and the aging but impressive harbour bridge.

Click on the photo below, see it larger in the gallery and imagine yourself in that man’s position.

2012 Deck – Week 9

On March 15, 2012March 15, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography6 Comments

As things got busy, I got fewer photos, but I was still left with a choice for Week 9, in the end I decided on this one. Nikhil was trying especially hard to get photos of some wall-walkers with the boats in the background, I wasn’t inclined to do the same at the time, but as I walked on the lower section later, this guy passed me and I thought I’d catch a shot of him walking away. As it happens the boats were in nice positions at this point 🙂 Dumb Luck 🙂

2012 Deck – Week 6

On February 16, 2012February 16, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography19 Comments

I am a Photographer.

After years of trying to avoid the label, I have to accept what I am, and I can say I am proud of the journey and what I have achieved so far with the help of everyone I know, not a single person has ever tried to tell me that my photographs are bad, many said they were good (and worth improving many times), mostly these were family and friends, so they are expected to say that 🙂

Today, 16th February 2012, I will stand beside one of my best friends and fellow Photographer, Nikhil, as our work goes on display at the National Gallery, Castellani House. It will be a month-long show, ending on March 17th, 2012. The Gallery will feature at least 20 pieces from each of us, and we are proud of our work. (he exhibition is open to the public from tomorrow through the 17th March)

Although in the beginnings of my photographic journey I seldom saw the call of monochrome photos, I seem to have changed quite a bit in that respect, the majority of my photographs on display are monochromatic. Many years ago I was well known by my friends for detesting heavy cloud coverage in the skies as I loved blue skies in my photographs, that has also changed, most of the landscape images on display show dramatic clouds and tumultuous skies.

I encourage anyone with a few minutes to spare to stop in at Castellani House and take a look, I’d hate to be known as the exhibition that no one bothered to go see 🙂

This week, I give you an image taken on a PhotoWalk with the Guyana Photographer’s Group, my more spectacular images were posted to the group (I hope to share them here later), this one I saved for use here, I was planning a post on the effective use of vignettes, but I don’t have that much to say on the subject yet, so here’s how I used a vignette in post-processing an image, and it’s a sepia (monochrome) image, and there are clouds in the sky, no true blue skies for me that day either 🙂

2012 Deck – Week 5

On February 11, 2012February 11, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography10 Comments

There are some weeks when you have a number of photographs, many that are technically better than others, yet you keep going back to one in particular which, although not the best composed, or the best exposed, nor the best focused image, it seems to demand from you that extra bit of attention.

This image is one such image for me, I had a few that were better, nicer, prettier, more appealing generally, but this one I liked more. The focus was not on the “obvious” subject, and for that reason I almost decided not to use it, but it appeals to me, it is an image that says something more than the others that I took this week.

If it speaks to you, then I am happy, if it doesn’t, then I fully understand 🙂