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.
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
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.
On a Saturday after work (which is generally after noon) I try to make a stop along the seawall, just to walk, feel the breeze, and hopefully get a few photos in, the harsh sunlight in the middle of the day is generally considered to be “not the best” light for photography… but for me, it’s the time I have available mostly, so I have to make it work 🙂
I’ve walked past this particular piece of wood many times, but never saw anything I wanted to shoot… that happens a lot to me, but this day, the sky had some nice striations, after squinting and peering at the sky for a while I decided it had enough detail to work with for what I had in mind 🙂
Thomaslands, Georgetown. | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images in the 2015 Deck Project.
I was actually thinking Coppertone CIgarette as a title since I actually used more of a Coppertone than a Sepiatone on this one… eventually the actual image remains mostly Untitled, except for the numeric designation of 15-5337.
Taken during the second week of this year, I gave it a single star rating so that I’d remember to go back to it for further attention.
I liked this one, even though I could not line up my composition in time for what I am accustomed to doing, getting the thirds sorted out, the vanishing point more thorough, and my lines running where I wanted… either in spite of that or because of that, I think it came out well 🙂 As I’ve been told many times by Nikhil, we need to know the rules so that we can know when to break them effectively.
2015 | Ogle, East Coast Demerara, Guyana.
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other Sepia type images in the Collection.
Landscapes and Seascapes… maybe even Cityscapes… that’s the kind of thing that I like shooting, Yes, I photograph lots of subjects, but this is what drives me really… at least that’s what I feel.
So…. when I see a sky with lots of detail (that apparently most other people don’t see) I almost have a compulsion to grab the camera and seek out a suitable scene.
While this spot might be considered overdone… the changing elements will always make it photogenic for me 🙂
2015 | Kingston Roundhouse
Click on the image to see it in the Black & White Gallery along with many other BW images in the collection.
I don’t normally do abstract photography, actually, even including this photo I’m not sure I’ve ever done abstract photography, I just don’t see the world that way.
This photo I liked, I am not sure why, it just appealed to me, even when taking it.
To me it has an amalgamation of the things that make me “feel” like I am where I feel most comfortable, where I was born, where I was raised, where I belong… I am of Guyana, I am in Guyana, I am Guyana!
Now that I’ve gotten the crazy bits out of the way, here’s the photo 🙂
Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm | 1/125s, f/10, ISO 100
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.
…. and yes… that bit in the top right hand corner was knowingly left in the frame 🙂
As soon as I saw this scene, somewhere in my mind I could hear strains of Vangelis’ compositions playing, and that name has stuck since then, even though I have only now processed the image itself 🙂
Unlikely to be anything but a “nice” photo, but I like it 🙂
2013 | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-50mm
It is usually a breath of fresh air to read in the newspapers that some small group of people have embarked upon a “clean-up campaign” along our seawalls; one of the more recent ones would have been the one involving the Ministry of Natural Resources, the EPA (Guyana) along with the Pick It Up Guyana campaign, in the past the Guyana Shines group did a stint, on International Coastal Clean-up Day various NGOs came out in numbers, even the national Football (real football, not that American thing) Team even joined Youths For Guyana on a round of cleaning.
I prefer to re-iterate that cleaning up is an after-the-fact solution, our primary goal should be NOT to litter in the first place, we should be encouraging our peers, and children on a daily basis to do the right thing and put it in the trash!
How hard is it to keep your trash with you until you reach a suitable receptacle (the garbage bin in your yard works marvellously for this) to dispose of it in the right way?
When I take photos along our coast, invariably there is trash within spitting distance, much less within the scope of my camera lens, some of us include it deliberately to make a point, many of us (myself inclusive) try to compose to minimise the presence of the debris and detritus.
When I took this photo two years ago, I dismissed it out of hand as not appropriate for what I was doing at the time, but now, I think it makes a statement. Why should our children, who look forward gleefully to playing on the seawalls and seashore, be subject to the dangers, physical and health-wise, of the abundant and widespread disposal and accumulation of garbage on the seawalls?
We shouldn’t have to “Pick It Up” because we shouldn’t have thrown it down in the first place, let us live not for now, but for the future, our children’s future.
Click on the image to see it in the “Streets” gallery
I began using Instagram when I got my hands on a phone using the Android OS, and I like how it challenges the way I look at a scene; after composing images in wider (or taller) formats thinking “square” had it’s challenges, but it’s fun.
And it is almost too easy to use… makes you want to put down your larger cameras and just use the phone… which is exactly what I did on New Year’s Day.
Many of you may not use Instagram, so I’m posting images and the Instagram links here for these select images.
There is a thread running through these images, but I don’t expect anyone to get it, and that’s fine, they are simply photos that I wanted to share.
Chef Vishal
Bush Construction
Welcome
Respect
Here’s wishing you a Happy 2015, one filled with surprises, great expectations, few regrets, fewer disappointments and lots of Love!!
Another year, another 52 images for the project. Almost thought I wouldn’t make it this year… My fascination with Jhandi flags on the shore as well as my focus on seascapes has spurred some thoughts to the cohesion of images into proper collections… My Oniabo collection is still taking shape and I hope that the new year will bear fruit in similar manner.
The last photo of the year exhibits the theme nicely, in colour, so it would not be a part of my Oniabo Collection, but it is a seascape with Jhandi flags at Lusignan.
After taking a series of images here, with both the Canon 60D and the Canon 6D, I then used my phone to snap one for Instagram, and I rather like that one!
Canon 60D, Sigma 10-20mm | 1/250s, f/11, ISO 100 | Lusignan ECD.
Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with all the images from this year’s Deck Project.
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