500

On June 19, 2015June 19, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

The Art of Photography and Photography as Art

2015 – Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm

This blog post is a milestone of sorts, it marks my five hundredth blog post. It began on a sad note, with a photo from my maternal grandmother’s funeral, it has been more of a photo journey rather than a photo blog, more about myself and the photos than about the photos themselves I suppose, so it’s rather like a journal…almost… of sorts.

On this journey I’ve learnt a lot, with still much more to learn, I’ve met many other people with a passion for photography, and many who love to look at beautiful imagery.

I have learnt that there is a difference between the Art of Photography and Photography as Art, and I believe that it is a realization that comes to most of us who pursue it with an aim for creating “art”.

2010 – Canon T1i, Sigma 18-270mm

It sounds presumptuous even to my own ears to refer to anything that I produce with the camera as “art”, but people like my friend Nikhil would thump me behind the head for even saying that. Not everything I take can be considered as art, so I humbly submit that I have a few that may be taken into consideration by those who are more knowledgeable than myself and more in-tune with the art world to be judged and pronounced as art.

Nikhil would also tell me that I have had work exhibited once at the National Gallery of Art (Castellani House) and have also been among the finalists in two of the recent Guyana Visual Arts Competitions, so I can’t get away with trying to play modest about being called an “artist”.

2011 – Canon Rebel T1i – Tamron 18-270mm

I began as most of us probably did with learning to use the camera and just snapping away at anything and everything that caught my eye.

After a while it began to be more important to learn and understand the art of photography, to understand how light plays an important part, where paying attention to composition results in a much better photo of the same subject. The art of photography is to know your camera (whether it’s a mobile device such as cellphones or a larger DSLR) to learn what it can and cannot do, and to know how to use it to accomplish what you want. Like any craftsman worth his salt, the art of the craft is the union of the person and the tools at hand.

It is good to learn different techniques, different approaches, different styles; that can be part of your arsenal, but it need not define the photograph you take.

2012 – Canon T1i, Tamron 18-270mm

The photograph is an extension of your self, it is a product of your own thoughts and skills, when the photograph stops being just a snapshot and becomes an expression of an idea, a concept, more than just a moment frozen in time, then it is possible that you have created a piece of art.

Photography as Art has to be more than just a pretty photo of a pretty scene or even a technically perfect photo of a dilapidated house, for a photograph to be Art it should have soul, it should convey an idea, elicit a reaction from the viewer, it has to be seen, talked about, appreciated or ridiculed even.

2013 – Canon EOS 60D, Tamron 18-270mm

Not many of us in Guyana can successfully claim to be original in our photographs, most of it has been done before and by better artists than ourselves, Photography as an Art has to overcome the fact that everyone now has access to a device that captures images, and in the maelstrom of images swirling around the internet we have to produce a piece that stands out, that makes people stop and look, but also to have them remember it afterwards, to recall it and speak about it.

Art is subjective, that’s basically saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it is not enough for the creator of the piece to want it to be art, the viewer has to appreciate the piece, not necessarily from the perspective of the creator but from how it affects them.

2014 – Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm

All the images in this post are “new to you”, they are from the six years than span this blog, 2010 to 2015, one from each calendar year. I went through the files looking for images that I have overlooked, or just not processed, not looking for any subject in particular, but for images I think worth processing, worth sharing and reflect what I would like to show others.

I hope that at least one strikes your fancy.

Click on each one to see them in their respective galleries in the Collection. Thank you for being a part of my journey so far.

Balance

On May 30, 2015May 30, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography8 Comments

Balance is over-rated… it’s boring, right?

I mean, eat a balanced diet… where’s the fun in that? Balance your time between sleep and wake, work and home, business and pleasure…. you get the drift… keeping the balance is just too hard; of course, going totally unbalanced is not good, not good at all, trust me, I know.

I was out along the seawalls on a midday walk (yes, no one who is balanced would be doing that either!), and I was composing some shots, I normally do not position my horizon in the centre anymore (that was the default position when I started taking photos), but something about this scene made me want to balance the earth to heavens proportion in the frame.

My thought processes often differ from the moment of pressing the shutter-button to the time of processing, and that might be a good thing, at the time of processing, I was looking at the elements and the thought that came to mind was a bible verse… no, I do not normally go around quoting bible verses… but this one many people already know; it is from what we know as The Lord’s Prayer

“… on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10)

I think it fits… in a way 🙂

OK, so I’ve babbled enough nonsense to confuse even myself, here’s the photo:

Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm | 10mm, ISO 100, 1/200s, f/10

Click on the image to see it in the gallery along with others from the Sewall album

2015 Deck – Week 09

On May 23, 2015May 23, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography2 Comments

This blog is now 5 years old…. it doesn’t feel like it. Today I am feeling somewhat introspective….

I am not my parents…

I am not my ancestors…

I am not a representation of one particular political party or the other, of one race or the other, of one ideology or the other…

I am the debris upon our coast, that which is a product of the actions of others, whether deliberate or accidental.

I have been cast upon the shore, faithfully placed or carelessly thrown.

I have been left on my own, to survive or perish.

I may be strong or I may be weak, but mother nature will still prevail.

I may be solitary, or in the company of others…

I am the debris upon our coast.

Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery

My Jhandi addiction

On February 20, 2015February 20, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

I was going through a few photos from last year, and I can across a set that I had not processed, and I thought “no one wants to see another Jhandi flag photo”… but I couldn’t resist it, I just had to choose one of the set and process it.

There’s just something about a flag fluttering in the wind that draws the attention… who am I fooling? Even when it’s hung limp with the wind abated I’d probably still take a photo.

This one appealed to me because of the contrast that the rich red flag had against the sky, the line of the seawall and it’s curve towards the koker made it a better composition than just a plain flag 🙂

OK, yes… I did seriously think about doing it in BW (still pondering it) but I rather like this version 🙂

2014 | Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm | Ogle, East Coast Demerara, Guyana

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images from when I’m “Out and About”

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

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

2015 Deck – Week 04

On January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, PhotographyLeave a comment

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.

Saturday Smoker in Sepia

On January 27, 2015January 27, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

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.

Kingston Seashore

On January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

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.

2015 Deck – Week 03

On January 23, 2015January 23, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography2 Comments

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 🙂