Tag: smile

2015 Deck – Week 39

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography4 Comments

Today is Roots Day (not the day I took the photo, but the day I am posting it, December 23rd).

Although not a widespread day of observance, it’s probably a good thing for us to look back at who we are, who our parents and their ancestors were, where we’ve come and what has made us who we are today.

We may also want to reflect on these things and consider what we are passing on to the next generation.

That being said, here’s a photo of my youngest daughter… part of the next generation.

Malina | Canon EOS 6D | Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

2014 Deck – Week 12

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2014 Deck, Photography2 Comments

For this week I actually had quite a few photos to choose from, mostly along the seawalls.  Fidal Bassier had invited me along to shoot with him, he was doing part of a photo-shoot for Miss Earth Guyana, Ms Stacy Ramcharran, and even though I was late getting there, I decided to stop anyway and see what was going on.

The talented team from Bravo Arts under the direction of Steve Bravo had already done an amazing job of the body paint etc., and Stacy’s entourage were well in attendance and assisting her with all the necessaries.

Fidal was setting up on a mound on the southern side of the National Park, the winds had picked up a bit and he asked me to help hold one soft-box in position while I was there…  but I’m a photographer, and I just couldn’t resist the urge to click the shutter button.

Whilst holding the soft-box in one hand (the wind was trying very hard to tug it out of position and out of my hands), I slung my backpack to the side and extracted the camera with one hand, the lens on the camera would have to work… it was the Sigma 10-20mm, so I suspected that cropping after was most likely.

I took only two photos, mainly because Fidal decided at that moment to switch locations, and by the time we had set up at the next spot, it was time for me to say adieu.  One photo I had cropped and sent to Stacy, she ended up using it as the Cover image for the official Facebook Page for Miss Earth Guyana 2014:

IMG_3953-2

The second one, I did not crop, it was the one I preferred, and I had decided since then that I would likely use it for the Deck project, so here it is:

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

All-in-all, it was educational to watch these folks at work, and that I clicked the shutter twice, and got two photos that were usable, I feel good 🙂

2013 Deck – Week 32

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography6 Comments

This year, my youngest sister, Mary, got married, and interestingly enough, practically every photo from Week 32 had to do with her wedding 🙂

My sister had asked since more than a year prior that I ask Fidal Bassier to photograph the wedding, and I was glad that he was the main photographer, I got to shoot alongside him and my brother André and get some good photos myself 🙂

There was a short photo-session between the Ceremony and the Reception (while the guests were getting settled), and this was one of my favourites from that shoot.

Joseph Lewis had also consented to loan me his Canon 70-200mm L lens that was a joy to shoot with.

So a big thanks to Fidal and to Joseph!!

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery with the other 2013 Deck Images.

Click on this album link for the 25 select images from the Wedding

2013 Deck – Week 13

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography1 Comment

Lucky number 13?  I don’t know, but the thirteenth week of this year was filled with activity… it was Holy Week in the Christian Calendar, and in the Hindu calendar it also held the festival of Phagwah (or Holi).

I got many photos, mostly from the Church activities for my own satisfaction, but I’ll definitely share some.

On Phagwah day I usually don’t get many photos of people playing  / celebrating Phagwah, as I tend to keep my camera safely away from the waters and powders that abound.  Nearing the end of the day, I was sitting with my family on the seawall, and along came these young ladies fresh from playing, and I couldn’t resist snapping a shot, one even posed 🙂

Click on the image above to see it better in the Gallery!

2013 Deck – Week 08

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

Most of my photographs from the recent Mashramani parade for Georgetown were of one particular style, but somewhere in the middle of all the fast flying shots that I took I managed to capture one that was quite different from the wide shots of the floats or the half-body close-ups of the revellers

I don’t know if it’s the photography book I have been going through, but for some reason this image stands out from the plethora of photographs that I took on Mash Day.

The book is “Through the Lens – National Geographic Greatest Photographs”, and it contains some truly amazing photographs.  I am certainly not claiming that any of mine can class with anything from National Geographic, far from it, but the “feeling” that I got from this one was different from the rest, and I think that it is a better photo for that.

You have to see it large, please click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

For me, this shows a woman lost in the moment; it’s just her, the music, the rhythm, the motion…  alone in a crowd, part of the band bu apart from the band all at once.  This is “the moment” for Mashramani 2013.  I hope you like it.

2013 Deck – Week 07

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography1 Comment

When shooting an Event, it’s usually important to try to get photos that cover the gamut, spans the diversity, from the beginning to the end, so that viewers can get a sense of the whole, but amidst all of that I am usually on the lookout for that one shot that stands out, that transcends the transformation from reflected light, to digital data on a sensor to pixels on the screen and finally to ink on a page.

Does this image from the recent Children’s Mashramani Parade do that for you?  I know it does it for me.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery, along with the other images for the Deck Project so far for the year.

2012 Deck – Week 48

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography4 Comments

Santa Claus, a mythical figure whose fame has spanned centuries, but is he only a myth or is he real?

The story of Santa Claus can be found in Legends, Myths, History and Folklore, and the names vary through the years and across land boundaries, but one thing remains the same, the IDEA that there is a person, an entity who gives gifts unselfishly to children, usually on the eve of Christmas so that on Christmas Day they awaken to presents.

For me, this Idea, IS  Santa Claus, this is what we want to believe in and keep the tradition going.  Was there ever a man with a long white beard who went house to house giving gifts to children?  I’d say that it was likely.  Did he dress in a red suit and have eight (or nine) reindeer pulling his sleigh through the skies?  Probably not  🙂

As Christmas approaches, I wish you all the best for the Season of Christmas.

2012 Deck – Week 44

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography8 Comments

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and taking some photographs of the best female golfer in Guyana, Christine Sukhram.  Most of you know that I am not a Portrait Photographer, I am not comfortable with directing ad posing models, and it was also evident to me that Christine was much more comfortable out on the Golf Course than posing in front of the camera, but both times I was able to walk away with a few photos that even I was comfortable with, and with the feeling that I had stood in the presence of someone who was not only comfortable with what they did, but was great at it.

She won her first Guyana Open Golf Tournament title in 2006, and this year marked her sixth Championship title in that tournament, for someone who has had to juggle a day job and still remain at the top of her game is impressive, I can only imagine what she could achieve if she were to go Professional, but in Guyana, we all need our day jobs 🙂

For Week 44 of the Deck Project I chose one of the images I took of her, which was also used in a promotional billboard, I chose it not because it’s a great photo (I am personally never that happy with my portrait photos) but because she is a great person, a great golfer, and as Guyanese we should be proud of her.  Maybe one day she’ll be ranked internationally like her compatriot Nicolette Fernandes who has made us proud locally and internationally in Squash.

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

2012 Deck – Week 36

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography4 Comments

Time never stands still.

It only seems like a few moons ago that my daughter was born, yet she’s now nine years old.

For a little while, on the Sunday before school re-opened, I let all else be lost, all worldly matters be forgotten, as I sat among the rocks on the seawall, with family, a snack or two, some drinks and the cool breeze brought by the incoming tide.  I just sat, camera in hand and as my daughter and her cousin played in the water, enjoyed the little slice of time that stood still…

I don’t often do photos of “people”, but I think this year I’ve uploaded more “portrait type shots for the Deck Project than before  🙂