In the beginning…

Well, maybe not “the” beginning, just “a” beginning.

It was probably around 2007 that I began to pay more attention to what went into the frame, to what it was I was taking photographs of.  Prior to that it was mostly point, click, “look, isn’t that pretty??”  Most probably weren’t pretty at all, but family and friends always say “yes, it is”  –  In 2007,  somewhere amidst the generic photos, there began to emerge a few that stood out, and I think that I was seeing things, the things around me, differently, and in so doing I was capturing them differently, light was beginning to take on lifelike characteristics that would change how everything looked, and how everything could be captured on a few thousand pixels.

It was now not so important to capture every detail, but just the ones that would help tell the story, using light and dark, contrast and brightness to illustrate an idea, a concept, a feeling…  It was time to pay more attention to the composition rather than just the subject.

I decided to take a look back at the photos I took ten years ago, to see what, if anything, was worth sharing.  Most of the images I took were family oriented, so those didn’t count, but I was experimenting, looking around me and trying to capture something out of the ordinary (ordinary being the family photos, nothing captured can compare to even the ordinary of professional photographers, much less fine-art photographers).

I even tried my hand at pointing the camera at strange people, out in public, although I was still much more comfortable pointing at non-human subjects, those that might not complain or make a fuss.

And its also the year, I did my first Photo-Walk, not what would really be considered a photo walk, but myself, my brother, Andre, and two friends, Nikhil and Naseem.  We went for a drive “over the river” up to Wales estate on the West Bank of Demerara and I think up to Windsor Forest on the West Coast of Demerara, stopping every now and again to take some photos.

That photo-walk was somewhat of an eye-opener as well, in a relatively short distance, there was quite a lot to see, and a good variety of subjects and scenes to photograph as a result.

This isn’t a retrospective of any kind really, just taking a look at some photos with an eye that has had a decade of shooting, and processing them anew.    They were all shot on a bridge camera, or an advanced point-and-shoot camera, the Canon PowerShot S3 IS, a 6 Megapixel camera with a 1/2.5” CCD sensor, so there’s not a lot of post processing I could do without delving into the realm of editing.

Back then I was mostly all about colour, vivid vibrant popping colour, so the monochromatic versions (BW) you see are how I see them today, not then.

I chose ten images to illustrate what I had accomplished that year, I don’t think I would have found very many, if any, more that are worth sharing.  I hope you enjoy a few.

All the images were reprocessed, and cropped.  Click on any image to see them in the Gallery.


Saturated Saturday

Its a very rainy Saturday morning in Georgetown, much like many we’ve had this week and last week.

I just felt the urge to take a mobile phone photo, so here it is 🙂


Samsung Galaxy S7  |  Lightroom Mobile Camera  |  Processed in Lightroom and Nik Silver Efex


Click on the image to see it in the Gallery


Walkabout

Just a photo.

I’ve had it processed for about a month now, but after waiting for the right words to say, I figured I’d just share it 🙂


Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm  |  2016


Click on the image to see it in the Up East Gallery, along with some other choice images  🙂


Tower

Back when it was still called Hotel Tower.

There has been a Hotel with the word “Tower” in its name on this spot for more than a century.  I can’t find enough online historical evidence, but before the current name “Tower Suites”, it was the Hotel Tower for many years, and prior to that it was the Tower Hotel.  I saw an 1909 Ad that claimed that “The Tower is the oldest and Best Hostelry on the Northern Coast of South America”.  🙂

Hotel Tower  |  2009  |  Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Sigma 10-20mm


Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.


Presbytery

Not much of a blog post really, just a few photos of the old Presbytery building of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Georgetown, Guyana.

I think they began tearing it down this year (or it may have been last year, I don’t recall exactly), just the small portion to the back remains now.





Click on the images to see them in the Gallery.


Soft

In the initial stages of trying my hand at photography, while looking at the images offered online and in books, ones by recognised photographers in their respective fields, I always had it in mind that a good photograph had to be perfect, technically perfect and sharp as a tack.  Of course, the images I was admiring were landscapes, portraits, architectural images and the like.

I later discovered (much much later) that what was more important was capturing the scene, with whatever you have, and however you can; if you can get it perfect, good for you, but it was more important to not lose the moment.

This image I had taken back in 2011, but because of the slight motion blur, I relegated it to the unprocessed pile; and since Street Photography was not my calling, but a way to experiment and even capture moments, it didn’t seem too important at the time.   I was hunting through an old catalog for some images that a friend wanted, and I came across the image and realised I liked it, I can live with the blur caused by a low shutter speed and a hastily snapped image, because that moment is now gone, but I have something to show for it; while it may not be a technically perfect shot, I realise that I don’t really need anyone but me to like it.  🙂


Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 18-270  |  Georgetown, Guyana, 2011


This was taken during the renovation works to the old Central Garage building on Avenue of the Republic, which is now a series of smaller retail stores.  In Guyana, we call those carbonated beverages “soft drinks”, the ones Americans fondly call Soda.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.


Vanishing Vanity

There once was a time when we created not just for function but for appeal, when we designed things to make our lives easy, as well as for those things to be easy on the eyes.  There is a sense of loss, its physical, but also emotional, when the older buildings are removed and replaced with structures that closely resemble steel slabs  or concrete cuboids.

I don’t do it often enough now, but I once had a fascination with capturing old buildings around Georgetown… but they seem to be vanishing faster than ever now; I hear it’s the sign of progress.

Like everything else in life, if we don’t fight to keep it, then we will lose it, but most of us seem to have grown up in a time when that “fight” is not in us,  where we accept the decisions of others, because we believe that our voice, our opinion does not make a difference in the grand scheme of things.


Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm  |  Regent Street, Bourda, Georgetown, Guyana.


Click on the image to see it in the gallery, along with other images from around Georgetown, Guyana.


Joyride

Growing up in Guyana, a joyride meant what it sounded like, jumping on a bicycle/ motorcycle and going out for a ride with friends and having fun, but it seems that up north it means and meant a completely different thing… I guess we were wrong.


Joyride – 16-1823  |  Canon EOS 60D, Sigm 10-20mm  |  2016, Lusignan, E.C.D, Guyana


Click on the image to see it in the “Out and About” Gallery, a rather quirky collection of images.