Coastal Sunrise

On January 27, 2022 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

One of those so-called “Rules” about using your camera correctly is that you should not point your camera directly towards the sun. Other than the obvious effect of probably blinding you, its also to protect your gear, but sometimes, you have to just ignore that. In order to get a decent Sundog photo, you have no choice.

Likewise with Sunrises and even sunsets, sometimes you compose with the sun off-centre, other times you may think the centrally placed sun works better.

A rising sun on a reasonable clear morning can be very bright when seen through the viewfinder of a DSLR 🙂

The tide was out that morning, so I was able to get down to the seashore level.

Most areas where there’s a Koker (Sluice), even at an early morning hour, you’ll find some people at various tasks, whether they be fishermen, devotees come to do a Puja, someone washing articles of clothing, or just folks out to enjoy the sunrise.

Of course, there’s always the nutcases like us who were out there to take photographs, sometimes we come away with just good memories, and other times we come away with a few images we’d like to share.

Click on the images to see them in the Gallery along with other images that I dropped into an Album called “Up East”.

Victoria Dawn

On May 28, 2016 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography9 Comments

I don’t do a lot of sunrise or sunset photos anymore, I guess unless there is something particularly appealing to use with it it’s just another sunrise or sunset to me, and that is probably a sad thing, as they are beautiful moments.

I was on a little impromptu photowalk with Fidal and another photog last year, it was actually Halloween day; we stopped at the seawall at Victoria village before continuing on to Mahaica and I took a few photos there, one of which I’ve come to like. It really is nothing spectacular, but the composition, the pastel colours and the sunrise moment gives it a nice peaceful vibe 🙂

Canon EOS 60D | Sigma 10-20mm | Victoria Dawn 15-0355 | Victoria Village, East Coast Demerara

Of course, those who know my work, will know that to see a landscape in colour (especially along the seawall) is a rarity these days 🙂

Click on the image to see it in the gallery.

2014 Deck – Week 04

On February 19, 2014February 19, 2014 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2014 Deck, Photography2 Comments

This week I will let the photo do the talking.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 42

On December 6, 2013December 6, 2013 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography3 Comments

This week, there was a photo-walk to Hope Beach to see the sunrise, then onto the Mahaica River. I knew from the outset, once I had seen the sunrise, that most likely my choice for this week would be a Sunrise photo.

I had already uploaded a landscape oriented one to the group, but I had taken a few portrait oriented ones as well, and it was one of these that I had already made up my mind to use for the Deck Project.

I had tried to get low, for a low perspective, and I was using the Sigma Ultra-wide again, I liked the texture in the rock I was using as a foreground object, but because I was hand-holding the shots, I knew that I wouldn’t do an HDR, not while balancing and trying not to fall into the water 🙂 But since I knew that I wanted that texture to come through, I had already decided on my post-processing… some shadow reduction and some dodging on the rock’s surface to bring out those textures.

I hope you like it

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

2013 Deck – Week 18

On July 18, 2013July 18, 2013 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography4 Comments

One of the techniques I like to experiment with is HDR, or High Dynamic Range, especially on landscapes. I don’t mean taking a single exposure and tweaking it or running it through HDR software for the effect, I mean actually taking multiple exposures for recombination in post-processing.

Since the Canon allows me three sequential shots automatically, that’s the amount of frames I usually use, although I would get a better handle on the dynamic range if I used seven or nine exposures. But since most times I do these things without hunting for my tripod, Is tick to hand-holding 3 exposures in those circumstances.

I took the exposures for this photo one morning on the way to work (I think it was a Saturday… had to be), I was driving and noticed the Lotus Flower first, then noticed the sky, and quickly decided that I wanted a photo of the scene rather than the Lotus Flower alone 🙂

Each exposure was taken one stop apart and recombined using Nik HDR Efex Pro (as a plugin for Lightroom)…my hand may have been a touch heavy on the saturation 🙂

Dayclean | Canon EOS 60D | Sigma 10-20mm | 10mm, max aperture f/4

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

Wake Up Call

On September 12, 2012September 12, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughts4 Comments

Humankind has relied on various methods to awaken them throughout the ages, as in to awaken them in the morning for the new day.

From the bright rays of the newly risen sun on your face, to the crow of the rooster, from that great invention; the alarm clock, to the thump from an angry wife who wants the garbage taken out, from the gentle sounds of the animals in nature, to the roar of early morning traffic (if you wake that late), from the shouts of a mother “You’re late for school!” to the electronic beeps of new messages on your cell-phone, maybe even something like the much exalted smell of fresh coffee in the morning, there have been things to awaken you.

My phone has an annoying alarm that certainly wakes my wife, and eventually myself, but nothing can compare to the sound of a regular visitor we have to our area. For years he (or one of his family members, at any rate) has come during the first minutes of the brightening day to begin his rat-a-tat outside my home and continue for what seems like hours (ok, maybe one hour). A Pilleated Woodpecker who lives somewhere in the vicinity, chooses the utility post in front of my house to sharpen his beak every morning, and he doesn’t only peck at the wood, he pecks upon the galvanised metal protector that runs up the post too! He actually seems to prefer that!

So what did I do about it? One morning I took out my Canon and shot him… several times… at least until I was fairly certain that at least one of the shots would produce a good photo 🙂

Click on the image to see it in the gallery along with other Sunrise and Sunset images.

No animals were hurt during the writing of this blog nor in any of the events leading up to it. 🙂

Touch of the Goddess

On March 21, 2012March 22, 2012 By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, Poetry18 Comments

Although I am a Catholic, I have always been fascinated by the old myths and legends of ancient civilizations, so sometimes that comes through in my art 🙂

As Selene departs, another night done
She comes charging, the day’s begun
Sky aglow from her robes of saffron
As her mighty steeds keep galloping on.

Firebright and Daybright in the cool early morn
together they pull her Chariot along
the harbringer of Helios; the master of day
she dispels the night with her soft golden rays

Mother of the winds and the Morning Star
lighten the darkness, let night leave no scar
Upon a world of cold night chills
bring warmth, bring light, bring what you will

The Dawn-bringer comes, her tears on the flowers
creatures of dark, well should you cower
I stand on a mountain in the far distant west
And patiently await the touch of the Goddess.