Tag: tree

A Good Photo

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography, thoughts6 Comments

For my Deck Photo last week I used a black and white image of a bird walking across a wet expanse, one of my friends and fellow photographers told me that she didn’t like the photo, because it made her feel sad and lonely

When she told me that she didn’t like the photo, I was a little disappointed to tell the truth, but when she told me that it was because it made her feel sad and lonely, I was elated.

One of the things that makes a good photograph is the conveyance of some sort of emotion to the viewer.  For most photos, we look at them and move on, it was a photo of a sunset, or a flower, or an insect, or a door, or a building, or a bird, or any other subject you can think of, but when someone can say that a photo of mine made them reminisce or feel happy or sad, of any other emotion, then I feel that the photo was not only good, but better than I’d hoped for.

Each photo has the potential to reach past the optics of the viewer and into their emotions, when it does, then the photo was worth taking, it was worth the pixels that were spent on it, and the time it took to take and process.

None of these photos are new, but each one has had an emotive response from a viewer, it may not do it to everyone, but to me, that is what makes photography a challenge, to reach into as many of the viewer’s hearts as possible, but to even reach one, is usually enough for me.

As usual, click on the images to see them in their respective Galleries in the Collection.

Working With Wides

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography12 Comments

Well, I wanted to say “Playing with a Wide-angle Lens”, but I couldn’t resist the alliteration. 🙂

The word wide is relative, so I’ll describe how I use the terms, these are probably not industry accepted descriptions, so don’t quote me 🙂   Your basic entry-level DSLR usually comes with a kit lens that has a range of focal lengths from 18mm to 55mm, this I consider to be a wide telephoto lens, at the widest end (18mm) you get a nice wide view and at 55mm you get closer to close up of the subject, I consider somewhere around 33mm (on the crop-sensors) to be somewhere around “normal” (mind you, I’ll be talking from the stand-point of an APS-C sensor or crop sensor, a full frame or micro-four-thirds is an entirely different scenario)

Since this is the standard kit lens that most people get, we don’t often see it as wide, so that’s when we go Ultra-wide.

My favourite wide-angle lens (OK, the only one I have in the Ultra-wide category) is the Sigma 10-20mm, this produces pleasing images for me, and I love working with it.  You get some amount of distortion at the wider end (understandable) but this tends to be good in certain circumstances.

Often, in architectural photography, you can use wides and ultra-wides to capture more of the interior, and convey more of the sense of space and more of what encompasses the room.

At other times, you can use them closer to the subject to give an increased sense of distance, even accentuate the distortion by being close (do this with people’s faces, and you’ll get some weird effects)

I used the ultra-wide to capture the corner of this building (New Building Society), along with parts of the sidewalk and sky (and a pedestrian) 🙂

There are many things you can do with a wide, many of which I don’t do, I don’t normally put it right up to people’s faces and click, but I’ve seen those photos, and it’s a neat effect  🙂

What I did in this next image was to use the ultra-wide to adjust the sense of scale, I used a fire-hydrant in the foreground to dwarf a three-story building in the background.  One thing that I liked about this shot was that I didn’t have to worry about electricity wires!

The best way to see what your wide-angle lens or your ultra-wide angle lens can do is to put it on the camera and go have fun.  Sometimes it makes compositions tricky as it tends to include everything, even things you may not want, but like working with any focal-length, it’s up to the photographer to adjust framing and composition for these things.

I mentioned using wide-angle lenses for interior architecture, well I doubt if a tent falls under the category of architecture, but I suspect the engineers who came up with the idea for this tent would appreciate the use of the wide-angle for impact  🙂  And would you look at the view!  🙂

All images above were shot with the Sigma 10-20mm on a Canon body, Click on the images to see them in the Collection along with others in their respective Galleries.

2012 Deck – Week 47

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography7 Comments

Last night (Friday 14th December 2012) I stood alongside two friends and fellow photographers, on a stage populated by artists, art-lovers and art patrons, among Giants in the Guyanese art-sphere who are masters in Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Crafts, and I felt exalted and elated.

I am not a painter, nor a sculptor, I cannot draw nor mould, but this year the Guyana Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition committee included Photography as an art form, the first time in Guyana.  I was given the Bronze Medal, for third place in the Photography category, and was excited that my long time friend and photo-buddy, Nikhil, won the Gold, and his wife, Sharon copped the Silver.

I was thrilled to be included as a prize-winner, but even more astounded that I was chosen from what is reportedly a heavily contested segment, especially knowing that many other members of the Guyana Photographer’s Facebook group also entered amazing pieces.

To me, winning the Bronze was a giant step, but being among the first Photographers to be so honoured in Guyana is even more special.  To have our work judged meritorious is always gratifying, to have them judged by “Artists”; sculptors and Painters, Curators and Critics, and not by photographers is validation of Photography as Art in Guyana.

This is but a “drop in the bucket”, I look forward to the works of fellow photographers, fellow artists, as the future Competitions promise to be even better.

This brings me to my photo for the Deck Project for Week 47 of this year, “A Ripple in the Fabric”, I say to other Photogs, to other Artists, to all Guyanese who love art, “Look to the future, for this ripple in the fabric of the Guyanese art-world will not subside, but grow and change the way we Guyanese see Photography”

A Ripple in the Fabric

I don’t normally try Cyanotype processing, but I thought that this image looked better with a tinge of blue  🙂  I could be wrong….  Click on the image above to see it in the Gallery!

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 42

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography2 Comments

Sometimes, in any art form, you have to break away from the norm, step away from the straight and narrow line that you’ve followed all along, and try something different.

I’ve broken the rule about shooting into the sun before, so this is not new…. but trying to get the palm tree and horse as the focus while doing so was different for me, and even then I was not ecstatic about it, when processing, I went for a duotone processing that I don’t do, and I though that the result was pleasing.

Although the original duotone processing had much more colour to it, I toned it down a bit to bring the focus back to the photo rather than the duotone, and the result; “sunset Liliendaal” 🙂

sunset Liliendaal

Click on the image for a better view in the Gallery!

2012 Deck – Week 39

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2012 Deck, Photography10 Comments

Finding inner peace is not an easy task, and often times the path to it is fraught with despair.  With the myriad of daily struggles that we all endure, and the unexpected arrival of ones that we have no control over, it is no wonder that finding inner peace is difficult, and some may even say impossible.

Take a few minutes and get away from it all, go sit on the seawall in the shade of a tree, or the lee of a rock, and stare at the seemingly boundless ocean, towards the distant horizon, let your mind wander, free from the stress that has a vice grip on your soul… just relax, find a touch of inner peace in a moment of outward calm.

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