Men at work

On April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Psychologists and psychiatrists make big deals out of “association”…

I saw this scene and thought to myself that the reflective safety vests reminded me of the song YMCA by the Village People, then that led me to thinking about Men at Work, the band that sang “Land Down Under”… do you think the pipes being put “under the ground” is an inference as well?

Don’t know what psychologists or psychiatrists would make of me, but for now I’ll avoid seeing any. and I should probably avoid the Canje area for a little while too 😀

This isn’t a great photo, but ever since I took it I’ve been thinking that I still like it for some reason… so I finished the processing and uploaded.

Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 17-50mm | Uncomposed moving shot.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

Framed Flora

On February 21, 2015February 21, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn PhotographyLeave a comment

Taking time away from the images can be a good thing… but it’s important to actually go back to them, because if you don’t, it becomes a matter of “out of sight, out of mind”…

I was looking for a certain Mashramani photo this morning in my 2010 photo library… and I stumbled across this image…

This day was a good one, I really have to sort out a few more images from it 🙂

2010 | Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 18-270mm

Click on the image to see it in the Flora Gallery along with other photos in the Floral category 🙂

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”

2015 Deck – Week 06

On February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 By themichaellamcollectionIn 2015 Deck, Photography1 Comment

I almost regret using the photo “Removing the Lines” for the Four Days, Four Photos challenge that James Broscombe had set for Nikhil and I… It is a photo that had something to say… and would have allowed me to have something to say too 🙂

That left me going through the rest of my week’s haul looking for something that stood out 🙂

Although I go out with hopes of getting nice landscapes or seascapes, I am usually also looking for anything else that might be useful to my own vision of my photography, and recently, I’ve been shooting some unusual scenes (for me, anyway)

This is one I think that is more Nikhil’s subject type, but not necessarily his style, There was something about the way the shadow fell that caught my attention, and then the way the shadow changed as the surface upon which it fell changed made me look again.

In this light (no pun intended) I was drawing a comparison to the way our actions and our attitudes to others often elicit different reactions and responses from each person, while we cannot control or even predict how others react to what we say or do, we should be observant of that reaction, so that we may learn from it, and be aware of it for future reference.

All shadows are not equal, and each shadow changes with the surface upon which it is cast, sometimes the shadow is sharp, and defined, at other times it can be diffused or even murky.

Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105mm | 1/320s, f/10, ISO200

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

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 🙂