Tag: wires

The Koker and the Lighthouse

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography1 Comment

I suppose that the longstanding Lighthouse in Kingston Georgetown can now be considered defunct, or is it? It has stood for almost 200 years (build in 1830 by the British, replacing a previous Dutch wooden structure that was built in 1817), and served its purpose well, right up until the Guyana Marriott Hotel opened its doors in 2015. The Marriott Hotel surpassed the height of the Lighthouse effectively blocking it from view from the Ocean.

At the top of the Marriott there can be seen a glass encased structure, that now serves as he beacon for sea-faring vessels.

The Lighthouse still stands as a landmark and falls under the care of the National Trust of Guyana.

The Koker and the Lighthouse – 20-7311 – Water Street,
Kingston, Georgetown.

The Lighthouse’s iconic vertical red and white stripes makes it an instantly recognisable landmark, I am sure I am not the first to frame it this way, and certainly wont be the last.

The House on Sixth

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography3 Comments

Its been quite a while since I’ve blogged anything here, it’s actually been quite a while since I’ve done any serious photography with the DSLR.  Since I began using a smart phone with a decent camera, I’ve done quite a bit of work on my Instagram project, and the simple joy of pulling out a phone and snapping a photo has reduced the urge to use (or lug around) any larger camera.  But, mobile devices have their limitations, and there are still images that need to be captured differently.

That being said, I made an effort, to stop the vehicle one afternoon, and snap a few frames of a house that I keep passing, and promising to get a photo of, so here it is 🙂

Canon EOS 6D, Canon 24-105 f/4L  |  Processed in Nik HDR Efex and Lightroom  |  2017

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with other images in the Black & White Gallery

Tower

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography2 Comments

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.

Goodbye Unity

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography8 Comments

Robb Street begins in Robbstown, down on the “waterfront” by the John Fernandes’ wharf area, both the ward and the street got their names from the man who designed the area in terms of the building lots and landscape, it ends at the famous Bourda Cricket Ground (Georgetown Cricket Club), on what is now Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, renamed to honour the achievements of one of Guyana’s great cricketers of the 1990s into the first decade and a half of the new millennia.  The original name of Shiv Chanderpaul Drive was New Garden Street, because Robb Street was to originally end at the new Botanical Gardens, but that was pushed back a further block (an area that is home to the Georgetown Cricket Club, Georgetown Football Club, Ministry of Agriculture, and Office of the President.)

At the end of Robb Street, on the northern corner, is the Our Lady of Fatima Roman Catholic Church (if you’re a Portuguese language speaker, you may want to check out their Portuguese language mass that caters to our growing latin/spanish/Brazillian population), in the southern corner is (or, in a few days/weeks, was) Unity House, a three story wooden house.

I don’t know enough of it’s history, but it once housed the chapel in which Holy Mass was celebrated while the church across the road was being built (on the middle floor), and for many years it was the headquarters of the United Force, a political party which has held parliamentary seats in Guyana up until two elections ago.   Prior to the last elections, also, there was some in-fighting among the executives, primarily as to who would lead the party, but that’s just politics.  As I write this the building is being torn down, let’s hope the party can last a bit longer 🙂

I was processing a photo that I had taken near the gate, but that would not enlighten anyone as to the structure of the building, so I went on to process a wider photo for elucidation 🙂

 

Closed – 15-9996  |  2015  |  Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm

Unity House – 15-9986  |  2015  |  Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm

Click on the images to see them in their respective Galleries.

Vanishing Vanity

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography5 Comments

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.

The house on the corner

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography4 Comments

Last year sometime, someone called me to tell me that there was an old house on Regent Street that was being put up for sale, and they were letting me know just in case I wanted some photos before the new owners took over (and who would more than likely tear it down); I wish more people would call me like this actually.

I went out one Sunday morning, and took a few photos, some just to record the building, others with a more studied eye to the scene, and as usual I was always on the look-out for one or two that I think stand out from the rest; this is one of those.

Canon EOS 60D, Sigma 10-20mm  |  Regent & Light Streets, Georgetown, Guyana | 2015

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery

2014 Deck – Week 27

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2014 Deck, Photography2 Comments

Every year, at least once a year, there’s a large parade of police officers and associated personnel through the streets of Georgetown, fortunately for me they usually do it on a Saturday and they usually pass right in front of my office.

I never know beforehand that it’s about to occur, except for the sudden thudding of the drums coming down the street, so, like every curious citizen, I grab my camera and head out to the street to see what’s the cause of the noise.

I always snap a few photos, just on the off-chance that I may need something of that nature or that one may come out special.

I think I have a few more images in this week’s takings that qualify as “better”, but I saw this one and thought I think I like it, and I think I’d like it in sepia, with a vignette; so I actually wasted very little time in processing it, I just went straight to task and made the few adjustments that were already in my head.

f/6.3 @ 105mm, 1/250s, ISO200

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 37

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography4 Comments

Some scenes catch your eye, and you just have to try and get it on film or pixels, or a sketch.  I was walking with Nikhil around Bourda Market, primarily looking for some of his previous victims (photographic subjects) to whom he wanted to give a print of his labours… it is always interesting to watch their faces when he presents them with the print… indescribable, especially since most of them never expect to receive one :-), enough digression… yes, so… I was walking with Nikhil, taking the odd Street Photograph or two, just for practice, since mine never come out as good as Nikhil’s or Avinash’s..  and this scene presented itself to me as I looked back up Bourda Street towards Regent Street.

It’s a scene I know Nikhil would have shot had his hands not been full of envelopes 😀

Street Photography isn’t everyone’s thing… I hope you like it.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 23

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography2 Comments

Keeping a photo project going is not easy, I found that many times I “force” the images by going out looking for things to shoot… and often times I’m not entirely satisfied with the results.  Most of the images that I like are the ones that I just happen to see, being in the right place at the right time  🙂

I was on the pavement near the intersection of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic when I noticed the reflection of City Hall in the flooded pavement and road near to me, I actually had my camera in hand and tried to compose a few shots between people walking by me, and vehicles splashing the waters occasionally.

Some people can go out and “make” the photos, others are just the instrument that is manoeuvred into the right place at the right moment to see and capture what is shown to them  🙂

Canon Rebel T1i  |  Sigma 17-50mm  |  17mm, f/8, ISO400

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery along with the other images in the 2013 Deck Project.