Tag: wooden

2013 Deck – Week 19

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, PhotographyLeave a comment

I had quickly browsed through the entire takings of this week’s photos and was about to go with a street photo for this week’s Deck Photo, when on scrolling back I saw this one tucked amidst some photos from a tea-party held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, the young ladies were using this part of the building as a staging area for their fashion show.

I had looked back towards the entrance of the compound for some reason and noticed her at the window and snapped two quick shots before she disappeared back into the building, and I rather liked how this one came out.

The building is aging and I thought that the processing should match that.

Canon 60D  |  135mm  |  1/320s  |  f/7.1  |  ISO 640  |   Processed in Nik SIlver Efex

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

2013 Deck – Week 17

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography3 Comments

Sometimes the photo that a photographer chooses is not always the one that a “normal” viewer would choose, that’s just how it is….  I’ve heard many Wedding Photographers lament over the same problems, they would show the couple an array of photos from the big day and then they would choose what the Photographer thought were those that were not the cream of the crop… for him (or her).

This is because we are each looking at the photographs from a different perspective, each photo speaks to us differently, and appeals to each individual differently; so it would be no surprise to me if this week’s photo draws dome curious stares  🙂  I like it, but I don’t expect everyone to like it.

Taken around Vreed-en-hoop at an area referred to as Best Village.

Click on the image to see it in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 14

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography, thoughts6 Comments

I remember when…  (I think this line is only used by people who have seen things that may not be current and have to use this line to explain that situation to those younger than themselves… or by a youngster who wants to impress others with their amazing memory – even if some of it is invented)

Where was I?  … oh, yes…  I remember when I rode a bicycle to school, then to lessons, and to visit friends, or to go to church, or just for a joy-ride.  I remember lugging around a heavy chain with a large Union lock to secure the bicycle to a post.

I remember the bicycle I rode to lessons, an old “Big Ben”, or “Steel Donkey”, it was a lady’s frame, so we’d put a wooden bar across to tow others, or just to make it seem more masculine. (Something remarkably similar to the one Nikhil captured here) I remember taking turns with Johnny at towing home Trecia from lessons, even though it was not on my way home.

I remember while courting Maureen (now my wife), I had a “down handle” on a ten-speed bicycle, and we’d ride everywhere… even places I knew I shouldn’t… I remember being beaten with a 2×4 (piece of wood) by a thief try to get that bicycle from me…

I remember riding from home down to South Ruimveldt to visit my friends Andrew, Ian, and then to Durban Backlands to visit Dayal… sometimes just for the ride; and years later I rode to and from UG daily, and I remember leaving UG at 8pm after History lecture and riding down in pitch blackness with Scheme alongside on his bicycle (trying to remember where the potholes were) !

I remember riding to the seawall to work off the buzz of a beer that I drank while (legally) too young, I remember riding from Turkeyen to Bel Air hoping to wear off the buzz of too many beers from a Raymond’s birthday celebration, this was when I was a student at UG, only to stop at Nikhil’s home to ask for coffee before continuing home 🙂

I seldom ride a bicycle now, but I think every child should learn to ride one… it gives a sense of independence, of freedom… of adventure.

The photo that sparked a deluge of memories…

Click on the image to see it on the site, along with the other images from this year’s Deck Project.

2013 Deck – Week 04

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography4 Comments

On some photo-walks you just never know what you’ll come away with.  We were walking around the area near Parliament Buildings and Big Market (Stabroek Market), when we noticed this building.

It was aging, had a nice muted colour (due to faded paint by the harsh sun), and the paint was peeling.  If only I had caught someone leaning on the building!  But I still think it’s a nice shot, even without the person leaning on it  🙂

Click on the image to see in the Gallery.

2013 Deck – Week 03

On By themichaellamcollectionIn 2013 Deck, Photography2 Comments

Although I like to think of myself as a photographer who likes to take Landscape photos, there is not a lot of scope for that living in the city, but I’ve always had an interest in capturing images of buildings, especially old ones that may not survive due to neglect or just continued development (or any number of other reasons)

During the third week of the year, I had an inexplicable desire to take some photos of St Rose’s High School, just before attending a presentation by Hew Locke (an artist with some amazing work), Nikhil and I took a walk around the block, and I got my chance to take a few images.

To emphasize the building more, I used an “orange filter” setting whilst processing, this darkened the sky and made the building more pronounced.  Although I did not intend to combine “street photography” into it these two boys strolled past just as we were there.

As always, click on the image to see it in the Gallery

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!

Variety and Diversity

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughts6 Comments

I processed this photo yesterday after having the pixels just sit there for a year, and I wondered at the diversity of materials used in the construction and the “architecture”.  This morning I caught a snippet of Jon Stewart on the Daily Show speaking about the Diversity in the Democratic Party (funny stuff!), and I wondered at the coincidence of my thoughts on a building and his thoughts on a political party.

Growing up in Guyana, I never felt “race” play a part in my life until in my teens, before that it was always that we were different people, individually, not as a “class” or a “race”.  What happened when I was a teenager?  I learnt about politics and the struggles of the main political parties vying for power and each using the “race” card for their own ends regardless of what it did to the youth and the future of the country.

You can build a house entirely out of wood, you can build it entirely out of concrete, you can build it out of any one substance you feel like, it may or may not stand up to the elements (just imagine a real Gingerbread house in the rainforest! And no offence to the Igloos of the arctic and antarctic), but I’ve found that a good architect/contractor can take a variety of materials and produce not just a shelter from the rain, but a thing of beauty to “live” in, just as a good leader can make the best of the talents, varying and diverse, of the people who place their trust in him.

Click on the Image above for a better view in the Gallery, along with other images in the “Out and About” collection.

Here today…

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Photography, thoughts2 Comments

Someone may have to correct me if I am wrong (and I may very well be), but it seems that the Government can usually get funding (international) for the “construction” of a hospital or a new building at the hospital compound, but not funding to maintain and keep the existing structures.

The Public Hospital is a sea of ever-changing tides, and as the years go by the shape and structure of the hospital change with the funding.  I remember when this portion was new, and it had the brand new Emergency Room and Ambulance driveway, now it is no longer there, I had taken this last year on a walk to town.

I think that a photographic history of the Public Hospital would be fascinating, I wonder if anyone has ever tried it?  🙂

Click on the image above to see it in the Gallery along with other “Odds and Ends”  🙂

Worth Saving

On By themichaellamcollectionIn Commentary, Photography, thoughts6 Comments

Some things are worth saving.

A friendship of many years is certainly worth saving, after a while you get to the point where an argument is just an argument, not a reason for “falling out”.

A job is worth saving, especially when there are fewer to find and when you have more to think about than just yourself,

Memories, as in letters and photos, video-clips and newspaper clippings, are worth saving, it is a record of the things we’ve done, things we’ve seen, and it becomes a story to tell our children and grand-children.

In this century (and the end of the last) there’s a great movement to save our forests, certainly worth saving if we intend to continue to breathe.

Endangered species are worth saving, why let a species go extinct because of the actions (or inaction) of another species, especially when we (humans) may be the main cause of their dwindling numbers.

Recently, there’s been a movement (championed by Annette Arjoon-Martins) to save the mangroves that form part of our sea-defence, I certainly don’t want my house washed away because people burn garbage in the mangrove areas, destroying our first line of sea-defence, so that is certainly worth saving.

I think most people may agree with much of what I’ve mentioned, many more will have other things to add to this list, but is a building worth saving?  Is a building that is older than any of us, that has seen more mayors than we have fingers, that is one of the few remaining structures of its kind, that is a reminder of our colonial history worth saving?

Should we let the markers of our heritage, the work of the hands of our ancestors, the beauty of a golden age, fall into disrepair,slowly disappear and be forgotten?

Clink on the photo above to see it in the Gallery, along with other photos from around Georgetown, Guyana.