Lamps

Snapshot of a pair of wall lamps given to us by a dear friend from Colombia. Been with us for the last 33 years. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Lights on a Wall

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”—Apple “Think Different” Commercial, 1997.

Snapshot of an old lamp which was given to us by a dear friend after she returned from a trip to Colombia. It's been with us for the last 32 years; a lifetime. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

It’s now 05:46 a.m. (-5GMT).  Birds are chirping outside my home office window.  Dark and a little cold.  Could rain later.  Mood peaceful mixed with aloneness.  Music playing in the background—Adagio in G Minor by Tomaso Albinoni.

Plan to watch the film “Prince of Tides” played by Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand based on a book with the same title written by Patrick (Pat) Conroy.  I like Netflix.  Another day, new experiences.  And so life goes on as the clock ticks. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.

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The Yankee Lamps

In 1980, shortly after I was married, Texaco sent me to New York and London for a sales training trip.  My supervisor was retiring and I was chosen to take his place as Marine Sales Supervisor in Panama.  At that time, Texaco was the main supplier of bunkers (marine fuels) and marine lubes south of the Río Grande.  In fact, Panama competed head-to-head with New York, London, Hong Kong, and Rotterdam as a bunkering spot.

Since we had recently purchased a new home for our wedding, I decided to buy the lamps for the house in New York.  Upon my return to Panama, one month later, the lighting fixtures were installed.  There was one lamp for the dining room, one lamp for the living room and one small lamp for the front porch.  Thirty-two years later, the lamps are still providing light to our home.

Below is a picture of our living room lamp shot with my P&S Canon PowerShot A720 IS early in the evening.  No flash was used.  The picture was taken hand held.  I was surprised to see how sharp the picture turned out.  For more than three years I’ve been taking pictures with this entry-level P&S camera with satisfactory results.

Snapshot of our living room lamp, shot with an entry-level P&S compact camera, a Canon PowerShot A720 IS. No flash or tripod were used to take this picture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Lamps and Collages

Snapshot of a Colombian lamp that was given to us as a present about thirty years ago and two collages made with clock parts which I acquired in London in 1980. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Strolling Through the Long Corridors of Mi Pueblito

Mi Pueblito or small town,  is located on Avenida de Los Martires on the lower slopes of Ancon Hill in Panama City, Panama.  It is an exact replica of a small, Panamanian interior town at the turn of the century. Government offices, souvenir shops, a restaurant, a school and a tiny church, surrounds a cobblestone plaza with Spanish fountain.  A cow decorates the small plaza, favorite amongst the foreign visitors.  A museum is devoted to the pollera, Panama’s national dress and colorful folklore shows are tendered regularly.   The venue is sometimes rented by young folklore-loving couples,  to tie the knot.

The building  has the shape of a large “U” with spatial corridors illuminated with gorgeous lamps.  These large edifices are divided into small compartments, each displaying different themes as explained above.  I leisurely walked through these ample corridors searching for subjects to capture with my Birthday Camera and share them with you all.

Below are several pictures depicting  the extended corridors of Mi Pueblito.  The place is saturated with eye-catching subjects about the life of a tiny town in the countryside at the turn of the century.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the ample corridors of Mi Pueblito located on the lower slopes of Ancon Hill in Panama City, Panama. Towards your left you can see a curled Panama flag. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Take notice of the attractive lamps hanging from the roof of the building. Even though it was nine o'clock in the morning, the lights were still on. That speaks for government's energy efficiency. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of one of the corners of the "U"-shaped building with a Panamanian flag in the middle. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

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Photography, Ceilings, and Lamps

A few years ago we contracted an “expert” in sealing leaks in the roof of our home.  At that time, every time it rained, the inside of our house was flooded.  There were leaks all over the place.  The “expert” suggested that all the roof nails be changed and replaced with new ones and sealed with a special water-resistant product.  Done.  More than 60 special nails were hammered in and we sighed in relief knowing that our leak problem was finally over.  Little did we know that our problems were just beginning.

During the next rainy season, it was raining more inside the house than outside.  The “expert” was a rip-off.  He turned out to be a banker out of a job and had taken roof maintenance as a part-time learning job.  He used us as his first guinea pigs.  But there’s no use crying over spilled milk.  We started to save money to seal the roof again and replaced all the suspended ceiling which was ruined from the excess of humidity.

Three weeks ago the job was finished.  The water proof roof and the new suspended ceiling looks great.  Raenco was the company we used to do the job and they did a fantastic job at a fair price.  Thanks God.

While Raenco was changing the tiles of the suspended ceiling, we had to disconnect two lamps. After the leaky ceiling was  supplanted, the lamps were reinstalled.  I took several pictures of the loose pieces lamp accessories which lay on the living room while the Raenco people did their job.  It was a fun experience and my Birthday camera proved it was worth its salt.

These are the pictures of the loose lamp pieces that were photographed in more ways than one.  Here we go.

Photograph of the main lamp in the living room which I purchased in New York about thirty years ago. Take notice of the brand new white ceiling without a single water stain from a leaky roof. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of a lamp which we use at the dinning room. It is also a souvenir from the Big Apple. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of loose lamp parts filtered with a sepia shade which softens the image. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Photograph of the same lamp parts filtered with a bronze shade. Notice how different this picture looks compared with the sepia-colored one. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A negative effect of the lamp parts. The energy reduction light bulb was a donation of the Panama government which distributed thousands of these lamps, free of change, in an effort to curtail energy demand. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

This sepia shaded photo depicts a lamp tube partially broken. The glow of the tube is pleasing to the eye. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The crack in the lamp tube is clearly seen in this picture. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Now when it rains, we are all smiles.  We know the leaks are gone, the lights are bright and our ceiling is sparkling white as recent snow.  Thanks to our “expert” we have a brand new ceiling.  Good Day.

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Photograph of the Day: In Search of Light

(Credit: Pixdaus.com by Sanura)

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The Midnight Slippers

In Panama, retirees of the Social Security (CSS) receive their paychecks every fifteen to seventeen days.  In order to get paid, you can either go to their payment centers and wait in line to get your check, or you can authorize the Caja de Seguro Social (CSS) to deposit your check directly to your savings account.  I preferred the latter.

Electronic banking in Panama is thriving and my bank—Banco General—is second to none in providing this service.  Their Clave Card (debit card) is accepted by more then 95 percent of local merchants, plus with Clave you can withdraw cash through the ample stock of ATMs conveniently located all over Panama City.  Waiting in line to pay for my electric, telephone or water bills is a thing of the past.

The first thing we do after getting paid, is rush to El Machetazo supermarket at San Miguelito to buy our food and household items.  First things first.  After taking care of your belly, the rest can wait.

Last Tuesday, my wife and I went to El Machetazo for our bi-weekly food purchase.  Our total grocery bill was $149.95 which is astronomical for only two persons.  Inflation is a great concern for people with a low to middle income in Panama.  It’s getting more and more difficult to make ends meet. It’s almost a mental torture going to buy groceries nowadays.

While walking the aisles of El Machetazo, my wife noticed a beautiful pair of slippers with a tempting price of $3.99.  She couldn’t resist the price, so she purchased them before they were gone.  Five other clients followed suit and soon the shelf was as clean as a child’s butt.

I didn’t take good look at the slippers until we got home.  They are the most attractive  pair of slippers I have seen in quite a while.  In fact, I liked them so much, I decided to take several pictures before they lost their charm after being used.

With my Birthday camera in my hands, I softly placed the slippers on the living room table, turned off the lights, and illuminated the room with a small candle, in an effort to create an appropriate scene for my wife’s new slippers.  I was pretending to be a photographer, mind you.

Since the pictures were taken in the dark , I decided to call the slippers, The Midnight Slippers, even though it was only seven o’clock in the evening.   I was also pretending to be a writer. (Grin)

This is what came out of the magic box last Tuesday, shortly after supper.  Here we go.

In the dark room, the candle in the pot resembled a full moon graciously illuminating the slippers. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

(Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

An artistic version (Fresco) of previous photograph which enhances the beauty of the slippers. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

A close up view of one slipper that looks as sensual as a woman in the obscure scene. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Notice how the slipper glows like a lamp in the dark. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

An artistic version (Fresco) of previous photograh making the slipper glow like a lamp in the dark. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

In this picture I tried to apply the Rule of Thirds in an effort to improve the perspective of the subjects. You decide if I succeeded. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

In this picture the slippers glowed like a Christmas tree in the dark room. There's light all over the place. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Even though my wife paid only $3.99 for these Chinese slippers, they looked to me like a million bucks.  Beauty has nothing to do with money.  It’s us humans who confuse values.  Good Day!

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