Category Archives: Photography

Harmony Beach Park – Montego Bay

In May 2021 the 16-acre Harmony Beach Park was opened to public in Montego Bay Jamaica. It was built at a cost of 1.3 billion dollars. It is a flagship project by the Urban Development Corporation. It was opened by the Prime Minister, Most Hon. Andrew Holness. Harmony Beach Park is located along Howard Cooke Boulevard and entry is free for all. I visited the park in July, the wide-open green space, the shady trees, the cool breeze, the clear blue waters and the clean beach was very, very beautiful.

There is a trail built for anyone who would like to jog in the park and this jogging trail is made of special recycled rubber. The beach at the park is a big plus. The early morning view and sun sets are great.

There are good rest rooms also and locker facility for visitors to store their belongings. The best thing is that there are enough of security personnel and I know am safe. No vendors are allowed into the park. I saw some new shops also constructed but they are not yet let out. I guess soon the shops will also open.

There is a special play area for children and a basketball court also. I have been to the park a few times to take either an early morning walk or an evening walk and it was very relaxing. The Park is well lit in the evening and during the day there are lots of trees that provide shade from the heat. Due to the pandemic, I could not visit the park as often as I would like to.

My Budding Love For Photography

They say A picture is worth a thousand words. We can easily convey our emotions and moods with images in situations where words fail us. This thought motivated me to take up photography as a hobby. I imagined that I could capture the complete mood of the scene through my lens, and I only needed to aim and shoot.

I bought a few books to learn the art of taking great pictures and practised with an old SLR camera that we had.  I diligently learnt about focal length, aperture, shutter speed etc. Read about how to use filters, different lenses for different effects. Tried to practice taking pictures. I encountered only limited success and became disillusioned by the process.

Call me daft, but the science involved behind a good picture flew over my head. I ditched the SLR and picked up a DSLR, thinking that it would make things easier. I was initially met with limited success, and my shots were average. The lenses and filters needed to take great pictures were very expensive. I did not invest much for expensive equipment due to my weak photography skills. I tried to practice more with my existing equipment for as long as I could. Despite my shaky hands and limited knowledge of light and photography, I took amateurs pics like the ones below.

With the latest smartphones, I feel like a professional photographer now. They come filled with a wide variety of features and settings that do not require any filters and knowhow. Here are a few photos I took with my smartphone

It is safe to say that for me, photography is more of a skill than an art form. A talent, I am not able to master, yet I needn’t give up on my love for it as long as we have smartphones.