Home Base

During this period where I've had no internet, I was happy to find a local cafe with internet.  This place is awesome!!! 

It's a small hole-in-the-wall sort of place, but exploding with personality.  They have delicious paninis, smoothies, coffee, and desserts...plus wi-fi!!  I spent many of my days planted here for hours during the first few weeks in town. 

They make these sodas from syrups and soda water.  Delicious!!

The smoothies are really good too!

I love the decor as well, I need to go back and get more shots soon. 

That's all for today, off to the beach!!

Now the internet is lost in the foothills too...

Aaaannnnndddddddddddddd....I'm back!  I can't remember the last time I got online, seriously!  We are staying with the Manos family here in PA and they just got back from 3 weeks in California.  The plan was to have good ol' internet company trot down and hook us up to the grid, however for some reason they couldn't find our house.  Apparently, Eagle Rock Resort:

Amazing isn't it....sorry I got distracted by its beauty and my amazing photography skills (j/k).  All the roads had the same name.  All of the hundred or so roads HAD THE SAME NAME.  Hmm....well they thought about it and decided that might be confusing; all roads were given unique names but this just confused all local businesses.  You see where I'm going here?  Needless to say, internet company X was too lazy to use google maps and look us up.  Internet company Y has much better customer service and literally found us on Google's satellite image.  Sis Manos: "Yup, we have a green roof, you found us!!" Hope is in site...and in a week we'll maybe, possibly, by the grace of God and GPS's we will have internet at the house!!

All that to say I haven't been online and a quick visit to my in-laws provides a ripe opportunity for a plethora of posts so I can catch up.  I hope to do one a day, today, tomorrow, and Wednesday.  Then I go dark, then maybe Monday I'll be able to sit in my pj's with cup of coffee and blog away from the comfort of home again. 

Last time I promised sunsets and a cafe...I'll give you sunsets and tomorrow the cafe.  Enjoy:

In the bottom left you can see the lake that is just minutes from the house.  Most of the valley you see is Eagle Rock Property.

The 200mm zoom lens makes this look very compressed.  I love the layers of hills leading up to the last light of the day.

I named this "reminiscing" but I like "solitude" better.  Just a man and his thoughts at the end of the day.

Last thing: if you click on any photos it will bring them up much larger.  They look good bigger, go ahead-try it. 

Come say hi on facebook or twitter: https://www.facebook.com/#!/timothywilliamlawrence  https://twitter.com/tlawrencephoto

Sunsets and Buildings

The other day, on our way back from the adventure in Jim Thorpe, I noticed the sun hitting this church in an awesome way.  It helps too that the church itself is a rare site for me.  Apparently this area has a high number of Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, which if you've seen them, aren't the traditional steeple churches you might see on Main Street.  Instead of jabbering on about it, I'll show you:

I Love sunsets!  Every night is completely different than the last, and there are literally innumerable possibilities with what you can capture in front of a gorgeous sunset.

The detail on these doors is amazing!  True craftsmanship here, kudos.

A close up of one of the doors.

The spires are what caught my eye in the first place.

Next up, when I have internet access again: sunsets on top of a mountain and the Dragonfly Cafe!

As always, check out my facebook page for albums: https://www.facebook.com/#!/timothywilliamlawrence

Veteran's day thank you

     It's rainy and dark (my vitamin D reserves are getting very, very low) but that's OK because I had an amazing weekend!  Ice skating and the bruises associated with that nearly crippled Kayla, but she is recovering.  There was also pigeon hunting, horseback riding, football, and time spent with my friends and family that I will cherish.  All in all, it was a jam-packed weekend that made 6:45AM a decidedly unpleasant experience.

     On to the main reason for my post: photo of the week, the Veteran's Day Special.  First of all, I want to sincerely and humbly thank all of those veterans, personally known or otherwise, who have risked their lives and lived to tell us about it.  They were brave enough to sacrifice so much of life that I don't think I ever could put on the line.  They not only risked their own lives, but they gave up time with family and friends, they gave up comforts that I take for granted, and did it for my freedom.  I pray I never take that for granted.  Have you ever taken the time to hear a veteran's story?  I have a few times and they are amazing.  Go find a vet, listen to them, nod your head and ask questions...you will be amazed with the perspective you gain.  This is in honor of them:

     This is a Veteran's memorial near downtown Schenectady and falls within the lines of my "self-project" of finding long-lost Schenectady.  I look at this 3" gun, made by Rock Island Arsenal (I think) in 1944, every day before boarding the bus for work and think, "hey! I should photograph that cuz it's old and detailed and would make an interesting black & white"  Well as luck would have it, one day last week was very foggy and I brought my camera.  This is the best composition and I love the fog covering the back ground.  I've contacted a few different agencies because I really want to know the back story of the gun--when I know, you'll know.

     I do hope you enjoy the photo, and I hope you go find a veteran that you know and spend a few moments with them.  Take them out to taco bell or something and talk, they deserve it.

     Lastly, if you know of any sites around the city that you think to yourself, "that would be an awesome photograph, Tim Lawrence the photo-pro extraordinaire (just kidding!) should go snap a few shots", please let me know.  I'm hungry for history knowledge of the area.  Have a great day, stay warm!

-Tim  

New direction!

Happy Monday!  New week, new challenges, new opportunity....and new inspiration!  After speaking with a writer friend of mine, who just started a new blog as well (she's awesome and will you will enjoy her posts...http://cynthialovely.com/), I've decided on a weekly theme.  Every Monday I'll post a picture with a short description or story or whatever for all to enjoy.  At worst, you will be entertained by my ploys to entertain you, at best you will love the photo and my writing will improve!

Ok!  Here it is...

This photo means quite a bit to me.  A picture is worth a thousand words right?  I'll try to keep it to 100 ;) Back in 2010, a military family moved here from the South and started attending my church.  Right from the start they were friendlier than most Northerners, especially for not knowing anyone!  My wife (fiancee at the time) and I spent some time with them and immediately became solid friends with the whole family.  They were a home away from home for Kayla and treated her with love and kindness during the most stressful times of planing a wedding and going to school.  They continue to be close friends even with the busyness of our wedding, there daughter's wedding, and countless other activities that sometimes keep us apart.  I stopped by their house on Saturday after dropping Kayla off at work to catch a few football games with the man of the house, Joey.  He's a die-hard LSU (geaux Tigers!) and New Orleans Saints fan and I like them too.  It's also amusing to watch him get all bent out of shape during the game when it doesn't go his way.  Well, Sis. Manos had decorated the outside of the home with some pretty awesome Fall decorations and I just had to have a mini-shoot.  The light couldn't have been better for it being 1pm (it got way better at around 5, maybe those pictures will come next...) so click click click went my shutter.  This was my favorite shot not only because of the lighting and color, but also because it embodies everything this family is about-welcoming people into their home with unconditional love.  They have truly blessed myself, Kayla and countless others in the sometimes not-so-friendly Northeast.  I'm thankful that God has placed them in our lives and hope that they feel as welcome in my home as I do in theirs.

I hope you enjoyed the photo and story of the week!  Come back next Monday for more...

Lighting 101

As the sun retreats behind the clouds and rain begins to plummet from the sky, the ambient light quickly begins to give way to man-made lighting.  I'm inspired to write about something I just learned in a "for dummies" book I am reading.  Here goes:

Light is everything in photography and each light source is a certain temperature, and therefore gives off a different color of light.  The cooler the light, the more red it is and the hotter the light, the bluer it is.  We don't necessarily see this because our brain adjusts it automatically to make everything balanced.  The camera however, does not...which is super cool and super crazy frustrating at the same time if you don't understand it.  "Why are my family photos all coming out orange-tinted?  Arrrgggg!!!" (my first experience with this phenomenon Christmas 2008)

So now that I'm starting to slowly understand this...I took some photos around 6pm, on a rainy day in downtown Schenectady.  Here's how it came out...

As you can see, the lights are green and the part of the sidewalk that reflected it is green too!  Cool...
There's something in that book about what produces the light, tungsten or halogen or something, I forget but it makes a difference...  Now that I recognize this, I can start visualizing how a picture might turn out, and how to embrace or correct it so as to avoid post-production depression.  That's all for today, here's a few more examples...and a sneak peak for the next post :)

A slightly different angle...

Underexposed obviously, but I like how you just see the light-it looked simply white to my eye!

Last one, for perspective's sake

Hey that's me!!!

Two love birds enjoying a leisurely stroll through SPAC and I had the pleasure of photographing them!

Till next time,

-Tim

Finding my niche...

Good morning!  Fall is in the air, sort of.  Date: September 26; leaves: turning; Temperature: 75 and sunny?  OK, despite the discrepancies and confusion by the weather pattern (perhaps the weather took a wrong turn in Florida...no one seems to be complaining though), it's turning out to be a beautiful and eventful season.

Quick update since I lasted posted.  I've taken over 500 pictures this week and am up to my eyeballs in editing and organizing.  Included in the lot are such things as baby's first birthday, foggy mornings with a horse, and engagement photos!  It's been busy!

So why am I posting today and why should you read it, and continue to read in the future?  I'm going to start posting with certain themes in mind and my current them is...finding my niche.  Huh?  I'm working on finding a small, possibly obscure subject/event/etc. that someone might knot know much about, unless they themselves were a part of it.  I think I've found it too...bear with me...I'm still new at this.  I've had the immense pleasure of spending time with an amazing creature, Ghost and his trainer/owner/lifetime friend, Joey.  This is by far the most beautiful horse I've ever seen!  This horse is part of a specific breed called a Tennessee Walking Horse which, unbeknownst to me, has quite a following.  More on this as it develops...for now I'll stop typing and let you enjoy some photos.  About time, right?

6:30AM came fast and with heavy fog.  Ghost didn't seem to mind and was happy to show off.

Good morning!

This is Ghost's signature move.  What a classic.

The blue eyes are completely natural.  He is a beautiful creature.

The loving and dedicated trainer/owner, Joey.  

Thank you, Joey for allowing me to learn and photograph the wonderful labor of love you've put into this horse!  

Up next...more on that niche, and the picture that traveled the U.S. in a matter of minutes.  (Hint: it's one of these!)

-Tim

Introduction

"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.  He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame." - Proverbs 10:4-5


     If you want to grow in anything, don't wait around for something to happen, just start working and see where that takes you.  I've heard this in many ways, by many people of all different mindsets.  It seems to suit me; I'm more efficient and get so much more done if I am already busy.  The minute things slow down is the minute I lose any sort of drive and motivation.  I believe we are hard-wired that way; which is why, among other reasons, most of us have a hard time putting down the Blackberry on vacation.  I say all this to say that I like to stay busy.  I've tried many different vocations and hobbies during my short life.  In my 24 years of being on this earth I've done many things and experienced some awesome stuff, but  not nearly enough to allow me to sit back and reminisce quite yet; I'll save that for when I can start using the phrase, "now son, when I was your age..."  


So, here I am at the start of a new adventure.  This time it has so many different facets that I'm a bit overwhelmed by what steps need to be taken in order to achieve the end goals.  Here's my story:  Back in 2006, as I was failing my first semester of Culinary Arts at the local community college (yes, I failed hospitality 101-must be a Yankee thing...just kidding; that might be part of a future post, we'll see), I had the opportunity to go to Florida and work at Disney for a while.  Being that it was 6 degrees Fahrenheit I don't think I could have gotten down there any faster.  As a going away present I received my first digital camera and away I went.  Some 800 photos later I was hooked.  Now 10,000 photos and 5 years later I'm really hooked.  This blog, as well as a few other things are the start of my photographic journey, from hack to pretty cool photo guy.  


I've tried many new things that are outside of my comfort zone and this is definitely one of them.  I don't claim to have a single creative writing gene in my body and my love for broccoli just might surpass my love for writing and self-marketing.  Nevertheless, my love for photography drives me to put myself out there and share with the world this journey that I have set my sights upon.  I would love to have a few friends to share this adventure with and welcome all the advice (i.e. how to form a coherent thought for your reading pleasure) I can get.  Maybe you'll enjoy the writing, maybe you'l enjoy the pictures, who knows...but I'm putting myself and my photography on the front porch for all to see.  Join me as I grow... 


-Tim