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Want to Peak Inside this Building? September 28, 2009

Posted by Emily in : Church, New York, Photography , 2comments

While following my nose last weekend at Canaltown Days in Palmyra, I found myself at a small art exhibit in the gym of this church.  After looking at the art, and inquiring how my work could be displayed and sold at that art show next year, I got a crazy idea.

I’ve wanted to see the inside of this church that I photographed a few weeks ago, but the only time the chapel is open is during the time I’m at my church.

However . . .

Everyone comes out for Canaltown Days.

EVERYONE.  EVEN PREACHERS.

With my camera gear on my back and tripod in one hand, I asked someone, who asked someone, who got me in touch with someone who opened the chapel doors JUST FOR ME.

I got a private tour of this church building while the street out front was filled with thousands of people enjoying the festivities.

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This is the what is looks like behind the front doors:

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It is the oldest church in Palmyra but also the newest building since it was somewhat reconstructed in the 1800′s.

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The workmanship was beautiful.  Apparently it was built in one year.  A record during that time period and I would say a record by today’s standards!

I think this is the Methodist Church.  I’m not sure.  I could probably go outside and find out for sure, but it’s kind of cold, and I’m all warm inside my house.  :)

I’m learning that a camera, tripod, and nice demeanor can get you into places you might otherwise not be able to see.

Beautiful Graveyard September 27, 2009

Posted by Emily in : New York, Photography, Thoughts , 1 comment so far

This is the graveyard in Palmyra.

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I have never in my life seen such a large graveyard.

Seriously, there must have been THOUSANDS of graves.

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My lens could not capture more than a tiny corner at a time.  I’m not even sure a wide angle lens could capture the enormity of this graveyard.

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It just seemed ironic that a town of 3,000 people could have so many deceased.

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This was an odd head stone . . . I really liked it.  It was one of a kind.  I’m just going to say this, graveyards are creepy to me.

Yeah, I just said that.

But this one was BEAUTIFUL.  (You know that’s the only reason I photographed it, not because I have an affinity for graveyards!)

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Can you image just having a letter on your headstone?  That’s almost as sad as having a number.

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This is the grave of Alvin Smith.  He was Joseph’s Smith’s older brother who died when he was just 25.

This town has so much heritage.  I’m pretty sure when I head out West again, I’m not going to stumble upon graves with deceased dates in 1700′s.  Actually, I’m pretty sure the next time I enter a graveyard it will be because I’m at a funeral.  I don’t want to make a habit out of frequenting these places.

Lock 29 on the Erie Canal September 26, 2009

Posted by Emily in : Little Man Dallin, New York, Princess Hannah , 2comments

Look at Dallin’s face.

Did you take a good look?  Because this is what your face is going to look like as you read this post.

I’m 90% positive about that.

However, what I’m about to explain and show in pictures really was interesting . . . in person.

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Hannah seems intrigued about what’s about to happen, see?

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I’ve mentioned the Erie Canal right behind our building a time or two, or three, or more times.  I’m going to put myself right out there and share a secret with you . . . I didn’t know what a “lock” was until I saw what I’m about to show you.

I’m so un-ed-u-ma-cated, I know . . .

This lock thing is basically an elevator for boats.  It takes you from lower water to higher water and vice versa.  You enter the lock and the big steel doors close behind you.  Then you wait for the water to drain, thus lowering your boat to the lower level of water on the canal.

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Then, once the water is drained in the lock, the other set of steel doors open . . .

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And you make your way out to lower ground!

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I’m not sure how many feet the water dropped, (it’s 20 or something) but the process was pretty cool to see.

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There you have it folks.

Did this post intrigue you like it did Hannah or were you bored out of your brains like Dallin?

Lake-Stone Houses September 25, 2009

Posted by Emily in : New York, Thoughts , 3comments

Oh.  My.  Gosh.

Have you ever seen a “Lake-Stone House?”

Let me tell you, they are AMAZING and VERY RARE.

This is a Lake-Stone House:

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The first Lake-Stone houses/buildings appeared around 1820, and the last one about 1858.  They were built by English Artisans who came to this area to work on the locks at the Erie Canal. Many of the stones were hauled in from Lake Ontario, which took several days because of the weight of the load.  The stones were meticulously placed in the mortar with the smoothest stones placed in the front and the rougher stones placed in the back.

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Mason’s never passed their skill on to the next generation, and would stop work if someone came to watch them.  The art of the masonry could only be learned and passed along through membership in the masonry guild.

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I want one.

There a couple hundred Lake -Stone homes in Wayne County, and surely one of them will be for sale one day.

Right?

Don’t you want one too?

My Stipulations Before Becoming a Permanent Resident September 24, 2009

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, New York, Princess Hannah , 3comments

Hannah has visited/lived in a lot of places.  I’m not even sure how this next sentence is possible (since we are actually medical students not to be confused with trust fund kids), but she has been to five countries and 19 states in the three short years she’s been alive.

I know.  The math doesn’t add up on that one.

Of all the places she’s been, she’s decided New York is her favorite.  It could be that the candy store is two doors down from us. It could also be the bookstore, pizza place, park, and marina which are all basically two doors down from us. It might also be the weekly trips to the laundromat which she thoroughly enjoys.  Whatever the reason, Hannah has decided that she LOVES living in New York and wants to stay here “forever and ever and ever.”

Her words exactly.

I would like to stay in New York forever and ever and ever too, just as soon as they figure out how to moderate the winters, control the humidity in the summer, and exterminate the bugs flying around the wetlands along the trail to the Aqueduct.

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I like walking this trail with the kids and I’m going to miss it.  In fact, I’m going to miss a lot of things about this place, including the candy store two door down from us.  :)

Ideal Job September 22, 2009

Posted by Emily in : My Handsome Husband, New York, Photography, Thoughts , 4comments

We woke up last Saturday to a parking lot of antique/classic cars filling every square foot of Main Street.

Hannah thought her birthday had come early, you know, because all those people with nice cars must be there for her.

Dallin was just happy to scream at the top of his lungs to the people below shining up their cars.

He likes to be heard.

There were over 230 cars to see.  I don’t know the first thing about cars, so please, don’t ask me what makes and models each of these cars are.

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David asked me to photograph this car for his dad.  Apparently, his dad owned one of these back in the day.

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I don’t know much about these cars (except that they are probably worth a lot) but I did find it fun to shoot them.  It took a serious amount of creative energy to figure out how to compose “car” shots.  I was up, down, and all around the vehicles analyzing the light, just trying to figure out how to frame each car.

I was tired after this shoot I can tell you that.

I can also say that I enjoyed shooting cars and I learned a ton.

Oh my, there are endless things to photograph.  What am I going to be when I grow up?  A child photographer?  A commercial photographer?  Am I going to pursue fine art?  I really love shooting places too . . .

Maybe someone will just hire me to travel the world and let me shoot whatever the heck I want.

Yeah, that sounds like a good job.

Night Photography, What Do You Think? September 21, 2009

Posted by Emily in : New York, Photography, Thoughts , 7comments

Have I mentioned how much I’m going to miss living on Main Street?  I actually really like living in the center of everything.  Thankfully, this is a small little town so there’s not too much action.

I have also really enjoyed night photography, so a few nights ago I set out to shoot some pictures.

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This is an almost full moon over Main Street.

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This is the Historic Book of Mormon publication site.  I shot this before, but at a different angle.

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I also shot this image, but this time I shot it minus our car parked out front.  :)

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This could be a new direction for me . . . night photography. I love how the camera captures things we simply cannot see with our naked eyes, (like and extended shutter speed can capture the trail of a moonrise) and it’s opening a whole new world of possibilities.

Night photography.  What do you think?  Love it or hate it?

Most of My Days are Spent Just Following My Nose September 18, 2009

Posted by Emily in : Family, New York , 5comments

Most of the time, I just follow my nose.  Instead of taking the regular route home from anywhere, I take any route in the general direction of my home just to see where my nose takes me.  This is basically how I discover any new city, and where I find new friends.

After we visited the Martin Harris farm last week, we decided to head in the opposite direction of our house just so we could see what was on the other side of the grass, so to speak.

We ended up here:

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A beautiful park on Lake Ontario.  The kids loved it.  We loved it.

We decided to go back the following day . . .

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We heard there was a beach, with real sand and real water.  :)

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And, it had a lighthouse!  We were sold.

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Hannah LOVED the playground in the sand. LOVED IT.

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Dallin hated the sand. . . HATED IT.  (We’re not worried, Hannah hated the sand too and she lived on a Caribbean island when she was his age!)

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This is Sodus Point, New York.  The lake is known as Lake Ontario.  :)

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We had to check out the lighthouse, of course.

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Hannah was impressed.

We plan to hit this beach one more time before we leave this beautiful place in just a few short days!

One of the Things I’m Going to Miss September 17, 2009

Posted by Emily in : New York, Princess Hannah , 1 comment so far

This little marina on the Erie Canal is located right behind our building.

The kids and I walk down here everyday to watch boats go by.  Hannah buys a sucker at the candy store two doors down from us, and she waits to eat it until we pull up a seat to watch the  boat traffic.  Usually, there is not much by way of “boat traffic” so she usually chats it up with the boat travelers docked at the marina.

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It is so calm.  I love to sit and watch people while Hannah runs up and down the grass hill picking dandelions for me.

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Obviously, we visit this marina during the day, but I wanted to capture the calmness of this place and photographing it at night enhances that feeling.

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We cross this road to get to the marina.  It is usually very busy with traffic during the day, but as you can see . . . at night it’s a different world.

We are leaving this place so soon . . . and I’m sad!  Walking down to the boats is just one of things I’m going to miss doing with the kids.  :(

Niagara Falls September 16, 2009

Posted by Emily in : New York, Photography, Trips , 7comments

I have always wanted to see Niagara Falls.

Really.  It ranked right up there with going to Disneyland.

When we found out David would be doing a rotation in Upstate New York, I immediately wanted to know how close we would be to Niagara Falls.

It was not a even a question, WE WERE GOING TO SEE IT, regardless of how far we had to drive.  Fortunately, it was only two hours away.

The falls are on the American and Canadian border.  I did some internet research, and asked several locals here in town which country was the best to view the falls from and surprisingly, I didn’t get a straight answer.  Maybe people didn’t notice which country they were in when looking at the falls, maybe the falls were beautiful on both sides, maybe they took the Maid of the Mist boat ride and experienced both sides of the falls at the same time . . . who knows.

Let me give it to you straight.  Regardless of what you read, see, or hear about Niagara Falls, these are the facts:

This photo was taken on the American side of the falls.  As you can see, the falls are awesome, the Maid of the Mist boat seems to be having a great time, and the Canadian skyline is beautiful.

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We did not take a ride on the Maid of the Mist boat.  One reason is because we had little kids with us, the other is because my idea of  fun does not include getting drenched in water to knock on death’s door.

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This view is also on the American side.  It is pretty beautiful.

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This is on the American side.

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This is also on the American side.  I call this image, “Mist Meets Clouds.”

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Look!  We were all there!  On the American side anyway . . . Dallin doesn’t have a passport, so David and I took turns with Hannah walking across the bridge  to Canada to view the falls.

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This is also on the American side.  Look!  Hannah like the plants!  :)

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Look!  We were all there!  It was little tricky to get a photo of just us because there were so many tourists, but we managed.  :)

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I took this shot from the international bridge that connect America to Canada.  The observation tower you see in the image is on the American side.  It is a good way to view the falls if you do not have a passport to see the falls from Canada.

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I liked this.

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I also liked this one.  Notice the spider web in the corner . . .

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I shot this from the bridge.  As you can see, the falls are just amazing.

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This is a view from the Canadian side.

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This plaza is on the Canadian side.  It was so beautiful!

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This is the international bridge.  You can drive or walk across it.

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I am on the plaza on the Canadian side, and the views only get better.

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I would like to point out the tiny little people that look like ants . . . can you see them?

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This part of Niagara Falls is on the American side, but you can only enjoy it in its entirety from the Canadian side.

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I liked this double decker bus.  Outside of China, I don’t think I’ve seen another one in person.

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Breathtaking view from the Canadian side of the American falls.

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This is a photo of the Canadian falls.

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The American falls as viewed from the Canadian side.

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This is the horseshoe.  The left part of the image is in America and the right side is in Canada.

It was amazing.

Spectacular.

A MUST SEE . . . for us at least.  The kids didn’t really care about Niagara Falls.  I’m pretty sure Hannah would have loved going to a playground and getting a Happy Meal much more than staring at water falling.

In a nutshell: You must go to Canada to visit the falls, or don’t go at all.  :)