George Washington slept here...

If you live or have lived where I do you probably heard this at one time or another, Old George must have done a lot of sleeping!

A few Saturdays ago Kim and I were driving through our neighboring town of Norristown as we went about our weekly errands. While at a stoplight Kim pointed at something that I have probably driven by, quite literally, a thousand times. It was this sign on the side of a building.

Okay, it doesn't say George Washington slept here but it does say he camped here. He must have slept some time! Anyway what I am getting at is a point I made in my last post. History is all around us but we don't always see it. Here is where the sign is.

Can you see it? If not here it is.

Easy to miss. Right out there in the open but kind of hidden at the same time. And while I am posting pictures of Norristown here  is one of the Montgomery County Courthouse that is located there.

A few of quick facts before I wrap up for today.

- Norristown is the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

- Norristown was at one time the Nation's largest borough but has been a municipality since 1986.

- Norristown is named after Isaac Norris a member of the colonial Pennsylvania legislature.

- Isaac Norris  ordered the casting of the state house bell that became known as the Liberty Bell.


Well, that's all I have for now. Thanks for reading and please check back soon.

Until next time...

Random Pics of where I live...

Today I would like to simply share some photos from where I live. Nice and simple right? Right!

I live in the Swedesburg, Pennsylvania. A village in Upper Merion Township that is about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia.

As the sign says Swedesburg was founded in 1712. 64 years before the signing of The Declaration of Independence and almost 302 years old.

One of the oldest structures in Swedesburg is Christ Church. Also referred to as Old Swedes.

Once a Lutheran but now an Episcopalian church, Old Swedes was erected in 1760. The current structure replaced a combination log cabin school and church that was built in 1734. Before 1734 the Swedish colonists that settled here held most of their religious services in private homes.

Just a couple of miles from my home in Swedesburg is one of my favorite places.,Valley Forge National Park. Here are a couple photos I shot there recently.

Replica Cannon. One of many displayed throughout the park.

 

One of many trails.

 

Valley Forge Train Station in foreground. Washington's Headquarters in the background.

In the first two photos is one of the many replica canons that can be found throughout Valley Forge Park and one of the trails of which there is also many. The third photo shows Valley Forge Station which operated between 1911 and the 1950's. It was operated by The Reading Railroad and was once a primary way for visitors from Philadelphia to enter the park. Also shown is Washington's Headquarters which was of course used by General George Washington during the encampment of 1777-1778.

I'm going to wrap up for now but please be sure to check back soon. I will be covering more of Valley Forge and the surrounding area. Thank you for exploring my local history with me. I have a lot more photos to share that I hope you will enjoy.

Until next time...

My Love of The Sun

Actually what I really love is the sunrise. Here's how it started.

It was October 28, 2010. The first morning of a week I was spending in Ocean City, Maryland with my family. I was up early which is very normal for me and figured I'd enjoy a morning sitting on the patio of the ocean front condo we had rented for the week and watch the sun come up over the Atlantic. Of course I had my camera with me. I almost always have one with me. Anyway, I thought it would be great to take a few shots as the sun rose. I took several but they all pretty much looked like this.

October 28, 2010

Not bad but not really a work of art either. Of course at the time I thought they were great. But hey, it was a start.

Fast forward a couple years to December 31, 2011. Kim and I were out shopping and I saw a new camera I really wanted. Since it was close to my birthday Kim offered to me it for me. Well she didn't have to twist my arm too hard. We left the store with my early gift.


The next morning was of course New Years day and as usual I was up early. I was also anxious to try out my new camera so I took it out on our back deck which happens to have a nice view of the sunrise and took a few shots. This is the best one. Again not a masterpiece but somewhat of an improvement from those shots from a couple years earlier. Well at least the colors are better.

January 1, 2012

To make a long story short I got up the next day and gave it another shot. Then the next day and the next day and so on. What started out as an experiment on January 1st became a week long project and then a month long and before I knew it I had made a personal commitment to making this a year long project. And that is exactly what I did. I got up before sunrise every day of the year and photographed the sunrise. 366 days (Had to pick a leap year). Rain or snow or shine. If the sun wasn't visible I still took the shot in the direction of the sun at the right time. Here are some examples of what I came up with.

June 1, 2012

June 3, 2012 - Cape May, New Jersey

December 3, 2012

I learned a lot that year. I really got to know my camera. I learned, for  the most part, what works and what doesn't. I learned that the photographic equipment is not as important as the talent of the person using it. Though all cameras do have their limits. The biggest lesson I learned though is "practice makes better". Nobody is perfect.

I am no pro but I like to think I am getting better. Here is today's sunrise. Shot with yet another new camera:)

April 16, 2014

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I am new to this and your comments would be appreciated and are always welcome.

If you would like to check out some of my work please take a look here:

Flickr 
500px 
LWMPics 

Be sure to check back soon!

An Introduction and an Exploration of Analog Photography

 

Hi and welcome to my blog. Welcome to Exploration Photography!

First an introduction for those that don't already know me. My name is Larry Miller and my hobby is photography. I am in my early 40's and live in southeastern Pennsylvania about 20 miles west of Philadelphia and a few miles from historic Valley Forge. I have been married to my beautiful  wife Kim for 10 wonderful years and have a step-son Terry, four cats and a miniature schnauzer.

Being close to Valley Forge will become very obvious as I post here because it is one of my favorite places to photograph. I love it for the vast history it holds in the founding of the United States and also just for it's pure beauty. My interests do not end there though. I like to work with landscapes as well as cityscapes and nature in general. I like most people of this day shoot mostly in digital. I have however recently started a new project. I am going back a bit and playing with analog (film) photography. In fact that is where I am starting today, with my exploration of analog photography. Enjoy!
  
Introducing My 1965 Zeiss Ikon Contessa LBE 35mm Film Camera.

49 years old. 5 years older than me and clean as a whistle! The Contessa LBE is a fully manual, slightly heavy and very well built camera hailing from Germany. The only thing that does not work anymore is the light meter but that is fairly easy to work around.

This camera has a fixed focal length F2.8 50mm lens. Good for general portrait photography and not bad for landscapes. It accepts films with an ISO (speed) rating of 10-800 and a shutter speed range of 1/15 of a second through 1/500th of a second plus Bulb. It's Aperture range is F2.8 through F22.

Enough of the specs though, here are some samples I shot last Sunday at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. These were all shot with Fuji 200 Speed Color Print Film, developed and placed directly to disc by a local film processing lab. I post processed each one. I feel they are slightly over exposed but not badly. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Main Conservatory - April 6, 2014

One of the many benches along one of the many trails - April 6, 2014

Italian Water garden (still empty from the winter season) - April 6, 2014

Steps leading to trail next to Italian Water Garden - April 6, 2014

Small lake (or large pond?) behind Italian Water Garden - April 6, 2014

Thanks for reading and be sure to stop back!

Until next time...