Tim Larsen - Photographer

Rock Star...

2009-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Governor Jon Corzine is seen here with one of the local mayors around the North Bergen area during a campaign stop. This place was absolute chaos while hundreds of people just wanted to either be near the Gov and/or get a picture with him. I love all the people gathered around just to take a picture of the Gov - in the next couple of weeks these people will be vying for his attention to try to get these photographs autographed. It's a site to behold. You can click on the image to make it larger...

Spin Class...

2009-10-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

Governor Corzine talks to the press after the debate William Paterson University in Wayne. People are always asking me why do I always take photos of his back - I never understood this question because to me I was just making art - I think it's because I see the Governor every day (really, almost everyday) - and I'm interested in how others see the Governor and what the Governor sees. So here in the press room reporters, camera men and photogs where rushing to get their equipment set up - I think they were a little suprised the Gov showed up so quick.

When Mario Speaks...

2009-10-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

The other day I had the oppurtunity to listen to New York Governor Mario Cuomo - what a great speaker - and funny, who knew. You can see the people gathered around him here listening to the ex-Governor. In 1984 he gave a speech to the Democratic Convention and it's still one of the top 100 speeches, number 11 in fact, on American Rhetoric's website.

SeeSaw...

2009-10-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

I didn't think parks had seesaws anymore because of the 'DANGER' factor - but I found one in Hackensack. So I shot these girls having the time of their lives playing on the seesaw. After I walked away one of the girls jumped off and the other girl landed on her ass - ouch! Oh, the good old days... is seesaw one word or two? See saw? Seesaw?

More Power...

2009-10-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

I hate parades. Really - I hate them. I don't get them and I would never go if I didn't have kids or if my boss didn't march in them. Worse than going to a parade - shooting them. I don't know a photog out there that likes shooting parades - ugh. Anyway, there's nothing special about this Columbus Day Parade in Nutley - I was just amazed at how many power lines were overhead glimmering in the sun - it's such an eyesore. I wonder what Christopher Columbus would think if he saw all those power lines - He did say, "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." I wonder if he meant I should ignore all these power lines...

Peep Show...

2009-10-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

I'm always shooting around corners and sneaking up on something that might be going on so I can get a decent 'fly on the wall' type of shot. The top image is a shot through a peep-hole in a hotel door. That was a little tough and you can barely make out the Governor but it's a fun shot. The other image is of the Governor sitting in his hold room while waiting for the Vice President to arrive. This is the fun stuff that makes my job easy to do.

15 Seconds...

2009-10-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

I love this - Governor was getting ready for the first debate at NJN. There were doing microphone checks and lighting checks and I took this image - just one of those behind the scenes shots that I live for.

Navratri!

2009-09-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite festivals held throughout NJ is Navratri - Hindu festival of worship and dance - the celebration of Goddess Durga, the manifestation of God in form of Shakti [Energy or Power]. The girls here are dancing the famous Garba and Dandiya-Raas dance. Hundreds of people dance around an image of the Goddess Amba in a circle, bending sideways at every step, their arms making sweeping gestures, each movement ending in a clap. It is an unbelievably fun event, almost reminds me of some of the old Dead shows I used to go to. This is indoors but Jersey City has it outside, they shut down Smith St - I highly recommend. BTW - I like the cell phone in the girl's hand.

Roundtable...

2009-09-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Governor Corzine attends a roundtable discussion in an old church. I was simply amazed at how beautiful this church was - set in the heart of Newark. The room was dimly lit and had a guy running a video camera in the middle of the roundtable - and his light just added the right amount of umpphh to the photo.... you can click on the photos to see bigger.

Dave, Jon, Mike, Chris and Janet...

2009-09-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know.

Paging Hugh Laurie...

2009-08-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

We were on construction site at the New Princeton Hospital in Plainsboro - think House - these guys were just kind of hanging out on a balcony they were building (I think they were starting from the top down) - well, I shot them. The sky was blue but I tweaked the saturation... can you tell?

Project Newark..

2009-08-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

We were visiting drug and crime infested projects in Newark where I saw this guy digging through the garbage. He wasn't just digging through it like it was garbage, he was digging through it methodically, picking up each piece of trash, holding it up, turning it around and inspecting it closely, like someone picking out a new outfit in a clothes store. He had several different piles around him neatly stacked. He didn't care who was watching, who was there and how long it was taking him. He had a job to do.

The Plaza

2009-05-27T17:40:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated my blog in a very long time because I'm a slacker! Hah - that was for you Rob. I've been pretty crazy busy since the beginning of summer because we have had alot going on with the election coming up and all. So now I'm trying to get back into blogging and will do my best - only 20 days till the election - can't wait!

I shot this outside the Plaza in NYC a while back (I'm seeing if back-dating my blog works). I just really liked the big bulbs overhead and the movement of the city. I was kind of surprised there wasn't too many people on the street because usually it's packed. There is always something going on around the plaza and I see alot of fashion shoots while hanging out waiting for the Gov. I think I can be a fashion photog - hire 5 assistants who sit around and watch you, get a hair stylist and make-up artist, get a beautiful model, have them pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click, pose, click and that was the same pose for the same outfit. As a photojournalist it struck me as kind of funny because we have a split second to get the shot we need and, if you didn't get the shot, you can't ask your subject to do it again - not ethical.

Honey Do...

2009-05-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

I looked on my fridge the other day and saw my to do list that Jen put up... there was something about that list I found visually stimulating so I took photo and decided to share...

By the way, that's where the stimulation ends...

Balls...

2009-05-07T17:12:00.000-07:00

I was in NYC the other day driving down the West Side Highway and noticed these three people doing Tai Chi on the corner. We were sitting at a light and the traffic was just awful - thankfully I wasn't driving. Normally I don't think I would have given this a second glance but what was pretty wacky was that their hand positions were kind of in the same position as the lady in the bowling poster. So I grabbed my 70-200mm and tried to grab a few frames before the light turned green. Yup, I shot from the car. Yup, through the window. This might not seem odd to most people but as a photog, it's considered pretty f'en lazy! I would normally jump out of the car to grab the shot, but, like I said, we were sitting in traffic.

So I started editing the photo and thought it was pretty cool. Very surprised I had a very good angle considering I shot from the car over the driver thru the window - proves the theory that photography is 70% luck. Then I started thinking it would look pretty funny if the three people had bowling balls in their hands. I grabbed a bowling ball from the web, put it in each of the peoples hands and even manipulated a catch-light to emulate the catch-light of the ball in the poster. Hah hah - funny.

The Dead

2009-05-02T19:08:00.001-07:00

I'm a huge Grateful Dead fan. One of my clients called and asked me to shoot The Dead Reunion Tour at the Izod center on Tuesday night - of course I will! And - I had tickets to see them again on Wednesday night - yeah baby! I was psyched. Shooting any band is ok - the good thing is they only allow you to shoot for the first one to three songs so you're in and out pretty quick. The bad thing is, if you really like the band, you are only allowed to shoot for the first one to three songs. Here's a couple of my selects from Tuesday night:

On Wednesday night Branford Marsalis joined the band. I didn't see him on Tuesday night. Branford Marsalis was incredible and added another dimension to the show. Pride of Cucamonga, Crazy Fingers, The Music Never Stopped, Ramble On Rose, Terrapin Station were all awesome. They did play alot of slow stuff but I did have a few "Oh Shit Awesome" moments and had an amazing time. I would go see them again. Warren Haynes was great too.

Wicker.

2009-04-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

I was at my friend Erin's house while hanging in CT. We were letting the dogs out (I also passed out on her couch, it was really comfy (and quiet!)). They live on a pretty big piece of property in a wooded area - really nice and rural... away from city and noise, in fact, the only thing you can hear is Erin! This is her backyard - big fire pit and a lean to and her dogs Kasey and Jack running wild in the big, rugged outdoors - my testosterone was tingling - arrrrgggghhhh. But something was not quite right - yeah, there it was - this lovely, soft, comfortable, cushiony, pastel wicker set just castrating my lust for the big outdoors and wild animals. Oh well, Lemontini please?

Up, Up and Away...

2009-04-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to fly over the state in a helicopter the other day taking aerial photos and here's a couple of my selects:

I'm not a big fan of flying but the day was absolutely gorgeous and the ride was incredible. This was the first time I flew in a chopper that had windows I could open and shoot out of - huge plus. One of the things I didn't think about was how much the chopper vibrated and you could see that in my earlier images. To combat this, I pushed my shutter up to 1/1000th of a sec and that seemed to help a lot. Anything lower was rather soft. BTW - no place to pee while in the chopper.

Todd and the Sugar Shack

2009-04-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

This is Todd. And that's the Sugar Shack behind him, or at least was. Todd's one of my best friends and we were hanging outside the back of his house. The sugar shack was sitting there with paint peeling just screaming to be photographed. So I took a couple of images and the shack had really hard lines and I wanted to soften it up - that's where Todd comes in - he was my reluctant subject. I positioned him in front of the door and I was able to get three images off before he shied up and took off on me.

When I opened up the image I was impressed with how strong Todd's facial features were and what he was wearing, t-shirt with grey hoodie, also kind of strong. So I decided to soften the Sugar Shack instead and make Todd a little harder (easy now!). So the shack I used contrast topped with a little glow distortion - and then capitalized the strength in his face and made the lines a little stronger. Here is my Todd and the Sugar Shack. BTW - I really miss the old sugar shack - we had some great times in there.

Washroom in the Dog Run...

2009-04-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

This is Jenny getting ready with Sophie at her feet. I don't know where mom is going but obviously the baby is not going with her. Hot night on the town maybe? I walked by the bathroom and it tweaked my camera's eye. It was something I would see everyday but outside was dismal and the light coming thru the window just gloomy. The scene kind of reminded me of a 1930's photo by Walker Evans or maybe a 1960's Diane Arbus image, although her images tended to be more provocative.

You can see distortion at the corners of the top of the image. I could have fixed that but you know the distortion kind of made my image a little more surreal. I like that. I also like how the lines bring your eyes all the way around and then inside the image.

Ooooklahoma

2009-04-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

I flew out to Ft. Sill Oklahoma on Thursday - just a day trip. Actually, our day started at 5 am and it didn't end till 11 pm. Eighteen hours - I know, waaa f'en waaaa. We flew a KC-135 Stratotanker out of McGuire Air Force Base - that's it in the background. I normally listen to my Ipod when I fly but that plane was so loud I couldn't hear my Ipod on it's highest setting. So I listened to a pair of ear plugs - much better.

I love shooting military stuff - maybe because I am a Navy veteran or maybe because they have lots of cool toys. The above image was on the tarmac at Lawton/Ft. Sill Airport and it was rather warm. I wanted to do something different that screamed air force and tarmac so I went to the ground. The first shot had the line of people coming off the KC-135. My second shot had the line of people but a Major walked in front of me. Perfect. Gave my slow moving line some real opposite movement. Thank you Major. I just wish I had all uniformed troops in that line and not that one guy in the civilian clothes.

Jersey? Maybe...

2009-03-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

I was in Jersey City today at the New Jersey City University. From the ground it look like everything else in Jersey City - cramped and close and busy. We had a press conference on the 2nd floor but, when I have time, I usually scout out different areas because I'm nosy. I looked out the window of the third floor and saw these ominous clouds - well this could be cool. I shot a couple of images, made sure I kept my power lines in and... here it is. Doesn't even look like Jersey City, eh? Could almost be homes in Iceland or someplace like that (I've never been to Iceland).

Man in Manville

2009-03-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

I made this image in Manville yesterday. I was watching this guy, who was carrying a very large bag of something, while walking along the railroad tracks. He kept stopping every 20 feet or so and using his cell phone - I couldn't help but to wonder who he was. Was he a hobo walking along the tracks waiting for the train to start running so he could hop on? Why was he using his phone every 20 feet? Did he walk to the laundry and on his way back the train pull in and blocked his way back to his house so he had to walk all the way around the train? Maybe he was calling somebody to pick him up so he didn't have to walk around the whole train... is he Santa?

I know somebody is going to wonder why I left the power lines in the photo. Some photogs would take them out. I personally feel that if you digitally manipulate an image where you remove, add or swap an object it's no longer a photograph, it becomes an illustration. And, as a editorial photographer, it's unethical. I am also fascinated by the ugliness of power lines - and yet at times the symmetry makes beautiful lines and shapes. Just look around - it's almost impossible not to see power lines...

...the agony of defeat...or a win...

2009-03-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

I shot the 2nd round of the woman's ncaa basketball tournament and I have to say, I love watching the coaches - so much so I sometimes miss the game action. Above is Auburn's (#2 seed) coach Nell Fortner, center, and her assistant coaches - so sad - they lost bad to Rutgers (#7 seed). That's the agony of defeat. Below is coach C. Vivian Stringer, or C-Viv, and that's the agony of a win.

I have to say Rutgers played great. They came out from the beginning strong and agressive (Be Agressive, B - E - Agressive (cheerleading chant I remember from when I played football as a kid)). They kicked ass. Below is the team with Judith Brittany Ray, left, Rashidat Junaid, center, Epiphanny Prince (10) and Nikki Speed, right, while they celebrate - Prince put up 27 points alone. Crazy.

March Gladness

2009-03-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

Today I shot the first round of NCAA woman's basketball tournament at Rutgers RAC in Piscataway. Not that I don't like my job, but I really love shooting basketball (and it's nice to shoot something other than a bald guy with a beard).

First Day of Spring?

2009-03-20T17:55:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of Spring - We woke up this morning to a snow storm that dropped enough snow to cover the ground and the trees. Go figure. On my way to a job in New Brunswick traffic was backed up on Rt 18 going into New Brunswick (construction and traffic is God awful there). So I cut through East Brunswick to get to Ryders Lane and was driving by Rutgers' Gardens - Spring? Snow? Time for a weather roamer! So I went into the gardens to find budding trees - success! I found a row of Cornus mas, more commonly know as the Corneliancherry Dogwood. I was suprised to find it here in NJ because it's a species of Europe and W. Asia... who knew?

For those of you who are really impressed with my wealth of knowledge...don't be, I also shot the sign on the damn tree.

I'm Melting

2009-03-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was up in East Rutherford the other night cutting thru the parking lot to get to the Turnpike and saw this snowbank in the parking lot. I don't know, I thought it was kind of funny just sitting there melting - that thing must have been huge because we had a 73 deg day, a few 60's and mostly over 40 for a couple of weeks. So I thought I could make art out of it - it just didn't work for me and I was working it. In the background on the right is the Giant's practice bubble, the old Giants Stadium and the new Giants / Jets Stadium on left.

Empty parking lots are kind of interesting, if there's a lot of lights you get a lot of shadows - so I was goofing around and just shot my shadow - I didn't think anything of it - I brought it into PS and played with the blacks, the contrast and sharpened it. PS has this lens flare filter which is kind of funny - so I used that and put a flash on my shadow - just goofing off, ya know?I shot the two stadiums side by side - the old, the new - they don't look very big, do they? Oh, Go Giants!

Irish Eyes

2009-03-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be an easy day - HAH! The Governor was down in DC and we didn't have anything scheduled until 3:30, and that was simply a bill signing in the outer office (that's the room outside the Gov's office where we have press conferences, bill signings, photo ops, etc). Well, I learned they scheduled for all the Grand Marshalls from all the St. Patrick Day Parades in NJ to receive Proclamations. March was the longest St. Patrick's Day ever with all the St. Paddy Day Parades - it was never ending. Anyway, I digress - they wanted photos of all the recipients. So, hey ho, lets go - so I went to the Statehouse and it was a madhouse - so many people were there for Legislative sessions - people who were supporting this bill but not supporting that bill and it's ST. PATRICK'S DAY TOMORROW - so every Irishman from the state was here also!

After the photo op I returned to my office and heard bagpipes - at first I thought I was hearing things but then it occurred to me that TOMORROW IS ST. PATRICK'S DAY. I grabbed my cameras and went running outside following the sweet sounds of bagpipes (actually, I've been to a lot of parades this month and I am so done with those blowpipes) and found these guys above warming up outside the Statehouse. I was pretty happy with what I found. So these guys are the real deal - straight from Ireland - they are the 4th West Brigade Pipe Band and they sounded really good. I made the above image and a couple of mates at the same time. I think it's time for a Guinness.

Happy Birthday Sophie Mae

2009-03-11T12:11:00.001-07:00

This is Sophie on her first birthday with her first birthday dress having her first temper tantrum...

People always say to me "You must have lots of photos of your children." Nope - this is how they act when home - good as gold outside of home...but like this at home. Other people's children are so much easier to photograph...and then send away. Advil anyone?

Equal Time

2009-03-11T11:56:00.001-07:00

Jacob, Sydney and I went biking the other day because it was like 70 degrees on March 7th - crazy. So we went down to the towpath - you can see the canal on the left and the Delaware River on the right. I was excited about taking a nice quiet 90 minute ride with the kids and out of nowhere a bunch of jet ski's came roaring up and down the river all loud and obnoxious. It was just brutal and so annoying and it made me think about Wendy and her Two Stroke Hwy to Hell blog post - Wendy, I couldn't agree with you more. Sometimes it doesn't matter where you live, I guess we all have our own little two stroke hell...

Oh Sh*t...

2009-03-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

So we went on a tour of a school today in Bayonne - the school was 92 years old and looked every bit of it. It was really kind of crazy, falling apart, in disrepair, leaks when it rains. It holds about 600 kids from pre-k to 8th grade. I went into the bathroom - it was clean but paint was peeling and it looked like it did almost 100 years ago. The urinals are probably bigger than most of the kids that use them. Anyway, the state of the bathroom was pretty sad so I made some images while I was in there. I know what you're thinking, creepy that I was in a elementary school bathroom taking pictures with my camera - just stop it right now! I had the vice principal with me - silly blog readers. Anyway, the image up above is of the toilet doors that just kind of look cool because they are so old. The image below is a little more serious... five of the eight urinals are boarded up - can't be fixed because the school doesn't have the money and the piping is so old they don't make the fixtures anymore to fix them (you can click on the image to make it larger).

I'm amazed at all the people that don't want to put money into the schools. It's always the parents that don't have any idea how bad some of the schools are out there, nor do they care. This isn't even one of worse.

Duck Island

2009-03-02T18:54:00.001-08:00

So I was finally able to break out my bike and go riding for the first time this year. I went down to Duck Island just south of Trenton. I was always curious about the area - oh I know - people warned me that it's really not a good area - gang killings, baby's body found, the old Lover's Lane serial murders in 1939... but hey, I wasn't scared, I had my camera. Anyway, a leg of the D&R Canal runs right thru Duck Island and the Trenton Bordentown Marsh, right alongside the Delaware River. It's only accessible by foot or bicycle.

There was so much trash on the outskirts of Trenton - roofing shingles, refrigerators, washers, dryers - it was like going into Sears - there were also a ton of tires. The tires were everywhere. I came upon this old car bench seat that was overlooking the canal. I guess maybe it was romantic at one time (Lover's Lane Murders) but right now it was just creepy. The bench overlooks dozens of tires in the canal. I have a real problem understanding why people dump - who was the first person that threw their old tires in the canal and what were they thinking? "Gee, this is a real pretty place to dumped these ugly old tires"... Hello.

So I jumped off my soapbox and got back on my bike. I went down a little further and there was this rectangular thing sitting at the bottom of the canal. It was filled with thick, murky mud. I wonder if this is an old sunken canal barge? It's about the right size. It was pretty cool, whatever it was.

I wasn't sure where the trail was going to take me but I kept going. It was a pretty nice ride after getting out of Trenton. I rode about 8 miles thinking that it might run into Bordentown and I could just loop around, go up 206 and be home. Wrong. It dead ended. Ugh. But it dead ended at a canal lock that was semi washed away. It was really cool to see what these locks are made of and how it was constructed. I was able to jump down to the bottom of the lock and make this image above. I really dig the movement of the water and light reflecting off the water - this is a keeper.

While I was making that image I looked down and found this old old broken plate. It was ancient. Anyone that knows Trenton knows about their rich pottery history. Back around 1850 Trenton was a pottery mecca. I'm pretty sure this plate was from around that era. There's a dig going on right next to the Statehouse and some of the relics they are pulling up look very similar to this piece.

Oh, I almost forgot - Road Kill.

Got Milk?

2009-02-24T16:52:00.001-08:00

Oh boy, Sophie Mae is walking. It's the end of my life as I know it. Just a few minutes ago, the fridge door was open and I saw her reaching in - such a curious 11 month old (and nosy!) so I grabbed my camera and shut out all the lights hopefully in time to catch her - got it. And she didn't care I shut out all the lights - as long as she could play in the fridge. Usually, by the time I grab my camera she is onto something new, someplace else, not as blogable (spell check is saying blogable isn't a word but I use it all the time). I put the image in PS and blacked my blacks and gave my whites a little glow... and here she is. She better not touch my beer...

The Temple Mount

2009-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was in between assignments driving from Union to Newark (yup, in Newark again). I stumbled upon Weequahic Park and in the middle of the park was an old pavilion on a hill. It just struck me as a odd place for this really cool structure. I had to do something with it. So I walked around this thing and made some images - it was trashed - there were broken glass, litter, clothes, graffiti, beer cans, hundreds of those miniature liquor bottles. Oh, and a condom. I kind of chuckled at the condom wondering who on earth would be up here doing somethin somethin...

So I looked past the trash - this was a really cool place - it was on a hill overlooking a large lake and you have an unobstructed 360 degree view. The warm sun was shining thru the pillars casting long shadows inside the pavilion. I was genuinely surprised - it really was pretty... where the hell are my condoms...?

I Googled the park after I edited the image and it has a really cool history - The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted - this is the same guy who designed Central Park and Prospect Park in NYC along with major parks throughout the US. This next tidbit is for Scotty and Pat - it also has the oldest public golf course in the US - hmmm, who knew? The hill was used by Lenapi Indians to hold pow-wows before being named Divident Hill. Divident Hill was the site of a boundary meeting between Elizabethtown and Newark in 1668, when this place was howling wilderness. The pavilion was built in 1916 to celebrate that meeting 250 years later.

When shooting this, at first I thought about focusing on all the trash around this structure. I'm glad I didn't because I really wanted to capture what a cool spot this was. I named this piece "The Temple Mount". Well, that's what was spray painted on one of the pillars of the pavilion... The real Temple Mount is in Jerusalem. Weequahic was largely a middle class Jewish neighborhood prior to the 1960s, home to many synagogues, yeshivas, and Jewish restaurants. I wonder who spray painted "The Temple Mount"?

Newark Club

2009-02-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

I don't think I'm alone in this, but I try to challenge myself as a photographer on a daily basis. Before I worked for the Governor it was a little easier because I would have different assignments on different subjects at different locations and I could come up with different images. Now I basically photograph a bald guy with a beard every day. Every day. So now it's more important than ever for me to challenge my photographers eye just so I don't get burned out.

I was at the end of a long day yesterday and I couldn't find anything that I really wanted to capture. I was at the Newark Club in Newark (duh) and figured that I wouldn't get any art for the day - until I went into the coat room. On the shelf over the coat rack were all these cool, decorative lamps - just sitting there disheveled and uneven. So here I am, in a coat room, leaning on all sorts of fur and leather coats costing more than I make in a month, climbing on boxes and bins, photographing these lamps. It took about a dozen shots before I got what I want - but I gotz something (if you click on the image it will make it bigger which looks cool). Then I looked down and found a huge bin with gaudy, gold napkin rings - yeehaa! - two images in one coat room. Who would have thought?

Trenton Times

2009-02-18T14:24:00.000-08:00

So I had a pretty uneventful day today, mostly shot video of a press conference. On my way back to the statehouse from the presser I saw this newspaper box that was sitting on the side of the road. Somebody just dragged it out of the wooded area in the background where it must have been sitting for many, many years. I don't know how old this paper box is but it's pretty old - long before I started working for the Trenton Times. The newspaper box was just worn, lonely and sad looking so I made two illegal u-turns to capture this image above. One of my favorite books as a kid was Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel and this kind of reminded me of that book. I think the open door reminds me of the steam shovel's open scoop. It's also my favorite book to read to Jacob.

I worked at "The Times" for about six years, maybe longer, as a stringer. I actually got my start at the Trentonian where many photographers started... most not lasting more than three months because they had a pretty unbearable photo editor (he used to tell everyone he taught me everything I know, uh, thanks Bob, not!) and they didn't pay very well. I would have to say that most of what I know today I learned at the Times - they had a great staff of photographers who were willing to help out budding photographers. They still have a great staff but there's only three of them now... and that's what makes this image even sadder.

Mr. President

2009-02-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

So I met with Tony Kurdzuk last night and he passed me the keys, uh, Street Sign, to the New Jersey Press Photographers Association (NJPPA). He's the outgoing president and so now I'm the newly elected President of the NJPPA. I guess last night was kind of my inauguration (it was at Outback and I had steak), no pomp or circumstance. Well Colin Archer was there too - he's the newly appointed Vice President, not sure if he was the pomp or the circumstance. The street sign came with a Resolution (along with half a dozen other boxes) but the resolution was the highlight - you can read it below:
Well, if you can't read it it basically says

"Whereas, the members of the NJPPA, whose daily contributions to the news media through outstanding photographs enrich our lives; and
Whereas, members of the NJPPA capture the action, the expressions, the feelings and the meaning of life itself through outstanding and award-winning photographs..."

This resolution was given to the NJPPA back in 1981 but it is still relevant, 28 years later, to the photographers I see on the street every day. Their work ethic, pride, professionalism and 'efforts in the art of photojournalism' makes me excited and proud to be a part of this industry.I would really like to thank Tony Kurdzuk. He did a great job as president of the NJPPA for the last few years. Newspapers are struggling and the print media in general is in turmoil. Tony did a great job holding it together along with VP Kevin Wexlar, Secretary Treasurer Reena Rose Sibayan, Clip Contest Chair Tyson Trish, POY Chair Jennifer Brown and Webmaster Cie Stroud. My hat's off to everyone for all their hard work.

Family

2009-02-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

This is my family - Jen will probably hate this and I'm not sure she gets my art - but this image kind of defines my family. Jen is my vegetarian who is constantly in motion - seriously, she never sits still - sometimes I kind of wish she would just sit down, eat a big fat juicy steak and ignore the single dish that might be in the sink. Yes, Jacob is eating lunch naked. We pick our fights with him - he won this one, but he's eating his lunch. Prim and proper Sydney is simply horrified that he is at the table naked and we seem to be condoning this act. I'm even kind of in this image - there's a box of screws on the table that represents me - I hate working on the house and when I do I'm always too lazy to put my tools away. I wish I made enough money so I can hire people to work on my house!

I shot my family with my Nikon FM2 with TriX film and I believe a 28mm f2.8 lens. I bought my FM2 in 1990 to study photography in college. Boy I loved that camera - and still do. I remember getting that thing home and I just could not put it down. Recently I picked it up for the first time in like 12/15 years and just started shooting old school. Here's the reciept - which I think is pretty funny - $350 - boy that was a boat load of money back then.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

2009-02-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

So this is my blog. Not really sure what to blog about but I'm going to give it a shot. My name is Tim Larsen and I'm a photographer - not really just a photographer - photography consumes my life. I remember my first camera - I was probably about 9 years old and it was sitting in the bottom of my grandmother's junk drawer - just some simple, crappy, 35mm point and shoot. I don't have any images from that camera, don't even have the camera, though I really wish I did. Just to let you know - this is going to be a photo blog, because... oh... well you get it. If you know me, you know 99% of the time I have a camera, and if you don't know me, you're probably not reading this. This photo blog will be just simple images of the simple things I see during my crazy day - basically my art.

I currently work as Chief Photographer to NJ Governor Jon Corzine. It's a cool, fascinating job and Governor Corzine is doing great things - I'm honored to be part of his staff and I basically document his time in office. My dream is to be an environmental photographer (backwoods wildlife Amazon Africa Antarctica Sourland Mountains, really not picky). I'm having a problem making money in that field - so I'm a documentary/editorial photographer and I shoot people instead. They pay better than the lions and tigers and bears, oh my. And sometimes people are wilder.

My kids will pop up on this blog quite a bit because they make me laugh (and cry). Sophie is the newest - she will be 1 in March. She is wicked smart and growing quick. Here she is with my negatives she found - I think she's washing them. That's correct, film negatives.

Jacob is my only boy - requires a great deal of attention - middle child syndrome (marcia, marcia, marcia). He might be the most loving child I have ever met and loves being around people - which is cool because I'm a cancer and love his hugs. He just turned 4 in December. Here he is wanting his picture taken... and why not?

Sydney is my oldest and she will be 13 this year in August. She is much more elusive to try to photograph. Sydney is smart and creative and funny and shy - she's my wallflower. Did I mention she turns 13 this year? Ugh.

So follow my blog, if you would like. Not really sure where we are going but there will be lots of images. That I
can promise.